Where there is poverty there is religion. Certainly true of my family when I was growing up. Introduce education and a decent standard of living and immediately there is time and the inclination to examine reality. Agnosticism and atheism tend to follow.
Xanthippe
JoinedPosts by Xanthippe
-
67
How do you feel about religion as a whole?
by FatherFirst init just seems to me religion in general primarily makes truly bad people worse, not genuinly good people better; and in many cases has even made good people do bad things in the name of their religion.
just curious, a personal poll if you will.
what are you guys' current views on religion as a whole?
-
-
-
4
Likes and dislikes
by Jonathan Drake ini'm not sure how everyone else feels, but i'd kind of like to be able to see how many likes or dislikes my own post gets.
i think it's be good, and a nice way to gauge your own reception to a discussion and maybe know when to back off or leave on a high note, lol.
-
-
Xanthippe
http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/194960001/atheism
check out your topic here JD you have 6 likes for your OP. can you see them?
-
4
Likes and dislikes
by Jonathan Drake ini'm not sure how everyone else feels, but i'd kind of like to be able to see how many likes or dislikes my own post gets.
i think it's be good, and a nice way to gauge your own reception to a discussion and maybe know when to back off or leave on a high note, lol.
-
-
Xanthippe
Eh I hate to break it to you JD but we have all been able to see the likes and dislikes for our own posts for weeks now. -
80
In a nutshell, what is the wackiest jw thing?
by stuckinarut2 inwhat is the wackiest...strangest....most unusual jw teaching or practice?
-
-
Xanthippe
Insisting members are no part of the world. Ridiculous, we have to live on this planet. Sure be an individual and join in whatever you like and don't necessarily be a sheeple but forbidding people from being a part of the culture they're growing up in is damaging to their mental health.
Children want to join in, to be accepted, to make friends, that's normal. Preventing them doing this, I believe, is actual cruelty.
-
11
Disfellowshipping is an loving arrangment. NOT!!!!
by gma-tired2 inalert this is a rant.
recently i lost someone very special to me to death.
she was so many things to me, my cousin, best friend, and next door neighbor thru our teens.
-
-
Xanthippe
My heartfelt sorrow at both the loss of your cousin and friend and your son being treated like this at a funeral. So disgusting, those people are heartless, I am so sorry. -
17
Supernatural Tony......the 3rd
by snare&racket ini realised something today.... we all happily accepted something really ridiculous.....something that if worded how i will word it now, we would have rejected as ridiculous, but after a moments thought, would have to concede.. we once followed the governing body because we believed they had supernatural powers.
how ridiculous you may say, no we didn't!
of or relating to things that cannot be explained according to natural laws.
-
-
Xanthippe
Mad Irishman if you look on JW.ORG under the heading 'How does the Governing Body function today?' It says the following:-
'It is responsive to the direction of God’s spirit. The Governing Body looks to the Universal Sovereign, Jehovah, and to the Head of the congregation, Jesus, for guidance.'
I actually found this by putting the phrase spirit directed into the search box on that site. Why? Because that's what the JWs have always said. That the Watchtower is not inspired but it is spirit directed. Meaning what? Directed by a supernatural force as Snare said.
-
9
My worst nightmare, a speaking assignment last night. I've been OUT for 38 years!
by FatFreek 2005 inevery five years or so i have this vivid and recurring dream, tho you'll probably surmise it's more of a nightmare.
i learn somehow that i am scheduled for this theocratic ministry school speaking assignment, the instruction talk (do they still have those 15 minute drone-athons?).
i become racked with tension knowing that i haven't even prepared for an assignment that is only 30 minutes away.
-
-
Xanthippe
Yeah I still occasionally dream about the cult - been out 27 years. But your dream is a variation of a common recurring dream that many people have of standing on a stage about to sing, speak or act in a play and not having the first clue of the necessary words.
This dream is always accompanied by the feeling that everyone else knows what they are supposed to be doing except for you.
From what I gather from talking to people this is a human condition dream. Sometimes we feel lost, don't know what the hell we are supposed to be doing with our lives. Everyone else seems to have goals and know what they want but today, this week, perhaps this year, we feel lost.
-
17
Supernatural Tony......the 3rd
by snare&racket ini realised something today.... we all happily accepted something really ridiculous.....something that if worded how i will word it now, we would have rejected as ridiculous, but after a moments thought, would have to concede.. we once followed the governing body because we believed they had supernatural powers.
how ridiculous you may say, no we didn't!
of or relating to things that cannot be explained according to natural laws.
-
-
Xanthippe
Yes Snare, goog point, well made. Years ago I did desperately want to ask someone of the anointed how they received the information that was put in the Watchtower. This was when the FDS included all the anointed before the nulite.
But it was not the done thing to question someone of the anointed. I wish I'd asked anyway, might have left sooner.
-
15
New to all of this
by Ghiagirl ini was raised in the truth my whole life, my immediate family are jws and my moms mom is a witness as well as my fathers mom.
other than that the rest of my family are non jws.
i was raised very balanced, my parents never forced the truth on me or my siblings like most of my friends parents did getting baptized at ridiculous ages!
-
-
Xanthippe
Welcome Ghiagirl. I'm glad you are free of that cult and wake up happy every morning, feeling no guilt. Congratulations on the baby! So sorry your family are shunning you, mine did the same so I know it's hard. Just think your child will grow up mentally healthy and happy and be able to go to university like my daughter.
My daughter had Christmas and birthdays and it was such fun for me too to learn how to celebrate plus she had lots of friends. You can give all this to your child, just remember that when you feel lonely.
-
8
Thoughts on My Exit
by losingit init has been some time since i last posted or even visited the site, and i wondered why that was.
life continued to be difficult without a network of friends to look forward to seeing.
the novelty of being disfellowshipped wore off, and the mundane advanced as it did every day.
-
-
Xanthippe
Losingit, congratulations on getting your teaching degree. Wow with two children and pregnant and facing a divorce too! You have done so well. Women are amazing! Best of luck with your divorce. It's so unfair you have to cope with the JW issues on top of everything else but we are supporting you 100% here.