TerryWalstrom

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Posts by TerryWalstrom

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  35

  DOES BELIEF IN THE BIBLE DESTROY ONE'S INTELLECTUAL CAPACITY?

  by TerryWalstrom in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  based on information to be found at: http://www.csicop.org/si/show/when_dont_the_highly_educated_believe_in_evolution_the_bible_believers_effe/.

  the bible-believers effect.

  those who believe the bible is the word of god (bible believers) and those who dont believe the bible is the word of god (bible nonbelievers) differ in their beliefs that humans evolved from earlier species of animals.

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  TerryWalstrom

  Simply put: we can't learn what we won't learn.
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  6

  Scientology is a template of ultimate Mind Control: Here are some books exposing the methods and madness

  by TerryWalstrom in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  pdf links to anti-scientology books.

  http://exscientologistsireland.org/wp/about-the-scientology-organisation/books/.

  it was 1950, in the early, heady days of dianetics, soon after l. ron hubbard opened the doors of his first organization to the clamoring crowd.

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  TerryWalstrom

  I did see THE MASTER. Had I not expected (for some reason) a takedown of Lafayette Ron Hubbard, I would have loved it.
  Hoffman is never less than dazzling.
  It was certainly a very odd film and extremely interesting.
• 
  13

  LET'S EXPLORE A LITTLE THOUGHT EXPERIMENT

  by TerryWalstrom in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  over here on the left we have a governing body which is inspired directly by jehovah to receive his instructions for how to worship and interpret the bible accurately.. on the other hand, on the right we have a governing body which isn't inspired nor directed by jehovah, but which is making the best guesses they can make as mere humans as to proper worship and bible interpretation.. here is our thought experiment.. what differences would we see or would have seen in the last 100 years of jw teaching in each instance, .

  and how would they differ?.

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  TerryWalstrom

  I watched a video on YouTube in which a fellow goes before a judicial committee concerning Apostacy.

  In the course of the interrogation, a rather admirable elder who really seems to care about the fellow he's interrogating, speaks up and simplifies the entire discussion by saying this:

  "It really comes down to this. What other religion comes closer to the accurate teaching--even though they get some of it wrong? If it is some other group---go there! If not--stay here and wait on Jehovah to polish what we have into a spotless gleam of true light."

  At first blush, this argument is a clever false dichotomy or false dilemma. But, really--what's going on is something deeper, darker and more fundamentally skewed.

  The Watchtower religion has a thesis. They were selected by Jehovah for His own reasons, and whatever their faults, mistakes, or short-comings, they are ALL WE'VE GOT until the real thing comes along.

  Why isn't this a winning argument?

  1. The real choice isn't EITHER/ OR

  2. The "choice" contains a false premise which, if accepted without debate, allows the black and white context to proceed.

  3. Historical Christianity began as the Catholic Church down to the 16th century. The Protestant Reformation brought about a division in Christianity. That division didn't simply present the choice of: EITHER Protestant OR Catholic hierarchy. No, It was the fragmentation into denominations VS denominations VS Catholicism.

  4. One of the many choices was Sola Scriptura: you and your Bible alone assisted by the Holy Spirit.

  5. The 40,000 Christian denominations is the result of that principle! IN OTHER WORDS: their is no testable, provable unity possible relying on the Bible.

  The Elder making the offer of JW-dom or the highway had fallen into a trap himself. He bought the premise of Watchtower's thesis hook-line-and sinker.

  If Jehovah selected Bible Students under Rutherford for his own personal reasons--there is nothing we can do about that except cry out: WHAT ABOUT THE FALSE PROPHECIES??
  If Jehovah is willing to let that pass without comment--who are we to complain?
• 
  6

  Scientology is a template of ultimate Mind Control: Here are some books exposing the methods and madness

  by TerryWalstrom in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  pdf links to anti-scientology books.

  http://exscientologistsireland.org/wp/about-the-scientology-organisation/books/.

  it was 1950, in the early, heady days of dianetics, soon after l. ron hubbard opened the doors of his first organization to the clamoring crowd.

  1. 
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  TerryWalstrom

  Thank you, pepperheart

  I have been listening to podcasts in which former Scientologists talk about what went on in their past

  as an active member of Scientology. My take-away from these confessionals is this: MIND CONTROL is so very tragic and real--and. . . I was once a victim of it.
• 
  11

  LEFTOVERS and STOLEN LIGHT (An historical look at Watchtower laziness and misadventure)

  by TerryWalstrom in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  should the chosen mouthpiece (gb) be a voice or merely an imitative echo?.

  is new light original (because it is coming direct from jehovah) or is it leftover from the minds of men?.

  watchtower magazine failed to release new light first, before any other religious person or body.

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  TerryWalstrom

  Two cans and a string!
• 
  13

  LET'S EXPLORE A LITTLE THOUGHT EXPERIMENT

  by TerryWalstrom in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  over here on the left we have a governing body which is inspired directly by jehovah to receive his instructions for how to worship and interpret the bible accurately.. on the other hand, on the right we have a governing body which isn't inspired nor directed by jehovah, but which is making the best guesses they can make as mere humans as to proper worship and bible interpretation.. here is our thought experiment.. what differences would we see or would have seen in the last 100 years of jw teaching in each instance, .

  and how would they differ?.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  TerryWalstrom

  THIS CLAIM on the part of the GB is rather similar, I think, to the Magician's trick of SAWING A WOMAN IN HALF.

  If you accept the premise you must trust your own eyes as well as the words of the Magician as they explain what it is they are "apparently" doing.

  This is the "evidently" part of the illusion.

  The trick consists of sawing through a box containing a woman. The saw is real, the woman is real and the box is real.

  There is, however, a lie. The woman's torso slips down into a special space beneath the backrest so that the saw doesn't really touch the torso.

  The point is this. Everything looks and sounds plausible. But, the illusion is carried off because the one part of the trick which is MISREPRESENTED is what makes it work.
• 
  13

  LET'S EXPLORE A LITTLE THOUGHT EXPERIMENT

  by TerryWalstrom in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  over here on the left we have a governing body which is inspired directly by jehovah to receive his instructions for how to worship and interpret the bible accurately.. on the other hand, on the right we have a governing body which isn't inspired nor directed by jehovah, but which is making the best guesses they can make as mere humans as to proper worship and bible interpretation.. here is our thought experiment.. what differences would we see or would have seen in the last 100 years of jw teaching in each instance, .

  and how would they differ?.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
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  TerryWalstrom

  To my way of thinking. . . the GOVERNING BODY should function like a bucket brigade which only due to human error

  spills some of the water now and then.

  I think of one of those old Western towns where a fire breaks out and the townsfolk line up and pass

  the buckets filled with water from one end to the other end.

  A bucket brigade simply transfers water from the water source to the fire itself.

  

  THAT SPILLED WATER you see could be thought of as "missing" information.
  The volume of water is diminished by the spill, but the water which arrives at the fire is still completely WATER!

  Now compare the above illustration with the way the GOVERNING BODY of JW's "channels" Truth in their own

  version of the BUCKET BRIGADE.

  What starts out as water at the source (Jehovah's water of life) reaches the other end as kerosene instead!

  HOW?
• 
  6

  Scientology is a template of ultimate Mind Control: Here are some books exposing the methods and madness

  by TerryWalstrom in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  pdf links to anti-scientology books.

  http://exscientologistsireland.org/wp/about-the-scientology-organisation/books/.

  it was 1950, in the early, heady days of dianetics, soon after l. ron hubbard opened the doors of his first organization to the clamoring crowd.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  TerryWalstrom

  PDF links to anti-Scientology books

  http://exscientologistsireland.org/wp/about-the-scientology-organisation/books/

  _______________

  It was 1950, in the early, heady days of Dianetics, soon after L. Ron Hubbard opened the doors of his first organization to the clamoring crowd. Up until then, Hubbard was known only to readers of pulp fiction, but now he had an instant best-seller with a book that promised to solve every problem of the human mind, and the cash was pouring in. Hubbard found it easy to create schemes to part his new following from their money. One of the first tasks was to arrange "grades" of membership, offering supposedly greater rewards, at increasingly higher prices. Over thirty years later. an associate wryly remembered Hubbard turning to him and confiding, no doubt with a smile, "Let's sell these people a piece of blue sky."

  _______________________

  After 14 years and a senior officer posting in the Church of Scientology Cyril Vosper investigates and condemns SCIENTOLOGY was founded by former science-fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard. It has grown into an international cult whose network of cells is devoted to 'pulling the society under us'. At the end of the Sixties, Cyril Vosper was declared a SUPPRESSIVE PERSON to his fellow Scientologists, whereby he could be 'deprived of property or injured by any means by any Scientologist - tricked, sued or lied to, or destroyed'. Finally he was declared in a condition of ENEMY. His marriage broke down and he was separated from his children. Vosper has struck back with this book. It immediately became subject to a writ from the Scientologists seeking to restrain its publication. After a bitter court action, the Scientologists have lost their case.

  ______________________________

  There are two wildly conflicting versions of the life story of L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of the Church of Scientology, The first, promoted by the Church, is that he was an unfailingly honest, generous humanitarian whose profound insights have transformed the world. The second, propounded in its fullest form in Bare-Faced Messiah by Russell Miller, is that he was a pathological liar, a fraud consumed by greed and paranoia who sucked literally millions of people into an extraordinary fantasy world. The quotation above is one was one of Hubbard's favourite aphorisms, highlighting his claim that subjective truth is all that matters. If that's correct, then either account is equally plausible. But if objective truth is at all important, relying on evidence and reason rather than pure belief, then BareFaced Messiah is considerably more convincing. I have provided links between Miller's account of Hubbard's life and that of the Church of Scientology (on their Web site, http://www.lronhubbard.org). Compare and contrast the two biographies, look at the supporting evidence and then decide for yourself. Why is the biography of L. Ron Hubbard important in the first place? The obvious reason is that it calls into question the whole validity of Scientology. Some Scientologists have acknowledged privately that Hubbard's official biography may be inaccurate, but that it doesn't invalidate his work. That may be so, but for those who take this view, consider this point: as a great deal of the inaccuracies in his biography originate with the man himself, what else was he inaccurate about? If Hubbard lied about his life, what else did he lie about? This argument is, incidentally, not one that is lost on the leadership of the Church of Scientology; Russell Miller faced considerable harassment and legal action from the Church before it was possible to publish Bare-Faced Messiah. The court which permitted him to do so in Britain pointed out, quite correctly, that Hubbard was a figure of considerable public interest whose reputation was used by the Church to promote itself - and that a biography of his life was therefore prima facie in the public interest. Bare-Faced Messiah is out of print now, but this argument remains no less strong. That is why I have reproduced the book on the Web, with Mr Miller's permission; not because I have any desire to damage the Church of Scientology but because I believe strongly that it is in the public interest to make his well-researched book available to a wider audience. Here for the first time, then, is an electronic version of Bare-Faced Messiah.
  
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  15

  Wonderful video resource which has to be seen in full to be appreciated.

  by TerryWalstrom in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i highly recommend you watch this video.. it is superbly researched.

  you know all the things in this video already--but.

  watching it will create an impression on you which.

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  TerryWalstrom

  I'm deeply saddened when I hear a 20 year old JW boy say, "I hate Science."

  "Why do you hate science?"

  "I dunno. I just don't see why they need to even bother teaching it in school."

  DESPAIR!!

  "Did you know that the word "science" simply means "knowledge"?

  "It does??"

  "Yes. It simply a method of testing what you think may be true. You measure things, you test them, you let other people test and measure them. You make predictions as to what the facts mean in the long run and wait for the tests to be confirmed. . . it has made all the difference in our society having Science. Just look at our medicine, surgery techniques, hospitals, space exploration, computer technology, cellphones, television, and so on. It is all because of SCIENCE!"

  "Oh. I never thought about like that. I've always thought it was a bunch of lies against the Bible."
• 
  35

  DOES BELIEF IN THE BIBLE DESTROY ONE'S INTELLECTUAL CAPACITY?

  by TerryWalstrom in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  based on information to be found at: http://www.csicop.org/si/show/when_dont_the_highly_educated_believe_in_evolution_the_bible_believers_effe/.

  the bible-believers effect.

  those who believe the bible is the word of god (bible believers) and those who dont believe the bible is the word of god (bible nonbelievers) differ in their beliefs that humans evolved from earlier species of animals.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  TerryWalstrom

  My take on this is as follows.

  A Bible believing (accepting literally) person with a good education develops 'blind spots' which

  fences-off, obstructs, or otherwise nullifies evidence which does NOT fit their religious schema. Otherwise, that educated person is able to take in facts and use them to form opinions.

  (Note: my former brother-in-law, an Orthodox Jew, told me Orthodox students in college must use special Science Text Books made just for them which DO NOT broach certain topics which might weaken their faith.)

  Contrariwise, the non-Bible believing person has no built-in boundary (Here there be dragons!) against

  acceptance of evidence.

  I call this pre-judging or prejudice.

  It is dangerous at worst and inhibiting at best.

  Remember the Republican debate where the candidates were asked if they believed Evolution were fact?

  It was embarrassing to watch the gleeful response which placed 3 of them in Pre-Enlightenment darkness.

  (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4Cc8t3Zd5E)

  It's like asking, "Who believes we should burn witches?" and having all hands shoot up into the air and big smiles popping into view.

  "Who believes dinosaurs drowned in the flood of Noah?"