When evidence for reality hits you between the eyes you have the choice to accept it or reject it and go on believing fantasy, these are the only choices.
Xanthippe
JoinedPosts by Xanthippe
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123
Why do some Jehovah's Witnesses choose to be atheist or agnostic?
by Cassaruby in"traumatic as the initial transition may be, it can lead to the development of a truly personal relationship with these two greatest friends [the father and the son] .
.. "whatever sense of 'belonging' that membership in some religious system may create, it can never compare with the power and beauty and strengthening benefit of the intimate personal relationship the scripture presents .
from reading joseph campbell i've come to understand that there are functions to religion or mythology.
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17
How many JWs still have a personal conscience?
by contramundum inin conversation with an old jw friend today, it struck me that most jws have replaced their personal conscience with a collective one.. instead of training their own mental powers to distinguish right from wrong, as the bible encourages, they are content to shift personal accountability away from themselves and onto the impersonal org.
whatever behaviour may prompt an ordinary person to have serious misgivings ( such as ignoring glaring misapplication of scripture or rejecting basic human decency in favour of unchristian shunning ) they prefer to have those decisions made for them.. history teaches us, however, that there is no absolution for people who behave unethically or cruelly by allowing the excuse of 'obeying orders' to override what their inner voice should scream is inherently wrong..
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Xanthippe
In conversation with an old JW friend today, it struck me that most JWs have replaced their personal conscience with a collective one.
This is so true and when you study history you realise that JWs have set their consciences back about five hundred years. In medieval times people used to have a collective conscience. They would hand relatives over to inquisitions to be tortured or drive women who helped cure people with herbs out of their villages - or burn them alive. When I studied the medieval period I got the distinct impression people thought in group minds almost like bees or ants. I guess it was driven by the stark need for sheer survival.
So yes we have a religion that wants to take away people's consciences and put them back to medieval thinking. Primary example is they do hand their loved ones over to be tortured in JCs. Then when the 'clergy' say now treat them as if they're dead they blindly obey.
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Why do some Jehovah's Witnesses choose to be atheist or agnostic?
by Cassaruby in"traumatic as the initial transition may be, it can lead to the development of a truly personal relationship with these two greatest friends [the father and the son] .
.. "whatever sense of 'belonging' that membership in some religious system may create, it can never compare with the power and beauty and strengthening benefit of the intimate personal relationship the scripture presents .
from reading joseph campbell i've come to understand that there are functions to religion or mythology.
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Xanthippe
Like I said I learned from studying Campbell that the path of Atheism and agnosticism means figuring life out on your own.
Yeah I love it, you should try it! Thinking is my main hobby! Then go online or read other's ideas in books and see how your thoughts compare. Very stimulating. You know the best thing? Authors won't shun me if I disagree with them, some will even let me email them!
Like no extra boost to certain insights, like rocky road.
No I listen to a lot of insights from others then I make up my own mind. I'm allowed to do that you see, I'm over eighteen.
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"Matthew 5:5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth."
by pale.emperor innow that im not longer a jw this verse puzzles me.
being born and raised a witness, this verse confirmed to me that jesus was talking about a paradise on earth.
but now that everything the witnesses taught is 99.99% incorrect can somone explain what he was getting at here?
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Xanthippe
Look at the context, Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven -Matt 5:3. Blessed are those persecuted for righteousness sake for theirs is the kingdom of heaven - Matt 5:10. Strongly suggests inheriting the earth as a possession as kings.
Having said that, who wrote it, who translated it, who decided this bit should go in the Bible canon and not be assigned as apocryphal, which verses in between were discarded etc etc.
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In praise of Randall Watters
by nicolaou inexjw's of a certain age will remember randy's site well.
freeminds was instrumental in waking me up along with ray franz's books.
if net soup and armageddon okies mean nothing to you you're probably under 30.. whatever caused randy to post what he did recently is something i can only guess at but it won't be what i remember him for.. randy, i wish you well and thank you for all you've done over the years .
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Xanthippe
We got Randy's newsletter Freeminds sent by mail from the US in 1989. I know I've said it before but it shone a light in the darkness. Thanks Randy, I hope you're okay.
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Don't let the sun go down on me.
by The Rebel inin appreciation of david bowie who died a year ago today.
also to george michael and all the other less famous people ( mouthy, school friend.
my aunt.
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Xanthippe
Victoria Wood, Alan Rickman, Carrie Fisher, my cousin Julie.
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33
Leaving the jws is a "lifestyle choice" according to a counsellor
by purrpurr inso i had my first appointment with a counsellor, of course i explained about being a born in jw, mentally leaving, the penalty of doing so and therefore the mental strain of pretending to be someone i'm not.
her response was that she couldn't help me with that because leaving a cult was a "lifestyle choice".
i tried to say to her that its a cult not a religion and how it brain washed me but no.
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Xanthippe
The first counsellor I tried thought I should join her group therapy. I explained that cults were very different from most traumatic experiences. She was rather indignant that I thought I had had a totally different experience emotionally to someone who had been through a divorce or had a miscarriage. I gave up trying to explain it to her.
My second counsellor knew about JWs because her relatives were involved with it. She said when she took her kids to their grandparent's house they were not allowed to play with their cousins whose parents were JWs. Her kids were viewed as a bad influence so had to play in another room.
As usual people don't understand this cult unless they've had first-hand experience of it. I strongly suggest you try another counsellor.
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Marking Talks are back!?!?! - New Name!
by thedepressedsoul inwhen i was younger i used to hear about "marking talks" given in the past.
i believe they stopped in the 80's or 90's.
basically, if someone wasn't baptized or doing something unrepentant, they would get a "marking talk" and be treated the same as a df person.
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Xanthippe
Anyway how does dating an unbeliever reflect badly on the congregation? In whose eyes? NonJWs don't care who you date.
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Which was the best century to be born in?
by defender of truth inhttp://www.businessinsider.com/10-reasons-2016-is-the-best-time-to-be-alive-2016-8/#1-there-are-much-fewer-hungry-people-in-the-world-1.
is the world getting better?.
in which century would you rather have been born, given the choice?
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Xanthippe
The world is getting better, there are so many amazing things in this century. Technology, medicine, travel, literature, ethics and morality, compassion and charities, a wonderful array of food but in some ways it is still primitive. Cults, materialism, politics and the multinationals dominated by sociopaths. I would have liked to see the twenty-third century, I think it will be awesome.
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Information Disparity
by doublespeak inthe scriptures reveal that god never takes advantage of the ignorance of anyone.. j.rutherford, jehovah, brooklyn, international bible students association, 1934, p.19.
would that the oligarchy followed suit.. tom..
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Xanthippe
Thank you Xanthippe. For some reason I cannot update my bio nor the avatar. So just briefly; Born in, thirty-something years later I finally came to terms with some life-long suppressed thoughts & doubts. I am now going through what seems to be a well told story on this forum. (grateful to be able to read about people in the same boat)
Try sending a pm to Simon who owns the site if you are struggling with it. I left at thirty too. Yes many have noticed the similarity between Orwell's 1984 world and the JW cult.
Looking forward to hearing more about your journey so far.