Xanthippe

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Posts by Xanthippe

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  226

  Wealth, Poverty, and Morality

  by SecondRateMind in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i am interested in the approach this forum takes to money.

  apart from sex, (which i am quite relaxed about) it seems to me that wealth is the surest divider between those who are moral, and those who are not.. it seems jesus thought so, also.

  luke 16:19-31 kjv describes well enough his dusty attitude to the rich who do not succour the poor.. and this world has many poor: so many, it might seem that we can do nothing about it, and twist his words; 'the poor ye shall have always with you, but me, ye shall not have always.

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  Xanthippe

  The people responsible for the poor are:
  1. poor people themselves
  2. the governments they live under.

  Do you really believe this, honestly? So you never give to charities like Oxfam? The worst thing about being in that cult in the eighties was seeing the Ethiopian famine on TV but being told not to donate to famine relief. I felt really bad about that after leaving.

  I think helping the poor is everyone's responsibility just as it would be if you knew them personally. Would you let kids with pot bellies and stick limbs starve if they lived in your street? It doesn't make any difference that we don't know them.

  Perhaps I'm misunderstanding your post but I hope you do believe in famine relief, and making the world fairer for everyone. Some desperately poor people just need a leg up to work their way out of poverty.
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  226

  Wealth, Poverty, and Morality

  by SecondRateMind in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i am interested in the approach this forum takes to money.

  apart from sex, (which i am quite relaxed about) it seems to me that wealth is the surest divider between those who are moral, and those who are not.. it seems jesus thought so, also.

  luke 16:19-31 kjv describes well enough his dusty attitude to the rich who do not succour the poor.. and this world has many poor: so many, it might seem that we can do nothing about it, and twist his words; 'the poor ye shall have always with you, but me, ye shall not have always.

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  Xanthippe

  Buttons pushed, anger and mayhem created, mission accomplished. Too easy for someone who's been observing this forum for four years.
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  32

  Why I don,t believe in reincarnation.

  by jam in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  it,s simple, i can not remember crap from my previous life.. the wife told me today if you come back in the next life, please.

  take some science classes.. if i could remember a small percentage of my life today, just a little.

  bit, man would it make a difference.. in school i would be 100% nerd, geek, book worm.

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  Xanthippe

  • If we are in some kind of computer simulation. Then there are lots of possibilities that are not provable by
    our understanding of the way things we see work but could work by a computer program.

    Too deep for me
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  43

  Did You Ever Luke ANY Songs From The “Songbook “?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i went on line looking for old jw songs and some of them were pretty good and some were just awful!.

  did you ever like any of those songs?

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  Xanthippe

  Nah, the Devil has the best tunes. I always preferred Jerusalem, but not so much now.
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  49

  "You owe Jehovah humility and HONESTY" - an email from a JW

  by Wake Me Up Before You Jo-Ho in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  hey forum goers.

  i'd like your opinions on constructing an email reply to this shocker below.

  bit of background about the sender: she is a middle-aged, cheery uberdub whose siblings left when a schism occured in her congregation in canada way back when.

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  Xanthippe

  By the way, my son pulled through his operation - we are back from hospital now . Thank you for the well wishes. xxx

  That's very good news Wake Me 😄
  
  
• 
  226

  Wealth, Poverty, and Morality

  by SecondRateMind in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i am interested in the approach this forum takes to money.

  apart from sex, (which i am quite relaxed about) it seems to me that wealth is the surest divider between those who are moral, and those who are not.. it seems jesus thought so, also.

  luke 16:19-31 kjv describes well enough his dusty attitude to the rich who do not succour the poor.. and this world has many poor: so many, it might seem that we can do nothing about it, and twist his words; 'the poor ye shall have always with you, but me, ye shall not have always.

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  Xanthippe

  Humbled, my daughter uses Kiva micro finance charity and has been lending small amounts since she was a teenager. I support Save the Children and UNICEF with very small amounts every month because it's true small amounts of money go a very long way in developing countries.

  Also those charities are part of the DEC that provides relief in natural disasters and war zones. UNICEF do amazing work vaccinating children against preventable diseases. Our tiny amounts given regularly are often an undreamed of sum to a person trying to work their way out of poverty or get medical help for their children.

  I believe we have power and we shouldn't give in to the idea it's hopeless. There are seven billion of us after all so in that sense 2RM we can all contribute to ridding the world of poverty but it is complex. Overpopulation, as you mentioned because of the lack of a social structure to finance people in old age.

  Religion is a large problem, the Dalits, the untouchables in India are still only able to get menial work - this is God's will apparently! They don't blame people for the caste they are born into according to the Indian guide on my trip there. Really! Corrupt governments that steel all the aid that is donated or insist on bribery for even education. Many, many problems still to be overcome.
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  20

  So, I got a contact letter from a local Jehovah's Witness...

  by SecondRateMind in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  ...which was kind of her.

  i find i like most christians, even mormons, and jw's.. she sent me a leaflet, which asks: where can we find the answers to life's big questions?

  science?

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  Xanthippe

  I will have a look at that book 2RM thanks.
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  49

  "You owe Jehovah humility and HONESTY" - an email from a JW

  by Wake Me Up Before You Jo-Ho in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  hey forum goers.

  i'd like your opinions on constructing an email reply to this shocker below.

  bit of background about the sender: she is a middle-aged, cheery uberdub whose siblings left when a schism occured in her congregation in canada way back when.

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  Xanthippe

  Wake me, wishing you all the best for your son's operation. Take care, both of you.
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  20

  So, I got a contact letter from a local Jehovah's Witness...

  by SecondRateMind in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  ...which was kind of her.

  i find i like most christians, even mormons, and jw's.. she sent me a leaflet, which asks: where can we find the answers to life's big questions?

  science?

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  Xanthippe

  I like the big questions too 2RM. I'm still trying to find personal meaning in life. I don't think there's a universal meaning, but I am prepared and happy to be wrong.

  Plato was the first philosopher I read while still a JW. It fascinated me that 500ish years BC people were asking what makes a just man, a good person.

  That's also my favourite quote from Lewis Caroll.

  Do please stick around and continue your fascinating thoughts.
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  19

  J.W's Brain LOCKDOWN

  by Phizzy in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i know we often talk of the mind control and how jw's believe what they are taught because they are controlled as to the information they receive, but i think the mind control goes frighteningly beyond simply keeping information away from them.. the jw mind is in lockdown.

  it simply cannot accept facts, evidence, reasoning or whatever that goes against what they believe.

  they cannot assimilate and consider an argument, it is not that they are being awkward, or willfully blind, their minds are so shut down they are incapable of taking in what is being presented.. i am aware of how, in common with other cults and high control groups the j.w org achieves this state among its members, but how on earth do we open such a solidly closed mind ?.

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  Xanthippe

  The tendency to describe unloviing actions by elders as imperfection is totally cult mind control. The organization introduced the phrase and concept of God working through imperfect men so that when they get the predictions wrong the cult survives.

  The JWs who continue to believe in 'imperfections' after decades of abuse by untrained clergy are just terrified of the domino effect of the thought that if people are acting in an unjust, unchristian way perhaps it means they are not appointed by Holy Spirit after all. If that's true then perhaps this isn't the true religion and if that's the case my whole life has been a waste of time, I'm going to die, no paradise is coming, I don't even have a pension ......

  Only when the pain of being in the organization controlled by leaders that don't care whether you live or die becomes more unbearable than the pain of no panda paradise can facts begin to be absorbed. It's human to opt for the least amount of pain.