Xanthippe

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Posts by Xanthippe

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  53

  Spirituality

  by Jonathan Drake in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  if you are a current practitioner of some religious faith i would appreciate it if you abstained from this thread entirely.

  im curious if anyone has had what could be discribed as a spiritual experience.

  i'm currently reading sam harris book waking up and it's very good so far.

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  Xanthippe

  I've re-read your post and tried to understand what Mr. Harris is trying to say. His definition of spiritual is his definition of spiritual. You can also find it in various dictionaries, almost all of which use words such as non-material, supernatural, soul, having the nature of a spirit. My point, which I believe is relevant to the overall topic and OP, is that spirit/spiritual/spirituality are primarily associated with the unseen god-like forces common in religion. - DJS

  Spirituality is the praxis and process of personal transformation, either in accordance with traditional religious ideals, or, increasingly, oriented on subjective experience and psychological growth independently of any specific religious context. In a more general sense, it may refer to almost any kind of meaningful activity or blissful experience. There is no single, widely-agreed definition for the concept, and the term may be applied to a wide variety of practices.

  http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirituality

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  
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  53

  Spirituality

  by Jonathan Drake in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  if you are a current practitioner of some religious faith i would appreciate it if you abstained from this thread entirely.

  im curious if anyone has had what could be discribed as a spiritual experience.

  i'm currently reading sam harris book waking up and it's very good so far.

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  Xanthippe

  You see it's hopeless to talk about spirituality JD. If we said falling in love is not real it's just hormones and you are thinking with your gonads they would be happier. If we said you don't love your children you are just following you mammalian and primate instincts which is really your selfish genes trying to survive, that would do nicely. By the way I wasn't commenting on OTWO, we posted at exactly the same time.
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  74

  Is Prophecy important?

  by EA916 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  hello, i am certainly new to all of this.

  i have recently been studying the prophecy's, and i was wondering if they are of any importance at all?

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  Xanthippe

  Indeed, if this phrase wasn't just a one off from a young and fresh CO but a new direction from the GB, it would certainly mean that the society is working on a new take of the end times - Ruby 456

  Well of course they are. The 1914 generation turned 100 last year and guess what - no paradise. Many of them have missed the overlapping generations nonsense if my JW friend is anything to go by. When she writes occasionally she says she thinks we must be near the end because of gay marriage. Many are stil hanging on to the end coming in their lifetime so something's got to give soon. They are using zone to get away from generation. It has no deep meaning, they're just easing people away from any idea the end will come before they die.
  
  
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  10

  What do we have to say to ourselves about this video...we are being exposed..

  by jdub1991 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdvt_gyq-ls&feature=youtu.be

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  Xanthippe

  Welcome to the forum jdub1991. Yes your religion is being exposed for the misogynistic organisation that it is, covering up abuse of their wives by men supposedly appointed by Holy Spirit. Blaming women for being raped. Silencing all who complain about this treatment with disfellowshipping and shunning. What do you think about it? Don't you want to leave a religion like this?
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  53

  Spirituality

  by Jonathan Drake in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  if you are a current practitioner of some religious faith i would appreciate it if you abstained from this thread entirely.

  im curious if anyone has had what could be discribed as a spiritual experience.

  i'm currently reading sam harris book waking up and it's very good so far.

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  Xanthippe

  This point he makes is regarding the reality of spirituality and why it need not be taken on faith; he says that the experiences of Buddha, Jesus and other sages and prophets are in agreement with each other with things like loving ones neighbor as yourself. These agreements transcend the religions which spawned in their wake, they agree with each other despite the irreconcilable differences and hatred of one another.

  Well there was an awakening if you want to call it that about 500 BC when the writings of Greek philosophers such as Plato and also ConfucIus and the teachings of Bhudda reflect that people were discussing treating strangers well and being just in dealing with slaves and people from other nations. See the 'Golden Rule' and particularly notice how Confucius used it 500 years before Jesus. Why across the world people decided to suddenly start using ethics in dealing with their fellow man we don't know.

  If you look at scientific discoveries you will find something similar. Usually two or three people were working on the same project before a discovery was made, in different parts of the world, long before the Internet or even telephones.

  
  
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  9

  Predestination

  by whathehadas in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  hey has anybody seen this movie yet?

  it's one of the craziest films i've seen in awhile.

  it's a combination of minority report, looper, and back to the future.

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  Xanthippe

  Looks great I might watch it this evening. It's based on a short story by Robert A Heinlein. I loved his books. I'm in the mood for some good sci fi.
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  10

  Planning for the future: Funerals

  by enigma1863 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  my dad is now the only jw in my family.

  i am technically inactive.

  i am concerned about when he dies.

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  Xanthippe

  If you are thinking of doing a JW funeral I would be aware that you can't trust these people. My brother and sister persuaded me to let a JW take my father's service at the crematorium saying that he and his wife were friends of my mother's from the KH and my dad often had chats with him because they lived close by.

  Well I wrote down lots of memories about my father and they were handed to this guy for the service. On the day he turned every single thing I said into preaching about the cult. Every sentence, every memory, using my name each time he introduced a memory! My father was agnostic and believed in evolution. His sisters were horrified and thought it was all my fault. Just don't trust them to follow your wishes, they will make it into a preaching session. The end justifies the means with these people and they may well lie to you.
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  28

  Can This Be True?

  by Hold Me-Thrill Me in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was very tired today, still am.

  age is getting to me.

  that video will be shown to millions of parents around the world.

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  Xanthippe

  Smiddy that's brilliant! Yeah let's cheer ourselves up with the thought that the crazier and greedier this religion gets the more it wakes people up.
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  53

  Spirituality

  by Jonathan Drake in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  if you are a current practitioner of some religious faith i would appreciate it if you abstained from this thread entirely.

  im curious if anyone has had what could be discribed as a spiritual experience.

  i'm currently reading sam harris book waking up and it's very good so far.

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  Xanthippe

  Yes I have JD but I am not going to describe them on this forum so that some of the philistines here can tear my experiences to pieces just for their own amusement. Very interested in Sam Harris's book, thanks. Totally agree with him and have felt for years, religion has hijacked spirituality, it annoys me intensely.

  I also feel that's why religion has such a hold over people because the feelings we have are part of the human experience, part of our evolutionary development, they are real, not delusional, but we don't know what's going on and sometimes people are frightened by these things. Religion comes along and gives people pathetic, trite explanations that make them feel safe, warm and cosy. Who wants to feel safe, warm and cosy? Bring it on!
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  12

  A lesson on bitterness

  by FlyingHighNow in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  ponder, contemplate, discuss.

  this is a public service announcement.

  https://www.facebook.com/ariannahuffington/photos/a.158003868278.115593.17893008278/10152529838228279/?type=1&theater.

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  Xanthippe

  I'm actually not bitter. Sometimes I get angry but anger motivates me to change something in my life. There are so many ways to screw up your life or have it screwed up for you by your parents, this cult is just one of them.