good to hear about the movie, I'm going tonight with my (gay) brother and his companion (of 21 years).
Posts by acsot
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18Gay Cowboy Movie
by joelbear inbrokeback mountain ang lee.. oh man, i am so excited about this movie.
i've read the short story by annie proulx.
it is excellent.. and they aren't dying of aids or dressed up in drag, that is so mmi.
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acsot
and if you click on the "Next Segment" of the article, Einstein is quoted as saying:
Einstein in 1934 at a Conference of the American Association for the Advancement of Science This quote from Einstein appears in "Science, Philosophy, and Religion, A Symposium",published by the Conference on Science, Philosophy and Religion in Their Relation to theDemocratic Way of Life, Inc., New York, 1941. In it he says:
The more a man is imbued with the ordered regularity of all events the firmer becomes his conviction that there is no room left by the side of this ordered regularity for causes of a different nature. For him neither the rule of human nor the rule of divine will exists as an independent cause of natural events. To be sure, the doctrine of a personal God interfering with natural events could never be refuted [italics his], in the real sense, by science, for this doctrine can always take refuge in those domains in which scientific knowledge has not yet been able to set foot. But I am convinced that such behavior on the part of representatives of religion would not only be unworthy but also fatal. For a doctrine which is to maintain itself not in clear light but only in the dark, will of necessity lose its effect on mankind, with incalculable harm to human progress. In their struggle for the ethical good, teachers of religion must have the stature to give up the doctrine of a personal God, that is, give up that source of fear and hope which in the past placed such vast power in the hands of priests. In their labors they will have to avail themselves of those forces which are capable of cultivating the Good, the True, and the Beautiful in humanity itself. This is, to be sure, a more difficult but an incomparably more worthy task...
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acsot
Found this re Einstein and "god":
"Einstein always said that he was a deeply religious man, and his religion informed his science. He rejected the conventional image of God as a personal being, concerned about our individual lives, judging us when we die, intervening in the laws he himself had created to cause miracles, answer prayers and so on. Einstein did not believe in a soul separate from the body, nor in an afterlife of any kind.
But he was certainly a pantheist. He did regard the ordered cosmos with the same kind of feeling that believers have for their God. To some extent this was a simple awe at the impenetrable mystery of sheer being. Einstein also had an urge to lose individuality and to experience the universe as a whole.
But he was also struck by the radiant beauty, the harmony, the structure of the universe as it was accessible to reason and science. In describing these factors he sometimes uses the word God, and sometimes refers to a divine reason, spirit or intelligence. He never suggests that this reason or spirit transcends the world - so in that sense he is a clear pantheist and not a panentheist. However, this reason is to some extent anthropomorphic, and to some extent involves Einstein in a contradiction.
His religious thinking was not systematic, so he never ironed out this discrepancy. But it seems likely that he believed in a God who was identical to the universe - similar to the God of Spinoza. A God whose rational nature was expressed in the universe, or a God who was identified with the universe and its laws taken together. His own scientific search for the laws of this universe was a deeply religious quest."
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31
I Love You Guys
by joelbear in.
man, i wish some of y'all lived closer.. i feel closer to y'all than i do to most of my friends or family for that matter.. you make me laugh like no one else can these days..
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acsot
you're such a sweetie! if you happen to live in Vermont, Upper State New York ...
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10
Taking Life Too Seriously
by joelbear ini've been thinking a lot this week about what has gotten my brain into the mess that it is in.
yes, chemistry plays a part, but i think thoughts affect brain chemistry as much as brain chemistry affects thoughts (especially over a long period of time).
i know that one thing for sure is true, i take life and all the bits and pieces of it way too seriously, allowing my emotions to be swung on a much greater arc that i should.. but just think about witness childhoods.
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acsot
good advice to yourself, joelbear. Do some fun things; do you have nieces or nephews or a friend's kids you can invite out to an amusement park, silly movie, etc.? You're never too old to be a kid!
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34
THREE CHEERS FOR BARBARA !!!!!!!!!
by yesidid inall who would like barbara to know that we are very appreciative of what she is doing and realize that the delays
must be more difficult for her than anyone else, please raise your hands.
those who disagree with these sentiments, please have the good manners to stay out of this thread.
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acsot
Thank you Barbara; you've paid too high a high price for exposing the Watchtower Society and you have my deep admiration.
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Journal of Church and State: WT NO-BLOOD EXPOSE'
by AndersonsInfo in(baylor university, waco, tx) an essay entitled, "jehovah's witnesses, blood transfusions, and the tort of misrepresentation," found in the autumn issue of baylor universitys prestigious journal of church and state, published december 13, 2005, exposes the vulnerability of jehovahs witnesses religious organization to massive claims for compensation because of the religions misrepresentation of the medical risks of blood transfusions.
this milestone essay critically examines one of the religions main publications for teaching their children and new recruits about their blood beliefs, how can blood save your life?
the peer-reviewed essay details many misrepresentations of medical facts, which the religion partly relies on to support its blood prohibition, thus denying its members from making fully informed medical decisions.
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acsot
Well, perhaps I'm wrong, but couldn't doctors, hospitals, insurance companies and other damaged parties due to involvement in past no blood issues sue the WTS? If they gave blood and were sued by the family or if they didn't give blood and were sued by other parties wouldn't they have legal standing in this case?
If that's true then it's not necessary to worry about current dubs. What with WTS' attrition rate we could just stop the influx of new ones in the developed world and put them out of business.
No, you're not wrong - your points above are exactly what this is all about.
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71
GET REAL PEOPLE !!
by Simon indo some of you expect?!?!.
i am extremely disappointed to read some people's comments about the latest news.
it is one thing to express and opinion, perhaps that you think it isn't as big as you imagined (one wonders what you imagined) but it is another to be downright insulting to people who have put a lot of time and effort into this.. get real.
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acsot
People: what on earth were you expecting? Barbara said over and over that in time this news would prove bigger than Dateline, etc. And she was right. The implications are huge, but it will take time, as Barbara mentioned. Things don't go through the courts in a matter of days, or even weeks.
But now, lawyers, judges, doctors, family members of JWs refusing blood - in short, anyone having to deal with the deceit of the WTS has ammunition to use against the Watchtower Society. No one ever said this would cause a mass exodus of loyal dubs. That was never implied! This is about the Watchtower Society not being able to hide behind its "religious freedom" excuse.
Don't you get it? From all the posts I read, it never was about individual dubs - but as mentioned over and over - take a long-term view of it. Good grief!
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328
Journal of Church and State: WT NO-BLOOD EXPOSE'
by AndersonsInfo in(baylor university, waco, tx) an essay entitled, "jehovah's witnesses, blood transfusions, and the tort of misrepresentation," found in the autumn issue of baylor universitys prestigious journal of church and state, published december 13, 2005, exposes the vulnerability of jehovahs witnesses religious organization to massive claims for compensation because of the religions misrepresentation of the medical risks of blood transfusions.
this milestone essay critically examines one of the religions main publications for teaching their children and new recruits about their blood beliefs, how can blood save your life?
the peer-reviewed essay details many misrepresentations of medical facts, which the religion partly relies on to support its blood prohibition, thus denying its members from making fully informed medical decisions.
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acsot
((rwagoner))
I hope your mother pulls through, but I'm glad you now have some ammo to use against the HLC and their coercive methods of forcing a refusal of blood transfusions on people.
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1093
THE NEWS IS BIGGER THAN DATELINE, BBC, CBC, ETC.
by AndersonsInfo inif i told you that something bigger is on the horizon than dateline, bbc, cbc, sunday (australia), and all other tv programs which exposed the sexual child abuse cover-up by watchtower in 2002-2003, would you believe me?
have i ever misled you?
i'll answer that--no!
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acsot
Who still has the Blood booklet in their possession? I strongly suggest you keep it !
As well, this is news that will take on more and more importance as time goes on. Do you know someone who has suffered from refusing blood? Do you know non-JWs who are pissed as hell because a relative refused blood? or their children were coerced into refusing blood?
How about Bethany Hughes' father? I hope he's reading this!