Posts by Xanthippe

37

My sister passed away this evening

by smiddy3 in

it was only about two months ago she was diagnosed with lung cancer and she was a non smoker .. she was never a jw and she never held it against me that i was for 33 years.. we had a good relationship even though we lived in different states about 2000 miles apart,.. tears are rolling down my cheeks as i type this .

r.i.p.

sylvia .

Xanthippe

I am so sorry Smiddy. Nothing I can say will make this any better but I am here for you.

22

Commuter Bethelite video

by no-zombie in

for those who missed last weeks clam meeting, there was a video played that was amazing ... however not in good way.. we are all aware how thousands of full time bethelites world wide got the boot and put out onto the street.

some having giving most of their lives to the organization, but often with no real way to support themselves other than to depend on the generosity of others.

so when this video talked about how special it would be for those who could step up and become a commuter bethelite, it made me think how calculating the governing body must be.

Xanthippe

This is a very cynical sacking of live-in volunteers saying they're no longer needed and then asking for commuter volunteers. Barefaced lying for one thing! From the religion of truth! Lacking in compassion for all the 'lifers' who have nowhere to go and zero pension. Why don't the r&f wake up?

7

My brother-in-law is mentally out!

by Kathy1978 in

so....i’m going to rewind for a second.

one of my brother-in-laws came over one evening late in 2016, november i think, just to hang out.

we hadn’t seen him in a while and this is before we told anyone in his family we were out.

Xanthippe

That's great news Kathy and it sounds like it was down to your husband being honest with him but not pushing him. Must be lovely for your husband to have his brother out.

43

Did Ray Franz Help You To Get Out of “The Truth”?

by minimus in

jw
friends

i sneakily read his books at work.

it was written in such a way that no one could accuse him of being another bitter old apostate.. once it registered in my brain, especially after reading the second book, i knew i had to get out!.

Xanthippe

Oh yes he did. We were absolutely baffled by corrupt elders in our congregation so we moved to another congregation and were treated badly by those elders.

We went to the library and were looking in the religious section so I guess we were ready for answers because that's not something we'd done before.

There on the shelf was Crisis of Conscience, we read it until the small hours and then we knew the whole organization was corrupt. We left a few months later. That guy has helped so many people.

This was in '89 not long after the whole big US apostate scandal which we later learned was about Ray Franz and the others. We were so grateful he didn't just go off and live his life, which he could have done, but he helped us leave too.

4

"Put on the JW uniform - and take off Humanity"

by stuckinarut2 in

we all know about the variation in the "cult persona vs the "real persona" of those in high control groups such as jws.. it struck me this becomes even more pronounced and apparent when jws actually put on their physical meeting or service attire, or are engaged in jw activities.

they become more robotic as their responses and actions - yes their opinions and discussions- are stripped of humanity and thought, and they become turned into some sort of regurgitating jw orator.. when they literally put on a suit or tie, the level of judgement, arrogance and black and white thinking takes on a whole new level.

take that clothing off, and put them in casual attire to attend some sort of enjoyable activity (eg sports watching or the like) and they become far more relaxed, and "normal".. i have noticed this particularly with my father.

Xanthippe

I'm still allergic to wearing dresses. People at work are always shocked when I get my legs out on a summer's day. They think I move on casters.

23

Word association game

by ZindagiNaMilegiDobaara in

iconic.

Xanthippe

Gardening

16

Can we ever get our loved ones out?

by SnakesInTheTower in

jw
friends

a post on another thread got me to thinking and writing.. should we even be trying to get our loved ones out of jehovah's witnesses?.

when a person truly believes in their belief system, or even if they don't but have held to that system for a long time, there is nothing we can say that will move them from that system.. why?

perhaps pride.

Xanthippe

Some on this forum have got their family out so it's possible but I suspect the longer we are shunned the harder it is. How can a person come back from shunning a close family member for twenty or thirty years?

I think they will probably prefer to stay in than admit they were so vile to someone they gave birth to and raised. Or someone they grew up with, shared a bedroom with as children.

This is the evil thing this cult does. By telling people they are being loving shunning family they set them up for so much guilt when they realise it's all bs, they trap them possibly until they die.

33

Did anyone put off having children because of wt bs?

by I Faded Twice in

just curious if anyone put off having kids because the end was so close.

or because of you're "ministry" or lack of suitable mates..

Xanthippe

Yes me. I pioneered for ten years with a two year illness break in between. When I finally stopped I was twenty-eight. Then we contemplated moving to Scotland because we knew something was terribly wrong in our congregation. Two years later having only moved about ten miles down the road we found out the problem with the religion wasn't a local thing after all!

By this time I was thirty. Then we had to get out of the poverty the cult had left us in. Twenty-five years pioneering between my husband and myself. How stupid were we? That took time. Studying, a succession of horrible jobs, still living in a grotty rented apartment. Finally at thirty-six, still only half way through a distance learning degree I realised I was running out of time, biologically.

So we had a baby girl a few weeks before I was 37. A most precious child. I love her to bits and she's all I have left of her dad now. Can't wait to see her at Christmas. So glad I didn't let that cult rob me of a child too.

19

New introduction

by formerministerial in

jw
friends

hello to all of you,.

here goes an introduction of a new member.

i'm 45 years old now and we wake up my wife and i from borg a few years ago.. i'm living between spain and france, due to my work.. it has been always refreshing to listen and read many of you here.. i hope it will continue the same..

Xanthippe

Welcome fm to you and your wife, good to have you here. Looking forward to hearing your story but only when you're ready.

8

Long time no see

by caballoSentado in

hi friends,.

checking the board after a long time... here is an update (my native language is spanish, so bear with me)... my daugter is now 18 and officially a commercial pilot!, she got her dreams fulfilled... my oldest son (an industrial engineer) in living and working for a big bank in canada (toronto) after studying a master in admnistration there, and my other son is doing very well and now owns two companies (he studied economics in one of the best universities in my country, perú)... i have just returned from a travel all over europe with my dear wife (30 days, 12 countries and 20+ cities)... so we left the jw in 2001 over the un scandal... and here we are.

have a nice day all of you.

Xanthippe

What a success story after leaving the cult, your children are doing great!

Sounds like a fantastic European tour (30 days, 12 countries and 20+ cities) wow! I love travelling, it really does broaden the mind doesn't it?