We have uniquely experienced that lack of social acceptance is not in fact death. Well those of us that have left the Watchtower have. We are quite able to notice that we no longer live in caves or mud huts and yet we do not want to feel bad among work colleagues, neighbours etc., even though we have to accept that 30% of people will just not like us according to sociologists. I was shunned, I did not die but I made my own ethical standards. As thousands of us have! Perhaps it is also about integrity, following through on what we have decided to believe ethically. Self respect has become important but I am not sure why. If I wait long enough someone will tell me
Xanthippe
JoinedPosts by Xanthippe
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39
What is a morally upright life?
by jgnat inis it relative, or do all human societies and cultures hold at least some things to be good?.
i don't think right and true is "universal" other than what is right and true for people.
a dolphin or a praying mantis may have alien perceptions of what is "good".
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39
What is a morally upright life?
by jgnat inis it relative, or do all human societies and cultures hold at least some things to be good?.
i don't think right and true is "universal" other than what is right and true for people.
a dolphin or a praying mantis may have alien perceptions of what is "good".
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Xanthippe
I honestly don't know what a morally upright life is, it doesn't compute anymore. I just try to be good to people and do no harm. If that is simplistic then so be it.
The idea of sanctity evolving from learning not to eat tainted food is very interesting. Most things deeply entrenched in the human psyche are about basic survival.
When people ask 'is nothing sacred' I feel nothing is. Life is supposed to be sacred but this leads to refusing assisted death. We let humans suffer worse than dogs and cats. So no I don't think life or anything is sacred but I do understand the desire to be 'clean'.
This might be purely about hygiene and survival but I think we have an innate desire to feel that we are 'good'. Which again might be about social acceptance and therefore survival but I am not convinced of that. Guilt is a hugely destructive force in the human mind which leads me to think that there is more to feeling 'good' than mere social acceptance.
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Why are alot of JW's Fascinated with Sci-Fi?
by NoMoreHustle ini am still in & gradually fading.
i have always wondered why alot of jw's that i know are really into alot of sci-fi stuff like star wars, i robot, x-men stuff etc.
i mean they take it another level with this fantasy stuff.
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Xanthippe
I loved the forbidden planet bigmac, saw the stage version too.
Hey Star Trek predicted mobile phones, tablets and credit cards. Some good themes too, what it means to be human etc.
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What happy, wonderful thing happened to you since you left the "truth"?
by Jeannette inmore than one thing for me, but i have learned to enjoy festivals, and just enjoying free time.
it's not that the org wouldn't allow it, i just felt i shouldn't.
there are others, of course, and i really have been happier and good things have come my way since i left.
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Xanthippe
My BSc in my forties.
My baby girl after pioneering and nearly leaving it too late.
My little house with a garden at last!
Florence, Paris, Niagara Falls, Rome, Lake Como, New York, Montreal, The Alhambra in Spain, Greek Islands.
Our first Christmas, poignant and lovely.
My daughter as Mary in the school nativity play aged five.
I couldn't choose just one. Thanks for asking Jeannette, I need reminding just how lucky I am.
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What makes a "good Jehovah's Witness"??
by stuckinarut2 inso, i have been thinking...what is the formula or recipe for the "perfect jw"?.
here are a few points i thought of...please feel free to add!.
always dress in the jw manner...no variation in clothing / hair styles / facial hair.
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Xanthippe
People who are proud of being ignorant and never having read a book. Those who have never had an original thought, looked up a word they don't know or googled something they didn't understand. People used to walk in our house and just stare wide-eyed at our books. One JW said books made him nervous.
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"I don't care if it's teachings are false, I'd never leave because it's the best way of life"
by 4thgen inhave you ever heard that statement?
i have heard it many times and i just don't know what to do with it.
they are chosing a to live a lie because they like the lifestyle.
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Xanthippe
When my friend said this I said am I supposed to stop my child going to university? Does the best way of life mean she has to sacrifice her good brain, do menial work and live in near poverty as I did pioneering? When she said they are the most moral people I said have you heard of Candace Conti?
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What Happened to the Religion I Left in 1995?
by JoshJeffries injosh here, new to the board.
glad to know this site is here.. i would not be writing this if it were not 2014. i was a ministerial servant and regular pioneer who left the jehovahs witnesses back in 1995/96, around that time.
i left suddenly, didnt fade away, just left when something clicked one day in my head during the morning shower and made me realize this religion wasnt true.
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Xanthippe
Hi Josh same thing happened to me when I looked at this forum two years ago, I left in '89. Overlapping generations! A different Watchtower for the public. More partakers at the memorial and numbers still rising! My brother and sisters swallowed all of this and are still there, can't get my head around it.
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Reading the Bible Alone "Will Lead you to Apostate Thinkings!" Stay a Watchtowerite!
by BucketShopBill in"from time to time, there have arisen from among the ranks of jehovah's people those, who, like the original satan, have adopted an independent, faultfinding attitude...they say that it is sufficient to read the bible exclusively, either alone or in small groups at home.
but, strangely, through such 'bible reading,' they have reverted right back to the apostate doctrines that commentaries by christendom's clergy were teaching 100 years ago.
the watchtower, aug. 15, 1981.. .
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Xanthippe
Yes BSB it was at a circuit assembly in mid-eighties I first heard we could not study just the Bible with people anymore. Shocked, so much so I phoned a friend in another circuit who confirmed they had the same talk. Loud alarm bells rang that day.
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What Happened to Elihu Books? Greg Stafford's Website is Gone!
by BucketShopBill ini loved this guy, he was cool and now i found out his website domain is up for sale.
what happened to greg, is he still alive and doing well?
did he return to the organization, any information would be appreciated!.
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Watching the World - Awake! August 2014
by Xanthippe inwatching the world.
''every year, nearly 3 million babies die within the first month of life, most from preventable causes.
more than a third of these babies die on their first day of life" - save the children international.
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Xanthippe
This religion infuriates me! How ridiculous to quote statistics from a charity that has been saving children's lives with donations from ordinary people since 1919. Eglantyne Jebb found out that German and Austrian children were starving because of the devastation of WWI and she asked ordinary people to donate money to their former enemy country, which they did!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eglantyne_Jebb
Ordinary people have been opening their hearts and donating to complete strangers for the entire time the JWs have been preaching the destruction of all the men, women and children who don't agree with them. Good people are doing something about this world instead of whining about the problems. These charities are there in every conflict, every earthquake, every natural disaster. They exist because human suffering moves the hearts of decent ordinary people. Stop whining about the state of the world Watchtower, get your wallet out.