after 17 years of the jws, i was eager to do a lot of things previously considered taboo.
bowing to idols was at the top of my list, and i write about it in my article pagan idolatry - how to do it and why you should.. .
jehovahs-witness forum readers average 3 minutes and 2 pages per visit when visiting my site, and have left some great comments - thanks!.
After 17 years of the JWs, I was eager to do a lot of things previously considered taboo. Bowing to idols was at the top of my list, and I write about it in my article Pagan Idolatry - How to do it and Why You Should.
jehovahs-witness forum readers average 3 minutes and 2 pages per visit when visiting my site, and have left some great comments - thanks!
As always, comments on the piece or comments on your own experience with idols are always appreciated.
cheers,
Angus
years ago, i totally fell for the sports illustrated sidd finch hoax, and it turned out to be kind of a good thing.
anyone else ever experience the minor enlightenment of a good prank?.
angus stocking.
Years ago, I totally fell for the Sports Illustrated Sidd Finch hoax, and it turned out to be kind of a good thing. Anyone else ever experience the minor enlightenment of a good prank?
Angus Stocking
"Change your beliefs, change your world."
google_ad_section_start my latest blog entry, no evidence for god is evidence for no god addresses that question in a way that former jw readers might enjoy... and it might even help you make a few points with believers.
as always, i love your feedback: readers referred from this site average about 3 pages and 4 minutes per visit so i view y'all as an important referent.. .
cheers,.
My latest blog entry, No Evidence for God is Evidence for No God addresses that question in a way that former JW readers might enjoy… and it might even help you make a few points with believers. As always, I love your feedback: readers referred from this site average about 3 pages and 4 minutes per visit so I view y'all as an important referent.
cheers,
Angus
Angus W. Stocking, L.S.
"Change your beliefs, change your world."
readers of this forum will recognize where most of the guidelines in my field guide to bad religion originate.
my blog is getting kind of popular with alternate religion/atheist/agnostic types, so i'll probably be writing more like this.
feedback always appreciated.. .
Sounds ideal, WTW.
readers of this forum will recognize where most of the guidelines in my field guide to bad religion originate.
my blog is getting kind of popular with alternate religion/atheist/agnostic types, so i'll probably be writing more like this.
feedback always appreciated.. .
Readers of this forum will recognize where most of the guidelines in my Field Guide to Bad Religion originate. My blog is getting kind of popular with alternate religion/atheist/agnostic types, so I'll probably be writing more like this. Feedback always appreciated.
cheers,
Angus
"Change your beliefs, change your world."
one of the issues i had to work through when getting out was whether or not the bible was inspired.
i decided it was... depending on the meaning of 'inspired'.. my essay, scripture is what we make of it describes how i got started thinking about this difficult topic.
enjoy!.
Hey everyone, thanks for all the feedback, and thanks Leolaia for your kind comments about the blog - I'm putting a lot of effort into it lately, and it's nice to hear that people like it.
I know that figuring out how I felt about Christendom and religion in general was a big, ongoing issue for me after I left. I knew I'd been 'had' by the Watchtower Society, but I didn't know how I felt about religion in general. I guess I'm still figuring it out, but I feel more at ease about the subject when I write and puzzle out how I actually feel.
Hey, can anyone tell me how to get a picture by my posts?
cheers,
Angus
"Change your beliefs, change your world."
one of the issues i had to work through when getting out was whether or not the bible was inspired.
i decided it was... depending on the meaning of 'inspired'.. my essay, scripture is what we make of it describes how i got started thinking about this difficult topic.
enjoy!.
One of the issues I had to work through when getting out was whether or not the Bible was inspired. I decided it was… depending on the meaning of 'inspired'.
My essay, Scripture Is What We Make Of It describes how I got started thinking about this difficult topic. Enjoy!
cheers,
Angus
"Change your beliefs, change your world."
i used to write and produce a little radio essay show in colorado called belief systems & other bs, and one of the shorts i recorded was called weird beliefs, and was based on my experiences attaining, maintaining, defending, questioning, and ultimately denouncing all the strange ideas i had to keep in mind in order to be, then stop being, a jw.
here's an excerpt:.
"that may be the point; one purpose of weird beliefs is to serve as barriers to entry.
I used to write and produce a little radio essay show in Colorado called Belief Systems & Other BS, and one of the shorts I recorded was called Weird Beliefs, and was based on my experiences attaining, maintaining, defending, questioning, and ultimately denouncing all the strange ideas I had to keep in mind in order to be, then stop being, a JW. Here's an excerpt:
"That may be the point; one purpose of weird beliefs is to serve as barriers to entry. That is, if a group maintains a weird belief, the difficulty of accepting that idea prevents others from joining lightly— it filters out the non-serious. And once accepted, the weird belief serves as a barrier to exit. Once an applicant has gone to the trouble of reordering her psyche to accept a weird belief, she is unlikely to abandon it lightly. Weird beliefs are a one-way door.
I am not one to throw stones when it comes to weird beliefs; during my sojourn as a Christian fundamentalist, I firmly believed that the creator of all things was opposed to celebrating holidays, hated blood transfusions, had firm opinions about the wearing of ties, etc., etc., ad nauseam. In retrospect it seems foolish, but at the time my passion for these ideas was so fervent that I spent as many as a hundred hours a month promoting them. Ultimately, when I was trying to quit the church, I found that I couldn’t simply give up the weird beliefs, I had to denounce them, to proclaim myself a heretic. If weird beliefs are a one-way door, the only way out is through."
Anyway, Weird Beliefs, much to my surprise has turned out to be a top Google hit for the phrase 'weird beliefs'—right now it's on the first page at number six! So, thought I'd post it here in case anyone is interested.
cheers,
Angus
"Change your beliefs, change your world."
about six years ago, when self-extricating myself from jehovah's witnesses, i decided to follow robert anton wilson's advice in cosmic trigger, a life changing book for me, and explore taboos as a way to rapidly deprogram myself.
tarot was a great way to do that, as few things are more odious in the jw world.
i wrote up my remarkable experiences in an essay on my blog, tarot & rapid brain change which will probably be interesting to jw forum readers.. .
Wow, looks like experimenting with taboo and spirituality is a not-too-unusual way to experiment with freedom when one is trying to get out of the borg. I respect people like you, dogon, who have concluded that there's nothing to any of it, but in my case I found that there is some sort of deep divinity that can be danced with.
More generally, I think the JWs, like a lot of religions, inculcate a variety of weird beliefs, like fear of a deck of cards, as a way of keeping members in line: not only by the fear itself, but by the unwillingness to give up the odd belief after going to all the trouble of accepting it—people don't like to give up their odd ideas!
cheers,
Angus
"Change your beliefs, change your world."
i love weddings, and was quite honored when, in 2008, some young friends asked me to officiate at theirs; they said they wanted a belief systems & other bs style marriage talk.
honored, but also a little apprehensive.
for my radio show was known for espousing the weird beliefs of others along with my own godless philosophy, and while i knew this would play well in paonia, coloradolast redoubt of the unreconstructed hippieand that carl and kelly were spiritually liberal people with their own set of weird beliefs, i also knew that this would be a fairly large ceremony with plenty of people of conventional faith gathered together from all over the country.
I love weddings, and was quite honored when, in 2008, some young friends asked me to officiate at theirs; they said they wanted a “Belief Systems & Other BS style” marriage talk. Honored, but also a little apprehensive. For my radio show was known for espousing the weird beliefs of others along with my own godless philosophy, and while I knew this would play well in Paonia, Colorado—last redoubt of the unreconstructed hippie—and that Carl and Kelly were spiritually liberal people with their own set of weird beliefs, I also knew that this would be a fairly large ceremony with plenty of people of conventional faith gathered together from all over the country. And who wants to be controversial at a wedding?
Maybe you're in a similar situation—personally, I think this talk might go over with JWs attending a civil ceremony, if they have a sense of humor (some do!). Anyway, here's the talk in case you're interested: A Wedding Talk for Heathens & Christians
cheers,
Angus
"Change your beliefs, change your world."
