Posts by DJS

121

Hey ya'll! My first post. Please help. In need of advice/comfort.

by Stepford Wife in

jw
friends

hey ya'll!

i have been lurking for years on this site and others but never had the courage to post anything.

actually i was afraid of posting on an apostate site in the event i was wrong.

DJS

Stepford Wife,

Do you care whether your husband is removed as an elder? If you do, and if you two can agree on it, he can spin the same stories about why you aren't attending the meetings 'right now.' He can tell them you have some personal health/emotional issues un-related to the Dark Tower, the BOE or the congregation that you are working on.

That will likely keep them from removing him for a while. My experience in that dreaded cult is not recent, but I can't imagine they will act with such haste to have him step aside. Of course that depends on the mood and 'loving kindness' of the BOE (excuse me, but I have to throw up again).

Others with more recent knowledge are better suited to respond to this. I'm just more than a bit dubious that they will move with certainty and speed in getting rid of him - unless of course you or he blows your cover.

121

Hey ya'll! My first post. Please help. In need of advice/comfort.

by Stepford Wife in

jw
friends

hey ya'll!

i have been lurking for years on this site and others but never had the courage to post anything.

actually i was afraid of posting on an apostate site in the event i was wrong.

DJS

Stepford Wife,

Your sister is correct; I would also suggest hiring a lawyer and understanding your rights and developing a strategy. Whatever you divulge to your husband MAY be kept between the two of you. Now. But if you leave him, based on what you tell us, he is l likely to spill his guts to the BOE about what you have said about the Dark Lords just to hurt you back.

You should assume that he will. Tell him nothing negative about the Dark Lords or the Dark Tower.

121

Hey ya'll! My first post. Please help. In need of advice/comfort.

by Stepford Wife in

jw
friends

hey ya'll!

i have been lurking for years on this site and others but never had the courage to post anything.

actually i was afraid of posting on an apostate site in the event i was wrong.

DJS

Stepford Wife,

Every shepherding call is also an information gathering/potential investigation 'call.' Your husband can verify that; if he doesn't he isn't being honest with you.

I agree with the others; do not meet with the elders. Ever. Continue giving excuses and fading until they leave you alone. If your husband is using your inactivity as leverage or as a weapon against you, he cares more about his place in the organization than he does you. Be positive about the elders, the congregation and the Dark Lords. Say nothing negative. As others have said, make up something about your own health/condition/etc. and thank the BOE profusely for their loving attention. Now I have to go throw up.

33

whats so bad about believing people go to heaven?

by sowhatnow in

it occurred to me today, that so often, my mother will make the comment that .

"those false religions teach that everyone is going to heaven when they die, oh sure, .

all you have to do is be a good person, and off you go to heaven.

DJS

Based on a number of studies, belief in heaven is evidently bad for society. Belief in hell, OTOH, seems to be a deterrent to bad behavior. From the world wide web:

In a 2012 study (Shariff and Rhemtulla) examined national rates of belief in heaven and hell for 67 countries, as measured by five waves of the World Values Surveys and the European Values Surveys between 1981 and 2007. Shariff and Rhemtulla then drew crime statistics from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), which provided data on a litany of nasty things people can do to each other: homicides, robbery, rape, kidnapping, assault, theft, drug crime, automobile theft, burglary, and human trafficking.

With other factors controlled for – including national GDP and Gini coefficient, which measures income inequality – countries where more people believed in hell showed significantly lower levels of crime. The effect sizes were big:

Controlling for the effect of belief in heaven, a 1-[standard deviation] increase in belief in hell resulted in an almost 2 SD decrease in national crime rate; conversely, controlling for the effect of hell, a 1 SD increase in belief in heaven resulted in an almost 2 SD increase in national crime rate.

Fearing the imminent wrath of a judging God, it seems, makes you a lot less likely to steal, cheat, or murder – whereas a friendly, forgiving God (apparently) may inspire you to go easy on yourself, and possibly do bad things with the expectation of being forgiven.

Shariff, together with Lara B. Aknin, explored this possibility in a second study, published in 2014 in PLOSOne, in which they looked at the effect of heaven and hell beliefs on personal happiness.

At the societal level, belief in hell seems to perform some important behavioral corralling – by infusing the culture with a sort of generalized ambience of supernatural punishment, it inspires (or frightens) people into shaping up, toeing the line, and playing by the rules. But this fear of God isn’t so great for people at the individual level. Plenty of other research, particularly in religion and mental health, has shown that a loving, forgiving God is psychologically better for you than belief in a punitive and angry one. But that same forgiving God may give people a subconscious license to do less-than-honorable things, because, hey – God forgives!

17

Red or Green Flags....

by The Rebel in

jw
friends

it seems everybody is doing it, and giving green or red flags.

and personally what a difference it makes to my " ego" when i get a green flag and feel my opinion is respected.

my green flags totally convince me what i say is " brilliant.

DJS

The Rebel,

We all like being "Liked," Sally. But my mission is to teach - being a dad and a college professor are two of my most fulfilling and rewarding roles. That is why I am here, as I believe the only gift I have to share on this site is to teach my former ex-dubs to think and act more rationally and analytically. My style is to hopefully make you smile or laugh, make you think and sometimes make you uncomfortable (because without that a lot of people never move from ground zero). No pain. No gain.

It's fairly clear that the only thing that has changed with my posting style since Simon created the "Like" and "Dislike" buttons is that I put more attention to details and walk maybe just a tad bit farther away from the Line. But not much.

Sometimes I'm trying to get "Dislikes," but you should already know that. As long as I make people think, maybe make them smile - hopefully both at the same time - mission accomplished.

62

Richard Carrier debunks Christianity using Science and History.

by Island Man in

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ez2kgjk4jo4

DJS

Screen clutter. Bertrand doesn't speak for anyone but himself and certainly not me. Empirical evidence is the best we have to follow. Thinking that it is the final unchanging word is what religionists feel and believe. They won't change their minds regardless.

I will. Just give me better numbers. So will all empiricists. Russell is confusing religion and feelings with rational and evidence.

Thanks for the Dislike Clammy. Geesh, ANOTHER stalker. Take a number and queue up CB.

62

Richard Carrier debunks Christianity using Science and History.

by Island Man in

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ez2kgjk4jo4

DJS

SBF,

There certainly can be multiple sources of knowledge. As an empiricist I follow the evidence regardless of where it comes from. When such is presented for the divine, other than via philosophical musings and questionings, I will believe.

I'm not a religious atheist.

62

Richard Carrier debunks Christianity using Science and History.

by Island Man in

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ez2kgjk4jo4

DJS

SBF,

I rarely comment on your musings. You often make a lot of sense. I see rationals and those who are striving to live an evidence based life, regardless of the topic, rather than militant atheists with an agenda.

A very few concentrate on these subjects. I typically just read and rarely participate. It isn't a strength of mine nor a particular interest.

Where we always divide is between the evidence based and those ruled by their emotions. On every topic.

Clammy is clearly in the emotional camp. Thanks for the Dislike CB.

62

Richard Carrier debunks Christianity using Science and History.

by Island Man in

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ez2kgjk4jo4

DJS

Clambake,

This site is full of OPs you seek. Get some self control dude. Develop some emotional maturity. Avoid these OPS if they bother you so much. Back away from the keyboard.

And do something about that shrill whine. It's hurting my ears. But thank you so much for the Dislike. I will wear it with pride.

62

Richard Carrier debunks Christianity using Science and History.

by Island Man in

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ez2kgjk4jo4

DJS

Island Man,

Great stuff. Most of this I had read in various places. Putting it all together in this manner makes me even more embarrassed that I ever believed this nonsense.