Posts by GrreatTeacher

50

Freedom, Free speech, Censorship, Religion and Tight Pants

by Simon in

you would need to be living in a cave to not be aware of the turmoil happening in the world with groups like isis murdering cartoonists over their depiction of their prophet and sides being taken to either attack religion or to defend the right to practise it.. the battle lines appear to be drawn between those who believe in freedom and those who would see it curtailed to be replaced with their own version of what is and isnt acceptable.

most people want freedom and free speech but when choosing it are perhaps unconsciously judging it to only apply to things that they themselves believe in.. we need to be crystal clear what freedom and free speech were really talking about.

freedom itself is usually easier to define as there are some fundamental principles: you should be allowed to do what you want as long as you are not harming others.

GrreatTeacher

Is it a free choice if there is coercion involved?

If your parents are threatening the roof over your head, I would say it is not a free choice.

If your wife is threatening divorce you and take the kids, leaving them ever more indoctrinated and farther away from your balanced view of things, I would say that is not a free choice.

Remember, this is a cult. While your argument on the whole sounds reasonable, it just doesn't apply equally to cults. This is not just an alternate philosophy or point of view. There are destructive psychological methods at work that preclude the making of an informed or truly free choice.

50

Freedom, Free speech, Censorship, Religion and Tight Pants

by Simon in

you would need to be living in a cave to not be aware of the turmoil happening in the world with groups like isis murdering cartoonists over their depiction of their prophet and sides being taken to either attack religion or to defend the right to practise it.. the battle lines appear to be drawn between those who believe in freedom and those who would see it curtailed to be replaced with their own version of what is and isnt acceptable.

most people want freedom and free speech but when choosing it are perhaps unconsciously judging it to only apply to things that they themselves believe in.. we need to be crystal clear what freedom and free speech were really talking about.

freedom itself is usually easier to define as there are some fundamental principles: you should be allowed to do what you want as long as you are not harming others.

GrreatTeacher

"Most people in a religion believe in that religion" - Simon

I think the JWs might be a group where that is not entirely true. It seems there are a good number of Jehovah's Witnesses who don't believe but are stuck in for family because of the disfellowshipping threat.

46

JW Table at My Student Center Today, My Response

by breakfast of champions in

they're baaaack!!!

jws "tabling" at my student center again, first time in over six months.

i wonder if the fact it's been 15 degrees out had anything to do with it?

GrreatTeacher

Please, the next time you see them on campus, go up and strike up a conversation and ask, "Are you alumni?"

When they say no, ask, "Oh, well where did you go to college, then?"

I'd love to hear their response.

8

The Watchtower Society - a modern day Tower of Babel

by OrphanCrow in

the jw..org website now boasts that the jw message is translated into over 700 languages..

a noble feat, you may think.

and how wonderful that jehovahs message can reach the far ends of the world in so many languages!.

GrreatTeacher

An interesting perspective I never would've thought of.

25

JW Children - We're normal, and have fun at conventions, etc.

by berrygerry in

was reading a poster's experience with custody, and the info in wts child custody packet.. children are prepped to present themselves as normal, with school friendships, hobbies, activities, etc.

and not to mention that their life-goal is to pioneer.. the school brochure (1983) contains this gem:.

"they [witness families] also travel several times each year to attend larger gatherings called circuit assemblies and district conventions.

GrreatTeacher

We never turned conventions into vacations, either, but we did usually go on a separate vacation every summer.

I'm starting to realize that as bad as I thought my JW upbringing was, there were others who had it much worse.

26

If you are single and have married friends, . . .

by compound complex in

jw
friends

is your sense of loneliness (if you are lonely) heightened when you see what they share?

how do cope (if you are coping) with a sense of isolation, of not having a significant other?.

i know some single persons who are very happy as they are.

GrreatTeacher

I am only starting to realize how truly lucky I am to have a great marriage. I was lucky to find someone so compatible.

I also think it's significant that we found each other when we were young so we are always seared in each other's mind and affections like so many other experiences in youth that take on outsize significance simply because they happened at a critical time. And, I realize that that doesn't make the prospect of finding love later in life sound any easier.

I always shake my head, though, when people talk about relationships being a lot of work? If it's that much work, then maybe you aren't in the right relationship? Or you desperately need to either fix it or move on. We did have a point where we went to counseling for a short period of time, mostly about parenting differences, but we did the work and cleared the difficulty. Our marriage is not hard work; it's a joy!

Personally, parenting has been a much more difficult and fraught endeavor. That has been a lot of work!

110

Four Blood Moons might be significant

by CharlieSmith1975 in

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuqzhnx7xma.

the bible does say that the "day of jehovah" (armageddon) would be associated with the sun becoming dark followed by the moon turning to blood.

but the moon turning to blood is specific to a total lunar eclipse.

GrreatTeacher

It's a shame. It seems that the JWs were near perfect for Charlie, what with his penchant for numerology and such. And the legalism! Great match there, too. Whoo! I'm not really cheating on my wife because I'm having sex with men and not women! What a nearly perfect match!

Except that the JWs didn't want him, what with being homosexual in their eyes and all. Must be gutting, finding a religion that so nearly matches your personal brand of crazy, but they don't want you.

56

PBS program

by wannaexit in

jw
friends

watching the pbs program as i write...........

GrreatTeacher

Watchtower (Ashe) testifies, "Physical protection is up to the secular authorities."

This is their official public stance.

Disgusting.

33

Does everyone here know they are on record with JW's forever?

by runForever in

jw
friends

richard ashe a full-time special servant of the order of jehovah's witnesses testified in the lopez case that every single disfellowshipping and disassociation and other things have all been scanned in 2011 and are and will be on permanent record with jw's forever.

is this legal?

another completely ironic and warped thing is the disfellowshipping form is called the s77 form.

GrreatTeacher

I think keeping files legitimizes the whole enterprise in the minds of elders.

39

IMPORTANT: Please note on your calender that on MONDAY, Feb. 16th, there will be a segment on a TV NEWS PROGRAM discussing JWs

by AndersonsInfo in

on monday evening, feb. 16th, on the pbs newshour, there will be a segment discussing jehovah's witnesses.

generally, the newshour airs at 6 p.m. in different time zones across the united states..

please don't miss it.

GrreatTeacher

I'm on the east coast in Maryland and it's on at 6pm! Check your listings! I wouldn't want anyone to miss out.