Xander

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Posts by Xander

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  30

  Alternatives to JWs

  by Xander in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  since there are new people coming to this board on fairly regular basis with questions about the jw religion, i thought i'd pose this topic.. many, upon leaving the organization, don't really know where to turn for guidance.

  "look to yourself" doesn't really cut it when you've been told how to think your whole life.. many choose atheism, which is fine.

  however, for those still looking for a religion, here is a site that lists many of the worlds major religious movements.

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  Xander

  And, this has what to do with how?
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  6

  Consider my 'heart condition'? Is kidding who?

  by Xander in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  another post i just made got me thinking on this..... how many knew jws who 'went through the motions', as it were.

  they might think the elders and the org itself was wrong in many areas, but still kept going to meetings, out in service, etc.. the thinking, of course, is that, when 'the big a' comes, god will look at their 'heart condition' and allow them to pass.. my thought on this is..... but why is that a good thing?

  their heart condition is wicked if they have doubts, right?

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  Xander

  'Cheap salvation' - I think that's it.

  They were told salvation cost $1.25, and that, to the penny, is all they are willing to spend.

  I guess that's what they must mean by 'heart condition' - that, at the big A, there is a cutting off line of some kind, and god's only looking to see if you just barely made it, or least least MEANT to just barely make it (IE. 'my heart condition was to do everything I could to scrape together that $1.25, but not a penny more')

  I guess saying they haven't really thought it through themselves is exactly correct.

  It's still depressing, though...
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  16

  What did you get called?

  by Fe2O3Girl in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  tr's expression 'hovah.

  which he picked up from a friend that used to call him that set me thinking about the things that i got called when i was a jw kid.

  one term of abuse was "jew" which is weird and creepy.

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  Xander

  Oh, forgot that one...

  "Jehovahs"

  And, keeping in mind the education level of people who used such terms, if I really felt like being a smart-ass, I'd reply:

  "Maybe, but do you mean that as a plural or singular possesive?"

  Course, I'd have to duck right away....
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  26

  Who or What is God? Who Cares?

  by MrMoe in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  lately i find myself struggling with the simple fact that i do not believe there is a god, let alone any realm beyond the physical realm we are aware of.

  as many of you who know me know i am fond of tarot and astrology, for sometime now i find myself doubting the real significance of it all.

  is there more to life than this?

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  Xander

  Best bet in this case....

  Go on being a good person.

  If this IS a god, gods, or afterlife, by all accounts, you will be rewarded for doing 'good' in this life.

  If there is NOT a god, gods, or afterlife, then going good harms no one, and is the healthiest way to live.

  I would like to believe someone of us survives death - not a conscious form, maybe, but something. A feeling, an echo...something. And neither do I believe the earth and universe, as a whole, is as cold an insensitive as some would have you believe.
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  28

  Bowling in Columbine - GOOD FLIC

  by back2dafront in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  i saw this movie over the weekend.

  i think he did a very good job addressing the subject of guns in america.

  i walked away still not knowing exactly why there are so many more murders in this country than in any other countries.

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  Xander

  Well, I do know that an Armed populace defeated the British. I hardly think a Russian uprising would have killed more people than Stalin. Im sure the Cambodians would have loved the chance being that they were being systimaticly starved to death.

  And how does this apply today?

  Would mind sharing with us which firearm - even illegal fully automatic weapons - would be more useful than a baseball bat against an M1A2's armor should the US government suddenly turn into a dictatorship?

  Or, which firearm would be more useful than, say, a knife against B-52s carpet bombing 'seditious' neighborhoods?

  The time when mere firearms alone could make a difference in world politics is passed. Their only function now is in use against citizens by other citizens.

  alcohol-related traffic deaths on record

  BZZZT - alcohol RELATED. The alcohol didn't kill anyone - it was the irresponsible driver who did.

  If someone shoots you with a gun, they may have pulled the trigger, but it was the gun that killed you.

  If they wanted to do violence on you with, say, a baseball bat, they may 'pull the trigger', but since the gun isn't there, there odds of killing you are much lower.

  If someone wants to get high and drive, whether they use alcohol, drugs, or sleep deprivation, they will kill someone. That alcohol is the device used is incidental.

  You are comparing the means to an end (alcohol) vs something that IS an end (gun).

  To recap: Alcohol itself does not kill (well, as I said, it CAN, but it's hard to)....guns DO kill.

  (If you REALLY wanted an apples to apples argument, you should be arguing against CARS, not alcohol.)

  Edited by - Xander on 13 December 2002 17:38:10
• 
  28

  Bowling in Columbine - GOOD FLIC

  by back2dafront in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  i saw this movie over the weekend.

  i think he did a very good job addressing the subject of guns in america.

  i walked away still not knowing exactly why there are so many more murders in this country than in any other countries.

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  Xander

  joannadandy:

  What I'm saying is that I'm not interested in the topic, hence not going. I'm sure it's a very good movie - I've seen much of his other stuff (in fact, IIRC, he actually had a very entertaining, but terribly short lived TV series).

  Crazy151drinker:

  Your argument, by implication, is that if the citizens of those nations HAD guns, the government would not have killed so many.

  May I ask what basis you use for that conclusion? Has an armed populace EVER been successful in stopping government oppression without more bloodshed than the government would have been responsible for anyway?
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  16

  What did you get called?

  by Fe2O3Girl in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  tr's expression 'hovah.

  which he picked up from a friend that used to call him that set me thinking about the things that i got called when i was a jw kid.

  one term of abuse was "jew" which is weird and creepy.

  1. 
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  3. 
• 

  Xander

  Hmmm...this might become a bad thread to keep up on if I want to sleep peacefully tonight.....
• 
  28

  Bowling in Columbine - GOOD FLIC

  by back2dafront in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  i saw this movie over the weekend.

  i think he did a very good job addressing the subject of guns in america.

  i walked away still not knowing exactly why there are so many more murders in this country than in any other countries.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Xander

  NATIONAL laws, not state.

  Using individual US states as examples can't apply, because their isn't really anything any more distinguishing the states. It's too easy to buy a gun in one (with lax laws) to take it into another (with strict laws), with the intention of being better armed than the local population.

  In any case, alcohol doesn't kill people. (Well, alright, yes it CAN, but it's really, really hard to, and you'll probably pass out from it a long time before it kills you).
• 
  28

  Bowling in Columbine - GOOD FLIC

  by back2dafront in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  i saw this movie over the weekend.

  i think he did a very good job addressing the subject of guns in america.

  i walked away still not knowing exactly why there are so many more murders in this country than in any other countries.

  1. 
  2. 
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• 

  Xander

  No, 'morally' and 'statistically' as in, with NO EXCEPTIONS, there is a DIRECT correlation between the strictness of a nation's gun control laws and its crime rate. The easier it is to get a gun, the higher the murder rate in the country. Every country - no exceptions.
• 
  6

  Consider my 'heart condition'? Is kidding who?

  by Xander in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  another post i just made got me thinking on this..... how many knew jws who 'went through the motions', as it were.

  they might think the elders and the org itself was wrong in many areas, but still kept going to meetings, out in service, etc.. the thinking, of course, is that, when 'the big a' comes, god will look at their 'heart condition' and allow them to pass.. my thought on this is..... but why is that a good thing?

  their heart condition is wicked if they have doubts, right?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Xander

  Another post I just made got me thinking on this....

  How many knew JWs who 'went through the motions', as it were. They might think the elders and the org itself was wrong in many areas, but still kept going to meetings, out in service, etc.

  The thinking, of course, is that, when 'the big A' comes, god will look at their 'heart condition' and allow them to pass.

  My thought on this is....

  But why is that a GOOD thing? Their heart condition is WICKED if they have doubts, right? (Well, according to the WTBTS, whose teachings they believe, anyway)

  Wouldn't they prefer, at the 'big A', that god look at SOME of their actions (not even all of them), and CERTAINLY not look at their actual heart conditions?

  Are they deluding themselves?