Posts by Kingpawn

29

What does this scripture mean to you?

by Valis in

jw
friends

i brought this up during the beginnings of the flame war we just encountered and it got overlooked.

for all of you who follow the bible/or not.

luke 9.

Kingpawn

Valis,

I would like your opinions on how it might relate to how we view each other.

Do you mean how we on the board view each other? That was the meaning I got from it. If so, it takes on a new "path" to what's been noted so far.

First, I suppose a "purpose" for the board would have to be stated. Those could include education, healing, a chance to vent, a way to strike back at the WBTS, etc. And if more than one of those apply to each of us, the mix is different for all. Some may be more into the need to vent/heal than to learn, necessarily.

About the only purpose I see above that could be seen as having "sides" would be to strike back. There has been the occasional debate, usually between two posters in an unrelated (maybe semi-related) thread, on whether or not that's the reason for JWD, and that very rarely.

Farkel makes a good point when he mentions neutrality. In this case, A can say they believe the board is a tool for the WBTS' destruction, B can say it is not the purpose. Is B opposing A? Well, yes and no. Yes, verbally. In terms of practical effect, one could say B's neutral (not doing anything actively to oppose, if that were possible somehow) or not (practical effects test).

It might be possible to make a case that YouKnow, SwordofJah, and others educate more than they oppose when they debate the anti-JW mood here. Fence-sitters can see devoted (not being sarcastic) believers in action, their thought processes, how they respond to particular issues, and as Jesus said, "[they them]selves said it." Their words bear witness for or against them later.

Lots of activities in life require an "either/or" response from people, and we run our politics the same way. Hot-button issues are almost barren of a middle ground, sometimes because partisans for both sides won't let you be neutral--they demand to know where you stand. God help you if you're on trial and they get on the jury.

15

Happiness in a Box?

by Satanus in

is it possible to get happiness from a little box w a small computer inside?

i read about this kind of stuff in scifi books.

the future is now.

Kingpawn

Og,

Oh, sweet Jesus you folks are gullible. It's a website selling a little shock box that lists a lot of probably bogus recommendations and refers to zero studies or independent reviews. It's worthless.

Many times someone tinkering around with an idea originally thought "worthless" has led to scientific advances. Radio is one example. When first developed it was considered useful only for "line of sight" communications, since the Earth is curved and radio waves travelled in straight lines. But it was found they are reflected by the atmosphere (the Moon and the aurora borealis too) and the "sky was the limit" as far as potential was concerned.

A lot of work has been done in understanding the human brain. We now know there are "rivers of pleasure," strips of cells on the brain's surface that when stimulated electrically produce an indescribable pleasure, far stronger than that produced by drugs. The concept of the "elad" or "electronic addict" arose--someone so wired that they could give themselves a dose of current whenever desired. Rats wired in the same way have been observed to hit the lever that sends electricity to their brain thousands of times per hour, until they sometimes collapse and/or die from exhaustion, dehydration, etc. We've imaged the brain, discovering what areas become active under particular circumstances, and noting the differences of activity level in the brains of healthy people and those afflicted with Alzheimers, for example. That may lead to "pre-emptive" therapies designed to ward off these diseases later in life.

Even a Star Trek-like "phaser" isn't beyond possibility. The Defense Dept. found that the nervous systems of certain primates are "resonant" at about 338 or 388 MHz. What that means is:

Anyone who's ever seen a wavy line on an ocilliscope(sp?) understands the idea of "wavelength"--the distance from one peak to another on that sine wave. All radiation (light, sound, gamma rays, etc.) operated at certain frequencies, or cycles per second. As a ham radio operator, I know that my car radio operates at VHF frequencies, which on a `scope would look something like the squiggles on a seismograph, whereas the radio in the basement operates at many frequencies, and some of them would be far more flattened if shown.

I also learned how to design an antennae that would be resonant at a half-wavelength of a given freq. For instance, a ten meter antenna for the midpoint of that band (28.850 MHz) is going to be around 16' long (468/28.85). A full-length (resonant) one would be 32' long. (The interesting part's coming up.)

The higher the freq, the shorter the antenna needed. One for the 220 MHz band (full length) is about the same length as the human spinal cord. With enough power, as I recall, there could be harmful effects on people from radio frequency (RF) energy . Remember the warnings about the possibility of using cell phones and getting cancer? We get similar ones about having the antennas of H/Ts (walkie-talkie units) too close to the head.

So if you had some device that could send a concentrated beam of energy at a given frequency and power setting toward someone, possibly 180 degrees out of phase with the waves of their own nervous system, you might potentially block their system from functioning. Maybe sending power in phase would overload their system, producing unconciousness or death. I've little doubt experiments with various combinations of distances, phase angles, frequencies, and power levels have been done. If you could blanket an enemy installation with this device, slowing response times, paralyzing, or knocking out the defenders, then areas could be captured with little or no loss of life, nor would they have time to destroy bridges to slow down troop movements. Or unleash atomic or other weapons.

The human brain operates at very low frequencies--five to thirty MHz as I recall--and a handheld unit might not take much power to get the desired effect. Stun guns work, but they have to overcome electrical resistance from the body tissues. Else the voltages needn't be so high. Even defillibrators used to shock hearts back into beating leave big burns because of the voltages. But radio waves wouldn't have that limitation.

Lots of things seen as impossible earlier on have come true in the past century. And the final curtain may not've come down yet.

15

Happiness in a Box?

by Satanus in

is it possible to get happiness from a little box w a small computer inside?

i read about this kind of stuff in scifi books.

the future is now.

Kingpawn

Seriously speaking, this could be the next advance in the treatment of mental illness, anxiety, or depression.

I'd guess the device sends electrical currents to the brain, in a certain phase relationship to brain waves, changing them and the person's perceptions of life. It's the mental equivalent of a tranquilizer w/o the drugs.

Suppose a small device could be implanted within the body, like maybe under an arm, and electrodes leading to areas of the brain known to produce or affect moods. There'd be a computer chip with a database of brainwave patterns for various problems, two sets of electrodes implanted in the brain, and instructions for the phase angle/amout of current needed to counteract the problem when detected. One set of wires "reads" the mind, another corrects. The technology for this "corrective" action already exists. A guy's working on a device just like this, but worn externally, for pilots who don't make the proper adjustments to a plane's flight path, as monitored by an onboard computer. The right thought would be sent to the brain and the pilot responds.

The potential for mind control is obvious in the wrong hands. The guy I mentioned above said he doesn't think it's his duty to worry about it, though.

Not trying to `jack the thread, but the device has many potential benefits.

24

Terrible Anxiety Attack Last Night....

by Sentinel in

i've been dealing with so much stuff lately, and thinking that i was "doing alright".

i'm not on any medication.

i have had emotional issues due to times of severe stress years ago, and took medication, but the main thing is, i worked through all of that.

Kingpawn

Karen,
I can empathize with the feelings of helplessness you feel at the idea of rehashing things over and over and no solution offers itself. I hope some of the suggestions mentioned by others work for you. In some ways it can be a vicious circle. The attacks keep you up so you don't sleep and your normal work habits are disrupted, possibly leading to even more stress at how you're falling behind.

I can vouch for exercise as a tonic. Many's the time, in a variety of incidents, where if I needed to puzzle something out or decide on a course of action, thinking about it on a walk did the trick (usually). Some things are the type where when you don't get the answer by yourself--you may need more input from others.

Since it may not be all that safe to be out right now, are their facilities where you work for exercise? A nursing home I used to work at had an indoor walking area. Maybe the local Y? A skating rink? Bowling? Hiking trails or a bikeway?

Might have to wean yourself from caffeine. Ditto sugar. Religion can be a help--if there was no good in it we would have discarded it long ago. Positive thinking, too. Then too, are there things you may be doing unconciously that interfere with your ability to complete needed projects? The more unpleasant they are the easier that can occur. (Indirect aggression.)

Hope this helps. You've gone through a lot already and you're not beat yet.

11

Confusion!!!

by santacruzchick in

i'm soooo confused!!!

i grew up in the 'truth'.

about 4 years ago my parents divorced.

Kingpawn

it seems to be a 'chore' to study the bible and whatnot

Remember what Jesus said about good trees producing good fruit and bad trees producing bad fruit(Matt. 7:17-20)? If a "Bible-based" religion has gotten you so messed up you feel reading it is a "chore" can they be dispensing good fruit?

When I first posted here I was the same as you. I still believed they had the truth on some doctrines at one time, but I don't think they do now. And having learned of all the false prophecies, doctrinal changes, how people are treated, and so on, I don't buy the package anymore.

It'll take a while to resolve these issues in your mind. Read here. Think. Pray. Verify. You've heard their case and now you can get the rebuttal. There's two sides to every story. You no doubt know how the Society feels about sites like this, but,

only Darkness fears the Light.

Some points to ponder...

If Jehovah's always had a "faithful and discreet slave to dispense food at the proper time" who was doing it before Jehovah's Witnesses were formed?

They say people here are apostates. But every JW who wasn't born into the faith is many times an apostate from some other church. Isn't that "the pot calling the kettle black" in those cases?

If you read the quotations in the magazines concerning what the Society said was expected in 1975, can you then blame people for thinking 1975 was "it?" Was it their fault they hoped too much and were stumbled? (If you don't find it here, though I'm sure it's here, www.freeminds.org has tons of quotes.)

I wish I could take credit for these, but posters wiser than I have made note of them already.

63

Totally happy in your marriage?

by Lost Diamond in

how many of you are totally, incredibly happy in your marriage?

how many of you feel that your spouse is your absolute soul mate and you couldn't even imagine your being married somebody else?

talking with the women at work, i'm surprised at how many are not totally happy.

Kingpawn

No.

21

Medication for depression

by Dizzy Cat in

a little advise if possible.. i do suffer on and off from depression and am at present engaging in a warfare to overcome these problems, as unfortunately i have become bogged down with negativity again.. have any of you here used medication prescribed by your gp and if so, was it effective for you?

also, did you suffer any side effects from the use of the medication?.

i am interested as my gp has offered to put me on a course of anti-depressants, but to say i am fearful, is to understate how i feel about the use of prescribed drugs.

Kingpawn

Dizzy Cat,

I've been on Paxil, Wellbutrin, Fluvoxamine, Zoloft, Effexor, and Serzone...maybe more.

Side effects? Nightmares. "Weird dreams" (for example, maybe a person from work might be in it, in situations which made no sense). Tremors so bad my wife would grab me to keep me from falling out of bed (which happened a couple of times). One of the tremors was brought on by a dream where I felt I was floating five feet above the bed. Just as I realized (in the dream) I was falling, I woke up--I think on the floor. Extreme drowsiness when getting up. Decreased sex drive.

I quit cold turkey, against all advice, because of these.

Today, I feel better. I've begun coming out as a gay man, my diabetes is under better control, hidden resentments are being expressed more, and overall I have a more upbeat attitude. Therapy might've helped had it been one-on-one but my wife insisted on coming along. And I didn't want to rock the boat so I said nothing. Today I would. I walk some, which is good for stress relief and problem-solving.

17

Changes

by Jesus Christ in

i was going through my closet today and came across a box of old pictures.

some of them had this girl i used to be friends with in them.

we were friends in school and after graduation she was one of the only people i cared to stay in touch with.

Kingpawn

Yeru,

I think Korea and Vietnam were different from previous wars for several reasons:

The enemy didn't fight as we were used to--guerilla warfare, not huge offensives.
Had to deal with Asiatic allies' concern with "saving face."
The thing kept dragging on--MacArthur warned us about that.
Did we have a clear objective?

Most of that applies more to Vietnam since I wasn't alive during the Korean conflict. And Vo Nguyen Giap, North Vietnam's best general, wondered how we were going to fight this war when a large portion of the country was against it. They had read Sun Tzu who counseled that when time goes by and there are few victories, the home populace becomes dissatisfied and calls the army home. They had only to wait. They'd dealt with the Chinese, the Japanese, the French, and now us, and it always worked before.

Desert Storm was more of a "here's the problem and what to do about it"--iow, it was conventional warfare we knew we had a better chance of winning. No jungles for people to pop out of to ambush supply columns or make our technological superiority useless.

Now back to our thread...which I had no intention of `jacking.

All the posts giving possible causes are good places to start in figuring out this person's behavior. But if she was there only a month, wouldn't the cause have to be something pretty sudden? If she didn't show any obvious signs of maladjusted thinking before she left, I'd suspect drugs, a tumor, or head trauma. Maybe she was injured and doesn't even know it. Another may some environmental factor--lead in the water, chemicals or something that might have interacted with OTC meds or prescription drugs?

53

I'm being DF'ed...

by email in

jw
friends

this is my first post on this board even though i have been lurking for a looong time.... .

i have just being told that the judicial committee has decided to disfellowship me and that i have a week to appeal if i decide to do so.

the reason: "apostasy".

Kingpawn

First, welcome to the board.

Second, though you may not see it this way now, they did you a favor. You know how it feels to come home after a long shift at work and change clothes? That's what they've given you the chance to do. Here you can ask questions, do research, verify things, and not be a drone with blinders on, having to constantly fear a misstep. Maybe you should send them a thank-you card.

The arrogance of the JC doesn't surprise me. You no doubt know how Paul's been criticized here for his stances on women teaching and so on. While looking for a verse on "gently reproving," to show that their attitude was anything but gentle and certainly not a reproof, I found 1 Tim. 4:8, where Paul speaks of his anticipated heavenly reward in a tone that strikes me as anything but humble. Then there's verses 14 and 15. To him it's a certainty that Alexander the coppersmith's gonna get it in the neck for opposing Paul. No possibility in his mind that maybe Alexander might change or that only God judges the heart with full knowledge of it.

Being a JW reminds me of George Orwell's "Big Brother" and the Thought Police in 1984. Just don't relapse like Winston Smith did at the end.

25

A Question for the Males on the Board

by teenyuck in

jw
friends

as i went about my wifely duties today, i had a thought and would like the imput from some former brothers and/or elders, ms, po, co's.. since leaving the borg, has the way you view your wife/companion/daughter/sister/mother changed?

let me elaborate.

while being brought up a dub, i was taught that women were in subjection.

Kingpawn

How has this shaped your attituted towards women now? Would you/could you be supervised by a woman now? Do you now think of your wife as your equal? Do you still harbor thoughts that the dubs had it right; that women are weaker/more emotional/unable to make a decision?

As far as how it shaped my attitudes, it doesn't apply imo since I was in for such a short time.

A woman supervisor. Hoo boy have you opened a can of worms with that one! For the most part, it's been OK until the job I had before this one.

I had worked in a "Christian" nursing home--first in Laundry, then in Housekeeping. There were two women there in Laundry, one a supervisor who knew she was attractive and who later quit because she was both a sexual harasser and a harasee, and a co-worker who let us all know she'd had sex in a closet.

BUT the prize-takers were in Housekeeping. I'll use initials though I doubt any of them will ever read this. I was the only guy in a crew of five. "D" was the boss; "N" the second-in-command; "S" and "C" co-peons with moi. And was this an eye-opening experience.

All the others hated "C," or cooperated in making her life miserable. Her past there, in the next paragraph, was common knowledge. I found out they ostracized her my first night at lunch when she wasn't there. I asked why and you could feel a slight chill in the air, along with the silence and "N's" smirk, as though to say, "You would ask about that."

Later I mentioned to "C" that she hadn't been there, and she looked away, hesitated a second, and said "I like to be alone." OK, I knew she was BS'ing me and I understood why as time went on. Keep in mind (1) I was on my last chance as an employee--if I didn't cut it in HK I was outta there, (2) I was eating meals with the others, and (3) what might I do in terms of butt-kissing to help my chances? What would you expect "C" to do? "C" was married, yet had had at least a one-night stand with a guy in Maintenance, and had left the nursing home "under a cloud" because she and he (apparently) had been caught in a janitor's closet (where much of our mops, buckets, etc., were stored), and was surprised to be rehired later. The maintenance guy was married with three kids, btw. Anyway, I learned the consequences for her and me of going against "The Group" of D, N, and S. A lot of crap was done to me too. I blame it for my first heart attack. And guys, if you've never seen cattiness in action among women, all I'll say is the level of visciousness really surprised me.

My wife does a job at the nursing home I couldn't. I can work more hours in a week than she can. Intellectually we're miles apart. So, equal? More like ahead in some areas and behind in others.

I haven't seen all women since then as weaker, unable to make a decision, etc., though I have seen some. The former day shift crew leader on the line I work at now wanted to do as little as possible, shove her tits in a guy's face, flirt, make him think he stood a chance, and talked about her sex life and where she'd been pierced. I can say I've had a greater amount of hostility toward some women in the years since the nursing home job. And having a female boss now affects my blood pressure. I can feel myself tense up.

The dubs based their theology on Scripture as Francois noted, and back then women were chattel. Recall the Council of Ghent in 1432 (if I remember right). 32 Catholics and 31 theologians of other religions hotly debated the topic, "Are women human?" They are, by a one-vote margin. [Isn't it a relief to know that, ladies?] Allen Sherman tells about this in The Rape of the A*P*E*.

Do you share decision making with your wife or expect that your opinion is the most important?

We both do it, but she defers to me on many things because of my Accounting degree or greater computer knowledge, for example.