Blueblades

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Posts by Blueblades

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  10

  The True Believer /Francois.

  by Blueblades in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hi francois!

  i just spent the day reading," the true believer ".eric hoffer wrote this book in 1951. i wish i had read it back in 1969!

  thanks for recommending it.i shared some points from it with a friend over the phone and he nows wants to read it too!

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  Blueblades

  Continuing to share points from the book,"The True Believer",by Eric Hoffer:Written over 51 yrs. ago.

  Factors Promoting Self-sacrifice:"There are many listed ,let me share the one on Doctrine:The effectiveness of a doctrine does not come from its meaning but from its certitude.No doctrine however profound and sublime will be effective unless it is presented as the embodiment of the one and only truth.Crude absurdities,trivial nonsense and sublime truths are equally potent in readying people for self-sacrifice.In order to be effective a doctrine must not be understood;but has rather to be believed in."

  "The devote are always urged to seek the absolute truth with their hearts not their minds.The readiness for self-sacrifice is contingent on an imperviousness to the realities of life.He who is free to draw conclusions from his individual experience and the observation is not usually hospital to the idea of martydom.To rely on the evidence of the senses and of reason is heresy and treason.It is starting to realize how mich unbelief is necessary to make belief possible.What we know as blind faith is sustained by innumerable unbeliefs."

  "It is the true believer's ability to "shut his eyes and stop his ears"to facts that do not deserve to be either seen or heard which is the source of his unequaled fortitude and constancy.He cannot be frightened by danger nor disheartened by obstacles nor baffled by contradictions because he denies their existence.And it is the certitude of his infallible doctrine that renders the true believer impervious to the uncertainties,surprises and the unpleasant realities of the world around him.One has to get to heaven or the distant future to determine the truth of an effective doctrine."

  My thought:Many of us have come from the past to the distance future and have seen the Society change many of its effective doctrines,you know the list,certain effective doctrines are no longer effective.How do they get around this?Eric hoffer put it this way:"When some part of a doctrine is relatively simple,there is a tendency among the faithful to complicate and obscure it.Simple words are made pregnant with meaning and made to look like symbols in a secret message.There is thus an illiterate air about the most literate true believer.He seems to use words as if he were ignorant of their true meaning.Hence,too,his taste for quibbling,hair-splitting and scholastic tortuousnes."Blueblades
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  10

  The True Believer /Francois.

  by Blueblades in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hi francois!

  i just spent the day reading," the true believer ".eric hoffer wrote this book in 1951. i wish i had read it back in 1969!

  thanks for recommending it.i shared some points from it with a friend over the phone and he nows wants to read it too!

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  Blueblades

  Unifying Agents:1.Hatred";Hatred is the most accessible and comprehensive of all unifying agents.Mass movements can rise and spread without belief in a God,but never without belief in a devil.Usually the strength of a mass movement is proportionate to the vividness and tangibility of its devil.It is perhaps true that the insight and shrewdness of the men who know how to set a movement in motion,or how to keep one going,manifest themselves as much in knowing how to pick a worthy enemy as in knowing what doctrine to embrace what program to adopt."

  WT.Society has taught Hatred,and has picked as their #1.ENEMY:Those who have disagreed with their teachings and policies labeling them as like : SATAN,independent,faultfinding,stubborn,reviling,haughty,lawless,and APOSTATES.wt.8/15/1981,pages 28 and 29.

  In the minds of the rank and file including C.O.'s and Elders,this has been considered enough to categorize them and to deal with them accordingly.

  So,Unifying Agent#1.Hatred picking a devil i.e.Apostates along with the Internet.Blueblades
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  10

  The True Believer /Francois.

  by Blueblades in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hi francois!

  i just spent the day reading," the true believer ".eric hoffer wrote this book in 1951. i wish i had read it back in 1969!

  thanks for recommending it.i shared some points from it with a friend over the phone and he nows wants to read it too!

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  Blueblades

  Hi Refiner!, Also the" Seven Unifying Agents" 1.Hatred,2.Imitation,3.Persuasion and Coercian,4.Leardership,5.Action,6.Suspicion,and 7.The Effects of Unification.All very powerful information.

  Mass movements make extensive use of "Suspicion" in their machinery.There is prying and spying, tense watching and a tense awareness of being watched. There is much more, I'll leave that for another time.Blueblades
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  10

  The True Believer /Francois.

  by Blueblades in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hi francois!

  i just spent the day reading," the true believer ".eric hoffer wrote this book in 1951. i wish i had read it back in 1969!

  thanks for recommending it.i shared some points from it with a friend over the phone and he nows wants to read it too!

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
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  Blueblades

  Hi Francois! I just spent the day reading," The True Believer ".Eric Hoffer wrote this book in 1951. I wish I had read it back in 1969! Thanks for recommending it.I shared some points from it with a friend over the phone and he nows wants to read it too! You know how it is when you like certain points in a book you are reading,well, I practically underlined the whole book because all the chapters and titles were engrossing to me.I'm going to buy some of his other books to read also, thanks again. Blueblades.
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  16

  Did you raise your kids as witnesses?

  by freedom96 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  my mom raised us as witnesses, and finally left the wts after we grew up and left the house.

  my dad left after too.

  now my mom is so sorry about it all, and how we had to live, with my father an elder, the strictness, and of course all the things that a good witness family could not do.. how many of you raised your kids as witnesses?

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  Blueblades

  Hi Freedom96! Yes I did. Their out now and are doing good.Blueblades

  Hi Farkel! What happened to your post numbers .They read 4471,not 7000 and up!The last time I read your post it was over 7000,right, how did it go back to 4471?Blueblades
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  24

  Overseer's Visit & Hypocrisy

  by JH in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  why is it that when the overseer visits the congregation, that just about everybody shows up to the meetings and they all go in the field service?

  a whole week of endless zeal just to prove that they are all so spiritual.

  is gone, they all come back to normal.

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  Blueblades

  So,I'm taking this CO.to a very important meeting because his car that we pay for is in the shop.So, here is my opportunity to do some straight talk with him as I am an elder and he is visiting my congregation.After I pour out my concerns.This is his loving response,"Well brother,it looks like you dug yourself a pretty big hole, you should give those children of your a swift kick in the pants and even if you are no longer serving as an elder I'll still love you like a brother.Right then and there my heart sunk I couldn't believe my ears.Surely he must of heard my heartfelt concerns.I started to have an anxiety attack .When I got to the meeting which I was attending also ,he says your giving me a ride back home after meeting right.What could I say,It was a quiet ride back.Blueblades, and yes there is much hypocrisy when the CO. visits as has been mentioned by the previous responses.
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  4

  Utilitarianism

  by Blueblades in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  charles kluephel says that he is a utilitarian;the seeking of the greatest good for the greatest number.he goes on to say that,"religious faith can be a great good for people,enabling them to enjoy life in their own way while they are here.those who enjoy what religious believers call the gift of faith do indeed have a valuable life enhancing ability not to suffer the uncertainty that comes of the belief that there are no known answers to, say,life after death.".

  he continues,"this is even true for the atheist, who can enjoy life in his own way,while it lasts,without fear of a worse afterlife.even those who reject religion and the spirit can have a life-enhancing faith that when they die,that's all there is.this in some ways more comforting than the unknown.".

  so, the best advice that he can offer is;"to go with whatever you can believe".. "why is there something rather than nothing?

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  Blueblades

  Charles Kluephel says that he is a Utilitarian;The seeking of the greatest good for the greatest number.He goes on to say that,"Religious faith can be a great good for people,enabling them to enjoy life in their own way while they are here.Those who enjoy what religious believers call the gift of faith do indeed have a valuable life enhancing ability not to suffer the uncertainty that comes of the belief that there are no known answers to, say,life after death."

  He continues,"This is even true for the atheist, who can enjoy life in his own way,while it lasts,without fear of a worse afterlife.Even those who reject religion and the Spirit can have a life-enhancing faith that when they die,that's all there is.This in some ways more comforting than the unknown."

  So, the best advice that he can offer is;"To go with whatever you can believe".

  "Why is there something rather than nothing?" Martin Gardner.

  Is the physical universe a product of mind?

  I don't ascribe to any of this .Just thought I would post it for whatever its worth. Blueblades who is still in the Twilight Zone.

  To think there is a God is Absurd! But to think there is NO God is even more Absurd". Steve Allen.
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  24

  My Mother &" The Faithful & Discre...

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  lately, my mother keeps talking about how so many are appreciative of the "faithful & discreet slave class".

  we got into a discussion that prompted me to tell her that there is no such thing as the faithful slave class and that it was all an invention of rutherford because the first "faithful slave" was dead.

  so now everthing is a slave.

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  Blueblades

  Minimus,There is a small booklet that came with the book that has many sincere questions that have prompted many jw's to exit the wt.Society after seriously considering the answers given..Blueblades
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  2

  HOW TO STAY YOUNG;

  by Blueblades in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  how to stay young;.

  1.throw out nonessential numbers.this includes age,weight and height.let the doctor worry about them.that is why you pay him/her.. 2.keep only cheerful friends.the grouches pull you down.. 3.keep learning.learn more about the computer,crafts,gardening,whatever.never let the brain idle.. 4.enjoy the simple things.. 5.laugh often,long and loud.laugh until to gasp for breath.. 6.the tears happen.endure,grieve,and move on.the only person who is with us our entire lives,is ourselves.be alive while you are alive.. 7.cherish your health.if it good,preserve it.if it is unstable,improve it.if it is beyond what you can improve ,get help.. 8.don't take guilt trips.take trip to the mall,the next county,to a foreign country,but not to where the guilt is.. 9.tell the people you love that you love them,at every opportunty.

  life is not measured by the number of breaths we take,but by the moments that take our breath away.. 10.surround yourself with what you love,whether it's family,pets,keepsakes,music,plants hobbies,whatever.your home is your refuge.

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  Blueblades

  Sentinel,I'm glad you like it.I found it in my mail this morning and wanted to share it with others.Thanks,Blueblades
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  24

  My Mother &" The Faithful & Discre...

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  lately, my mother keeps talking about how so many are appreciative of the "faithful & discreet slave class".

  we got into a discussion that prompted me to tell her that there is no such thing as the faithful slave class and that it was all an invention of rutherford because the first "faithful slave" was dead.

  so now everthing is a slave.

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  Blueblades

  Minimus ,There is another way to address the issue of the FDS.Not by denying it,or disputing it,but,by qualifying it with the Societies own explanation of it.WT.10/15/1881,p.3.The number of chosen ones had been completed and no one could become a member of this class after this date of 1881.The Finished Mystery,1917,the number of martyrs in the first century were 861,000.The book of Acts mentions at least 100,000 people saved not including the thousands of gentiles .And this was only the beginning of the growth of Christianity.so, through the centuries by the time Russell came along there was no room for anyone to become part of the FDS.This just a starting point that shows the numbers don't add up for there being an FDS CLASS today.However, that the FDS applies to individuals who are Faithful to Christ can exceed the 144,000 is mentioned in Revealation.

  This information is found in the book,"APPROACHING jehovah's witnesses IN LOVE" by Wilbur Lingle.

  I'm sorry to hear about your frustation with your Mother in trying to explain this to her.I know it's hard when we are trying to help someone so dear to us. Blueblades