Spiral

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Posts by Spiral

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  29

  Lack of zeal

  by road to nowhere in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i hear rumbling about the rank and file not having the same zeal they had when new.. lets see: door to door at the time least likely to find someone.

  waste of a whole morning.

  isolated.

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  Spiral

  And poverty (and lack of retirement funds) certainly doesn't create a zealous feeling.
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  89

  Do You Think “Higher Education “Is All That??

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  as jehovah’s witnesses, we were regularly told how awful a college education is.

  i’m no longer associated with the religion but i am not so pro university.

  it’s not because i think you are better off without a degree.

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  Spiral

  Absolutely.

  I really wish I had been able to go when I was younger.

  As in all things in life, not everything is equal. There are wonderful universities and professors, and others that are not so wonderful.

  However - learning, and learning how to learn, and having critical thinking skills is key to life satisfaction. If those are developed, a student would know when to ignore a professor's personal opinions that may not be valid.

  Everyone should have the opportunity to be educated, regardless of what they do for a living. I feel the idea that only some need/deserve/should want a "higher" education, and that it should only be linked to what they do for a living, is a grave mistake. That is part of how the entitled stay entitled, and keep others out of their peer group (and poorer).
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  34

  Another High School Shooting ... Santa Clara California

  by RubaDub in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  at least at the moment it looks like no one is dead, but 6 injured (9:00 am pacific time 14 nov 2019).. i don't know if the school allows students to carry weapons, but many will think it would be a good idea for the students to carry concealed weapons to provide personal protection.. we shall see.. rub a dub.

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  Spiral

  The off-shoot effects of gun culture in the US, along with the emotional issues that seem prevalent in our culture, have run off the rails. So sad.
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  29

  JWs: No Infant Baptism! (just children)

  by neat blue dog in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  here's a new article that came out:.

  do jehovah’s witnesses baptize infants?no.

  the bible does not endorse infant baptism.

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  Spiral

  I was baptized at 13. I don't consider it valid now at my (very) adult age. It means nothing because I know I didn't understand what potential lifelong obligations it could mean. I just wanted to fit in.

  I think this is a form of child abuse. No one can make a lifelong decision at an age under 21.

  @ Rules&Regulations: i agree. It's as if the bOrg wants to take over all parental authority. So wrong.
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  45

  Why is Life Expectancy in the USA So Low Compared to Other Countries?

  by RubaDub in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was looking at the world health org.

  report and it shows the us ranks 37th in the world (tied with albania) for combined male/female life expectancy.

  the top 5 were japan, switzerland, singapore, israel and spain, all around 83 years.

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  Spiral

  And then there's what we feed our kids at school in the US. Food bought from big agrabusiness for our kids. Profit, yes, nutrition, no......

  
  
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  45

  Why is Life Expectancy in the USA So Low Compared to Other Countries?

  by RubaDub in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was looking at the world health org.

  report and it shows the us ranks 37th in the world (tied with albania) for combined male/female life expectancy.

  the top 5 were japan, switzerland, singapore, israel and spain, all around 83 years.

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  Spiral

  Rub a Dub, we actually have very sub-par health care here in the US. Many people have nothing.

  Just the health insurance red tape and treatment delays no doubt costs lives. People (in my family and my friends) waiting weeks for appointments, treatments, medicines (what you can get approved by the insurance company - you have to take what they'll allow you, even if your doctor has something better in mind), and the non-stop merry-go-round of being referred to different doctors and waiting weeks between appointments.

  We spend a good amount of our health care dollar on bureaucratic red tape. I know several people who spend hours every week managing this for the elderly people in their lives. Hours lost driving to appointments, waiting, being referred elsewhere, etc.

  Americans really have very little choice about health care. It's all about big insurance and big pharma. You can't do anything without permission from your insurance company, and you can't do it even a day earlier than approved.

  Shortens not only the life of the patient but of the caregivers too. But, statistically, this would be hard to prove.

  I just paid a hospital bill I didn't feel I owed (had already paid hundreds in co-pays invoiced over three months) and the provider couldn't even explain what the charge was even about. BUT if I don't pay they can sue me and ruin my credit. It's like being mugged.

  Do I sound bitter?

  And overall I'm healthy, managing my health in lots of ways that wouldn't ever be covered by that high dollar insurance I pay for each month.
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  4

  the watchtower--the more i think about it.

  by stan livedeath in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i grew up in the cult.

  mom converted first--then dad..i was just a kid--what did i know.

  dad and i got dipped together.

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  Spiral

  Yep.

  I don't believe there has can be one true religion. Religions are just a mental construct that humans enjoy, something about having religion is reassuring, I guess.
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  39

  The real dividing line isn’t between apostates and apologists it’s between...

  by slimboyfat in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  excellent observation from zizek about communist regimes: they didn’t care if people accepted the ideology or took it seriously, so long as people acted as if the ideology was true, that was the important thing.

  in fact the regimes were deeply suspicious people who took the ideology too seriously.

  people who took the ideology seriously were dangerous because they were prone to noticing the inconsistencies and flaws in the system.

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  Spiral

  joey jojo: "Someone else on another topic posted a comment that rings true about JW's, sorry I cant find the posters name.

  Basically, JW's claim to have deep-seated, personal convictions, but in reality it just isn't true.

  Their deep-seated, personal convictions are whatever the latest Watchtower tells them to have."

  These days, I think this is exactly the problem. A lot of JWs just seem totally disengaged from any sort of serious discussion. It's all about belonging to the megachurch (although, they still think they are above all that, which is really funny).

  There is so little real "knowledge" left that's it's all about belonging and pretending to be special. All noise, no substance. No thinkers are left, just followers.
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  41

  Creepy display

  by neat blue dog in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  .

  i dunno about you, but if i walked up to this display at an expo i'd be a little creeped out..

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  Spiral

  All of this is creepy, but especially Caleb and Sofia.

  Ugh.
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  39

  Publisher ID - I Saw It In Person & It Was Terrifying!

  by thedepressedsoul in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i'd like to start off this post by saying, we all know that the wt loves control.

  it's clear by their history, their wt's, the elder arrangement and so on.

  however, after witnessing and using the publish id program in person, it takes this need for control to a whole new level & it was scary.. if you've ever seen builder assist (the website program used for ldc volunteers) or the metro program, it actually looks pretty similar to that.

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  Spiral

  This is interesting, because (for a while, quite a few years ago) they were all worried about elders keeping phone lists of publishers and giving them out. "What if there was persecution? Why the police could get that list, and everyone would be in jail!" Everyone in our congregation had to throw our phone lists out.

  And yet now they have it all where someone could get all the info all in one place.

  It does make you wonder if they know Armageddon isn't coming, but it's easier to keep the publishers believing it is.

  And I bet it wouldn't be that hard to hack. (Assuming someone is interested.)

  Could you make any additions or edits to the information? Can the elders?