Give it up Alan. Just admit the earth was created in 607 BCE.
B.
logansrun
JoinedPosts by logansrun
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61
Alan F's flaming arguments and insults
by Rex inhi alan, .
have you ever looked at the carved up mountains, hills and valleys?????
have examined the remarkable similarity to the mount st. helen's canyon that was carved our very quickly?
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35
Any Buddhists here? My sister is interested...trying to get info
by Eyebrow2 inmy sister and i were talking, and she is interested in buddhism (h or no h?
i have seen it both ways).. anyhoo...i am looking up some temples in the area.
i told her she should visit one if she is interested and do some reading.
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logansrun
Terry,
Dude, I think I would like you if I met you in person, but sometimes you come across as one of the most pompous assholes I've ever encountered on this board. You're smart, but not smart enough to realize that there are different types of [fill in the blank] out there. In this case, Buddhists.
You also neglect the good -- and by good I mean both emotionally and intellectually -- that can come from a philosophical system that is not entirely accurate. I agree that the foundations of Buddhism are grounded in a mystical world that I don't believe exists (believing in reincarnation and the transmigration of souls was as common as breathing air in the Buddha's day). But Buddhism is like a river and you totally fail to see how it's tributaries have progressed through the centuries. I don't consider myself a "Buddhist" per se, but I do believe there are tremendous philosophical and psychological insights that can come from a broad study of the many and varied world of Buddhist thought. Sure, a concept like "emptiness" will sound esoteric and nonsensical to the person who is unwilling to really investigate matters they do not understand and are prejudiced to. Personally, I find Buddhism, flawed as it is, the most profound of all the great world religions.
For a good introduction to Buddhism from a secular perspective check out "Buddhism Without Beliefs" by Stephen Batchelor.
B.
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31
Were You A Liberal, Moderate or Conservative JW?
by minimus ini would've called myself moderate leaning toward liberal.
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logansrun
I was so conservative I would have thought Ted Jaracz was too soft in his ideas.
B.
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21
New Bethel/Missionary Requirements.
by Doubtfully Yours in.
when they announced the meetings for aspiring bethelites and missionaries, they've lowered the ages of admittance.. also, to become a bethelite the person doesn't need to be a pioneer any longer.
any publisher in good standing, male or female, was encourage to attend such recruiting meeting.. i guess the need is greater now.. dy
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logansrun
Okay, so maybe it's a slight change. There comes a point, though, in our apostate ramblings when you 'gotta ask, "What the hell is the big deal?" I mean, so they change the requirements by one year. How incredibly shocking and scandelous.
B.
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21
New Bethel/Missionary Requirements.
by Doubtfully Yours in.
when they announced the meetings for aspiring bethelites and missionaries, they've lowered the ages of admittance.. also, to become a bethelite the person doesn't need to be a pioneer any longer.
any publisher in good standing, male or female, was encourage to attend such recruiting meeting.. i guess the need is greater now.. dy
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logansrun
From my memory, those were always the requirements DY. Doesn't appear to be a change at all.
I remember seeing some people under 18 at these meetings as well. It's a rule that's not enforced that much.
B.
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16
A Nice Alternative to Assemblies!
by metatron init's called "omega point" and it's located up in the hudson valley area of new york, in rhinebeck.. www.eomega.org.
think of it as a 'new age' camp for adults.
lots of authors, actors and well known 'new age' types give seminars there.
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logansrun
I'm sorry, but anything that has Deepak Chopra connected to it I've resigned to be a royal waste of time -- and a rip-off.
B.
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23
JW Shunning Does Accomplish A Lot Of Good...
by Honesty inbecause it shows everyone in the community how cruel, unloving, hateful and distorted the cult can be at a moment's notice.
when a jw shuns an ex-member in public as the ex-member greets the jw with a smile and in a friendly manner the normal reaction of people who see this is repugnancy.
they see how hypocritical the jw's are because they go 'from house to house' proclaiming their love for other people and then display their real hearts when they encounter an ex-member.
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logansrun
I wouldn't go so far as to say it accomplishes a lot of good.
B.
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7
Islam extremists..JW extremism!
by Gill in.
i was watching a bbc programme on islamic extremists and their attitudes that brought back deja vu memories of jw attitudes to me last night.. for a fact i know, that jws do not condone in their teaching violence against others, but they do believe,as do the islamic extremists that those not believing in jehovah, (allah) will be slaughtered by god in due time.. what i found interesting was the attitude that they did not have to obey laws in the country they lived in that went against their belief system rules.
their religious laws came first not the law of the land, to which they owed no loyalty at all.. one extremist also informed us that since we in the uk had been 'warned' by the terrorist, bin laden that we must revolt and take arms against the uk government, the fact that we, the ordinary uk folk did not jump up and do as we had been told, meant that it was open season on the uk citizens for not following his warning.. extremists all come out with the complete belief also that they and only they themselves are the only true religion which every one else must follow or die.. if that in itself doesn't prove that the jws are an extremist cult, then i don't know what else does..
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logansrun
Mind if I point something out?
You said:
Extremists all come out with the complete belief also that THEY and ONLY THEY THEMSELVES are the only TRUE religion which every one else must follow or DIE.
If that in itself doesn't prove that the JWs are an extremist cult, then I don't know what else does.
Of course, if there really is a Jehovah (as interpreted by the JWs) or an Allah (as interpreted by Muslim fundamentalists) then those groups are actually not extremist; indeed, they are acting logically in their dogmatism!
Now, I don't believe that for a minute. But it is wrong to conclude automatically that just because a person or group thinks they alone have the "truth" that they are "extremist" and wrong. The real issue is how they go about proving that they truly do have "the truth." And that is what the JWs or anyone else cannot prove. For that reason they are extremists.
In other words, it's not really the logic or the conclusions of the JWs that is necessarily wrong. It's their premises. If I accepted the premises, for instance, that there really is a Jehovah, that the Bible is to be read rather literally, and that God is working through the GB then it would make sense to give up my worldly aspirations, pioneer, warn others of impending doom, etc. But the premises the JWs are working from are not only unproveable there is good reason to believe they are wrong. It is the JWs faulty premises which make them extremist, not necessarily the logic that flows from those premises or their "strange" behavior.
B.
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The Governing Body's hidden agenda
by greendawn inthe gb have a manifest agenda that they present to the world regarding their intentions and policies.
however they also a have a hidden agenda which spells their real intentions and policies.
to mention an example they say that the jw kids should not attend university because it is pointless in view of the end soon, the risks of fleshly temptations and loss of eternal life, the god blessed pioneering work is a better way to spend their time etc.
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logansrun
Ok Logansrun, maybe it's not a hidden agenda, just a byproduct.
Exactly. Now, it would be wrong to conclude that there are not any GB members with some "hidden agendas" about some things. But we just don't know. I like to keep the standards of what counts as proof pretty high, especially in this area. B.
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18
Bitter, Better or Both?
by damselfly indo you feel that you are still bitter towards jw's?
or do you feel that you are better off without them?
maybe you feel both bitter and better?.
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logansrun
damselfly,
Some days I feel that my upbringing made me better. I don't feel that I would have the values and experiences that make me who I am today without my JW childhood. I mean sure it was really awful at times and yes I had many negative experiences but being free from the org and looking back at my life, it all really came together to make me the strong and emotionally aware and compassionate memeber of society that I am now.
That was one of the most mature paragraphs I have ever read on this forum. Yes, the JWs had some posititve impact in our lives beyond being a better public speaker. Even if the worldview they espouse is ultimately wrong, there are ancillary positives that went with this mistake.
Good luck to you!
B.