Xanthippe

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Posts by Xanthippe

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  24

  Introduction

  by shattered_origins in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i joined the forum yesterday and made 2 angry posts which received encouraging replies.

  i spent a good chunk of time today browsing various posts, and i can't get enough!

  i'm doing things backwards now and taking a moment to introduce myself.

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  Xanthippe

  Welcome shattered_origins. I pioneered too but it was a long time ago. Glad you've got your sister with you. Wishing you well for your fade.
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  48

  Your thoughts on Halloween , yes, no or maybe ?

  by Finkelstein in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  well its that time again when the ghouls come out to play.

  i personally think halloween is a bit irresponsible and inappropriate from a sociological perspective.. there's something about the intent of frightening young impressionable children minds with frightening objests.

  and feeding them candy which most likely cause tooth decay and stomachs is irresponsible activity conducted by adults.

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  Xanthippe

  Gawd nothing frightened my daughter when she was a kid. She loved Halloween, Lord of the Rings films, Harry Potter, Buffy. Now she loves Game of Thrones. Kids are very tough and they enjoy scary things. I'm glad I didn't have to stop her dressing up and going to parties at this time of year.
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  212

  Why Do You No Longer Believe in God?

  by Tenacious in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i know this question has popped up from time to time but i really would like to know how you guys, those that no longer believe, came to that conclusion?

  was it the wts and all its crap?

  was it something you read?

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  Xanthippe

  • 

    Viviane6 hours ago

    Viviane you still haven't answered bohm's reply to your challenge to name an evolving computer program.

    Yes, I did. And it wasn't a challenge, it was a request for proof of EoMs claim (which bohm was also unable to answer).

    Flag Dislike Like+0 / -1
  • You still haven't answered bohm. I don't know why anyone thinks this woman is an intellectual. She ignores people who answer her with facts and plays debating tricks with words. I seriously worry about anyone who values her intellectual prowess.
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  212

  Why Do You No Longer Believe in God?

  by Tenacious in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i know this question has popped up from time to time but i really would like to know how you guys, those that no longer believe, came to that conclusion?

  was it the wts and all its crap?

  was it something you read?

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  Xanthippe

  • 

    bohm. a day ago

    EOM: Computer programs absolutely can evolve!
    VIV: Awesome, name a computer program that evolved on it's own.

    This is fairly easy. You can find many examples of evolving computer program within the field of evolutionary computing. To start you can go to google scholar and search for "genetic algorithm" (1.9mio hits), or if you prefer an ordering by application domain and specific programs check out the list on wikipedia:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_genetic_algorithm_applications

    if you prefer a single current example you can check out evolino, an application where neural architechtures are evolved for control tasks: http://people.idsia.ch/~juergen/evolino.html

    I notice you appended "on it's own" to EOM's statement. This would (strictly speaking!) make your statement true since a computer program "on it's own" presumably would be a computer program without a medium to run it, however this would clearly also be a strawman.
    
    

    Flag Dislike Like
    
    Viviane you still haven't answered bohm's reply to your challenge to name an evolving computer program. Debating tactics are quite fun but when you use them rather than replying to a valid answer it points to a lack of knowledge of the subject in hand.
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  9

  Finally time to move on

  by Bungi Bill in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i have finally reached the point where i can forget that i was ever involved with such a $!%* cult as jehovahs witnesses.

  (a situation that has taken over 20 years to achieve).. this discussion board certainly helped in this process, and i want to thank everybody for their support over the time that i have been a member both of this site and the old www.jehovahs-witness.com website (where i used the acronym reefton jack).

  it is now, though, time to move on with my life, so i will say my farewells to everybody.. bill .

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  Xanthippe

  Bill, good luck. Have a great life 🌺🌹😄
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  6

  The best advice I can offer to those trying to meet people and get a new social circle after leaving JW's.

  by EndofMysteries in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  if like me, when you left the kh, your entire social network was gone.

  how do you meet people of the opposite sex or make new friends, etc?

  clubs, bars?

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  Xanthippe

  Good advice EoM. The meetup website is a good idea. Through it I recently joined a local group that go to pub quizzes. I like quizzes and as it's in a pub we can have a drink which helps everyone relax. Our team won the quiz last week and we came out with more money than we paid which was fun.
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  212

  Why Do You No Longer Believe in God?

  by Tenacious in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i know this question has popped up from time to time but i really would like to know how you guys, those that no longer believe, came to that conclusion?

  was it the wts and all its crap?

  was it something you read?

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  Xanthippe

  Stop lecturing like a disgruntled grandmother and engage with your own topic.

  Please don't call a man a women as a derogative. It's still sexist even if you don't use the p-word.
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  29

  Reading the Bible in 6 months isn't "anything to brag about" - Anthony Morris

  by mac n cheese in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the 2015 annual meeting, specifically, part 1, right about minute 27, has anthony morris emphasizing that "you're better off reading one chapter (of the bible) and really absorbing it" than just reading the whole thing "as a challenge".

  while i agree with the the whole idea of meditating on anything you read, it was doing this very thing that brought up so many unanswered questions.

  i also came to the constant realization that the jws did not have a clue about what the bible really said.

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  Xanthippe

  Yuck I couldn't get beyond the audience being commended for sitting in their seats like good boys and girls before the music started and the other conventions being ticked off for not doing the same. Talk to them like children and they love it. I just don't get it. It drove me crazy when I was in.
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  212

  Why Do You No Longer Believe in God?

  by Tenacious in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i know this question has popped up from time to time but i really would like to know how you guys, those that no longer believe, came to that conclusion?

  was it the wts and all its crap?

  was it something you read?

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  Xanthippe

  Tenacious, to me it is obvious that no one is in charge of this planet. Disease, natural disasters, prey animals that kill humans etc., etc. You've heard it all before. What religions have done is try and give reasons why God actually is in charge but he just appears to be doing nothing. For example the Christian religions site Genesis and the Fall as the reason. The Devil, sin and Jesus' sacrifice are given as explanations of what has gone wrong and what God is doing about it.

  The reality is there is no proof that God is doing anything. It's rather like someone allowing something terrible to happen to your family, then saying it's OK because they've made a huge anonymous cash donation to charity to make up for it. This is both impossible to prove and does nothing for the suffering your family members have endured.

  Religions expect us to do what God commands, through whatever holy book we are raised with, without any proof that a supreme being exists at all. We will get proof, we are told, when we die or at the end of the world. That's just no proof at all is it? Especially annoying if we are expected to obey rules to be around to receive that proof eventually.

  All religious explanations that God cares and is actually in charge and looking after us are all empty stories to me. They can't be proved and if you set those stories to one side all you are actually left with is a planet that shouts life got here by 'accident' rather than design and we have to make life as fair as we can by relieving suffering ourselves.

  So although you have asked for references to support why I no longer believe in God I think rather you need to provide support for a belief because none has been given to satisfy me and my explanation fits the evidence.

  To answer your other questions. If your life is unfulfilling in a spiritual way and you feel the need for something bigger than your current life then perhaps you need to do something to make your life more fulfilling? There are lots of ideas on Joliette's thread about spirituality. Is there a higher consciousness you ask? I don't know but perhaps we will discover the answer one day, it is a very big universe. I just don't think the answer lies in the ancient books of primitive humans.
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  10

  I'm not religious I'm spiritual?

  by Joliette in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  how do you guys feel when you hear people say this?

  whenever i tell people that i'm not religious, a humanist, they said i'm not religious either, i'm spiritual.

  i consider myself to be a humanist, and i can't tell you guys how happy i am being a humanist.

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  Xanthippe

  People like to pigeonhole you, categorise you but I am beginning to realise that being a humanist, valuing human beings means realising that we are all so different. I think beautiful scenery, sunsets, starry nights, crashing ocean waves, art and gorgeous architecture are spiritual. You might think something else is spiritual and that's ok.

  We need to be strong enough and have enough self esteem to say I'm this way and you're that way and that's ok. Stop trying to change people. It would be so boring if we were all the same.