Reasonfirst
JoinedPosts by Reasonfirst
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54
Is AI going to change the world?
by Reasonfirst inhad lunch with a friend, whose a lecturer in the accounting dept.
of one of australia's best universities.
he told me he expects to lose his job at some point in the next 5 years, as the accounting dept, will disappear, as all accounting will be done by ai programs, so why teach it.. if his fears are correct, that means that any profession that involves the mind, may one day face the same future.
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32
Life in a spiritual (UN)-paradise
by Reasonfirst ina long, long time ago, when i was young, i became a 'special' pioneer.
it meant that i had to spend 150 hours a month, and i received a small allowance.
i was then assigned to a small country congregation, in western nsw (australia).
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Reasonfirst
Quote: " Reasonfirst, would be interesting to know what you personally did to help the people in that congregation."
It's more than 30 years since I was chucked out of the spiritual paradise, and about 60 years since the experiences I've described.
I no longer think that there's someone up in the sky, looking after "his" (or maybe "hers," or even "its") people on earth. Did all the hours spent in preaching or "helping" people, by myself or anyone else, ever have any real benefits?
I did try to be some sort of comforter to the Sister I (the one who lost her son in a blood issue), but from my present perspective I suggest that she needed 'help' from someone with far more training and experience in providing psychological/psychiatric assistance than a young bible basher could ever provide.
From a more general perspective, has anything that christianity or any other religious group done, ever made an iota of difference to the human condition. I've visited Asian countries many times, and see buddhist adherents praying fervently, but no modern day buddha has appeared to relieve their problems.
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Life in a spiritual (UN)-paradise
by Reasonfirst ina long, long time ago, when i was young, i became a 'special' pioneer.
it meant that i had to spend 150 hours a month, and i received a small allowance.
i was then assigned to a small country congregation, in western nsw (australia).
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Reasonfirst
Special Pioneer partners:
This little town certainly tested pioneers.
Just why Sister A, lost her zeal and married town drunk I don't know. Her partner was tougher and was assigned to another cong. in another town and continued as a Sp.Pio. for many years.
And, why did young Brother M, wait until he was a Sp. pio. in this town to satisfy his sexual needs. As, I recall these long ago events, it wasn't long before both M. and his parents were no longer living in the spiritual paradise.
Brother J's family were JW old-timers (from before WW2) an no doubt influenced him. But 2-3 weeks after we bother arrived in this town, he suddenly claimed he had to go back to Sydney, but would be back in a week or so. Some 2 months later he returned, but only stayed for a little while and disappeared again. The last time I heard of Bro. J. he had divorced his wife and bought a beachfront house in an area called Surfer's Paradise.
Maybe the guys in the Aussie branch office had problems finding more people to be Sp. pioneers. A couple of months later I was notified by the branch office that bro X from Perth (on the other side of Aust) would be my new partner. He duly arrived, took a look around the town and after 2 days said he was going back to Perth.
A couple of months later, Bro. Z was assigned. But, by then I'd had enough of this assignment and it was my turn to tell him, I was gonna piss off too. In fairness, I should say that Bro Z. was made of sterner stuff and stuck that town out for a long time, until he was appointed as a circuit overseer.
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The background to Xtianity
by Reasonfirst insaw this great article, backgrounding the beginnings of christianity, on australia's abc ( a government owned-supposedly independent media group).
and thought that some here may be interested in reading it.. the author is philip jenkins, who is distinguished professor of history at baylor university and co-director of the program on historical studies of religion at the institute for studies of religion.
his most recent book is the many faces of christ: the thousand-year story of the survival and influence of the lost gospels.. https://www.abc.net.au/religion/a-most-violent-year-the-world-into-which-jesus-was-born/10097496.
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Reasonfirst
Saw this great article, backgrounding the beginnings of christianity, on Australia's ABC ( a government owned-supposedly independent media group). And thought that some here may be interested in reading it.
The author is Philip Jenkins, who is Distinguished Professor of History at Baylor University and Co-Director of the Program on Historical Studies of Religion at the Institute for Studies of Religion. His most recent book is The Many Faces of Christ: The Thousand-Year Story of the Survival and Influence of the Lost Gospels.
https://www.abc.net.au/religion/a-most-violent-year-the-world-into-which-jesus-was-born/10097496
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32
Life in a spiritual (UN)-paradise
by Reasonfirst ina long, long time ago, when i was young, i became a 'special' pioneer.
it meant that i had to spend 150 hours a month, and i received a small allowance.
i was then assigned to a small country congregation, in western nsw (australia).
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Reasonfirst
Rivergang, I don't think that the situation between young brother, and the girl was similar to a priest (or, any other holy joe) taking advantage of a young girl. J would never explain to me, how that young man had got to know that girl, or how the relationship had developed, but I have never imagined that he had any position of responsibility to the girl. So, to me, it was just two young people losing control of their feelings and going all the way.
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32
Life in a spiritual (UN)-paradise
by Reasonfirst ina long, long time ago, when i was young, i became a 'special' pioneer.
it meant that i had to spend 150 hours a month, and i received a small allowance.
i was then assigned to a small country congregation, in western nsw (australia).
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Reasonfirst
And, paradises, even the dumb heavenly ones, also need some arrangements for living. But my home for the next year or so, was even a bit less than I expected. As any sort of pioneer worker, you knew you were not going to afford a mansion. But .... I didn't expect what I got in this assignment.
As previously described, after the night train trip, we arrived at the station. I had a suitcase, (my worldly belongings, plus of course, the obligatory 'theocratic' library. J said we needed to take a taxi, because it was just outside the town border. OK. When the taxi arrived, we got out and I asked J, where's our accommodation, and he said, "There," pointing to a small one room building on the edge of an old quarry.
I began to wonder what I'd gotten myself into. Later, I heard that building's history. It had once been the kitchen for a homestead. When the quarry work began, the homestead was demolished, leaving only the kitchen for the use of the quarry workers. What was it like inside? Well, it had an old fuel stove, a bunk bed (i.e.2 levels) and that was it? There was no electricity and no water. I asked J, where's the bathroom and the toilet? He pointed up a hill opposite to a cattle trough and said, "we wash up there in that, and get our drinking water there, too !" and then pointed to the quarry, and explained, "Just go down into the quarry and dig a hole - just like the ancient Israelite soldiers."
A pile of WT and Awake magazines (packed in rolls as the WTS packed them for mailing) that they hadn't placed sat on a small table. The next day we collected even more from the Post Office.* So that's my start, as a SP. PIO.
Month's later, my father, passing through this town on the way too somewhere else, stayed with me for the night. In the morning, as he left, he said to me, "You're living a bit rough, son!" He was not a believer, in spite of his sister becoming a nun.
* I finished up with over 1500 unplaced mags. When the Circuit Servant came for his 6 monthly visit, I asked him what should I do with the old ones. He looked at them and snapped at me, "Place them, of course." Yeah! That would've tested even Jesus' miraculous powers.
As more and more rolls accumulated, and my conscience was more and more tested, I thought I'd get rid of them by burying them in in a dry creek bed. So I did. The dirt was hard, and I couldn't make the holes too deep. So I did what I could. It hadn't rained much for a whole year, but a few days later a downpour. When it stopped, I hurried to the creek, to make sure they were still buried. But, they weren't - they were floating, most face up, looking reproachfully up to Jehovah.
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Article: Face of Co Kerry woman jailed for grooming and having sex with teenage boy
by Tahoe inthis is the first image of the convicted child groomer who confessed to her jehovah’s witness congregation that she groomed a boy from the age of 14 before having sex with him two years later.. .
perverted pamela lonergan, who went on to work in childcare settings and as a carer in the community, admitted four counts of defilement of a child under the age of 17.. the offences occurred at locations in kerry and cork in 2008 and 2009.. appearing before cork circuit court earlier this month, lonergan of treanmanagh, glenbeigh, co kerry, received a one year jail sentence for the offences.. speaking afterwards, one local said the community had been stunned to learn of lonergan’s abuse.. he said another neighbour had met lonergan on the road the week before the trial and she had told him she was moving up to cork for a while.. “ obviously she thought her name wasn’t going to be disclosed in the media,” he said.. “if the victim hadn’t waived his anonymity to allow this happen, she’ have come back here when she got out and we’d have been none the wiser.”.
cork circuit criminal court heard lonergan was 26 when she first started initiating contact with the minor, having met him in a social setting.
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Reasonfirst
This is a complex situation and it's even more complicated when you examine the applicable laws in different nations.
For example, the age of consent in Australia is 16, so I think it unlikely that the legal authorities would have taken any action against the woman in question. And maybe, in Australia, the 16 y.o boy would have already sex with a similarly aged girl.
Just to illustrate, recently on a train, this conversation was overheard, a young boy, who looked about 14, was talking to a girl. He had his phone's volume turned right up. Cant say I took much notice of the conversation, until: A young girl's voice saying, "I'm gonna come over to your place this evening, and suk your dik for an hour."
In Europe, there is hodgepodge of legal ages for sex; Refer the document referenced here: https://fra.europa.eu/en/publication/2017/mapping-minimum-age-requirements/consent-sexual-activity-adult#:~:text=The%20lowest%20minimum%20age%20is,sexual%20acts%20between%20young%20persons.
So no matter what American christian's think, sex is a primary instinct that has a very strong influence on our bodies and minds.
I think back to when I was young and involved in the scout movement. In the town I then lived in, a camp hut had been built. One wall had 9 bunks (in 3 tiers) built in. It was not uncommon to see a young kid in every bunk busy masturbating.
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32
Life in a spiritual (UN)-paradise
by Reasonfirst ina long, long time ago, when i was young, i became a 'special' pioneer.
it meant that i had to spend 150 hours a month, and i received a small allowance.
i was then assigned to a small country congregation, in western nsw (australia).
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Reasonfirst
OK, I'm assigned to this country town, where everyone knew nearly everything about everyone else. My assigned partner, a Bro J. was about my age and also came from Sydney. He had spent some weeks at his parents home, before I was assigned as his partner. So we travelled to this country town by train, arriving there early in the morning. A few people were on the station when the train arrived, including a group of youths.
As we got off the train, they spotted bro. J and one yelled out, Hey! J, is your mate M. still fukking the XXXX girl???
Australia was still somewhat conservative about sexual matters in those days, and topics like that were usually whispered about, not shouted out in public. Bro.J answered non-committedly, and hurried me out of the station.
So finally, I knew what had happened to my predecessor. I knew him, of course, and had actually spoken to him a few weeks before. I'd asked him why he'd come back to Sydney and stopped pioneering, after only about 6 months in that assignment. He'd been very guarded in his answers.
Still, not bad for a Sp. Pioneer, not only getting to know a non-jw girl (a local Bank manager's daughter), but shagging her as well.
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32
Life in a spiritual (UN)-paradise
by Reasonfirst ina long, long time ago, when i was young, i became a 'special' pioneer.
it meant that i had to spend 150 hours a month, and i received a small allowance.
i was then assigned to a small country congregation, in western nsw (australia).
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Reasonfirst
fulano (and others) - this was in the 1960's. And, apart from occasional invites to a meal by individual people, there were no organised 'special reward' activities.
Drearyweather. A good question, that involves not just an individual (like me) but the whole religious concept. In deciding to post these experiences, I intended to discuss that aspect as a final post.
This period (I think I was about 22) was somewhat formative in my life. And, of course, I was following the 'official' line of thinking and acting.
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Life in a spiritual (UN)-paradise
by Reasonfirst ina long, long time ago, when i was young, i became a 'special' pioneer.
it meant that i had to spend 150 hours a month, and i received a small allowance.
i was then assigned to a small country congregation, in western nsw (australia).
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Reasonfirst
I was only the latest Sp. Pioneer to be assigned to try and help this small part of the so-called 'spiritual paradise.'
Two women Sp. Pioneers had been sent there a few years before me. One of them was Sister A.
Suitable accommodation was always a problem in country towns like this, and these two found a room in an old, former catholic monastery, that was mainly housing dead-beats. Coming home after a days H2H work, they often had to step over one of those sort of guys who would be dead-drunk in the hall way.
So just how Sister A, got involved with a man that spent most of the time drunk, I don't know. But get involved she did, and married the guy. In time the marriage deteriorated and he would bash her up. I'm not sure how this ended up. But i guess it was all part of living in a spiritual paradise.