Posts by DJS

51

Why facts fail to reach the faithful, (even the intelligent ones)

by done4good in

jw
friends

i posted this on another thread, and decided it deserves its own...thoughts?.

an unfortunate artifact of evolution is that belief can, and often does trump fact.

survival is at the core of what belief is about.

DJS

done4good,

Great OP. The OP of the year so far. A lot of us have been saying this for a while. You've said it best. Thank you. My Theist wall, as expected, was primarily built of JW bricks. Once I got rid of all of them, the only thing remaining were a few cornerstones and the foundation - belief in the bible, god and/or a 'hereafter'. As you stated, that first stone removed from the theist wall/foundation is done so with the understanding that it all may come down. It may not be for the faint of heart, and there are evolutionary reasons why this is so.

I methodically removed each stone, examined it - and when I found it wanting - cast it away. Then I dug up the foundation and threw that away. No emotion. No looking back. And the best thing I have ever accomplished.

Again, well done.

21

Last Day of Chemo

by azor in

today is the end of my son's 3 -1/2 year treatment for leukemia.

we had a small party at the hospital with nursing staff and a few friends.

it has been a great day with the exception of getting walking pnemonia from his sister.

DJS

Great news Azor. Full speed ahead.

11

Measuring my progress by past threads....

by The Rebel in

jw
friends

my conclusion is, i hope this site is :-.

a) first about solving practical problems of people leaving the w.t,.

b) secondly about if god exists or not.. so what have i learnt since reading my first posts from 6 months ago?.

DJS

The Rebel,

As I've noted, I was out nearly 20 years before joining any ex-dub site, so I had no clue what the typical ex-dub looked like. We all project onto others our personality traits, so naturally I thought everyone looked like me or Cofty - you know, rational, thoughtful and by now nearly finished with theism.

I wasn't prepared for the reality. Mr. Impatient (me) meet Mr./Ms. ex-Dub in all of their irrational, emotion driven glory.

I'm much more of an ass now. But I'm working on it. Otherwise I'm much more educated on topics I didn't know much about, such as evolution.

70

how do most of you now feel about the military?

by sowhatnow in

was not sure where to post this, but i was curious, how do some of you now feel about the military?

would any of you let your children enlist, or would you yourselves join any military field?

how do you feel about the idea of women in the military?

DJS

New boy,

Now that's more like it. Few would disagree with you that the US and other nations too often rush to war. Few would disagree with you that the US at times acts as though the only foreign policy tool they have is a hammer and every issue looks like a nail. Few would disagree that sometimes the US has acted in a despicable manner when it comes to how war has been waged. No one would disagree that we are a violent, pathetic species.

That's probably for another OP. The millions of individuals serving in our militaries typically have nothing to do with policy making or how or whether wars are fought. They do so honorably to serve and protect.

When I was a dub this issue was so very black and white. Then I learned the world is full of grey. If the US military went away tomorrow it wouldn't make war go away, nor would it make horrific acts of violence committed in war go away, or even lessen. The US military really does take extraordinary measures to avoid harming innocents, even though they haven't always and they don't always now. That's life and war.

The US and other Western militaries, like it or not, serve a purpose in this phase of our evolutionary history. Without it and its deterrent effect and hammer, there are a lot of scenarios we could dream up about what life would look like in 2016. And I can't think of any good ones.

36

A JW experience

by Saintbertholdt in

this is a quick experience i have recently had and i have two questions at the end.. a couple of weeks ago, the dogs were barking at the gate on saturday morning and wouldn't you know it, it was some witnesses.

there was a father with his lovely wife and their young daughter.

the father did all the talking as mother and daughter just dutifully smiled and watched.

DJS

Saint,

Some possible reasons for his lack of engagement:

1. This particular publisher wasn't prepared academically to engage you but isn't typical of publishers

2. This particular publisher was prepared but not emotionally ready to engage on this specific day

3.This particular publisher was prepared academically but dis-engaged on a permanent basis (loss of commitment) from trying to engage others who present an objection

4. This particular publisher is representative of the typical publisher in their lack of ability/preparation to engage academically in theistic discussions or when objections are presented

5. This particular publisher is representative of the typical publisher in their lack of commitment to engage anyone at any time once an objection is made

6. This particular publisher is representative of the typical publisher in both their lack of ability/preparation and commitment to engage once an objection is made.

Class?

70

how do most of you now feel about the military?

by sowhatnow in

was not sure where to post this, but i was curious, how do some of you now feel about the military?

would any of you let your children enlist, or would you yourselves join any military field?

how do you feel about the idea of women in the military?

DJS

New Boy's rant is so lacking in maturity and rational thought that it makes it difficult to believe he is even serious. "We" got free of religion? The world is becoming less religious by the minute, and the world in the future will likely be largely free of religion and/or existing religions will have evolved to be what they should be - support structures for people. We have presented multitudes of data suggesting this.

The world is in a major paradigm shift already in that regard, and the less religious an individual, state, nation or region are, the more likely they are to be functional. There is nothing religion provides that this planet requires that can't be provided by a government, a group or the individual.

The absence of government, OTOH, suggests either Anarchy or Self Rule. I'm assuming that New Boy isn't considering anarchy, and we have some very good data as to how "self rule', which existed for about 85,000 of our 100,000 years, would work out. Evolutionary biologists suggest that period was much more violent than now when we have nation/states ruled by governments. Your chances of dying a violent death were many times more likely when we had self rule.

So unless New Boy can present something rational supported by something close to evidence as to how this brave new world free of government would work, he has reached the point where he should be ignored.

70

how do most of you now feel about the military?

by sowhatnow in

was not sure where to post this, but i was curious, how do some of you now feel about the military?

would any of you let your children enlist, or would you yourselves join any military field?

how do you feel about the idea of women in the military?

DJS

Apparently New Boy is capable of only making sense when he is talking about his favorite subject and the only thing he seems to know anything about.

Himself.

475

What is the alternative to JW?

by Formerbrother in

i mean this with all due respect, i would like to hear from genuine people who think jw have it wrong and then what is the truth?.

im not talking about silly little quibbles here and there.. is jehovah real?

the the bible is word?

DJS

Oh (former) Brother, Where Art Thou . . .

… after a major earthquake, a Middle East War or a stock market crash? I'm betting in the front row of the local Kingdom Hall.

But before you kick me out of 'Woolsworth', I just want to ask whether it's ALL the 'Woolsworth' or just this one?

Jhine, I don't have Patience the stripper's phone number, but I've a few NSFW stories about a couple of her co-workers.

DOC,

In the 20 years or so before coming onto this site in June of 2013, I never had the first religious discussion with anyone, and this site is the only time I ever talk about being an ex-dub and I resolutely avoid religious discussions here as well. Regarding the dubs: the few times they have come to my house or have crossed my path I have been kind, gentle and positive. I've been outside working in my lawn a few times when they have been in FS, and I am respectful and kind (otherwise I practice that time-honored practice - I avoid them). There is no need in shooting the messenger. Now those old white dudes (and one token) in Brooklyn . . . . . .

18

Are You No Longer Interested in the Arts?

by compound complex in

jw
friends

greetings, new friends and old:.

i've been here some nine years now and have learned a lot.

made many dear friends.

DJS

Compound Complex,

I am a supporter of the arts. I've posted pictures of my house illustrating some of my art collection, and I've supported and volunteered at our local museum for many years. In addition I have supported the local Opera community and the Symphony.

I don't talk about it much because it seems that it seems pretentious to do so. I've avoided adding another pejorative adjective to arrogant wise ass. I don't know though. Pretentious Arrogant Wise Ass. What do you think, class? Better? Worse? Same?

70

how do most of you now feel about the military?

by sowhatnow in

was not sure where to post this, but i was curious, how do some of you now feel about the military?

would any of you let your children enlist, or would you yourselves join any military field?

how do you feel about the idea of women in the military?

DJS

newboy,

Hopefully your comment was a aberration. You usually make sense. I'm with Cofty (dammit Cofty, be WRONG once!!).

Bad choices in which wars are begun or entered and how they are fought are typically caused by politicos and not the military; the War in Vietnam is a textbook example of this.

Having worked closely with various current and former military people the past 20 years, I've developed a huge amount of respect for what they do. The vast majority of them want to do the right thing. They are on that wall because they are drawn to protect what is behind it.

I find that a noble cause.