as a born-in jw, i never considered myself to be a fundamentalist.
i always thought we were enlightened, progressive and not 'stuck in darkness' like all the other religions.. i was totally wrong.. as far as fundamentalists go, jw's are probably right up there amongst the front-runners.
no, they do not stone people to death or go on religion-fuelled violent rampages but that's not what i'm talking about.
Good post. It took me awhile after I left to realize that JWs actually are fundamentalists.
They also deny having a political opinion, but I think they actually do because I have heard everything but "I endorse candidate XYZ."
Amazing powers of self-delusion.
Just finished up the dishes.
Had corned beef, cabbage and potatoes, all boiled in one big pot.
Apparently real Irish people don't eat that stuff.
I put mayonnaise on my cabbage.
Apparently no one at all eats that.
Hey, at least I didn't make mashed potatoes and color it green with food dye this year!
after leaving the jehovah’s witness religion, we had the opportunity to read emotional blackmail by susan forward, ph.d. we could relate to the stories she discusses in the book and could make a direct correlation to our lives as jehovah’s witnesses.
while the experiences are somewhat different from what we encountered in our personal lives, we could readily comprehend how individuals use emotional blackmail to make others develop fear, obligation and guilt in order to manipulate them into furthering their own agenda.this podcast explains in great detail how jehovah’s witnesses live in the fog.
no one can dispute these comments as every current and former witness is most familiar with the culture of the organization!this podcast references the experience of a sister that lived in an iron lung and her experience was used as a tool to measure the faith of jehovah’s witnesses with otherwise good health that did not live up to the daily demands of the watchtower.
This was a good listen.
If you have about 15 minutes, it's a good reminder about how controlling the JWs are through seemingly subtle things that make people feel guilty or obligated.
No gun to the head necessary; they are able to get compliance through the self-policing of members through fear, obligation and guilt.
the god of christian theism values faith.. "without faith it is impossible to please god, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists" - heb.11.
faith and evidence are inversely proportional - the more evidence there is that god exists the less faith you need in that proposition and vice-versa.. so how can a christian criticise any other faith-based belief?
for example they can protest that all the evidence is against the claims of scientology, but that just means that scientologists require more faith than christians.
Dividing by zero is "undefined" not " unknown."
It is "undefined" because it makes absolutely no sense to divide something by zero. If you're dividing by zero, you aren't actually dividing at all. Mathematics can't do anything with that.
However, mathematics can work with "unknowns." Variables in algebra are exactly that: unknowns. They can be manipulated and even solved for. Mathematics definitely is in the business of "unknowns."
my grandfather insisted "birds of a feather flock together" and thought it was some kind of genius rule-of-thumb for understanding life.then i began noticing at school, at parties, in neighborhoods, people who looked the same hung out together and excluded others.then, i became a jw.
they only hang out with jw's.
the world was further divided into sheep and goats.
Well, I've always also heard that opposites attract.
Maybe we just have a saying at the ready to describe any type of behavior we see.
Or, one could carelessly repost things that others have posted without really thinking it over.
It's really important to challenge things like that because some people think that everybody agrees with them. You know, the idea of the silent majority.
It's important to get a reality check: #1 no, most people do not agree with you and #2 that's offensive.
Morning Warship has made him/ herself clear.
If he/she ever finds him/herself in need of food or medical care, he/ she will surely turn down Food Stamps and Medicaid.
People who complain like this should be excluded from those benefits.
i am wondering how much the bethel "allowance" is now?
it used to be $14!
is it true they really sign a vow of proverty now?
Well, it seems that at least in that particular incident it was Pierre providing!
I find that good things happen to people who do good things.
It's not perfectly proportional; there's no formula, but it seems that the nicer one is to others, the more likely it is that others will want to return the favor. :)
