One of my favorites is: Attacking Faulty Reasoning - A Practical Guide to Fallacy-Free Arguments. T.Edward Damer That book has been my bathroom reading for the last 15 years. I read it everytime I use the toilet. One Fallacy at a time. Read some General Semantics (Look it up) General Semantics drills you in the two most important questions: 1. What do you mean? 2. How do you know? Also learn the Neurolinguistic Meta Model. Next you need to read some books like I am right/You are wrong so you can cut back on being too argumentative. If you get too good at arguing you will lose friends and family.
scotoma
JoinedPosts by scotoma
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18
Improving Critical Thinking Skills
by GloomySunday ini'm out of the jw religion, but still have trouble thinking critically.
when i was in, i had no idea what a logical fallacy was, i used all sorts of false arguments, yes, even "if man evolved from monkeys, why are there still monkeys?".
i would fall for just about everything.
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60
Jehovah's Witnesses are NOT false prophets
by SloppyJoe intonight on the service meeting we discussed why jws are not false prophets.
of the ten minute part two were spent discussing that jws just had wrong expectations and only very minor changes over the years although nothing specific was mentioned.
the other eight focused on the core bible truths that have remained the same over the years.
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scotoma
The fallacy committed by the Watchtower when it attempts to distinguish "FALSE EXPECTATIONS" from "FALSE PROPHECY" is called the fallacy of "Distinction Without a Difference" This fallacy usually appears when someone has been accused of something but in order to avoid embarrassment tries to make a convoluted distinction between two expressions that are virtually the same. Clinton did that when he claimed he didn't have sexual relations with Monica. He merely had her perform oral sex on him and he massaged her vagina with his cigar. A person is free to assign whatever definition they want to terms, but if the terms mean essentially the same thing they have made a distinction without a difference. So let's see how the Watchtower does this. They differentiate having "false expectations" from being a "false prophet". Now think about this. How likely is it that you could be a false prophet without having false expectations. Prophets whether true or false vocalize their expectations. Expectation: the act of looking forward to an event that is about to happen. How do we know that they had false expectations? They stated their expectations publicly in talks and in their journals and other publications. So what's the difference between a false expectation and a false prophesy. Horse and Carriage. They go together. If the world knows about your false expectations isn't it likely that you declared those expectations. Why would you do that if you thought there was a chance it might not happen. If you declare it you probably feel your expectations so strongly that you feel you will be vindicated as a "prophet". That makes a person a prophet and in this case a false prophet because the declared expectation proved to be false. Even if they didn't qualify their statements by saying "Jehovah has declared..." they have positioned themselves as being the only representative of Jehovah. If they are truly "discreet" you would expect them to confine their proclamations to truth.
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Is The WTS Building Beth Sarim 2 ?
by metatron ini continue to puzzle over the future direction the watchtower is taking.
it seems very strange.. let's review: they are selling everything off in brooklyn, raking in huge sums from that real estate and building heavily in a fairly isolated part of upstate ny.. why?.
it may be classified as a country club (legally).
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scotoma
They are simply getting the hell out of a terrorist target.
One more terrorist attack of similar proportions and NYC real estate values plummet.
Good time to sell.
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The Apostate Narrative
by Londo111 inhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/apostate.
controversies over new religious movements (nrms) have often involved apostates, some of whom join organizations or web sites opposed to their former religions.
a number of scholars have debated the reliability of apostates and their stories, often called "apostate narratives".. one camp that broadly speaking questions apostate narratives includes david g. bromley,[67][68] daniel carson johnson,[69] dr. lonnie d. kliever (19322004),[70]gordon melton,[71] and bryan r.
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scotoma
Freud has been discredited because he developed his theory around what he called stories about young women being raped by family members "erotic fantasies".
Freud just couldn't believe so many women from highly respected families would be victims of incest.
So he came up with the Oedipus complex (Jung wrote about the equivalent electra complex)
Some cult stories are made up some are real.
The death of Ananais and Saphira in the book of acts was either Urban Myth or a cult homicide.
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Was Your Leaving The Witnesses A Very Gradual Process Or A Quick One?
by minimus infor me, it took many years.. even when i would read all the changes over the years from the "truth", i still would ignore it and "wait on jehovah" and try to be a positive force in the congregation.. eventually, i just couldn't take it anymore and resigned as an elder, and slowly but surely made my fade.. what about you?
were you out, in a short or longer time?
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scotoma
Leaving... Duh
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scotoma
Bang! (gun shot) Aaaaannd they're off!
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48
Danger Witness Robinson! Danger!!!
by Marvin Shilmer indanger witness robinson!
danger!!!
today i added a new article to my blog highlighting the danger of power consolidation along with an overt attempt to ready millions for obeying irrational direction from this power.
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scotoma
I think the references to Jim Jones etc. are way off base.
The Bible is full of crazy stuff.
Religions ask people to do all sorts of things that go contrary to rational thinking.
If you want to be a Jew we've got to cut off your foreskin. OK I don't need it but it will hurt like hell.
Under no circumstances should you eat blood.
Kill the Amorites.
March around Jericho 7 times and then shout.
Pick the men who don't put their face in the water to get a drink.
Kill a lamb. Eat the whole thing. Make sure you have some bitter vegetables with that. Paint blood on your door post.
When you see Jerusalem surrounded by encamped armies - get out of there.
BIG DEAL.
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Danger Witness Robinson! Danger!!!
by Marvin Shilmer indanger witness robinson!
danger!!!
today i added a new article to my blog highlighting the danger of power consolidation along with an overt attempt to ready millions for obeying irrational direction from this power.
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scotoma
Marvin,
Context does matter. If they predicted those two improbable events -1. Noteworthy peace accomplishment 2. Attack on false religion by the United Nations I would be totally disoriented and flabbergasted and would do what they advised short of suicide or murder because in that queen of hearts alice in wonderland world they WOULD know what to do. I certainly wouldn't know where to turn. My good sense would have been totally useless.
This is something way beyond Hitler or blindly following a dictator. And that's the point. It isn't a likely situation.
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Danger Witness Robinson! Danger!!!
by Marvin Shilmer indanger witness robinson!
danger!!!
today i added a new article to my blog highlighting the danger of power consolidation along with an overt attempt to ready millions for obeying irrational direction from this power.
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scotoma
Marvin,
I don't see anything upsetting about this.
You have to put it into context.
They are describing an emergency situation. And they have defined the specific situation in the article saying "At that time..."
What time? If you read the article they are talking about their long anticipated "great tribulation" which begins with some kind of peace proclamation that is different from the so-called previous proclamations.
The "disgusting thing standing where it shouldn't" has also been fairly ambiguous but they now have stated that it will be an all out attack on false religions which they think is Babylon the Great.
By these requirements they are saying that the Peace Proclamation will be identified by the the attack on Religion that quickly follows it. A peace proclamation that isn't followed by an attack on false religion would just be the run-of-the-mill cries for peace that are too familiar.
These are pretty big speed bumps before they invoke the "listen to us or you'll die" red code alert.
And face it. If there were an actual Peace Proclamation followed by an attack on false relgion by the United Nations you too might be inclined to listen to their direction although begrudgingly.
Don't worry though. This would be the first time they ever got anything right.
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Religious people are less intelligent than atheists, according to analysis of scores of scientific studies stretching back over decades
by besty inhttp://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/religious-people-are-less-intelligent-than-atheists-according-to-analysis-of-scores-of-scientific-studies-stretching-back-over-decades-8758046.html.
study found 'a reliable negative relation between intelligence and religiosity' in 53 out of 63 studies.
a new review of 63 scientific studies stretching back over decades has concluded that religious people are less intelligent than non-believers.. .
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scotoma
Besty,
It's so nice, I wanna hear the same song twice,
it's so nice i wanna hear the same song twice__Sublime