Oubliette

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Posts by Oubliette

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  36

  Local needs talk

  by hoser in

  1. social
  2. humour

  one of the elders was missing his service bag and suspected that one of the publishers stole it.

  he was determined to root out who did it so he decided to give a local needs part on the ten commandments focusing on you must not steal.. he enlisted the help of a trusted ministerial servant and got him to stand at the back of the kingdom hall during the part.

  he told the ms that he would read off the ten commandments and when he got to the one "you must not steal" he would pause longer than usual and see if anyone acted nervous or suspicious.

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  Oubliette

  Good one!
  
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  16

  Carbon-dating questions??

  by DATA-DOG in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i recently heard a story from a jw about stupid scientists.

  there was an awake article about archeaologist who found an ancient piece of art.

  it was sent to a university for dating.

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  Oubliette

  Here is a blurb from the Georgia State University Department of Physics and Astronomy:
  

  Carbon dating is a variety of radioactive dating which is applicable only to matter which was once living and presumed to be in equilibrium with the atmosphere, taking in carbon dioxide from the air for photosynthesis.

  So unless an "ancient piece of art" was once alive, no archaeologist would try to date it with this method.

  This sounds like another JW legend right up there with talking Smurfs.

  Remember: What passes for "science" in JW-land is pretty much not. Whaddya expect from a bunch of uneducated yahoos talking about things they don't understand?

  Click here for an overview of radioactive dating methods.
  
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  80

  Ayn Rand - Opinions?

  by cappytan in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  for those of you familiar with ayn rand and her ideas on morality, rationality and reason, what is your opinion of those ideas?.

  i'm talking about her actual ideas, not the ideals that libertarianism has adopted and, in some cases, perverted.

  do you think she's a charlatan?

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  Oubliette

  I came across this interesting short bio on Ayn on the New York Magazine website.
  

  It's a review of the book, Ayn Rand and the World She Made, by Anne Heller.
  
  It contained, among other things, this rather odd quote:
  

  “Tell me what a man finds sexually attractive,” Rand wrote, “and I will tell you his entire philosophy of life.”
  

  The reviewer made this comment:
  

  Rand tends to inspire either religious-grade conversion or wild denunciation, and over the last 40 years a good-size library of violently partisan books has emerged: inside accounts from worshippers, detractors, worshippers turned detractors, detractors turned worshippers. A truly neutral biography seems impossible.
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  80

  Ayn Rand - Opinions?

  by cappytan in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  for those of you familiar with ayn rand and her ideas on morality, rationality and reason, what is your opinion of those ideas?.

  i'm talking about her actual ideas, not the ideals that libertarianism has adopted and, in some cases, perverted.

  do you think she's a charlatan?

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  Oubliette

  Faye, thanks for adding Aldous Huxley's seminal work to the list!
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  80

  Ayn Rand - Opinions?

  by cappytan in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  for those of you familiar with ayn rand and her ideas on morality, rationality and reason, what is your opinion of those ideas?.

  i'm talking about her actual ideas, not the ideals that libertarianism has adopted and, in some cases, perverted.

  do you think she's a charlatan?

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  Oubliette

  Viviane: the other three in the list are the same only in that there is a dystopian world.

  Thank you for understanding what I said.

  For what it's worth, I have not missed your argumentativeness.
  
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  80

  Ayn Rand - Opinions?

  by cappytan in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  for those of you familiar with ayn rand and her ideas on morality, rationality and reason, what is your opinion of those ideas?.

  i'm talking about her actual ideas, not the ideals that libertarianism has adopted and, in some cases, perverted.

  do you think she's a charlatan?

  1. 
  2. 
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• 

  Oubliette

  Viviane: It's quite interesting how many "fans" of Atlas Shrugged, Anthem, the Fountainhead and objectivism don't actually understand what it means in practice and taken to it's logical conclusion.

  It's not a requirement to agree with everything an author writes to nonetheless find some value or merit in their work.

  It's been so long since I read either Atlas Shrugged or The Fountainhead that I don't remember much about them other than they were long and tedious.

  However, I currently use Anthem as part of my curriculum with my high school students. I find it helpful for them to understand the central issue of collectivism vs. individualism. There are certainly many other books that describe dystopian societies and many do so more artfully. In some ways the stark style of Rand's writing makes it easier to see the central issues.

  Many young people are familiar with The Hunger Games series and have seen recent movies such as Divergent and The Maze Runner. In many ways these stories are much more interesting, more engaging and the art of story-telling is far superior.

  It is because of this, many students often miss the central issues. Also, Anthem is a fairly short work. For all of these reasons, I find it a good entrée to the genre for high school students. After we've read that and done a critical analysis it is easier to tackle more challenging pieces.

  Other books in this vein I would recommend are:

  • Nineteen Eighty-Four
  • Animal Farm
  • Fahrenheit 451
  • The Giver
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  80

  Ayn Rand - Opinions?

  by cappytan in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  for those of you familiar with ayn rand and her ideas on morality, rationality and reason, what is your opinion of those ideas?.

  i'm talking about her actual ideas, not the ideals that libertarianism has adopted and, in some cases, perverted.

  do you think she's a charlatan?

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  Oubliette

  Viviane, I would agree that Rand was not the most polished or eloquent writer.

  Are you familiar with Lois Lowry's book, The Giver? Although it's written at a lower level and with better story structure and style, It's clearly derivative.
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  19

  What if JWs Viewed Disfellowshipping and Excommunication as Radical Islamists Do?

  by Oubliette in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i found this statement from a recent article about isis to be quite interesting in view of the way that any jw can be accused of apostasy with little or no possible repercussions or consequences for the accuser: .

  in islam, the practice of takfir, or excommunication, is theologically perilous.

  if a man says to his brother, you are an infidel, the prophet said, then one of them is right.

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  Oubliette

  Perhaps I didn't set up the OP correctly. I was trying to focus on the fact per this Islamic principal there are consequences for false and even baseless accusations of apostasy.
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  19

  What if JWs Viewed Disfellowshipping and Excommunication as Radical Islamists Do?

  by Oubliette in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i found this statement from a recent article about isis to be quite interesting in view of the way that any jw can be accused of apostasy with little or no possible repercussions or consequences for the accuser: .

  in islam, the practice of takfir, or excommunication, is theologically perilous.

  if a man says to his brother, you are an infidel, the prophet said, then one of them is right.

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  Oubliette

  VI: I was told that in my judicial committee. Specifically, "If you were in Israel you would be stoned."

  Me too.

  I told the elder in response, "Well then, I guess it's a good thing for me that we're Christians!"
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  80

  Ayn Rand - Opinions?

  by cappytan in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  for those of you familiar with ayn rand and her ideas on morality, rationality and reason, what is your opinion of those ideas?.

  i'm talking about her actual ideas, not the ideals that libertarianism has adopted and, in some cases, perverted.

  do you think she's a charlatan?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
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  Oubliette

  Faye: One can enjoy reading an author without agreeing with all of their ideologies.

  Amen to that!