Posts by Xanthippe

23

Healing

by compound complex in

jw
friends

i feel an unfamiliar restlessness in my lower body.

too long have i been confined to my sickbed; my mind and heart coax me arise and gaze upon the world outside.

it is no longer a matter of fighting long-entrenched despair.

Xanthippe

A thing of beauty is a joy forever...

Thank you for reminding me CoCo.

23

Thankful for my babies

by BeautifulMind in

i hope everyone is having a good day/night.

so i was just reflecting on how happy i am to have my babies, despite the orgs.

not so subtle requests that married couples not have babies in order to further serve the org.

Beautiful mind I am also grateful for my wonderful daughter. I pioneered for ten years and we hadn't had children by the time we left, I was thirty. Then we were left in near poverty because of the cult and had to get degrees and jobs. I suddenly realised that time was slipping by and decided to try and get pregnant. My baby was born a few weeks before I was 37.

I had preeclampsia and had to have a c-section at 39 weeks because blood tests showed my liver and kidneys were starting to shut down. She came out a little blue but her lungs were properly developed and she's a wonderful healthy young woman of 21 now. She's just finished her BA and graduates this July. I am so glad I didn't wait any longer, she is the light of my life.

Thanks for this thread, I feel all happy now as I get ready for work.

160

Beliefs About What Caused the Universe

by Perry in

the universe can be observed to be expanding.. an expanding universe must have had a beginning.

whatever begins to exist had a cause.

therefore the universe had a cause.

Xanthippe

Believing in Materialism is ultimately belief in nothing more than make-believe.

Perry I don't know where the universe came from. When my husband did his physics degree he said virtual particles pop in and out of existence but we don't know where they come from. He said there is no such thing as common sense with quantum field theory, it is beyond our experience to always predict the surprising outcome.

I don't believe the universe came about by magic but I do think if those humans who do find out in the future could get in a time machine now and tell us the answers it would seem like magic. Just as my iPad would seem like magic a couple of hundred years ago.

It's all relative. 😏

27

The two paths of exJWs

by Simon in

it's easy to think of exjws as being a single amorphous group but the more i think about it, the more i believe that there are two distinct sub-groups and wonder if you agree.. there are those who believe and those who don't.

i know that seems obvious but let's break it down a bit more.

there are those who don't and never believed and some who are looking for a religion to match their beliefs.. i used to think this split would be between born-ins and converts but of course it's possible for born-ins to be believers although i suspect that many, like with other faiths, do so simply because they have never experienced anything else or made a conscious choice.

Xanthippe

I do respect people like you who had the guts to get out at eighteen Talesin. I met a lovely man and married at twenty-two which unfortunately kept me in longer. When we finally got out I was thirty and we were both very bruised and battered like you. But you did it on your on Talesin. Kudos to you.

160

Beliefs About What Caused the Universe

by Perry in

the universe can be observed to be expanding.. an expanding universe must have had a beginning.

whatever begins to exist had a cause.

therefore the universe had a cause.

Xanthippe

xainhippe,
As previously discussed, the fact that the universe is expanding, is strong evidence (with much scientific support) that not only did the universe have a beginning, but that an Agent or first cause existing outside of the space time universe must have acted upon our universe.

No it isn't.

Otherwise, we are left with a scenario far worse than magic - Something begins from nothing.

Eh and God began where? Same tired old circular argument Perry.

I can say that I have personally found this to be true. Unless God penetrates (or transcends) our space/time universe and manifests himself to us; finding, testing, & observing him is impossible, but not his effects.... those are "clearly seen"... so that "we are without excuse" when positing credit for our existence within our space time universe..... without excuse.

Why do I need an excuse for wanting evidence before I hand my life over to some group that tells me they have a hot line and a list of rules I need to now follow?

So why doesn't God manifest himself to me?

Heb. 11: 6 - he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder

If I look for God with an open mind wanting to know reality, why is that not enough?

25

Raising kids in a split faith household

by rathernotsay in

jw
friends

hi guys, don't know if this is the right place to ask but id like to hear other peoples experiences with raising kids in a household with split faiths.

just for a bit of a back story, my wife and i have been married for comming up 6 years.

we have 3 kids, 2 boys aged 5 and 3 and a 8 week old girl.

Xanthippe

I don't think she will ever discover ttatt. And I'm not asking her too, but it's hard and frustrating at times not to outright mock her faith. Trying to be respectful

Just be yourself. Use the scientific knowledge you have without mocking. As your kids grow if they repeat something stupid from the religion correct if with facts, reason with them.

My dad was never a JW and he watched science programs on TV and left books on astronomy and evolution around the house just because he was interested in those subjects. Be yourself, your kids will pick up more than you realise from you. I learned a hell of a lot from reading my dad's science fiction books. I found that some JWs didn't even know the sun is a star.

91

My brother died last night

by LisaRose in

jw
friends

i found out this morning that my brother died last night, he was also an ex jw, 73 years old and died of heart disease and kidney failure.

it was not totally unexpected, as he had been in poor health, but it's a blow, especially as i just lost another brother two years ago.

there were six of us, now only four.

Xanthippe

I'm so sorry LisaRose. Take care of yourself, it's a stressful time for you.💔

21

Nice weather this weekend. Made me think.....

by punkofnice in

there was a time when as a family, we'd host a bbq in our large back garden.

we'd have a small gazebo, tables and chairs.

the reggae music would be pumping out but not too loud.

Xanthippe

Yeah I remember being stuck in a rented flat for nine long years after leaving the cult before we could afford to put a deposit on a small house. God I hated living there. I used to long for a garden too. Sorry you're still int he middle of that Punky, it's slow going I know. Hope things get better for you soon.

160

Beliefs About What Caused the Universe

by Perry in

the universe can be observed to be expanding.. an expanding universe must have had a beginning.

whatever begins to exist had a cause.

therefore the universe had a cause.

Xanthippe

But Perry God can't be detected, observed, measured or proved. So belief in God is also going beyond empirical science and is as speculative as the multiverse theory.

34

The Big House Forced Exodus

by ttdtt in

long video i guess addressing the many hard feelings of people getting the axe at brooklyn and other facilities.. the gist is - thanks for your help, don't let the door hit you on the way out.

or scripturally saying - "keep warm and well fed"p.s.

they are admitting that the are letting older ones go.. http://tv.jw.org/#en/video/vodprogramsevents/pub-jwbrd_201605_5_video.

Xanthippe

Having Saturdays off at Bethel so they can do FS. Having an extra day off when they turn 70! Being allowed to have morning worship in their room when they are sick. These are nice changes he says. You're in a cult mate, they're working you to death. When they've finished with you you'll be homeless.