slimboyfat

Joined

• started 539 topics
• posted 17,649 times   see topics posted on
• send a message

Posts by slimboyfat

• 
  98

  Steve Hassan. Can some one verify if this is true.

  by joe134cd in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  https://culteducation.com/group/1289-general-information/8227-disclaimer-regarding-steve-hassan.html.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  slimboyfat

  Why?
• 
  98

  Steve Hassan. Can some one verify if this is true.

  by joe134cd in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  https://culteducation.com/group/1289-general-information/8227-disclaimer-regarding-steve-hassan.html.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  slimboyfat

  The review of Freedom of Mind linked on the page was interesting. I recently read the book so it was fresh to me. My opinion is that Hassan is a mixed bag, but mainly good.

  Some of the criticisms of his book are just petty. The claim of plagiarism is unfounded. Hassan may not use academic footnotes and bibliography, but he is more than clear about using Lifton's ideas and others.

  The criticisn that he uses the discredited term "mind control" instead of the legal term "undue influence" is plain weird. Because Hassan himself acknowledges in the book that "undue influence" is the better term and he has now started using it instead.

  The observation that Hassan's focus is on families helping cult victims is spot on. His book is no help whatever to people in cults who don't have families that want to help them out. The book offers little hope for such people, but it never pretended it did.

  The reviewer is probably correct that Hassan exaggerates the growth of cults today and it's true he offers no proof for such assertions. And yes he probably casts his net as widely as possible to make his book relevant to as many people as possible because he wants sales. So what?

  I find the accusation that Hassan uses hypnosis and NLP to be obnoxious because he acknowledges that he used them in the past, was concerned about them ethically, and has now condemned both. His statements on this are quite clear and the review obscures rather than explains Hassan's stance on this.

  The question of authority and legitimacy is interesting and difficult. The reviewer raises relevant questions about Hassan never being used as an expert witness and about qualifications. Many would say that Hassan's status as expert derives from his experience leaving a cult and many years helping others to do the same. He also has relevant academic qualifications in counselling I don't think are disputed.

  I broadly agree with the criticism of Hassan's use of the term "cult personality" as opposed to real or authentic personality. Some people may find this way of viewing things helpful to some extent. Personally I don't. The reviewer says these descriptions have no "scientific" basis. What they mean is that it's not standard terminology in the discourse. Fair enough, but if you want to get into the scientific basis of psychological discourse in general that's a whole other can of worms.

  Frankly the least interesting accusation against him I find are his prices. I can not envisage me ever paying for his services or anything like them. But what he charges is between him and his clients. If he charges too much then don't buy, simple as that. Watch a YouTube video instead.

  He seems to me like a genuinely nice guy who wants to help other people. He also makes apparently a good living from offering his advice and guidance to people with a lot of money. Too much for some people's taste, but no one is forcing them to buy. Good luck to him.
• 
  583

  What is the purpose of life?

  by slimboyfat in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  while reading the magazines the other day it occurred to me that jws never really had a very good answer to that question.

  because it was aimed at young people and it said something along the lines, "if you believe in god you have a purpose, but if you don't believe in god your life has no purpose or meaning".

  i think that is a faulty analysis of the situation.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  slimboyfat

  This thread was just waiting for the arrival of Sir82!
• 
  59

  Counting time

  by Emma in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  i may not have put this in the correct spot, but i do think it's scandalous the way time gets counted now.

  i've seen a cart at the edge of our farmer's market, never anyone close enough to talk.

  yesterday was a drizzly day and there were two carts set up, covered in plastic, "witnessing" on their own.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  slimboyfat

  Supposedly we couldn't count our drive time unless we "punched in" with an official ringing of a doorbell.

  I remember the "scandal" when the elders discovered that a couple of pioneer sisters in the congregation were in the habit of doing one "return visit" before the meeting for field service, so they could start counting their time early. What sneaks! Is that allowed? The debate raged on with a feeble persistence of people with nothing better to talk about.
  
  
• 
  59

  Counting time

  by Emma in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  i may not have put this in the correct spot, but i do think it's scandalous the way time gets counted now.

  i've seen a cart at the edge of our farmer's market, never anyone close enough to talk.

  yesterday was a drizzly day and there were two carts set up, covered in plastic, "witnessing" on their own.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  slimboyfat

  True for pioneers. Regular publishers don't get that perk. (Counting time, travelling and using a skilled trade at KH)

  It is truly amazing what counts as a "perk" in this organisation.
  
  
• 
  33

  How Dangerous are Blood Transfusions really?

  by TheWonderofYou in

  1. watchtower
  2. medical

  this is a report about the successful implementation of the patientbloodmanagent in germany and prof. zacharowski as well as the business trip of his life with shocking facts about transfusions in his bag.. http://screenart.tv/portfolio/gefaehrliche-bluttransfusionen.

  this year 2016 president obama and vice biden awarded german physicians prof. kai zacharowski with humanitarian award for patient safety.

  the patient safety movement foundation set the goal to massively reduce the number of preventable deaths of hospital patients worldwide by 2020.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  slimboyfat

  Even though blood transfusions can sometimes be dangerous, they can also be extremely vital. In this country there was a scandal about haemophiliacs getting HIV from contaminated donated blood. I heard a discussion of the problem on the radio and one of the clinicians said that unfortunately for some time the choice was to give blood products that were probably contaminated or no blood at all to these patients. No clearly safe supply of blood was available at the time. Yet despite the terrible consequences for many haemophiliacs who caught HIV and died, they still reckon that overall more lived longer than if they took no blood products at all. In general doctors don't give blood or blood products unless necessary. So even when risks are very high, treatment with blood and blood products can still be better than no treatment. That's an extreme example where the risk was high. In general the risks associated with blood transfusion have been reduced.
• 
  16

  Will China's Giant New Radio Telescope be able to hear YHWH and JESUS conversing?

  by fulltimestudent in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  china has just switched on its 500 metre diameter radio telescope, nearly twice as large as the previous largest.

  among other things it is tasked to do, it will eventually be programmed to look for and analyse radio waves that may have a non-natural origin.. so will the scientists manning this facility eventually hear yhwh and jesus having a chat?.

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvnj-vnsv4o.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  slimboyfat

  Will the telescope hear Jehovah talking, and is homosexuality normal, are questions that belong in a similar sort of category.
• 
  62

  ls homosexuality really normal?

  by atomant in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  l know animals do it but their animals.they dont live by a moral code.the thought of 2 men going for it is not normal.what are your thoughts?.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  slimboyfat

  I guess the accusation of not being normal is a slight improvement over "sinful" or "unnatural" which were once the insults of choice.

  Maybe in time the description will give way to quirky, or individual, or even glorious.

  Instead of normal, is homosexuality glorious? Maybe the same people will ask.
• 
  21

  "Explaining Your Beliefs About Homosexuality"

  by wizzstick in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  it's doing the rounds but i've not seen it before.. explaining your beliefs about homosexuality.

  there are three pages.

  here are my thoughts on each question on the pages:.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  slimboyfat

  Archived so they can never claim they didn't say these things.

  Good idea, they are bound to abandon this position at some point. To quote from them: "people can change".
• 
  18

  What were Jesus's 'Miracles' supposed to prove?

  by nicolaou in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  the healings, feeding the five thousand, walking on water, resurrecting the dead.

  none of it happened of course but let's take the bible literally and say that it did.. so?.

  didn't magic practicing priests perform 'miracles' in a contest with aaron?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  slimboyfat

  Many of the miracles have antecedents in the Old Testament and other literature. A large part of the function of miracles in the narrative is to show that Jesus is a prophet like Moses, Elijah, Isaiah and so on.