Posts by Muddy Waters

72

CEDARS (Again) Is it really about religious beliefs?

by Listener in

jw
friends

john cedars has posted his latest blog "the trouble with apostates (and why it shouldn't put you off becoming one)".

i acknowledge that he is entitled to his opionin just as we are ours but i am disappointed in some of his comments.. at this stage i'll try to be objective about it.

he is defending his own position after all.. what bothers me most is his comments about athiests and christians which he seems to identify as being in conflict with each other.

Muddy Waters

I'm a little late to the party, but I just read this and Cedar's page.

What I find amazing in this whole thing is that Cedar's whole blog article was a RED HERRING -- !!!

the REAL ISSUE was

*** COPYRIGHT ***

about the book he was distributing as a prize (CoC) and Mike and Kim called him out on it because it had been printed by a friend of his.

Rather than deal with the issue raised in the first place (which he only did by accusing them of the same, by their linking to a site which took you to a pdf download of the book), he then went on a whole SPREE regarding non-relevant types of activism and belief -- NONE of which addressed the orginal issue or topic in the first place -- the accusation of copyright violation!!!

He made a brief, "yeah I did it, oops, but so do other people" sort of defence, but the whole article went on forever and was full of rants and Rutherford-like accusations of evil opposers to his glorious, righteous self).

This is what boggled my mind when I read his blog and all the replies, where people accepted the red herring and didn't even wonder about his very WT-like bait-and-switch "defence".

What about THAT?? The damn copyright violation thing, which was supposed to be the crux of this very weird showdown?

And one cannot reply on his page if it is at all negative or even questioning of him. There is a lot of the WT programming in him, calibrating his brain....

It seems that when there is even a question put to him, he regards it as an attack.

The whole article was out of control.

7

Blatant Lie, or Unwitting Contradiction?

by OneFingerSalute in

just a comment here about the idiocy of this mornings wt.. in one paragraph that was yapping about faith and prayer the writers made the statement that faith could be shown by praying for material things, not just spiritual things.

they used the "give us this day our daily bread" quote.. a couple paragraphs later they said prayers are only answered if they were in harmony with god's will.. so i guess it is god's will that my frail very elderly parents are virtually ignored by the congregation they are in.

i guess it is god's will that after over 135 years combined time in duh troof between them they are kicked to the curb, accused of being selfish, unloving and they are laughed at and ridiculed by the eldurrs, the eldurrs families, and sheeple in general because of the frailties of old age.. they (that congregation) will be damned by god for their cruelty..

Muddy Waters

Well, that's new. I don't ever remember being encouraged to pray for material things. It was the SPIRITUAL stuff that trumped everything.

After all, we were all supposed to keep our eye simple, put kingdom interests first, not show a materialistic spirit, and be satisfied with our daily bread.

Could Jehovah's chariot be trundling down to the local Harrod's, then?

23

The folly of Watchtower's theodicy. Or, why would an all-powerful and all-wise God need to justify his sovereignty through suffering?

by Island Man in

watchtower says that evil and suffering exist at present to vindicate jehovah as being the only one qualified to govern; to bear witness to man's inability to govern himself independent of god and under satan's direction.

the claim is made that the questions raised by satan regarding god's motives as universal sovereign can only be answered by allowing humans to see the evil and suffering that results when man lives independent of god's protection and direction.. watchtower and jws seem to think that this is the best theodicy in the world.

but there are some serious flaws in it.. 1. such a theodicy suggests that all perfect and intelligent creation, up until the advent of adam and eve, did not know god and his ways well enough to be confident that his motives as universal sovereign are pure.

Muddy Waters

Bravo, Island man. I love logical thinking. Can't get enough of it now!

21

WTBTS Submissions to Royal Commission on abuse: The response document in FULL

by JWchange in

it is not obvious if someone has already put the responses and excuses to the findings of the royal commission, by watchtower on this forum somewhere, sorry if it is already posted.

click on the link below, and scroll down to 'submissions' near bottom of page and you can download the full document.

if this link doesn't work.

Muddy Waters

Thank you, Mephis! Wow. Shoulda known the WT was cherry picking again.....

And yes, Vidiot, I laughed too at the euphemism, "without artifice". More like bumbling, uneducated, ill prepared, presumptuous, fools.

21

WTBTS Submissions to Royal Commission on abuse: The response document in FULL

by JWchange in

it is not obvious if someone has already put the responses and excuses to the findings of the royal commission, by watchtower on this forum somewhere, sorry if it is already posted.

click on the link below, and scroll down to 'submissions' near bottom of page and you can download the full document.

if this link doesn't work.

Muddy Waters

OMG, they are so full of themselves.

Here is one excerpt from the WTs submission:

"....

9.26 On a global basis the honesty, candour, and quality of the elders’ evidence should be acknowledged by the Commission along the lines of that reported by Janet Fife-Yeomans at page 32 of “The Daily Telegraph” on 1 August, 2015: While people from other churches dragged to the Royal Commission have obviously been coached by PR gurus and lawyers in how to present themselves and say the right thing, the Jehovah’s Witnesses were totally devoid of artifice."

88

Legalized marijuana. It's coming to canada and I want to try it.

by hoser in

jw
friends

as a good jw i never smoked a joint or nibbled on some brownies.

Muddy Waters

Oh, and would also like to add that for anybody new to Cannabis, always start SMALL, only a puff or two (whether smoking or vaporizing) and then wait. Many first-time users feel nothing at all the first time or two and conclude that there is no effect, or that pot doesn't do anything for them. It is almost like the body has to "learn" or recognize what marijuana is.

So start small, wait, and see what happens. When you do notice an effect, you will probably feel a slight shift of perception, somewhat similar to the feeling of having a glass (or more!) of wine or alcohol, where suddenly the room feels louder, brighter, more vivid. And then you may feel a wonderful sensation of relaxation and well-being. You may also experience a drop in blood pressure, making you feel a bit dizzy or light headed. This passes quickly. Some people also notice an increase in heart rate, and this too passes quickly. If you have any heart irregularities or damage, using Cannabis may be contraindicated for you. Though not toxic, there are some effects not desirable for certain situations or compatible with other medications. It is not innocuous, despite its safety and non-toxicity.

It can also be a lot of fun, enabling great conversation, laughter, insight, compassion, clarity, energy, or peace, connection, stress relief, sensitivity, serenity, awareness, wonderment, appreciation, and creativity. It's like it relaxes the brain, too, and opens up new possibilities and ways of looking at things. I like to think of it as a "balancer" yet sometimes it can make you feel unbalanced. It is very mysterious, cool plant - it feels like a gift from the universe. It has the ability to be BOTH stimulating and sedative, one of the few or only plant/drug capable of doing this. So there is a "shaman-like" quality about marijuana. Very cool. And when energized and yet feeling so at peace and connected to everything, there is (for me, anyway) a side effect of wanting to put flowers in my hair.... and start painting, singing, writing novels, composing poetry and songs.... Dancing, exercising, riding bike, walking dog... Cleaning house... All at the same time.....

88

Legalized marijuana. It's coming to canada and I want to try it.

by hoser in

jw
friends

as a good jw i never smoked a joint or nibbled on some brownies.

Muddy Waters

I am fascinated by marijuana. It is such an incredible plant. It's use is not for everyone, though.

As to uncomfortable psychological effects, yes, I have experienced this too. Certain strains can produce effects like paranoia and anxiety more so than other strains.

Bob Marley had a saying, "Pot reveals you to yourself. But don't believe everything it tells you, either!"

I have found that the inner journey that one can embark upon when using certain Sativa-dominant strains (more likely to cause psychological discomfort than Indica strains) can definitely be uncomfortable. Cannabis can reveal a person's insecurities and flaws and highlight them in vivid, painful light. It is not easy to face personal demons, but some of these insights were helpful toward beginning an acceptance and love for myself, and to heal wounds from the past, and to notice whether these impressions are true, false, or a bit of both. Cannabis can make one painfully self-aware or self-conscious.

It is much more enjoyable to have an outward-journey than an inward journey.

So while it is not for everyone, many people can find a strain which is useful for them and their needs. There are medical strains which have little to no THC (which gives most of the psycho-active effects) and these high-CBD strains are proving very helpful with pain, spasms, seizures, among other conditions.

26

Which Spiritual belief system or non belief system is right for you?

by Giordano in

we have done this before but we have a fair number of newbie's on this site and some are struggling with the question about other belief systems and non belief.

where are you now in your own mind?

here's a quiz http://www.selectsmart.com/nontheism/ that is pretty accurate, at least in my case as to where i am at this point in my life.

Muddy Waters

Well I don't know how accurate are my results, I did not use the slider at all, so every question or answer carried the same "weight". But I got:

Unitarian Universalist - 100%

Secular Humanist - 94%

Jehovahs Witness - 0% - YAY!!!

Now I have to see what the heck a "Unitarian universalist" is! lol

21

2016 CA videos

by wifibandit in

download links (get 'em while they're hot!).

imitate jehovah-- morning.

imitate jehovah -- afternoon.

Muddy Waters

I watched a bit here and there, thank you for posting this. It's just so horribly boring now, crushingly boring, mind-numbingly boring, dreary, depressing, full of drudge and gloom.... Horrid, awful. Did I mention boring??

And they expect people to be *drawn* to them, lol.

But I am glad to have these links.

67

Scriptures that will never be the YEAR TEXT

by ttdtt in

so what scriptures do you think will never make the cut?i will start off with one to warm you all up.. 1 corinthians 4:6 - do not go beyond the things that are written,.

Muddy Waters

Psalms 146:3 - "Do not put your trust in princes (nobles), nor in a son of man, who cannot bring salvation."