Posts by Saintbertholdt

24

I'm ready to get my first Powerball ticket -- NOT!

by FatFreek 2005 in

jw
friends

it's up to some 800 zillion dollars now and hasn't suckered me in yet.

i've been out of watchtower for some 38 years now and i suppose the lottery is one of their nonoze.

i have nothing morally wrong against it or anyone who enjoys doing it.

Saintbertholdt

The lottery is like religion, you can't win if you don't play.

35

I almost died laughing at the meeting last night. OMG WTF is going on? Have I been away this long?

by macys in

ok so most of you guys know already that i am going through the reinstatement process for my parents but i do have a partially sinister plan which i will not mention here since someone told me that there are b-lites that read boards like this.

last night and it was the funniest experience i have ever seen.

besides that the brother doing the sound and video screwed up the whole thing when showing the videos and it took 3 brothers to fix it after 10 minutes, the whole thing was a joke.

Saintbertholdt

It is as if Jurassic Park and an airport calypso band made a song together! It was embarrassing but so funny I almost peed myself laughing so hard.

64

"Apostates " how honest are we?

by closed in

as i mentioned in another post i used to serve as an elder for 2 decades.

i was involved in a number of jc.

some i dealt with are good friends now.

Saintbertholdt

If you - Cognac-have already vomited I hope it feel better.

I think we all need a good vomit now and again. It cleans out the system.

I have a sympathetic gag reflex so I'll be right there with you.

...

Regarding honesty: Human beings with a reasonable job are honest between 80 and 90% of the time. 99.98% of the time they will not consider stealing money.

From: What the Bagel man saw

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/06/magazine/what-the-bagel-man-saw.html?_r=0

168

Where to draw the line: how Platonism haunts our discourse and the search for exorcism

by slimboyfat in

jw
friends

in the discussion about race i adopted a position i am not entirely comfortable with.

i think there is a sense in which it is useful to distinguish categories of description that can be fruitfully defended (apples and bananas) and those that cannot (caucasian or other racial descriptions for example).

but there is a more fundamental sense in which i believe that everything is socially constructed, every single line you can think of.

Saintbertholdt

Just a quick correction: Humans are not [absolutely] unique in this regard, however the extent to which [symbolism] is used by humans is unprecedented in earth's history

168

Where to draw the line: how Platonism haunts our discourse and the search for exorcism

by slimboyfat in

jw
friends

in the discussion about race i adopted a position i am not entirely comfortable with.

i think there is a sense in which it is useful to distinguish categories of description that can be fruitfully defended (apples and bananas) and those that cannot (caucasian or other racial descriptions for example).

but there is a more fundamental sense in which i believe that everything is socially constructed, every single line you can think of.

Saintbertholdt

Hello again you bunch of atheist polemicists,

Human beings are unique in their extensive use of symbolism (This thing represents that thing). Humans are not unique in this regard, however the extent to which it is used by humans is unprecedented in earth's history. Human beings are also self aware and are mostly concerned with their own experience (solipsism). The following section describes a number of symbolic definitions using some half baked symbolic language:

Mathematics and logic are languages that use symbolism in an absolutely consistent manner (well mostly).

Science as an overarching symbolic concept looks at things and observed processes and then tries to ascribe the mathematical and logical symbolism that most closely resembles the observed processes and things. This gives it predictive power.

Technology uses this predictive power and uses it on the physical things and processes humans observe to make new things so that it can make human lives more pleasant. So enters personal experience. Technology aims to improve human solipsism.

Religion on the other hand uses symbolism to construct a logic which is not absolutely consistent and tries to fit observed processes and things to its logic. This is/has been done to solve seemingly intractable solipsistic problems which makes life less pleasant. These include the end of the solipsistic experience and also the observed degrading of the personal experience over the course of time. Although not consistent, religion seems to have improved human solipsism to some extent by not having humans worry too much about these intractable problems.

---

So what I'd personally like to see: That science and religion fuck to sire technology that will solve seemingly intractable problems to make my own solipsistic experience more pleasant.

To quote a lyric by Johnny Cash: "They say they want the Kingdom, but they don't want God in it."

41

If JWs were to change their name what would they change it to?

by slimboyfat in

was it 1931 when they adopted jehovah's witnesses?

(at the time with lower case w) isn't it about time now they changed name again?

i mean everything else is changing why not the name!

Saintbertholdt

People who read the rumors about a terrible desert god Yahweh and are now willing to peddle propaganda just in case he can save their asses Incorporated.

157

What Was The Silliest "Offense" That You Were Counseled For?

by minimus in

jw
friends

when i was a teenager, i was told by an elder that because i smiled a lot and was known for my good sense of humor, that i should come across as "more serious".

so before i was appointed a ms, while in my late teens, i transformed myself into a much more "serious" brother.. were you ever told that you needed to work on something that you knew was stoopid?.

Saintbertholdt

Loud laughing.

168

Where to draw the line: how Platonism haunts our discourse and the search for exorcism

by slimboyfat in

jw
friends

in the discussion about race i adopted a position i am not entirely comfortable with.

i think there is a sense in which it is useful to distinguish categories of description that can be fruitfully defended (apples and bananas) and those that cannot (caucasian or other racial descriptions for example).

but there is a more fundamental sense in which i believe that everything is socially constructed, every single line you can think of.

Saintbertholdt

I drew a graph.

28

Christian Family Gets 5 Children Taken Away by Gov't for Teaching God Punishes Sin

by GodZoo in

child welfare services in norway have reportedly removed five christian children from their parents' home and placed them into foster care after the parents were accused of radicalizing and indoctrinating their children with christianity.. according to the british-based christian institute, norway's child protection services, known as the barnevernet, seized the three sons and two daughters of ruth and marius bodnariu in mid-november.. .

although the family wasn't quite sure at the time why their children were being taken away from them, their lawyer discovered that the parents were being charged with christian indoctrination.http://www.christianpost.com/news/christian-family-gets-5-children-taken-away-by-govt-for-teaching-god-punishes-sin-151693/.

Saintbertholdt

Hi there kaik,

It seems the case may have something to do with corporal punishment. That could explain Barnevernet heavy handedness, but it doesn't justify them taking away all 5 children though. Couldn't they just have sent the parents on a parenting course? But your point is that "Barnevernet is a big business, well funded organization without any oversight." This sort of reminds me of whats happening in the USA with the private prison system. The fact is businesses need customers, and if you have an oversupply of a product (prisons) you need to generate a demand (prisoners) to stay in business.

Well is child welfare all that important to Norwegians? I wonder. Anders Breivik received a sentence of 21 years (which means he could be out in 10) for killing 76 people. Of those 60+ were children whose physical and emotional growth have been permanently stinted. At one point I believe Breivik complained that he only had a Sony Playstation 2 in his cell and could not play the latest titles.

28

Christian Family Gets 5 Children Taken Away by Gov't for Teaching God Punishes Sin

by GodZoo in

child welfare services in norway have reportedly removed five christian children from their parents' home and placed them into foster care after the parents were accused of radicalizing and indoctrinating their children with christianity.. according to the british-based christian institute, norway's child protection services, known as the barnevernet, seized the three sons and two daughters of ruth and marius bodnariu in mid-november.. .

although the family wasn't quite sure at the time why their children were being taken away from them, their lawyer discovered that the parents were being charged with christian indoctrination.http://www.christianpost.com/news/christian-family-gets-5-children-taken-away-by-govt-for-teaching-god-punishes-sin-151693/.

Saintbertholdt

I didn't know the Norwegian government was retarded. I can only hope that there is some real valid reason (like neglect) why the children were taken away from their parents.