Seeker

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Posts by Seeker

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  47

  agnostic.....reality?

  by msil in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i am agnostic.

  (see no fancy writing stuff).

  i dont know if god exists (i think he must - but i dont know).

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  Seeker

  Evidently my experience counts for nothing around here.
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  47

  agnostic.....reality?

  by msil in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i am agnostic.

  (see no fancy writing stuff).

  i dont know if god exists (i think he must - but i dont know).

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  Seeker

  Part of the empirical approach to testing my new-found lack of belief in WTS teachings was to see if what they said about demons was true. So I read books, saw movies, watched TV shows, all of which the WTS guaranteed me would bring demon attacks. Nothing happened. If there are demons, they leave me alone. More likely, I don't have the kind of brain that imagines this stuff.

  Good luck trying to prove their existence.
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  4

  12/8/01 Awake (Arthritis one)

  by patio34 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  for the 1st time in about 8 months, i glanced thru a mag.

  in the "watching the world" section at the back, there was a small article about the percentage of genes matching in a mouse and human and other examples and percentages.

  i forget the point of the article.

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  Seeker

  Just speculating on the purpose of including this item in the magazine, but it may have been to support the argument against racial prejudice. Or it may be part of a general plan to slowly introduce evolution, something I've predicted for years. Or it may have just slipped notice that it contradicts their teachings on creation.
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  5

  Who Makes the Rules???

  by Christina77 in

  1. social
  2. relationships

  as i have been exploring the other posts, i have notice that there are a lot of rules in reguard to sex, especially oral sex and limited knowlege of foreplay.

  is this something that is just an oral (oops!

  there is that word again) tradition, or is it stated somewhere?

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  Seeker

  Hi Christina,

  The rules against oral sex were listed in various Watchtower articles over the years. The articles were ostensibly based on the Bible but, as we all know, the Bible doesn't say one word about oral sex. So the articles really were a matter of taking some principles and applying it to the subject using human reasoning.

  As to what those reasons were, well, they were kind of bizarre. Basically, here is why they condemned oral sex:

  1. It is an unnatural use of the sex organs.
  2. It is something that homosexuals do.

  That's basically it, other than vague implications that it's "dirty" and the like. Now, here are the problems with those 'reasons':

  1. Animals perform oral sex, so it appears to be quite natural.
  2. Homosexuals like to live in nice places. Is that wrong to do too? Just because homosexuals do something, it doesn't make it wrong, even if you condemn homosexuality.

  Now, here's the REAL reason the WTS condemns oral sex:

  They are led by aging leaders who come from a repressed background on the subject. They find the subject icky, and so they condemn it in others.

  I should point out that the WTS has relaxed its rules against oral sex in recent years. It used to be quite serious, but now it's more of a 'don't ask/don't tell' situation. As long as your boyfriend isn't talking about it with others, he can pretty much do what he wants. So you go ahead and 'corrupt' him as much as you want!
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  27

  lucid dream, wicked spirits, demons questions!!

  by gotcha in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  having a chinese background, it has been incorporated in our culture to believe in wicked spirits and that sort of stuff..i was wondering if any here could enlighten me with some of their knowledge with regard this subject..my mom's core reason of believing that the jws are the true religion is because of the fact that she found peace and she said that 'wicked spirits' stopped attacking her when she became a jw..(she said that sometimes she felt that wicked spirits want to rape her or something while she was sleeping/dreaming?

  )i sometimes think that this is pure imagination but who am i to judge it is her experience anyways..some say that this may be a medical problem but do any of you believe that this might be true?

  do wicked spirits/demons really want to 'disturb' us humans?

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  Seeker

  Pat,

  Yes, you'll definitely enjoy Sagan's book, for you will see you are very much not alone in experiencing such things. Such experiences are absolutely real to the person having them, and yet...well, enjoy the book.
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  27

  lucid dream, wicked spirits, demons questions!!

  by gotcha in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  having a chinese background, it has been incorporated in our culture to believe in wicked spirits and that sort of stuff..i was wondering if any here could enlighten me with some of their knowledge with regard this subject..my mom's core reason of believing that the jws are the true religion is because of the fact that she found peace and she said that 'wicked spirits' stopped attacking her when she became a jw..(she said that sometimes she felt that wicked spirits want to rape her or something while she was sleeping/dreaming?

  )i sometimes think that this is pure imagination but who am i to judge it is her experience anyways..some say that this may be a medical problem but do any of you believe that this might be true?

  do wicked spirits/demons really want to 'disturb' us humans?

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  Seeker

  In addition, Carl Sagan's book, The Demon-Haunted World covers this exact sleep situation in great detail. It is clear that such experiences are in the mind, and are shaped by the individual's beliefs. It is a fascinating book, and very liberating for someone who is coming from a background of belief in demons. I've slept soundly ever since.
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  45

  The WTS in The Zionist Conspiracy

  by FatJackMcCracken in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the watchtower society .

  in the zionist conspiracy.

  by:-jack mccracken 9.30.01. the watchtower society's membership in the united nations as an ngo since 1991, and advocacy of the un charter, is just the tip of the iceberg.

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  Seeker

  ROFL! There's a disconnect between your first two statements to me:

  Seeker:- My, how presumptuous you are! I did notice your comment about research in this area!

  If a conspiracy nut like me can locate information, what's it saying about your inability to find it?

  As your first statement implied, I did find the information you are talking about, but it was as full of empty assertions as your original post. It's not my inability to find the material that is in question but your inability to find factual information. You say you found something that does back up its assertions? Fine, post a link so we can examine it too. Otherwise we have to sort through dozens of empty-headed web sites, trying to guess which site is the magic one you think is valid.

  It's saying simply, "(In whining tones) Hey fatjack, my cellulite impacted butt is stuck to my chair and no-one will help me to lift my palm onto the computer because I'm too busy scratching my genitals wondering how a bonehead like you could validate anything". Get off your butt girl, and do your own research.

  There is yet another incorrect assumption in that sentence, the finding of which is left as an exercise for the reader.
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  9

  12/8/01 Awake! help for Arthritics

  by RationalWitness in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  on page 10 of the december 8, 2001 awake!, the article "hope for arthritis sufferers" feigns to offer encouragement to those afflicted with chronic arthritis.

  note how the article describes some of the sad consequences of this condition:such limitations can cause frustration and negative felings about oneself.

  gaku, aged 27, is one of jehovah's witnesses and says: "not being able to share fully in the evangelizing work or fulfill congregation assignments makes me feel that as a person i have no value whatsoever.

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  Seeker

  What amazing emotional abuse! First the implication of the person losing their self-worth if they cannot do the works set out for them, and then the awful concept that if you are not getting the help from the elders you need, it may be your fault! After all, the elders can only help "if you let them." Once again, it's probably your fault.

  Considering how many JWs find that elders have no real help to offer them when depressed, this article will just cause self-recrimination. 'It must be my fault, somehow.'

  Emotional abuse. The shepherd is beating the sheep.
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  3

  Did Anyone See 60 Minutes Last Night?

  by crownboy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  there was an interview with the prince of saudi arabia, the one who offered new york $10 million in aid but got rejected by guiliani because he (the prince) made some comments about the palestinian-isreali conflict that were controversial (i.e.

  anyway, during the interview the prince said that the saudi people were a very happy people, and he pointed to the fact that there is nary a political demonstration that occurs in saudi arabia.

  the interviewer then pointed out the fact that it is illegal for a saudi to demonstrate, and that a strong police presence would preclude many from even attempting to demonstrate.

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  Seeker

  I saw the preview for that story, but didn't watch it. However, your description of it makes clear that you have a valid point. The leadership that will not allow dissenting opinions will think, ta da!, that there are no dissenting opinions among its followers. I'm sure communist Russia had many such occasions when party bosses bragged how their people loved the system, etc.
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  27

  Bible Error: Did the Sun Stand Still for Joshua?

  by JosephAlward in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  joshua asks the lord to stop the sun .

  on the day the lord gave the amorites over to israel, joshua said to the lord in the presence of israel: "o sun, stand still over gibeon, o moon, over the valley of aijalon.

  " so the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies, as it is written in the book of jashar.

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  Seeker

  I don't care what Joshua reported, or what other ancient texts claimed they saw in the sky. They also used to think there were monsters just beyond the known lands of earth, and they believed in lots of supernatural events that science now describes quite simply. I know the "Sun standing still" account didn't happen because of simple physics:

  Despite what Larsguy said, the Sun actually is moving in the sky. It is travelling through space at about 250 km/sec, and the earth going along right with it. The Earth is revolving around the Sun at about 30 km/sec. And the Earth is spinning around its axis at about a speed of 1670 km/sec (for those counting at home, that's about 1,040 mph).

  The reason we see the sun move in the sky, of course, is because the Earth is spinning. At 1,040 mph, as I said. That's quite fast. Now, if you want to stop the movement of the sun, you need to either make the Sun stand still, or make the earth stop spinning. It's much, much easier to stop the earth, so let's do that.

  The mass of the Earth is 6.0 x 10^24 kg. That's a lot of mass. It's an incredible amount of mass. Heavy stuff, man.

  Now, picture yourself on a train going along it's track at 80mph when the emergency brake is pulled. As the train lurches to a halt, what happens to you? Right, you get pushed forward. If you are not wearing a seat belt, you might go hurtling forward and hurt yourself. Your measly little mass, when accelerated to 80mph, has momentum behind it. Newton's First Law, and all that. Objects in motion tend to stay in motion until an opposing force acts upon it.

  Still with me? Good. Now, forget your measly mass. Let's talk MASS -- 6.0 x 10^24 kg -- Now THAT'S mass!

  Now, forget your measly 80mph. Let's talk SPEED -- 1,040 mph -- Now THAT'S speed!

  When the Earth is spinning around it's axis at 1,040 mph, and the mass of the Earth is gargantuan, what does Newton's First Law tell us? Right, this baby ain't stopping for nooooobody! And if God did step in and make the Earth suddenly stop, what would have happened? Right, UNIMAGINABLE MASS DESTRUCTION. At the very least, Joshua would have been ripped from the surface of the planet and hurled into outer space, where he would have had scant seconds to ponder the power of physics before having his life snuffed out by the vacuum.

  Beyond rapid geographical changes inflicted on prophets of God, the Earth itself would have been ripped to rubble, with tectonic forces like we couldn't imagine.

  In short, didn't happen.