Posts by MYOHNSEPH

30

Burial or Cremation?

by Francois in

jw
friends

i got the idea for this thread from one jessika posted and which contained a response from dede.. which form of final resting place do you prefer and why?

personally, i want to be cremated and have my ashes scattered at a particular place on the beach on deserted st. catherine's island, a barrier island on the georgia coast.

my children could get there by boat (the only way) and visit my spirit there - even though i know my spirit won't be there, i believe that somehow i will know they're there and what they're saying.. being buried in a box six feet under to lie in the same position througout all eternity doesn't appeal to me in the least.

MYOHNSEPH

Hey Cheeses! Two mountain lions, eating a freshly killed hunter:

1st mountain lion: Hey dude, this is great fun, huh!?

2nd mountain lion: Yeah, man, I'm havin' a ball!

1st mountain lion: Well slow down hoss, and save the other one for me! That's my favorite part!

But seriously though, I opt for cremation. My observation over the years is that people don't seem to wallow in the death of a loved one quite as much when they're cremated immediately instead of being put on display in a casket for two or three days. Besides, I think it would be kinda fun to have my cremains placed in an urn on the mantel above the fireplace, with a nice inscription saying, "I may be gone now, but you can all still kiss my ashes!"

16

If this is the best forum say 'I'!

by digderidoo in

jw
friends

second attempt to get thread up.. when i first joined this site, i seem to remember that there were many defectors from h2o coming over here, but this site was always the underdog.. i have just been to h2o for the first time in around 2 years, and to my astonishment, it is abysmal!!!!.

i have come to the realisations that this is the site for those seeking truth and knowledge.

this is the site for the xjw community.. so, if this is the best forum say 'i'.

MYOHNSEPH

WHAT??!! You mean there's another one??!!

2

WHENCE MORALITY?

by MYOHNSEPH in

jw
friends

listening to a discussion about perceptions of morality and/or amorality in tactics of war, the question came to mind, what is morality, anyhow?

is the human sense of morality, or peception of morality, evidence of influence from a higher, spiritual source?

a creator, perhaps?

MYOHNSEPH

Thanks for your astute perspective, Dmouse. I was beginning to wonder if my post had even made it to the board!

I agree that our social culture seems to set the criteria for what we perceive as moral or immoral. But I also agree we seem to be 'hard-wired' with certain moral sensitivities. I'm just not convinced that they have come about strictly through evolutionary processes. If that is the case, it would be most interesting to look into the future and see how "morality" evolves over the next couple of centuries.

2

WHENCE MORALITY?

by MYOHNSEPH in

jw
friends

listening to a discussion about perceptions of morality and/or amorality in tactics of war, the question came to mind, what is morality, anyhow?

is the human sense of morality, or peception of morality, evidence of influence from a higher, spiritual source?

a creator, perhaps?

MYOHNSEPH

Listening to a discussion about perceptions of morality and/or amorality in tactics of war, the question came to mind, What is morality, anyhow? I mean, where does it come from? Is the human sense of morality, or peception of morality, evidence of influence from a higher, spiritual source? A creator, perhaps? Does it bear any sort of real authority? Or is it just something thrown into the human psyche coincidentally by "natural selection"? And if it's the latter, is anyone rightfully bound by the moral perceptions of anyone else? Anyone have a perception on this they'd like to share?

11

It's still the North v the South

by Sadie5 in

jw
friends

.

many richmond residents are not happy about a statue of lincoln being placed in their city.. http://kotv.com/pages/viewpage.asp?id=43633.

i was born and raised in the north, now live in the south and can still see some deep rooted feelings towards northeners or yankees as they call us.

MYOHNSEPH

I was born and raised in the deep south, but I've never felt any resentment toward ~~yankees~~ northerners. I just think they talk funny!

9

interesting article on JW's and shunning

by greven in

jw
friends

.

check it out here.

MYOHNSEPH

Elders disfellowship 50,000 to 60,000 Witnesses around the world each year, Brown said.

Seems to me, as 'fishers of men', they're sure pulling in a lot of carp!

3

Religion & Morals

by Sadie5 in

jw
friends

my hubby and i come from different backgrounds.

although neither was raised as a jw, he was in a very religious household.

as kids they were forced to read the bible everyday after school, while the neighborhood kids played outside.

MYOHNSEPH

Hi Sadie. For whatever my opinion may be worth, I've come to believe that religious upbringing often has little to do, in a positive way, with a persons fundemental moral character. I've known a considerable number of people, who were raised in in very "religious" households - most of them JWs - but who grew up to have little regard for the moral principles they were exposed to in their upbringing, in fact, little regard for other people in general. On the other hand, I know a great number of people who had essentially no "religious" training but who are as honest and morally decent as anyone you would want to meet. I personally believe that some people are born with more of a tendency toward honesty, or dishonesty, and what most people define as morality, or immorality. I believe our environment and upbringing has a significant impact on how those tendencies develope, along with the culture we are exposed to, but I don't believe religion is necessary in one's life to develope honest and decent character. Often times, such qualities are nothing more than a cloak which is worn because one is a JW or some other religion. Then, unfortuantely, if the individual becomes disillusioned with that religion and decides to put it, the religion, aside, that cloak of morality is set aside along with it. In such an instance, that "morality" never was an integral part of the person. I know there are a lot of honestly good, decent, "moral" people who are also very religious people. But I tend to believe those people would exibit that kind of character regardless of whether or not they happened to be "religious".

But, that's just me!

27

THE ANTHROPIC PRINCIPLE

by Nowhere in

i found this in one of my course books.

it's quite interesting, added to a chapter dealing with dynamics of friedman-robertson-walker universes.

it looks to me like this man doesn't deny the possibility of a diety, and he is a respected scientist, no creation-pseudo-nonsens-scientist.

MYOHNSEPH

I just want to say, this thread has reinforced one of my most deeply held beliefs: There is one hell of a lot of "ifs" out there!

11

DO YOU RECOGNIZE THIS?

by MYOHNSEPH in

jw
friends

.

i was looking through some old wedding day pics of me and my wife, forty-one years ago tomorrow btw, and i came across this one.

how many of you recognize the item hanging on the wall in the background?

MYOHNSEPH

So if you did not get your quota in, it would be a name and shame chart?!

No, no individual names. For each month, it just gave the total number of publishers reporting, hours of field service, bible studies, etc. Kind of a field service report for the whole congregation. Of course, every good dub would do their part to keep the numbers up, especially when the "Circuit Servant" - as they were called back then - was due for a visit!

Aaahhh! The good old days!

11

DO YOU RECOGNIZE THIS?

by MYOHNSEPH in

jw
friends

.

i was looking through some old wedding day pics of me and my wife, forty-one years ago tomorrow btw, and i came across this one.

how many of you recognize the item hanging on the wall in the background?

MYOHNSEPH

It was great, wasn't it! If you visited another Kingdon Hall, you could tell just how "theocratic" that congregation was as soon as you walked through the door!