Xanthippe

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Posts by Xanthippe

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  36

  If jw.org had memes...

  by rebel8 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  ...what would they be?

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  Xanthippe

  I say jump. You say how high?
  
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  42

  What Are the Top JW Issues That Just Burn Your Buns the Most?

  by Wild_Thing in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  which ones make you the maddest?

  covering up of abuse, shunning, failed end of world predictions?.

  my list is long and heavy, but the top 3 that set me off the most are:.

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  Xanthippe

  The way they've tied everything up so tight there's its really difficult for people to think their way out of it. We say to our families the 1914 generation are all dead, they play the guilt card and say we're not serving Jehovah to a specific date. That's not the point, we say, making false prophecies means your religion is false! They say are you criticising those appointed by God!

  We say where's the love in the JWs, the sign of true Christianity? They say we're just imperfect humans. We say we're just imperfect humans trying to find our way in life, trying to find answers to our questions and doubts. Then they say that shows a lack of faith and humility, you must be apostates.

  Rinse, repeat. Circular arguments!
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  43

  I was disfellowshipped because of Satan

  by elbib in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  during co visit, i took him for a bible study i was conducting.

  during the session, the householder said he believed satan was not a person, but personification of evil within us.

  i left co to handle householder’s doubt.

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  Xanthippe

  Good grief Elbib that was crazy. You were not only a regular publisher but you were conducting Bible Studies. The thought police found you anyway! You are well out of it. I hope you didn't lose family. Are those friends who told you that you were disfellowshipped still speaking to you?
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  26

  My mom died at 96 (without a visit from her granddaughter)

  by BONEZZ in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  don't get here much anymore.

  my mom, if you remember, really wanted to see her granddaughter before she died.

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcpuj96a8lg.

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  Xanthippe

  BONEZZ I'm so sorry you lost your mother and she never got to speak to her granddaughter. It breaks me up that you will never see yours either. I'm full of admiration that you're moving on with your life.
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  22

  What do Muslims Really Think - UK Documentary

  by cofty in

  1. social
  2. current

  channel 4 have commissioned a study into attitudes among british muslims.. the documentary starts in an hour from now at 10pm.

  if you watch it live or on 4od please share your thoughts.. unlike many other surveys of muslim opinion, which have predominantly been done by phone or online, icm used face-to-face, in-home research to question a representative sample of 1,000 muslims across great britain.

  icm also used a “control sample” to compare what british muslims thought with the rest of the british population.. at the top-line level, the survey suggests that a mainstream british muslim majority have similar values and attitudes to the wider british public on issues such as support for british institutions and a feeling of belonging to britain.. but looking deeper into the results, a chasm develops between those muslims surveyed and the wider population on attitudes to liberal values on issues such as gender equality, homosexuality and issues relating to freedom of expression.

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  Xanthippe

  Interesting ..there is not a single comment about the actual documentary.

  
  
  Talesin did you read my post, it is only about the documentary and nothing else.
  
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  12

  Luke 15:4 Has this ever happened in your congregation?

  by pleaseresearch in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  luke 15:4. new international version.

  "suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them.

  doesn't he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?.

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  Xanthippe

  How about if they actually put into practice the parable of The Good Samaritan and helped people who are suffering, sick, depressed, instead of being like the one who crosses the road and walks on by leaving the man bleeding in the road.
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  18

  Evolution is a Fact #35 - Nature Red in Tooth and Claw

  by cofty in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  genes only get copied to future generations if the bodies they help to build succeed in surviving and reproducing.

  these sort of genes thrive in the gene pool and genes that build unsuccessful bodies don't.

  this blindingly obvious fact is at the very core of understanding evolution by natural selection.. being born, finding food and shelter, escaping predators, fighting opponents, attracting a mate and raising the next generation - the challenges faced by living things are daunting.

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  Xanthippe

  I was watching Jungle Animal Hospital on TV yesterday evening and a vet was treating a baby spider monkey in Guatemala for a lump on the back of its neck. He cut into it and pulled out this huge insect, the larvae of something, I can't remember its name. It was revolting and the vet said it would have pressed on the tiny monkey's spine and probably killed it. Reminds me of Darwin and Ichneumonidae.
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  11

  Wifely Subjection: Mental Health Issues in Jehovah’s Witness Women

  by defender of truth in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  what do you think of this article?.

  is there anything that relates to your own experience?.

  i just came across it while searching for references on the consequences of sexism in the jw organization.. www.icsahome.com/articles/wifely-subjection--mental-health-issues-in-jw-women-csj-14-1.

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  Xanthippe

  Excellent article, thank you. It makes me shudder reading those phrases again, women are weaker vessels and should spent their time preparing nutritious meals for their family.

  'Women are relatively powerless in a male-dominated society. Feelings of hopelessness, helplessness, worthlessness, futility and suppressed rage, the major ingredients of depression, are the emotional responses of anyone in a permanently subordinate position. (p. 258)'

  'Having survived into the 20th century, WTS still maintains its 19th-century attitudes toward women. Women are told to be in submission” and to maintain a state of “wifely subjection” to their husbands. They are not allowed to address the congregation directly as a man does, and may not religiously instruct a baptized male member. All of the leaders-- from the Governing Body, which runs the worldwide organization, down to Elders and Ministerial Servants of the local congregation--are male.'

  'Much concern exists over insuring that the male openly acts as the clear head of the house. If it is felt that the wife makes too many decisions, or has too much to say in the affairs of the house, the husband may not be eligible for positions of responsibility within the congregation. (p. 246). Clearly, women are relegated to a position of less power than their male counterparts. Women are instructed to defer to men both in their personal/marital relationships, and in the social and religious life of the congregation.'

  The article says that if the locus of control, a person's source of motivation, is internal rather than externally forced upon them as in an ideology they tend to fair better psychologically. People with an external locus of control tend to have difficulty accepting responsibility for their lives and blame others when things go wrong.

  'A woman with an internal “locus of control” defines and interprets her experience by a set of internal judgments, comparison of prior to current experiences, and a singular set of moral values that has been refined and constructed over trial and error. '

  Of necessity in a cult and particularly a strictly patriarchal one like JWs she would have to repress this ability and the result can be depression, phobias or personality disorders the article says.

  I thought this was of general interest too that those articles in the Watchtower saying things like would it be wise to..... Listen to heavy metal music, play this computer game, watch this film, wear this garment are not suggestions, they are introducing a new rule.

  'I was forced to wear a mask so none would see how I really felt'. I so recognise this. At meetings I would see speakers staring at me to see if I was humbly accepting the information so I learned to develop a poker face to stop them picking on me if I seemed to be disagreeing, which they would do in a book study or meeting for field service. Wretched woman, how dare she have that look on her face as if she disagrees with me. Who does she think she is.

  
  
  
  
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  150

  Start A Butterfly Garden!

  by Bonsai in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  time to take a break from debating religion.

  take in a breath of fresh air and be healed by the wonders of nature around you.. how many of you have a garden?

  how many have a nice flower patch to go with your vegetable garden?

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  Xanthippe

  GrreatTeacher your dark purple, almost black tulips sound very striking. You should have some in the house. Did you know the tulip is the only flower that keeps growing taller when you cut them and put them in water?
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  150

  Start A Butterfly Garden!

  by Bonsai in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  time to take a break from debating religion.

  take in a breath of fresh air and be healed by the wonders of nature around you.. how many of you have a garden?

  how many have a nice flower patch to go with your vegetable garden?

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  Xanthippe

  Oh I didn't take the photo Bonsai, I just googled Brimstone butterfly. I wasn't sure if you have them. It's still coming in my garden along with Peacocks and I saw a Comma yesterday ( I didn't take this either).