Xanthippe

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Posts by Xanthippe

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  7

  The Watchtower: Roots, Shoots, and Those in Cahoots

  by neverendingjourney in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i'm typically not a fan of jw criticism from a christian point of view (the jws are silly, but everything i believe in is truth), but i think this video does a solid job of putting into historical context the religious influences behind the jehovah's witnesses.

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  it's pretty eye-opening for those who have not yet researched the origins of the religious movement and who, much as i did, once belived the doctrines originated from the "great minds" of past watchtower society presidents.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_c-pdt0sse.

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  Xanthippe

  Fascinating thank you, I watched all of it. It begs the question why all of these millenarian groups in the mid-nineteenth century? Does every century have its millenarian groups?
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  38

  You Found Out You're In A Cult Of Lies, What Are Your Options Do I Stay In Or Do I Leave?

  by frankiespeakin in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  that is a question only you can answer.

  there is no right or wrong answers unless you are steeped in black and white thinking.. some choose to stay in for family reasons, some are so heated up over being decieved they can't give them another minute of time or labor.

  meeting are a tedious and tremendous bore once you see the man behind the curtain(wizzard of oz).

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  Xanthippe

  I have always thought whenever I read about totalitarian regimes why would you tell the truth to these monsters? Why not keep things on a need to know basis and protect yourself and your family? What is the big deal about telling the truth to people who torture and imprisson?

  So why be honest to this evil cult? If you need to take a little longer to get out with your family intact and then live a happy life away from these people who lie through their teeth in every Watchtower, go for it. Good luck to you.
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  95

  Please Share one of your Favourite Quotations

  by cofty in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  have you ever come across words that resonate with you?

  it doesn't have to be a great gem of wisdom, just something that is meaningful to you.. please share, and if you want to, tell us why it's meaningful to you.. here is something that made me nod when i first read it.... .

  "fortunate are those who have learned to see, in the wild things of nature, something to be loved, something to be wondered at, something to be reverenced, for they have found the key to a never-failing source of recreation and refreshment".

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  Xanthippe

  This above all: to thine own self be true,
  And it must follow, as the night the day,
  Thou canst not then be false to any man

  To thine own self be true." is that success or happy existence that is based on your ability to develop your own core values of morals and ethics.

  It needs to be understood that "being true to yourself" does not mean allowing yourself to just do whatever you desire or pretending that you don't care how others perceive you. It is actually the process of listening to your inner feelings and maintaining personal integrity ... not letting others override our heartfelt desires and beliefs without your input

  I believe this is helpful to those who were JW's in the past who felt overwhelmed and subdued (not allowed to be given a voice about their finding their" true self " ) ....integrity with due respect for all .... withholding true feelings would be proving false to man - Caliber

  I really like this Caliber, thought it was worth repeating.
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  64

  What was YOUR wake-up call before you left the JW´s organization?

  by Mr Fool in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  what was your wake-up call(s) before you left the jw s organization?

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  Xanthippe

  Talk at dc about we can't just study the Bible with householder if they request it. Had to be a WTS book. What! We can't study the Bible? Loud bell sounded.
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  95

  Please Share one of your Favourite Quotations

  by cofty in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  have you ever come across words that resonate with you?

  it doesn't have to be a great gem of wisdom, just something that is meaningful to you.. please share, and if you want to, tell us why it's meaningful to you.. here is something that made me nod when i first read it.... .

  "fortunate are those who have learned to see, in the wild things of nature, something to be loved, something to be wondered at, something to be reverenced, for they have found the key to a never-failing source of recreation and refreshment".

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  Xanthippe

  You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. - Max Ehrmann.

  I know Desiderata is trite but when I first saw it framed on someone's wall when I was out in field service aged about 19 this line resonated with me and it still does. Maybe it is because, as Carl Sagan said, we are made of star-stuff.
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  59

  Is Richard Dawkins giving atheists a bad name?

  by slimboyfat in

  1. social
  2. current

  he just can't seem to stop himself taunting "these muslims" or "some muslim or other".

  among his favourite taunts are:.

  "all the world's muslims have fewer nobel prizes than trinity college, cambridge.".

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  Xanthippe

  Interestingly I seem to remember from my history studies that much of classical literature, Greek and Roman, including natural philosophy which developed into science, was preserved in Islamic libraries and that is why we have it today.
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  95

  Please Share one of your Favourite Quotations

  by cofty in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  have you ever come across words that resonate with you?

  it doesn't have to be a great gem of wisdom, just something that is meaningful to you.. please share, and if you want to, tell us why it's meaningful to you.. here is something that made me nod when i first read it.... .

  "fortunate are those who have learned to see, in the wild things of nature, something to be loved, something to be wondered at, something to be reverenced, for they have found the key to a never-failing source of recreation and refreshment".

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  Xanthippe

  Happy the man, and happy he alone,

  he who can call today his own:

  he who, secure within, can say,

  Tomorrow do thy worst, for I have lived today.

  Horace (Odes)

  I suppose this appeals to me because it is saying don't waste a day being miserable. Live like today is your last. When I realised TTATT at 30 I felt I had been given only about forty years to live so I've tried to enjoy it.
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  23

  I'm not going back...finally

  by lostinthought in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  it has been several years since my awakening.

  since then i have stopped pioneering, stopped doing temp work at bethel, stopped field service (at the most, i went out a few hours a month for the last couple of months), my meeting attendance has been around 50 percent or so.

  i have decided not to go back.

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  Xanthippe

  How to ' Handel' phone calls and visits? Just sing them the Hallelujah chorus.
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  35

  How would YOU explain cognitive disonance to a Jehovahs Witness on your doorstep

  by smiddy in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  seriously , in plain simple language that the most thick headed jw would understand.. and what examples would you use.. smiddy.

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  Xanthippe

  You have been coming to my door and preaching the end of this wicked system for many years.

  How do you explain the fact that it hasn't arrived yet?

  You keep telling me that the world is full of wicked people and it is getting worse every year and that proves the end is near.

  I know many people who do good things for others but none of them want to become Jehovah's Witnesses.

  Every time I sit down to watch tv there are adverts for charities that are feeding children in war zones, digging wells in developing countries to provide water and building schools so that people can become educated and work themselves out of poverty.

  Not one of these charities is run by Jehovah's Witnesses.

  Is you God going to destroy these people because they love helping others or providing the funds to enable theses charities?

  Yes your religion is the only one doing the preaching work but where is the thing that is the focus of your message, your paradise earth?

  A quick on line search will show you new schools, new wells, innoculated children, housing projects for homeless people.

  What can you show me?

  If you feel upset at what I am saying could it be because there is a difference between what you are taught to think about people and what is actually happening?

  Do you think it is a good idea to ignore reality just because it makes us upset?
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  28

  My daughter got her A Levels yesterday and is off to university in September

  by Xanthippe in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  she took english, maths and physics and acheived a* a* and a. .

  it is the best thing possible for me, even better than seeing her opening birthday presents or the day she won the halloween fancy dress prize at school.. her dad died five years ago but she has coped and done so well at school.

  it has shown me that despite what happens in life you can still do well and reach your goals, especially if you take a cult upbringing out of the equation!

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  Xanthippe

  Thanks everyone, lovely happy thoughts.

  Zeb and Slidin Fast, she was going to do a physics degree like her dad and then changed her mind and is going to do English literature instead at Lancaster university.

  Snare, I got a history degree with the Open University, graduated when I was forty-three, so a very mature student.