Posts by Xanthippe

20

Slowly Awakening at the DC 2013

by breakfast of champions in

so after the district convention was over, i asked my wife what her overall impression was.

she said, "maybe something has changed, or maybe it's your influence that i see things differently now, but a lot of those talks sounded more threatening than anything.

not loving, not really hopeful, just threatening.

Question for the married guys

by TweetieBird in

jw
friends

is it possible to be friends with a woman, text her, call her, etc and not be physically attracted to her?.

Xanthippe

Wow, so many negative opinions about potential friendships with the opposite gender!

I have to tell you, I think you're missing out - it is totally possible to be married and have female friends as long as you are honest.

Thank goodness for Simon being willing to stick his neck out, I was beginning to feel I was surrounded by cavemen.

153

The antidote to the myth that JWs are declining

by slimboyfat in

one of the most persistent myths on this website is that jws are already in decline, the rot has set in, and the descent of the watchtower is inevitable from here on in.

unfortunately the facts do not bear this out.

jws are still increasing even in most developing countries, and they are still growing worldwide at a faster rate than the general population.

Xanthippe

JWs are still increasing even in most developing countries

I don't know about even in most developing countries, religions have always flourished where there is poverty. Ever heard the term rice Christians? I thought there was huge increase in Eastern Europe, am I wrong? They are sadly mistaken if they think this religion is going to be giving them handouts any time soon but perhaps they haven't worked that out yet.

19

Why send Satan down to earth in 1914 - didn't we have enough problems?

by Xanthippe in

i was just reading an old watchtower quote on another thread, he was quoting it straight from jw.org by the way, and i was astonished to be reminded of this teaching.

why would a loving god crown his son king and then send satan and hordes of demons to our planet?.

we live in a huge universe, why send these monsters here?

Xanthippe

This nonsense demonstrates the bible thought the universe was flat, above was heaven and below us the underworld. Given the earth is round where exactly is Satan, wouldnt he just pass thru one side and end up on te antipode ?

Yes mP I thought exactly the same thing, the picture these scriptures conjure is of the universe being the earth, moon and sun. Heaven is just above the earth and when Satan gets thrown out of heaven he falls straight down to the earth.

As you say an ancient flat earth view of the solar system. The universe in this picture does not contain billions of galaxies each containing millions of stars with some planets where Satan could have been sent. Just this one, just the heavens and the earth. Didn't God know about the rest of the universe when he inspired the Bible?

19

Why send Satan down to earth in 1914 - didn't we have enough problems?

by Xanthippe in

i was just reading an old watchtower quote on another thread, he was quoting it straight from jw.org by the way, and i was astonished to be reminded of this teaching.

why would a loving god crown his son king and then send satan and hordes of demons to our planet?.

we live in a huge universe, why send these monsters here?

Xanthippe

When I look at teachings like this from the perspective of being out for 24 years I just can't understand why I didn't question it at the time.

The whole overlapping generations belief still hinges on

1 God's Kingdom being set up in 1914 according to isolated scriptures all over the Bible

2 Jesus was made king of this kingdom

3 The first thing Jesus did was get rid out Satan from his home and send him to ours

4 The world fell into world war at Satan's instigation and then another one later and countless atrocities since

5 The lives of people that were alive in 1914 of the annointed will overlap with the lives of annointed that see the Armageddon

6 So far God's Kingdom has brought nothing but hell to this planet according to JW teachings, everything else is just promises

19

Why send Satan down to earth in 1914 - didn't we have enough problems?

by Xanthippe in

i was just reading an old watchtower quote on another thread, he was quoting it straight from jw.org by the way, and i was astonished to be reminded of this teaching.

why would a loving god crown his son king and then send satan and hordes of demons to our planet?.

we live in a huge universe, why send these monsters here?

Xanthippe

I was just reading an old Watchtower quote on another thread, he was quoting it straight from JW.org by the way, and I was astonished to be reminded of this teaching. Why would a loving God crown his son King and then send Satan and hordes of demons to our planet?

We live in a huge universe, why send these monsters here? According to WTS these creatures are then responsible for starting a world war and millions die. Almighty God lets his son clear out the heavens of unwanted nasties and then he sends them here! What a ridiculous teaching, isn't the universe big enough to dispose of or imprison these demons? Of course this is how they explain that when God's Kingdom was set up in heaven in 1914 the world got worse not better. Convoluted reasoning produces teachings like this!

22

I nearly forgot how Jehovah's Witnesses are programmed to respond to us

by God_Delusion in

yep, that's right, i nearly forgot that jehovah's witnesses, even the young ones, are programmed with the "la la la i'm not listening" trait.. here's a brief conversation with my sixteen year old nephew, angelo:.

http://www.jehovahswitnessblog.com/cult/my-jehovahs-witness-nephew/.

let me know if you've been taken aback..... .

Xanthippe

What a terrible day you had. So sorry you lost your friend Xerxes When family members shun us it can be so hurtful and yes I was stunned at first by the weird things they say because I found the programming drops away and you forget we ever thought like that.

17

When You Were A JW---What "Motivated" You To "Do More"?

by minimus in

jw
friends

most witnesses that i knew of were spurred on by hearing a talk designed to make them feel guilty over their not doing enough.

co's visits, assemblies and conventions motivated a few to pioneer, "reach out", etc......soon after the talks, usually, in less than a month, everyone went right back to slacking again.. did you feel "motivated" due to guilt when you were an active witness?.

Xanthippe

I really thought millions of people were going to die if I didn't pioneer, honest

Thing is it made sense to me that if God made the earth, which is so beautiful, he would want to step in and sort it out, but I just didn't realise they were lying to us about the evidence for evolution. Education isthe key to informed choices.

51

Family is drawing the line in the sand

by dissonance_resolved in

jw
friends

so my family has obviously been noticing over the past several months that i've been missing meetings and fs.

i've had excuses sometimes, but not others, so my parents are definitely getting that this is more than a long bout of illnesses or fatigue.

i just received an email invitation to join them in service this weekend.

Xanthippe

If you are truly, as you say, heartbroken, then you need to take a step back and give yourself time. They are overstepping your personal boundaries. Families try and do this but don't let them. Don't let them force you to say things you are not ready to say yet. Emotional blackmail is sickening, hang in there.

25

Feeling Guilty

by naazira in

jw
friends

i am feeling gulity because i will not be going to the summer convention.

i just can not sit through the talks they are sooo boring.

im cutting off all contact with the witnesses.

Xanthippe

Guilt originally was a survival trait according to my research. In primitive societies people needed to stick together to find or grow food, for protection from wild animals and other tribes etc. Appeasing the group and fitting in was necessary for survival and loners could get themselves killed. Therefore breaking one of the rules of the group was such a taboo because it endangered everyone, hence the need to instill the importance of obedience into the group. Guilt was a good tool to prevent individuals letting down and possibly bringing harm to others.

It just doesn't apply to a religion or a philosophy though does it? Guilt has been hijacked by this religion so therefore it's a good idea whenever we feel guilty to ask ourselves, am I endangering myself or others by my actions or is it just that they disapprove of my different point of view? Are they just being intolerant?