Posts by Xanthippe

48

Anyone struggle to find meaning in life?

by Good JW in

just wondering if this is a common thing for you guys and girls?

when i left the jws it was hard to make a connection with people, much of the time i felt that whatever they wanted to talk about just didn't seem relevant/deep/meaningful.

i find myself filtering my mind to get to a level with others (small talk mostly).

Xanthippe

Is this because I was a JW? Or a pessimistic/over-thinking personality trait?

Its both! I went to a seminar years ago where ex-cultists gave talks about their experience of leaving. A woman from the Children of God said just what you're saying, small talk seems well - small! She found that the way people lived seemed pointless, she desperately wanted to find the meaning.

It's because we've come out of a cult where everything meant soooo much, everything you did, said and even thought. It was the end of the world, well soon! We had lives to save!

Its not, actually, over-thinking to want life to have meaning but you've got to find your own meaning, what matters to you. Whether it's art, science, sport, music, literature, travel, relationships, Netflix or whatever. Don't think that the pursuit of happiness doesn't matter, it's vital to your health and well-being. Good luck searching for meaning and try and enjoy it. 😀

26

What Is The Major Reason Jehovah’s Witnesses Exist?

by minimus in

jw
friends

i understand that cults and religious groups will always exist.

but why do jehovah’s witnesses continue as a religion that people will join?.

Xanthippe

Things happen to everyone that are hard to cope with, illness, bereavements, financial problems. I can only speak of my own country where mental health programs are struggling to cope because of central government removing funding.

From volunteering in a mental health charity I realised that many severely damaged people turn to religion eventually because the NHS has failed them badly. They have shattered self esteem and religions tell them God loves them unconditionally and whatever has happened in the past has been wiped away instead of what they get from society which is the stigma of mental illness. If that religion actually knocks on your door and gives you personal attention like JWs do, all the better I suppose.

28

What Will The Future Hold For Jehovah's Witnesses

by VW.org in

jw
friends

as descibed by the title here is a link to reddit of a what i believe is a powerful post with heaps of information.

.

https://www.reddit.com/r/exjw/comments/7ovq5o/watchtowers_decline_what_will_the_future_hold_for/?utm_source=reddit-android.

Xanthippe

Thank you John Redwood and vw.org for this. A very interesting post John Redwood. Your words particularly hit me that ordinary JWs in Eritrea and Russia are languishing in prison or under government ban, suffering terribly, while following the rules of overweight GB who travel the world businsess class and look out at their landscaped gardens listening to bird song. It makes me very angry.

38

Will #metoo have an affect on forcing changing attitudes at Watchtower?

by jwfacts in

despite decades of the feminist movement, watchtower's attitude of woman being inferior has changed little, with pauline sexism justified as inspired, on the basis that women are lesser emotionally, intellectually and physically.

jehovah's witnesses seem to accept this with little resistance.

is there anything about the #metoo movement that may wake followers up?

Xanthippe

I'm sorry if I sound a rebel but if I wanted to buy my child a small gift - and we could afford it - no way would I go and seek 'permission' from my husband!

Dont apologise for being an independent woman Phoebe. I agree one hundred percent with your post. Women have been sexually abused for thousands of years and just lately they've got a bit pissed off with it.

38

Will #metoo have an affect on forcing changing attitudes at Watchtower?

by jwfacts in

despite decades of the feminist movement, watchtower's attitude of woman being inferior has changed little, with pauline sexism justified as inspired, on the basis that women are lesser emotionally, intellectually and physically.

jehovah's witnesses seem to accept this with little resistance.

is there anything about the #metoo movement that may wake followers up?

Xanthippe

Angus Stewart was trying to reason with elders and GB in the ARC that a woman should be present when another woman or even a female child gives evidence of sexual abuse at a JC.

It was like hitting his head against a brick wall and yet it was such an obvious change to ask for and easily rectified. Which indicates how far this organization has to go to drag itself into the twenty-first century.

23

Were visits to the library an important part of your childhood?

by compound complex in

jw
friends

greetings, fellow bibliophiles:.

i remember how sad i was, as a little child, when our beloved carnegie library was razed (unsafe, structurally).

the same tragedy occurred when we moved to a new town and that similar architectural treasure was demolished to put up a new and gleaming building of steel and glass.

Xanthippe

Oh yes! I fought my brother over who was going to read the Narnia books first. Also Alan Garner books, The Weird Stone of Brisingamen, The Owl Service. Famous Five and Secret Seven books as well. The Hobbit when I was a teenager.

Then as a teenager I picked up my dad's science fiction books and enjoyed them. So off to the library to discover Isaac Asimov and Atthur C Clarke.

I work in a beautiful Carnegie library now.

15

"Reaching out" in the org and personal confessions...

by Good JW in

going to be completely honest here, no feelings spared for me.

when i was a jw, one of my biggest motivations for "reaching out" was to become a "somebody".

i loved the idea of being a leader, teaching/training others.

Xanthippe

We're all somebody. Somebody's child, somebody's parent, somebody's beloved life partner. Being famous or loved by this crazy world is all sham. Be real.

41

Do you have JW-related dreams (nightmares)?

by compound complex in

greetings, dreamers:.

i guess it's never going away: daytime carryovers of jw-related stuff seeping into my dreams.. the majority of these dreams take place at conventions but with really weird trappings.

last night i dreamed i arrived at the site with no books, no lunch, nothing but my car keys.

Xanthippe

Not for a while but I did dream last night I went to the doctor to get my jabs for a trip to India and the doc was dressed as Jesus! What the heck?

14

This Message Board Is Boring

by ctrwtf in

jw
friends

any chance simon can make arrangements to have the gorilla channel run on this site?.

Xanthippe

It is a bit boring at the moment which is a shame because there are many interesting people on here with really fascinating lives. I love the threads where people talk about their lives and what they get up to since leaving the cult. I've tried starting threads about this but they don't last very long. Perhaps a really popular person should start one, they're fun.

15

"Reaching out" in the org and personal confessions...

by Good JW in

going to be completely honest here, no feelings spared for me.

when i was a jw, one of my biggest motivations for "reaching out" was to become a "somebody".

i loved the idea of being a leader, teaching/training others.

Xanthippe

It's egotism in disguise

Oh yeah and sometimes not disguised at all. We had an elder who used to say, Rome wasn't built in a day but then I wasn't foreman on that job. Insufferable man. Did the congregation hate him? No they just lapped it up!