Well since you mentioned examples of technology, it may be good to approach it that way - even looking at religion itself as a technology. When it comes to tech we think in terms of how we can use it, even in a recent thread an apparent JW elder apologist phrased atheism in terms of not being "useful" - which is a strange choice of words for a believer but it's rather telling. You would think something is believed in because it's seen as true rather than for its usefulness as some kind of comfort, which of course does not address whether it's true, and from many of our long term experiences, whether it even works.
Markfromcali
JoinedPosts by Markfromcali
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17
Ex-Moonie Diane Benscoter: How Cults Think (Video)
by leavingwt in"diane benscoter talks about how she joined the moonies -- and stayed for five long years.
she shares an insider's perspective on cults and extremist movements, and proposes a new way to think about today's most troubling conflicts.".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nl0uxdscjdo.
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Markfromcali
Nice for an intro, there might be a more complete video at ted.com - which has a lot of great speakers of all different sorts of subjects so definitely check that out.
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Romance
by Libelle in'k guys... if you're the romantic sort, let's talk about romance.
in my relationship, the mr is the tweety-hearts one, i'm the down to business one (if you follow my meaning - on the spectrum, he's on the romance end, i'm on the lust end).
what kinds of things, do you find romantic?
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Markfromcali
Things that are romantic for other people may not be to your husband, so you should really just pay attention to what he finds romantic. It could be the smallest thing though, I remember one time I was hanging out with this girl and I just thought her scratching her foot was the cutest thing.
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Latest SAD--More Higher Ed Bashing. Did you know it's one of Satan's False Refuges?
by Cadellin inwell, folks, this little mermaid just got back from the sad she had to attend w/her husband so as to keep a measure of peace (we're in the process of working out compromises...you know how it goes) i was pretty mad by the end of the day (thank god it ended at 4:00) mostly because i learned some new things that i would never have guessed in a million years.. did you know that satan is setting up artificial "refuges" as a counterfeit to jehovah's "true refuge"which is...his organization???
now satan's "false refuges" are pretty damn bad, like, for instance, "independent thinking.
" no, siree bob, we don't want none of that!!
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Markfromcali
human leadership and independent thinking
LOL, aren't these two a bit of a contradiction? Ohhhh, but the FDS is not "human" leadership, righhht. But then again, Satan has to do with lying right?
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Anyone any profound experience?
by bez insince leaving the borg a couple month back i have as some of you know seemed to get lower and lower.
my friends have slowly but surely drifted and we (my hubby and i) are treated very much like 'apostates' now and have been tried to be shoved out by them trying to get us to da ourselves.
and now i feel quite lost and am really struggling.. at first i continued to pray to god, believing he was listening and i could draw comfort from the inner peace i seemed to feel???
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Markfromcali
This may not be immediately helpful, but if you just have it in the back of your mind as you continue to process and reflect on things it may help to make sense of things as you go on.
I appreciate your honesty about not knowing what to believe. If the existence of God can be called into question, then it is certainly reasonable that the nature of God or what is thought of as spirituality can be questioned. I can share an experience that even others feel was profound, but it doesn't fit into the way you framed the question at the end of your post, but neither is it about atheism. You see, God or no God sets up your mind to make a decision about belief in a particular idea when you don't need to go one way or the other on it, it's a form of reductionism and a false dilemma. And if there is one area that reductionism does not make sense it is when it has to do with ultimate reality.
True freedom is not comfortable. If we win the lotto things would be easier, but from another perspective that is another form of dependency. If someone was capable and resourceful, though they can always make more money even if they lost everything today - and the same goes for beliefs. Being honest and humble would involve being truthful, even if it means admitting to yourself that you've been wrong about everything. As you know this may put you in a bit of a distraught state, but we can't go back to believing in lies can we? The way through is to go forward. If you're interested in what's true, then if you honestly don't know you just don't know. The peace you develop this way may take time, but with that attitude you'd know it is true peace, rather than just believing in another idea someone else told you.
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Latest SAD--More Higher Ed Bashing. Did you know it's one of Satan's False Refuges?
by Cadellin inwell, folks, this little mermaid just got back from the sad she had to attend w/her husband so as to keep a measure of peace (we're in the process of working out compromises...you know how it goes) i was pretty mad by the end of the day (thank god it ended at 4:00) mostly because i learned some new things that i would never have guessed in a million years.. did you know that satan is setting up artificial "refuges" as a counterfeit to jehovah's "true refuge"which is...his organization???
now satan's "false refuges" are pretty damn bad, like, for instance, "independent thinking.
" no, siree bob, we don't want none of that!!
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Markfromcali
I know I've forgotten a lot, but what is SAD? Stupidity Affected Depression?
Of course, dependent thinking is much easier than independent thinking - it's actually no thinking at all.
Education isn't even just for finding a job, framing it in those terms prompts you to go one way or the other on it when in fact its intrinsic value is ignored. It's like George Carlin said about how they want people who are just smart enough to run the machines and do the paperwork but dumb enough to passively accept the increasingly dungier conditions.
Like Douglas Rushkoff said, you can be a programmer to play an active part or be, not even a user of the system, but the used.
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Is it pride when the FDS a.k.a. GB sets itself as an authority?
by bottleofwater inis this rhetorical or what?.
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Markfromcali
Or it could be a simple control mechanism in the belief system, depending on how you look at it. Sure a lot of things may be telling about their character, but I think seeing how they function goes a long way.
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Mormon Transhumanist Association
by Markfromcali inhave you heard of these guys?
i just came across it by accident but it's sort of interesting.. i can see it now - jw gb goes futurama, heads in jars attached to big robots ... http://transfigurism.org/pages/about/.
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Markfromcali
Have you heard of these guys? I just came across it by accident but it's sort of interesting.. I can see it now - JW GB goes Futurama, heads in jars attached to big robots ..
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Keeping your nose in the POO
by Terry inhuman misery: the default setting in the universe.. .
we think "everything is okay" is the norm and it isn't.
not by a long shot.. .
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Markfromcali
The first 2 truths, in buddhism are:
2. The origin of suffering is attachment.
Detach, and you stop your suffering. Detach from your house, your car, your very life - hard to do.
It's because it's not something you "do," that's why they call it non-attachment. The principle of non-attachment really speaks to the nature of awareness, which does not grasp at or avert things. Trying to detach would be like the JW focus on outward behavior, which we know is really putting the cart before the horse and creates suffering in itself, whereas if the consciousness shifts then it comes naturally. Of course some forms of attachments are natural, such as various social ties but there is also artificial mind created attachment which can become very elaborate and powerful, as we know it may take the form of ones world view, even one that considers this principle if the idea of it is mistaken for the real thing. A functional smooth working mind would not hold detachment as a goal or some kind of ideal, it will direct the attention toward things for the simple purpose of working with it and move on when it is done, no more no less.
To get back to the topic, clearly the subjective experience of poopiness is not very functional if nothing else. Yes it may be a relatively more accurate view of things if you stay informed, but for most people the psyche can only bear so much. The fact that there is no distinction made between what's going on and the subjective exprience of how that sits with you shows the view is less than objective. An objective view of the news would have to take into consideration how that information is being conveyed, what that says about the authors view and if there is any slant, etc. as well as one's own perceptual filters and interpretations. It may require additional research to make sense of the info, but none of this will be considered if someone was just stuck in that experience of negativity.
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Keeping your nose in the POO
by Terry inhuman misery: the default setting in the universe.. .
we think "everything is okay" is the norm and it isn't.
not by a long shot.. .
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Markfromcali
Smelling the rose doesn't mean you know that much about flowers, just as smelling the shit doesn't mean you're doing any stool analysis.