Posts by CyrusThePersian

13

Generalized Apathy Towards Relgion- Humanity Is Waking Up?

by nvrgnbk in

jw
friends

though many millions are still under the spell of ignorance-inducing belief-systems, have you personally noted people in your day-to-day to be less and less involved in religion?.

that's been my experience.

it gives me great hope about the future of humanity.

CyrusThePersian

I live in the southern US, so the churches around here are still bulging at the seams. However, the other day at work we were talking about Islamic fundamentalism and its ties to terrorism, when one of the women (herself a fundy, no less!) said that too strict an interpretation of any holy book, even the Bible, leads to hatred of others who are different. I then pointed out that most of the time religion is the only difference between some cultures and that if if you got rid of religion most people would have little to fight about, at least until they could find something else they didn't like about each other!

Believe it or not, these southern Christians agreed!

It does give one some hope for the future.

Babylon the Grape may fall yet!

CyrusThePersian

40

Going Veggie

by Sirona in

jw
friends

when i was jw, i didn't know any vegetarians.

they had the teaching that god had allowed us to eat animals, so we just eat animals.

no questions asked.. just recently i started to consider being vegetarian.

CyrusThePersian

I've been a vegetarian for two years now. While it was a little weird to put soy milk on my breakfast cereal at first, I do feel a lot better. As I get older I find that I can't eat like I used to without facing some rather dire consequences.

Being a veggie is not for everybody but give it a try, you might like it!

CyrusThePersian

35

Blonde, Brunette, Redhead? Do you have a favorite?

by Paralipomenon in

jw
friends

this is a fun question that i like to pose in social settings.

regardless of who your significant other is, i've found that people have a definite preference for hair color.

what i found even more interesting is that people usually preferred a hair color different than their own.

CyrusThePersian

Recently in a magazine I read was an article that seemed to back this up. It offered that we are sexually attracted to people that are genetically different than us, the reasoning for it is that we see the difference and know that potential offspring would have a better chance at stronger genetics.

Believe it or not, this is not a new idea.Over a hundred years ago philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer made the observation that opposites are often attracted to one another and speculated that it was an instinctive reaction in humans in order to offset perceived deficiencies in themselves when they have children.

That said, I like blondes, lusty blondes with big.....

Ok I won't say any more.

CyrusThePersian

19

Apocryphal Books

by Black Man in

i've been starting to read the apocryphal books (just for the heck of it and pure academia), you know, those books that were deemed unsuitable to be considered as part of the bible canon by the religous bureaucrats back in 317 c.e.

at the council of nicea (constantinople).

i think the bible and the apocryphal books are probably a bunch of crap, but can someone school me on them?

CyrusThePersian

I love the book of 1 Enoch!

Hi nvr!

Jude liked it too!- Jude:14

Makes you wonder how Jude made it into the canon and 1 Enoch did not.

CyrusThePersian

68

Assembly Hall shakedown - Columbia SC

by sir82 in

jw
friends

from someone who attended:.

there was a big elders meeting in columbia sc on saturday june 9.. around 240 congregations, 2000+ elders.. the society wants to build a brand new assembly hall in columbia, sc, to handle the huge influx of jws moving to the us southeast from up north.. they expect to have it done in 34 months (finished by april 2010).

total cost estimated to be approximately $8 - 9 million.. they want to have the whole thing paid for by the time the building is done - no long term loans.. they "strongly suggested" that each of the 240 congregations commit to supporting "their share" of the expense.

CyrusThePersian

My daughter told me that the Society tried the same thing in Memphis TN about two years ago but failed. They were unable to raise the necessary funds to build a new Assembly Hall (can't squeeze blood from a turnip, or 9,000,000 bucks from a janitor) so they used the money that they were able to scrape up (about a million)to remodel their existing Assembly Hall.

CyrusThePersian

28

So I'm

by lola28 in

jw
friends

going to the convention this weekend for the first time in about three years...will i survive?.

.

lola.

CyrusThePersian

You have my deepest sympathies! Any particular reason why you're putting yourself through this torture?

I went to a convention a couple of years ago and it was awful-even worse than I remember. I could only stand to go for two days.

CyrusThePersian

10

Pale Blue Dot

by purplesofa in

jw
friends

this is our home.

earth from 4 billion miles.

this video puts it all in perspective.

CyrusThePersian

Thanks for posting this Purplesofa! I was looking at this exact same video yesterday. Carl Sagan is my absolute hero!

Here's another good one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p86BPM1GV8M&mode=related&search=

CyrusThePersian

25

What sort of a witness were you?

by brinjen in

i'm talking door to door service work here.

were you the kind who would insist on getting a conversation at ever door?

or where you (like me) the kind who would take a "not interested" as an excuse to get the hell out of the householders face?

CyrusThePersian

I admit that field service was my weak point. I couldn't wait to get my hour or two in and then get the hell back home. (or to the doughnut shop! Yes, I confess, I was one of those elders!) God help me if I got into any kind of real discussion with a householder, the best I could do was spout off some nonsense from the Reasoning book.

I was much more adept at giving talks and conducting Watchtower and book studies where I could prepare ahead of time what I would say. I never was any good at thinking on my feet as it were.

CyrusThePersian

13

Is God A Mafioso?

by nvrgnbk in

jw
friends

don yahweh: the "king" of the universeor consider the christian radio preacher, whom i heard the other day as he exclaimed that the bible says that, on the judgment day, all will bend down before jesus christ, some willingly because of love of his appearance.

others will be brought to their knees by an iron rod that will break their legs.

so the preacher pleaded, "submit willingly or have your legs broken.

CyrusThePersian

This reminds me of one of James Thomas' posts, when he said:

"How can you love a god who says he will kill you if you don't?"

...a very thought provoking question.

CyrusThePersian

35

You Were My First Love And Youll Be My Last Love ...

by The wanderer in

jw
friends

you were my first love and youll be my last love ...living in florida has given me the opportunity to see couples who have been.

together for decades sometimes dating back to the second world war.. .

it has always amazed me how some couples can stay together for 20, 30, 40 .

CyrusThePersian

To go along with Brother Dave's comment...

(How many times have you heard that at the Kingdom Hell?)

I hate to sound cynical, but I think one big reason marriages seemed much more stable in the "good old days" was the social stigma attached to divorce back then. A divorced person was looked down on as a failure. And today, as Dave says, these ones with the thirty and forty year long marriages have so much invested in their relationship that they stay together regardless.

I myself was in a twenty year long marriage. We would have divorced much sooner had their been no repercussions from the brothers at the hall. Bottom line-I don't think our ancestors had any sort of magic elixir that enabled them to find a true and lasting love. I think it was merely a difference in social customs between our time and theirs.If you were able to delve deep into their feelings you would find that they were probably no more successful at finding that special one than today's generation.

Again, I hate sounding so cynical, but I'm an old man and I've earned it!

CyrusThePersian