Posts by scotoma

13

THE GROUP vs the reality of the group=A CULT

by Terry in

jw
friends

basic principle of rational thinking:.

what man can test against reality he can disprove!.

what man cannot test against reality he cannot.. ____________________________________________.

scotoma

Terry,

The concept of improving conditions and opportunities for family members was not the dominant aim for the hundreds of thousands of years of history.

There was no concept of the "good life". There was only "life".

It was about basic survival. Men beat their rivals to death to protect their offspring. And when their offspring grew up to challenge them they would beat them to death if they infringed on their territory.

The mere idea of "wanting things for your offspring you never had" is a thuggish agenda because they would have to take things from the weak.

What things would a hunter gatherer want for their kids that they never had?

Lifespan was about 30 years for most of human history.

The aim was to simply stay alive. A brutish father that had to physically struggle for his position in the extended family hierarchy would probably consider his

own children as competitors.

We enjoy a great life in the US because we are members of a very successful collective that has dominated all the others.

The reason cults emerge is because people who survived these last million years evolved in a milieu of graybacks and their coalitions.

Sociability is a blessing and a curse.

3

DNA Gamechanger: Could Be Huge

by metatron in

jw
friends

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/exclusive-jawdropping-breakthrough-hailed-as-landmark-in-fight-against-hereditary-diseases-as-crispr-technique-heralds-genetic-revolution-8925295.html.

holy cow........ genetic revolution, indeed.

metatron.

scotoma

Let me know when they figure out how to add some length to teleomeres.

71

Trying to overcome my homophobia.

by Julia Orwell in

jw
friends

i had a music album by a gay guy before i was a jw and had no problem listening to it.

it's good music.

some of the lyrics are what you might call 'gay', that is there's some talk about boyfriends, gay bars, and queens and the intolerance the artist encountered as a gay man.

scotoma

If you want to see what theater would be like without gays just watch a Watchtower Convention Drama.

13

THE GROUP vs the reality of the group=A CULT

by Terry in

jw
friends

basic principle of rational thinking:.

what man can test against reality he can disprove!.

what man cannot test against reality he cannot.. ____________________________________________.

scotoma

We are all born into a cult. It's called F-A-M-I-L-Y.

Fathers are the ultimate thug leaders.

Women picked the biggest guys with the biggest shoulders to mate with.

They needed big guys, not to work hard and provide food, but to make sure the women and children would be protected from other males.

Males are not real good at providing food. The women hunter gatherers were in charge of that.

The men mostly sharpened their knives and spears and drank fermented beverages, halucinogenic mushrooms, and psychoactive herbs at "elder" meetings.

That's why the biggest competitor to cult-organizations is the family.

The Watchtower is always battling families with its disfellowshpping policies.

Family cults seem to be an evolutionary necessity. Organizational cults like gangs are just big families and not needed.

9

The Hope Of The World?

by metatron in

jw
friends

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2013/10/more-nsa-leakers-followed-snowdens-footsteps-whistleblower-lawyer-says/.

why do i post this and think it could be the most hopeful development in the world currently?.

there are some fringe opinions out there that i believe may be credible - in particular, the "breakaway group" theory of historian richard dolan which assert that parts of the us intelligence community know about some astounding technology - and are keeping it strictly secret.. just suppose that we enter a world-wide period in which the whole edifice of secrecy collapses as whistleblowers surge forward into public view.

scotoma

Adamah,

I brought up Art Bell. I believe he's no longer on the air. So don't blame Metatron.

I know you're asking Metatron to clarify himself but I feel caught up in this too.

The need to know is a basic organismic need and that's why we have a system of sensory receptors.

There are levels of knowing. You don't need to know the deep theoretical or technical issues but there are levels that aid personal orientation.

If someone reports in a scientific journal that they have evidence of cold fusion and no one is able to refute it the natural question is why aren't companies

building this stuff. I don't personally believe there are any such practical inventions but it is natural to want to investigate rumors of such things.

9

The Hope Of The World?

by metatron in

jw
friends

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2013/10/more-nsa-leakers-followed-snowdens-footsteps-whistleblower-lawyer-says/.

why do i post this and think it could be the most hopeful development in the world currently?.

there are some fringe opinions out there that i believe may be credible - in particular, the "breakaway group" theory of historian richard dolan which assert that parts of the us intelligence community know about some astounding technology - and are keeping it strictly secret.. just suppose that we enter a world-wide period in which the whole edifice of secrecy collapses as whistleblowers surge forward into public view.

scotoma

Metatron,

I would discard deathbed confessions on the grounds that it is impossible to debrief them properly.

I would discard anonymous revelations for the same reason.

If you can't question a witness they aren't a witness about anything.

It's the same thing with religious claims from mystics that "hear the voice of God".

I believe the current evidence from people who aren't on their deathbed are a sufficient "tip of the iceberg".

But this doesn't mean that you believe everything people say. Instead it makes you open to the information that these aliens might want to reveal.

They will prove to be whatever they prove to be.

9

The Hope Of The World?

by metatron in

jw
friends

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2013/10/more-nsa-leakers-followed-snowdens-footsteps-whistleblower-lawyer-says/.

why do i post this and think it could be the most hopeful development in the world currently?.

there are some fringe opinions out there that i believe may be credible - in particular, the "breakaway group" theory of historian richard dolan which assert that parts of the us intelligence community know about some astounding technology - and are keeping it strictly secret.. just suppose that we enter a world-wide period in which the whole edifice of secrecy collapses as whistleblowers surge forward into public view.

scotoma

Metatron,

I agree with Prologos. I've met Richard Dolan and have talked with him after a lecture he gave recently.

I respect his scholarly approach but keep my distance because he is selling books and lectures and he has to always act like

there is more. As Art Bell would say: "Stay tuned because in the next hour we're going to hear from an eyewitness to some extraordinary things"

There is enough evidence already available that aliens are visiting this planet and that by the very nature of having arrived they have advanced technology that most likely make our carbon based

energy sources obsolete.

"keeping it strictly secret" Is the watchword for hucksters that want you coming back for more.

There have been NO alien abductions, face-to-face communications, UFO crashes, back engineering, cattle mutilations or any close encounters of the third kind.

The information we have is the information they want us to have. Basically they could visit without us knowing but they seem to want humans to be open to their capabilities. So we see them flying around

menacing nuclear facilities and playing games with military aircraft. That's it.

97

Unconfirmed 2014 Year Book Numbers - Peak Pubs, Baptized, Hrs, Reg Pio & Studies

by OwnAccord in

jw
friends

i bethelite sent this email out - can't really give out names.

we wrote these figures as quickly as possible, but could not keep up 100%).

you get to check these figures out when you get your 2014 yearbook.

scotoma

These figures are pure propaganda.

Example: Some called our stand "the best in the whole fair".

Compare that with the number who attended: More than 500,000 attended.

If you get 500,000 people to attend an event is "some called our stand "the best in the whole fair" significant?

Was there a vote? "Some" is an evasively ambiguous non-quantity.

Of the 500,000 that attended 400 filled out follow up forms. That's 0.0008. Nothing to brag about.

Probably less than 400 felt the display was "the best in the whole fair>"

Then there is the setup they're planning for Mexico. In business that's called an opportunity. But based on the pittyful results from the crowd in Columbia they will probably be fortunate to get 72 follow up forms.

Since maybe 3% of studies get baptized we're talking a net result from the Columbia and Mexican event would be at best 14 new JW's.

So you have to ignore the size of the alleged audience and think about the REAL results. Big numbers by themselves aren't worth cheering.

Bulgaria did a little better. But considering the audience it was very unique and actually disadvantaged.

Romania was given as an example of those thirsting for Watchtowers. They again give a large number of around 4 million people in Romania who live in small towns and villages. But what about the other 18 million people in Romania that don't live in small towns and villages? They happen to live in cities with better internet than the USA. How much success are you going to have once the villagers (conservative family oriented) learn about shunning their families? But they targeted a good area. Close to 32,000 studies started. They should get at least 1,000 new members from that effort. The local priests are going to apply a lot of heat.

Sounds like the squeal of spinning tires.

52

NSA spying on Vatican! My JW parents are SOO EXCITED!

by BU2B in

jw
friends

it just came out yesterday that the nsa has spied on the vatican and pope francis.

when i went over my parents house yesterday, you could see the excitement, the energy in their eyes when they talked about it.

my dad even pumped his fist like he won something when he was talking about it.

scotoma

SFPW,

I challenge you to prove that Babylon the Great is false religion.

You can't prove that and neither can the Watchtower writers.

ALL and I mean ALL the evidence in the description of Babylon the Great indicates that it is a political entity.

The idea that it is a relgious entity is another one of those ideas that they borrowed from the Protestants.

It was very popular in the 1800's for White Anglo-Saxon Protestants to pick on the Catholic Church.

The witnesses took that idea and used it to demonize ALL religions.

Give it your best shot SFPW try to prove that Babylon the Great is the "World Empire of False Religion".

They've repeated the mantra "Babylon the Great-The World Empire of False Religion" so many times you are conditioned to actually believe that it is obvious.

Good luck trying to prove it.

You believe it only because you've been told to believe it.

14

If Somethingbad

by minimus in

jw
friends

scotoma

When I feel like praying I know I've reached the point psychologists call the "impasse".

Instead of praying I just tell myself that there doesn't seem to be much more I can do and then do some deep breathing.

I find something I like to do to distract me.

Once you create enough tension and acknowledge the impasse - take a little break - a lot of creative solutions start streaming. You start making an inventory of your assets.

That's just how the mind works.

And if no solutions seem viable. I just tell myself "tough-shit".

So how is that any different from praying.