Posts by Xanthippe

We have the writings of the 'Christians' claiming this person actually lived to validate their beliefs and religious fervour. Obviously an academic historian would say there is bias and a vested interest before you start looking for provenance of those writings.

Then we have Tacitus who describes Nero blaming the Christians for burning Rome and Christus receiving the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius. That's it apart from Josephus talking about the existence of Christians. Tacitus wrote about sixty years after Jesus supposedly lived. He apparently had access to the Senate records but there is no proof of that. It's like someone trying to write an accurate account of WWII now. Very difficult. My parents were children during that war and they are dead. Who did he talk to about this Jesus? They didn't have the kind of records a historian could use now.

There has been a long tradition of creating a mythical hero for an actual time period and series of events. For example Aeneas, described in Homer and Virgil became the founder of Rome, the first true Roman after fleeing from the destruction of Troy.

Was he real, did he live? We have found the ruins of Troy and Rome remains today. Homer and Virgil wrote about him. The clues are all there. He was the the son of a Trojan prince and the goddess Venus/ Aphrodite. The context of his story; Cyclops and Sirens, gods and goddesses in Homer. In Virgil he is an ancestor of Romulus and Remus, babies raised by wolves.

Do the same with Jesus. Born of a god and a virgin. The Bible context of miracles, talking animals, giants and demons.

Who do I think Jesus was? Probably a conglomeration of Jewish messiahs. Preachers who had the messiah complex and wanted to save their people from the Roman occupation. Pieces of different stories mixed together and validated with real events, places and people just as all good legends are.

56

JW's came to my door 6 weeks ago. I told them I was inactive.......

by Alchemist in

6 weeks ago some jws came to my door.

i've been inactive for 8 years.

after they gave their presentation i told them i was inactive.

Xanthippe

What I am most ashamed of from being a JW is not giving to charity. In the eighties when we were bombarded with pictures of starving children and skeletal babies we were told at the KH give your money to the WTS. They quoted Jesus saying the poor are always wth you or some such nonsense.

If I could turn the clock back and be a part of that outpooring of compassion that was Band Aid and Live Aid I would. Even hardened journalists were moved to tears but not the GB. They don't care about humanity Alchemist. JWs are just waiting for humanity to die so they can have their houses.

I'm sorry you are not well at the moment Alchemist, I do sympathise but please be assured the world is full of compassionate people trying to help their fellow man. Don't be depressed about the world, good people are doing what they can. JWs are doing what they are told which is give their money to a publishing and real estate company which dares to criticise others for materialism!

67

How do you feel about exJW's who resist our efforts to effect change?

by nicolaou in

i've met a few.

i'm not talking about the jw who, whether df'd or not, falls off the radar and just gets on with living a normal life - good luck to them and may there be many more!.

i mean the former jehovah's witness who is now enjoying all the benefits of a cult free life thanks to the efforts of many bloggers, posters and activists, but is critical of the efforts of someone close them to free more jws.

Xanthippe

I admire those that blog and youtube although I don't have time for it myself. I would never criticise them. Sometimes the reason people keep quiet about their past is because most people just don't get it. They look at you oddly if you say your family will not be getting together with you at Xmas or whatever. You can see them thinking, you must have done something, it can't be just religion.

56

JW's came to my door 6 weeks ago. I told them I was inactive.......

by Alchemist in

6 weeks ago some jws came to my door.

i've been inactive for 8 years.

after they gave their presentation i told them i was inactive.

Xanthippe

Welcome Alchemist. I like your name, but we know now what the ancients didn't, we can't turn base metal into gold and neither can we turn a human being into a perfect person.

If you go back you will find a lot of people who are pretending to be perfect but it's impossible. The lesser of the two evils isn't a great way to live is it? Stick around, no need to feel isolated, there are caring people here. I wrote this because I care.

52

Try Other Religions

by Sofia Lose in

sometimes i get a strong curiosity to start dabbling into other religions, other faiths, you know?

really different ones such as islam, judaism, hinduism, etc.. has anyone here looked into something else?

has your spirituality been satisfied by any other than christianity?.

Xanthippe

No I really don't want to try another religion. I'm sick of other people telling me what to think and feel. I have had the most amazingly spiritual, peak experiences walking through gorgeous scenery, lakes and snow-capped mountains. Mountains do it for me.

As for what I believe about reality, I have read dozens of books, done masses of research and I don't need someone in silly robes telling me what is real.

However I have been to spiritualist churches as part of my research into life after death and have found it very interesting.

23

My wife , Son and DIL living with us ,have still not acknowledged my birthday today @ 5:15 pm , I might have to drop them a subtle hint.

by smiddy in

i know being a witness for 33 years and not celebrating b/days you do lose the habit , but i thought one of them would have remembered ?

oh well .. maybe i will just rub it in with them tomorrow .make them feel guilty , eh ?.

then again i might just start singing "76 trombones" at the dinner table tonight .

Xanthippe

Happy Birthday Smiddy and Sail Away. 🎈🎉🎂🍰🍹

27

My proposal for Mankind to end all doubts...

by James Mixon in

just watch the movie "contact" and it gave me an idea.. our population on earth today 8-9 billion, a day where all of mankind pray, beseech,.

plead for god to show us a sign that he is still up there.

one day all around the world.

Xanthippe

If only that would work! Look at JWs waiting a hundred years for a failed prophecy and still refusing to give up. Christians waiting two thousand years for Jesus to return and refusing to admit he was a man and the Romans crucified him, no return possible.

If it were possible to get billions of people to decide to do one thing, which it isn't, I would rather they stop slaughtering one another or something else helpful like stop having more children than they can feed.

10

Waiting For The "Real Life"...

by JW_Rogue in

how many times did we have to hear this?

just another way to make you feel guilty for wanting to spend time improving yourself or enjoying life outside the organization.

to think of all the people that died waiting for the "real life" that is not coming is actually very sad and depressing.

Xanthippe

It's true all the things JWs dream of they can do now if they just leave the cult. The money they spend on the convention could be spent on travelling to a new country each year. With all the free time they would have with no meetings or FS they could learn to play an instrument, study science, learn to paint, whatever they want.

So sad you're right, life is passing them by.