>You got to listen <
Ain't nobody gotta LISTEN to DIDDLYSQUAT around here---boy are YOU on the wrong board!!
Greg Stafford's New Book Has Shipped
by AlanF 50 Replies latest jw friends
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WildHorses
Well slap my britches and call me mama! How have you been doing, CorbaCan? Luv2Shari here. I should have guessed that you have been lurking, seeing that Alf comes here at times.
Welcome to the forum.
Shari/Lilacs
I don't want someone in my life I can live with. I want someone in my life I can't live without.
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openminded
I know Matt Alfs. Sadly instead of having a father coach my little league games, he used to take us to Matt's house to watch really weird cult videos from the late 1800's. Oh what memories. Thanks Dad!
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whatsthisabout
An opinion coming from a witness. Greg's a smart guy but he is slipping. And by that I dont mean "from the organization". I mean that his new book is not up to par with his normal standard of scholasticism, from what I"ve read and heard, though i have not yet recieved his book. Greg got caught up in emotion and just decided to rant. And when one does that, it is not methodical. IT would have been one thing if he had really deliberated longer. But he stopped a project 60% complete, so I have heard, and suddenly took up on these disssertations, which are far more fallible arguments than he usually does. IT seems as though his arguments leave no holes, but this book does. But his most recent issues leave factors out. He seems to have tunnel vision. I have never met Greg, i know him second hand. I've admired him in some ways, but I have also disliked his style. I"ve admired him because i like smart people who know what they are talking about, be they witnesses or someone else. But I dont like arrogance, and I have detected that even in the writings I totally agree with. I"m not surprised about this new book at all. I thought maybe something of the sort would come up. I"ve read a lot of his postings...and its cool if someone carries on a debate...but his dry sarcasm is unbecoming. In so many unneeded words, he is basically telling people "Hello whats wrong with you has your brain taken a vacation". Even if someone has quoted you out of context, or just doesn't have the diplomatic or scholarly skills that you have, there is no reason to stoop to tinting your dialogue with a condescending attitude. I feel much of what he goes into forever and ever and ever is much like a soliloquy, one that reveals more than the speaker intends. His content is right on, his attitude is not. Perhaps some of you know what I'm talking about. Now maybe thats forgiveable if he vindicates God's name in a proper manner. But i'm not even sure he's doing that.
Anyway. This message board is definatly interesting, and definately not theological. And though doing so would not indicate a right heart attitude, i find it even more interesting that i haven't seen hardly anyone quote the bible. Only the watchtower. I'd venture to say many of you know much more about what's in the Watchtower than I do, and probably much less about whats in the Bible. -
Gopher
Whatsthisabout,
Your post seems to have too many generalizations, without having read Mr. Stafford's new book. Where do you get the information about his attitude in the book, without even having read it? I hope you haven't fallen prey to the arrogance you claim Mr. Stafford displays.
Ok, you want a bible quote? Try Proverbs 18:13 on for size.
When anyone is replying to a matter before he hears it, that is foolishness on his part and a humiliation.
-J.R.This post was not evaluated by any mental health professionals.
Any opinions expressed are those of a fuzzy, cuddly rodent. -
Farkel
clash,
: If the the WT had any integraty they would qoute from REAL NT and OT Scholars of today like
Why would the Word of God given to all of mankind to guide them through their paths in life and through eternity need "NT and "OT Scholars" to understand it at all?
Unless it is just a pile of convoluted, contradictive, male-dominated patriarchal tribal bullshit, that is.
Farkel
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Unclepenn1
whatsthisabout, I actually totally agree with you, on just about every point. Good post!
Penn (always open for biblical dialogue)
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Farkel
whasisthisabout,
: But I dont like arrogance, and I have detected that even in the writings I totally agree with.
Greg gets knocked down a few notches when he tries to debate people as knowledgable and smart as he is. In one particularly notorious case, he posed as another poster and claimed he had clearly "won" a debate (on the old H20). I know. I was part of the debate and saw the whole thing. Greg got caught with his pants down and only after much cajoling did he acknowledge and offer a WTS-style apology, which was basically no apology at all.
Yes he has a big ego, but there's nothing wrong with that. His arrogance is a big problem, though. I'm sure he's quite content living as a big fish in the small dub pond. He has not yet submitted any of his "scholarly" works for peer review, nor would I blame him for not doing so.
I have a professor friend who is an internationlly recognized scholar and heads the humanities department at a major US University. He is more familiar with the JW religion than most informed ex-JWs. Another professor friend of mine, after discussing it with me, sent this professor a copy of Jehovah's Witnesses Defended and offered to pay him to write scholarly review of only one chapter of the book. The professor read the book and said it wasn't worth his time. He told me at dinner once that the book was "garbage."
So much for "scholarly."
Still, I have great hopes for Greg. I think he will soon leave dub life and take and polish his talents and intellect for more worthy purposes. He's still young. Arrogance tends to wane as we begin to realize the shortness of our lives and the inevitable demise we all face.
Farkel
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Fredhall
Fakel,
How did you know that Greg pants was down?
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Jerry Bergman
I always liked Mat Alfs but lost track of him. Does anyone out there know what he is up to??