Posts by Island Man

15

I find it hard to believe that Terrence Howard isn't awake.

by Island Man in

for those who don't know, terrence howard is an actor who has had some exposure to "the truth" and has spoken positively about the jw religion in a past interview saying he would become a jw if he could.. i've started watching wayward pines where terrence howard stars as the town sheriff.

there are some striking cult parallels between the show and some facets of jw cult culture.

~ people who try to leave wayward pines are subject to punishment.

Island Man

cappytan: Island Man: I assume you haven't watched episodes 5 and 6 yet?

No, I haven't. I'm in the middle of 3 right now.

36

Anthony Morris III: "...we cannot control everything that an individual might say..."

by cappytan in

i noticed that anthony morris iii just said on the broadcast: "while we cannot control everything that an individual might say, it is clear that over the decades protecting children from abuse is a top priority for this organization.".

that, in my opinion, is a direct response to the richard ashe "spiritual protection not physical protection" deposition.. here's a video putting the two statements side by side.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgevpuyn7gy.

Island Man

leaving_quitely, I agree with most of what you said. However, when it comes to an unproven allegation, I don't think the elders should inform the family heads of the name of the individual that was accused. They should simply inform them that a member of the congregation has been accused of pedophilia and that as a precaution they're telling all parents to not leave their children alone with ANY adults in the congregation, no matter how trustworthy they think they are - no elders, no ministerial servants, no pioneers, no one! and they must accompany them to the bathroom.

Furthermore, when informing the parents the elders should take the opportunity to ask the parents if their child has ever said anything to them about the behavior of any member of the congregation regarding them touching the child inappropriately. You see, it may be that the accused touched another child but when the child told the parent, the parent brushed it off as a misunderstanding. By not telling the parents the name of the accused, it ensures that if the accused did in fact touch another child, then the parent or child giving that same name would constitute an unbiased corroboration - unbiased by the knowledge of the identity of the accused in the current case - that the accused is indeed a pedophile.

It would also serve to protect the reputation of the accused from any stigma should it later turn out that the accusation was untrue, because sometimes the stigma can continue on the accused even after he was shown to be innocent.

15

I find it hard to believe that Terrence Howard isn't awake.

by Island Man in

for those who don't know, terrence howard is an actor who has had some exposure to "the truth" and has spoken positively about the jw religion in a past interview saying he would become a jw if he could.. i've started watching wayward pines where terrence howard stars as the town sheriff.

there are some striking cult parallels between the show and some facets of jw cult culture.

~ people who try to leave wayward pines are subject to punishment.

Island Man

I wish to publicly distance myself from the allegations made by Illuminated. They in no way reflect my opinion or view of Terrence Howard or how I would want others to think of him. The allegations are purely those of Illuminated. I will not be held liable for any harm done to the reputation of Terrence Howard resulting from the allegations made by Illuminated. I am taking the reasonable action of flagging Illuminated's post as further practical evidence of distancing myself from it.

15

I find it hard to believe that Terrence Howard isn't awake.

by Island Man in

for those who don't know, terrence howard is an actor who has had some exposure to "the truth" and has spoken positively about the jw religion in a past interview saying he would become a jw if he could.. i've started watching wayward pines where terrence howard stars as the town sheriff.

there are some striking cult parallels between the show and some facets of jw cult culture.

~ people who try to leave wayward pines are subject to punishment.

Island Man

By the way, my personal theory about the show is that the main character is actually suffering from a psychotic delusional paranoia brought on by the trauma of the accident. The hidden plot is similar to that of the movie Shutter Island, where the star was mentally insane. I have this feeling based on the doctor telling him to have his head examined and have surgery.

15

I find it hard to believe that Terrence Howard isn't awake.

by Island Man in

for those who don't know, terrence howard is an actor who has had some exposure to "the truth" and has spoken positively about the jw religion in a past interview saying he would become a jw if he could.. i've started watching wayward pines where terrence howard stars as the town sheriff.

there are some striking cult parallels between the show and some facets of jw cult culture.

~ people who try to leave wayward pines are subject to punishment.

Island Man

For those who don't know, Terrence Howard is an actor who has had some exposure to "The Truth" and has spoken positively about the JW religion in a past interview saying he would become a JW if he could.

I've started watching Wayward Pines where Terrence Howard stars as the Town sheriff. There are some striking cult parallels between the show and some facets of JW cult culture. Example:

~ People who try to leave Wayward Pines are subject to punishment. Try to leave JWs and you face shunning.

~ People in Wayward Pines are forbidden to speak of their past. Terrence Howard's character executes a woman guilty of this crime. Watchtower tries to hide their past by not making their old publications available electronically; and speaking about Watchtower's embarrassing teachings of the past could result in your being suspected of doubting or apostatizing, and even leading to the punishment of expulsion and shunning if you point to historical facts refuting the JW religion's claim of exclusive divine favor.

~ When the sheriff, played by Terrence Howard, executes a woman guilty of speaking of her past, he gives a speech about the very loving community that exists at Wayward Pines where they all look out for each other and even sometimes protect one another from each other. This woman was caught by the whole community chasing her as a mob. Reminds me of the JWs policy of ratting on each other and referring to those who criticize the organization as a spiritual threat to be lovingly removed or disciplined by means of shunning.

~ The crowd chants the cult rule: "Do not try to leave". Then Howard's character joins in with the rhetorical question: "where else is there for us to go?" Sounds familiar? LOL.

So do you think Terrence Howard still feels positively about JWs? Do you think he notices any similarities between JWs and the cult of Wayward Pines?

14

Do you have a JW hero?

by Island Man in

when i say jw hero i mean a jw who courageously did what was right despite the indoctrination and peer pressure to conform to cultishness.

i have an unknown jw hero that i've never met but only heard of from an experience relayed to me about an incident at a jw funeral.. i was told that at a jw funeral internment, a non-jw put a wreath in the shape of a cross on the grave.

shortly thereafter a jw elder came up and removed the wreath.

Island Man

When I say JW hero I mean a JW who courageously did what was right despite the indoctrination and peer pressure to conform to cultishness. I have an unknown JW hero that I've never met but only heard of from an experience relayed to me about an incident at a JW funeral.

I was told that at a JW funeral internment, a non-JW put a wreath in the shape of a cross on the grave. Shortly thereafter a JW elder came up and removed the wreath. But not long after another JW - a relative of the deceased - came up and put the wreath back on the grave! That's my JW hero. Who is your JW hero? What did (s)he do?

21

Eternal life through brain transplant into an android body only a matter of time. Religion no longer needed.

by fukitol in

jw
friends

humanity doesn't need to continue believing in hocus pocus pie in the sky religious hogwash and pipe dreams to have hope of everlasting life.

nor is it necessary to find the fountain of youth or turn off the aging process.. it's only a matter of time until science achieves it.

maybe not decades away, maybe not even centuries, but eventually..... ....mankind will achieve eternal life through a transplant of the human brain into a future highly advanced robotic body.. already the scientific fundmentals for it exist.

Island Man

But an organic brain in a cybernetic body? How long would an organic brain continue viable? Wouldn't the cells decay?

Eventually, technology would probably make it possible to create a fully digitized version of the functioning human brain. That would make it possible to upload ones sentience into a computer. Another alternative is that nanotechnology will progress to the point where a functioning brain can be fully reproduced with inorganic nanotech neurons capable of "reproducing themselves" indefinitely (once energy and raw materials are available) without deteriorating (aging).

I don't think technology will necessarily lead to guaranteed immortality, though. There will always be unforeseen accidents, murders, technical failures, etc. But the prospect of resurrecting persons would definitely be plausible and "human" lifespan - the lifespan of the human mind - will likely increase greatly - hundreds of years at least.

But before this happens - or perhaps in order for this to happen - computer scientists will likely have created the first true artificial intelligence - the first autonomous, self-conscious artificial being. Imagine the legal, social and ethical controversies that will result! We might see the return of institutionalized slavery of intelligent beings, only this time, the intelligent beings will be denied the dignity of being treated like humans simply because they technically aren't. But I think it would be the religious who would advocate not treating them fairly, arguing that they don't have a soul breathed into them by God. But secular, science-based society would argue that they essentially have the same cognitive attributes as humans, and there is no such thing as a soul and so they should be given the same dignity as humans. This could be the defining controversy of the future, dwarfing the current Evolution vs Intelligent design education; and pro-life vs pro-choice controversies, combined. (BTW, have you guys seen the new series Humans? It is just awesome!)

This may all seem rather fanciful but the progression of human technology makes it very plausible. Imagine how fanciful the notion of landing on the moon, would have seemed to people living 500 years ago. But today, humans landing on Mars doesn't seem far fetched.

26

Probable Discovery of Life on Comet Philae

by cofty in

according to leading astronomers the probe philae that landed on the comet 67p last november may have discovered microbial life..... sadly neither the probe nor the orbiter rosetta are equipped to test directly but the evidence is interesting.

these are not easily explained in terms of prebiotic chemistry.

the dark material is being constantly replenished as it is boiled off by heat from the sun.

Island Man

I'm tempted to rejoice at the prospect of the discovery of life outside of earth. But at the same time I'm a bit skeptical of the report. Why isn't this breaking news on CNN, the BBC and other reputable news sites? Just how reputable is The Independent? Something doesn't seem to add up.

14

Why isn't Jeehoober more like Jesus???

by DATA-DOG in

this just struck me as odd.

if the bible is really god's word, and it's all real, why doesn't jeehoober act more like jesus?

jesus perfectly imitated jeehobo, right?

Island Man

I think christianity is to some extent an attempt at reforming Judaism. Christianity is actually a synchretic religion fusing Judaism with popular pagan religious memes.(virgin birth, dying and rising savior, personal savior, etc) The originators of christianity had a lot of Greco Roman influence and so subtly fused certain Greco Roman ethics, philosophies and mythologies into the religion.

By the first century, people who religiously subscribed to the Hebrew scriptures were growing in moral enlightenment due to the passage of time and exposure to other cultures, to the point that they came to see the God of the OT as being somewhat harsh even while being unwilling to drop him altogether. Christianity was created or shaped by that kind of environment. The kind, rule-bending, forgiving Jesus figure is an apologetics attempt at making over the image of the OT God; an attempt at saying in effect: 'We know these OT texts make God look really bad but he isn't really as bad as he seems because look how kind his son is. Look at his son. His son reveals his true nature so please don't get the wrong impression from OT texts that seem to suggest that he is harsh'

59

A difficult yet necessary decision

by Brother Jeramy in

the past five weeks have been perhaps the most painful in my life as a witness.. some months ago a young man (i'd say in his late thirties or early forties) began attending meetings at my kingdom hall.

he had just moved to my area from another state.

he had disassociated himself from his home congregation many years back, when he was 20 years old and going through many of the typical trials and temptations most young men experience.. two of the elders met with him initially, and they later shared the details with the body of elders.

Island Man

Londo111: Please reconsider DAing...this is playing by thier rules. Fading is the best option

I disagree. I understand the point about not DAing so as not to give legitimacy to their corrupt system. Also, if one has family still in and doesn't want to lose social contact with them, fading is good. However if one is not worried about being shunned, I think that in some circumstances there is more to be gained from DAing than just fading, and I think this is one of those circumstances.

If Jeramy was to just fade, the elders won't know that their following Watchtower's callous policies is stumbling people away from the Truth. They may just put it down to Jeramy growing spiritually weak and falling away. But think of the powerful unwitness it would give and think of the seeds that would be planted in the hearts of the elders and any others that Jeramy speaks to if he writes a powerful DA letter giving this example of shocking, unscriptural callousness as opening his eyes to the fact that the organization in cold, pharisaic, slow to forgive unlike the father in the illustration of the prodigal son. Think of the strong impact it would have on the consciences of the elders and the potential to wake some up!

Fade? No, no, no. This experience is an unwitnessing gold mine! JWs love to point to their fake love as evidence that they are Jesus' true followers. This experience shatters that lie and gives a justifiable reason for DAing that is virtually unassailable! Do not waste it by fading. Do not waste such a wonderful opportunity to get the body of elders to examine themselves and the organization!