Posts by Rivergang

6

Even DEMONS were conned by the org into believing 1975 was the end!

by BoogerMan in

yb71 p. 97 country reports (part one) - "in malta there is a monk reputed to have the powers of a seer, in the confessional being able to know a person’s sins before they are even confessed.

a woman in one of the villages was having family trouble, and made a journey to this confessor in the hope of getting some hidden information by the monk’s psychic powers.

after being told of the problem, the monk said: “don’t worry about it, my dear, the end of all things is very near!” another woman in the same village, somewhat opposed to the truth, told this to her husband, who is having a bible study.

Rivergang

Then there is the old one about the Ouija Board. Story has it that a ouija board was asked what was going to happen in 1975, and in response the bloody thing exploded.

@Blondie

Of course, the “Ah buts” will protest that the demons are “in Tartarus”, a place of spiritual un-enlighenment, and so are incapable of putting two and two together. However, as one of the much maligned “Clergy of Christendom” once pointed out, the angels were there at the time of Eve’s creation - and if it were a simple matter of adding 6000 years to a certain date, then they should have been able to figure it out!

12

Are JW's brainwashed?

by snare&racket in

jw
friends

i know as a jw i concluded several times that i was not brainwashed as i was not some unautonimous zombie and had not experienced anything akin to.... .

but in reality, brainwashing is a control of thought and ideas over a person and changing the way they think.

in normal life such sentences are not used, in fact they are highly discouraged... .

Rivergang

As summed up by a reviewer of Joel Dimsdale's recent work Dark Persuasion: A History of Brainwashing from Pavlov to the Social Media

"The term has always had more political explanatory power than actual psychological basis".

"Brainwashing" is most usually used like it was some sort of swear-word, rather than being an accurate description of anything. All too often the accusation of "brainwashing" forms just another type of ad hominem attack - and frequently used to bully the other person during discussions about (typically) religious or political matters.

That was certainly the case in the household in which I grew up, anyway!

(And as was noted in another recent thread on this discussion board, ad hominem attacks only begin when the other side "has nowhere left to hide").

12

Are JW's brainwashed?

by snare&racket in

jw
friends

i know as a jw i concluded several times that i was not brainwashed as i was not some unautonimous zombie and had not experienced anything akin to.... .

but in reality, brainwashing is a control of thought and ideas over a person and changing the way they think.

in normal life such sentences are not used, in fact they are highly discouraged... .

Rivergang

Rather a loosely used term - a bit like "fascist".

The term "brainwashing" first appeared during the Korean War (1950-53), with reference to the way in which Allied prisoners of war were treated. That brutal treatment included extreme physical torture, as well as more subtle "mind control" techniques - which included (but was not limited to) indoctrination. 70 years later, the jury is still out on exactly how effective this was in permanently turning a person's political (let alone religious) persuasions. Using that description of "brain washing", then no, Jehovah's Witnesses are not subjected to it.

Of course, the expression "brain washing" is often more loosely applied the general process of indoctrination - which let's face it, we are all exposed to through the advertising industry. (Furthermore, the $733 billion which the world spends per year on advertising indicates how effective this must be). To that extent, then yes, JWs - along with most of the world's population - are brainwashed.

37

News of fires out of control in California

by ballistic in

jw
friends

hope everyone near to the region affected in california is ok. it's shocking to hear of the destruction.

these affected areas are some of the places i visited when i came on a tour of the us.

malibu, santa barbera, la, santa monica, hollywood and so on..

Rivergang

If there is a loving God who intends to bring to ruin those ruining the earth then it’s about time he did something about these deplorable conditions that each of us has to deal with daily.

Yeah, well we were asking that very question 50+ years ago - with a resolution no closer now than it was then!

408

Is Jesus the Creator?

by Sea Breeze in

that's what the word says.

.

colossians 1:16. for by him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through him and for him..

Rivergang

Are we any closer to finding an answer to the question of - Is Jesus the Creator?

No closer than they were 1,500 years ago, I would think.

24

WT HQ is never proactive, they are reactive to everything put out showing their blatant hypocrisy and abject stupidity

by WingCommander in

jw
friends

a few on here (and of course many on the ex-jw reddit forum) have mentioned that wt hq just recently (like in the past couple months) put out a video warning against the praising of jw actors, taking photos with them, etc.

to not do it anymore.

it was narrated by geoffrey jackson.

Rivergang

No more dressing like 1950s vacuum salesmen

LOL

That actually used to warn people off - some character approaching your door, and who even looks every inch like a bloody salesman. The first thought that would be going through my mind would be “It’s my money they are after”.

408

Is Jesus the Creator?

by Sea Breeze in

that's what the word says.

.

colossians 1:16. for by him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through him and for him..

Rivergang

Halcon,

The way you describe things, it sounds like God is a state of mind?

That is one of the most intelligent things I have ever heard!

408

Is Jesus the Creator?

by Sea Breeze in

that's what the word says.

.

colossians 1:16. for by him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through him and for him..

Rivergang

For Christians, is about the insatiable curiosity about a man who predicted that he would raise himself from the dead, while he was dead; and then did it.

Or so they say.

408

Is Jesus the Creator?

by Sea Breeze in

that's what the word says.

.

colossians 1:16. for by him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through him and for him..

Rivergang

Now I feel like a burger. Just writing this produced a neuro-chemical reaction that made my mouth water. 🍔

We are talking here about those hard-wired emotions which are related to survival.

Electrical impulses from our sensory organs initiate the neuro-chemical reactions which produce those feelings and responses. (The sensory organs are all just what in electrical terms are called "transducers" - with a transducer being a device which converts any other form of energy into electrical energy).

Additionally, memories (pleasant or otherwise) which are stored in the brain can likewise initiate the electrical signals which stimulate those neuro-chemical reactions. There is no black magic involved here; all these processes can be observed to occur by use of such devices as MRI scans (and the electrical signals between the neuron cells can be measured).

Such concepts as "God" came about primarily because of the insatiable curiosity of the human species, and its early attempts to explain what was going on around it. (And in stating that, I have likely condemned myself in the eyes of many posters on this thread, but whatever!)

408

Is Jesus the Creator?

by Sea Breeze in

that's what the word says.

.

colossians 1:16. for by him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through him and for him..

Rivergang

The feelings of empathy, kindness and consideration are simply byproducts of a chemical reaction?

Almost correct! More like the end result of a chemical reaction, rather than a "byproduct" (although some here may scream "semantics").

Furthermore, if these chemicals in the brain (known as "neurotransmitters") get out of balance, conditions such as depression usually result. Treatment for depression simply involves the correction of that chemical imbalance.