Posts by Xander

since i was born i believed it was my destiny to live forever in a paradise on earth.. now that dream has been put aside, i question the whole concept of an everlasting earth.. of course scientists have long pointed out that the earth does not have an infinite life span.

and even if it did there are other factors to consider.

Xander

Yep. Humans will have to find other planets to inhabit.

Little hard to do if you can't leave the planet. Remember, in the 'new system', there will be no pollution or damage to the environment. How, exactly, do you plan on getting out of Earth's gravity field without using rockets?

And you can forget about this being a problem 'perfect humans' can solve. Their is no air in space. You need rockets, or some kind of propellant - which will, by its nature, pollute - to move (or solar sails, but that won't get you far out of the solar system).

Besides, the elders frequently drilled it into our heads - god's stated intention was to have people 'fill the Earth and subdue it'. The 'new system' will just return us to this purpose. Nothing mentioned about other planets, here. We'd just fill the Earth and subdue it. For a few billion years. Then *pop*.

A fanatic is one who, upon losing sight of his goals, redoubles his efforts.
--George Santayana

19

Could humans live forever on Earth?

by sleepy in

jw
friends

could humans live forever on earth?.

since i was born i believed it was my destiny to live forever in a paradise on earth.. now that dream has been put aside, i question the whole concept of an everlasting earth.. of course scientists have long pointed out that the earth does not have an infinite life span.

and even if it did there are other factors to consider.

Xander

He already answered that - we use 100% of our brains.

Not all at once, to be sure (well, most the time, anyway). It's like a PC - do you use your soundcard, 3d accelerator, and game controller when word processing? Of course not, they have no use for the function. OTOH, how many use their floppy drive or printer when playing a shooter?

Different parts of the brain do different functions - it doesn't take long (typical day? week?) before we have managed to use all parts of it at least once.

A fanatic is one who, upon losing sight of his goals, redoubles his efforts.
--George Santayana

122

How old were you when you lost your virginity...

by butalbee in

how old were you when you lost your virginity and was it all that you thought it would be?????.

i was 19, and my first time was a complete let down.

i envisioned that gothic romance motif, all about romance and love, i didn't know what i was doing, didn't know sex was like that.

Xander

18 and married? Save your pity for yourself.

Oh, I'm sure many witnesses married at 18. Was the only way to have sex in the borg, you know.

It seems to have worked out for the wife and myself, though. 4-1/2 years later, we are still going strong. Of course, we had to leave the borg for our marriage to survive (that year 2 was a little rocky), but we're doing fine now.

A fanatic is one who, upon losing sight of his goals, redoubles his efforts.
--George Santayana

30

Alternatives to JWs

by Xander in

jw
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.

Xander

100% Mormon

Can't be that bad, you've just got to get married a few more times. (Or, not mind sharing your husband with a few more women?) Oh, and stop drinking coffee.

(Incidently, circe2, my test came out looking pretty much exactly like yours)

A fanatic is one who, upon losing sight of his goals, redoubles his efforts.
--George Santayana

110

Memorial No Shows...Please Check in....

by ISP in

jw
friends

well, i was tempted but i decided not to go to the most bizarre religious ritual of modern times....how about you?.

isp

Xander

I would rather have a sister in a whore house than set foot in another Kingdom Hall.

Now, see, first time I read through that too fast and got:

"I would rather set foot in a whore house than set foot in another Kingdom Hall"

So, I didn't really see the point of the quote. I mean, YEAH

Anyway, this the second year missing it for the wife and I. No biggie - her family did mention it, but not mine.

Now, about tonight. Full moon, isn't it? Isn't there some kind of pagan blood-letting ritual I need to do on holy ground tonight? Does the front lawn of the kindgom hall count? Close enough??

A fanatic is one who, upon losing sight of his goals, redoubles his efforts.
--George Santayana

13

Questions about Satanism and the Occult

by Ashraven in

jw
friends

i was just wondering what thoughts some of you may have on the topic of satanism and/or the occult.

i doubt that i am alone in my curiosity, being that we were told that the "practice of spiritism is detestable to jehovah" and all that, but now are free to explore as we wish.... i've actually embraced certain views after a few years of self-discovery, and now have zero fear in acknowledging the fact that i do find the subject interesting enough to practice.. i may or may not get "slammed" for having certain opinions.

just wondered if others have gone in an entirely opposite direction since leaving "the truth"... (i always hated it being called that...).

Xander

Satanists are themselves "gods" and seek only to pleasure themselves, always

Ahhh, see, you are confusing satanism with hedonism.

he·don·ism Pronunciation Key (hdn-zm) n.
1. Pursuit of or devotion to pleasure, especially to the pleasures of the senses.
2. Philosophy. The ethical doctrine holding that only what is pleasant or has pleasant consequences is intrinsically good.

Sa·tan·ism Pronunciation Key (stn-zm)
n.
1. The worship of Satan characterized by a travesty of the Christian rites.
2. satanism Profound wickedness.
3. the worship of devils (especially Satan)

A fanatic is one who, upon losing sight of his goals, redoubles his efforts.
--George Santayana

22

song #87

by blindfool in

jw
friends

so, how many of you woke up with this song in your head this morning?.

no matter how hard i try, it seems i can't get this song out of my head this morning.

"the bread stands for jesus christ body, he gave on behalf of us all.

Xander

Hmmm...this seems to be a thread it's dangerous to enter without some NiN playing. Oh, wait, I'm covered.

Out of curiosity, I've heard it said most the Kingdom Melodies were based (instrumentally, at least) on not-quite mainstream 'pop' songs from the 30s-40s. Anyone know which KM songs sound like which REAL songs? (You know, songs with stanzas that didn't sound like a 4th-grader attempting to rhyme).

A fanatic is one who, upon losing sight of his goals, redoubles his efforts.
--George Santayana

26

Holy Week Rocks

by RWC in

as some of you may know this week is the most holy week in the christian faith.

it is the week that jesus, true god and yet true man, willingly gave up his life including all of the pain that went with his cruel death, to save us from our sins.

he opened the door for all to be saved and have eternal life.

Xander

You believe without evidence, and think that such gullibility - or faith, if you prefer - will guarantee you salvation from something which your religion invented in the first place.

Great quote. May have to consider adding this to my sig!

BTW, Happy Ostara everyone!

A fanatic is one who, upon losing sight of his goals, redoubles his efforts.
--George Santayana

24

When you left the JW's, did you remain a Christian

by kenpodragon in

jw
friends

when you left the jw's, did you remain a christian?

the reason i ask, is that when i left the witnesses i explored all kinds of concept and religions and even attended a few churches.

i soon found that i was attracted to new age and pagan believes.

Xander

I guess I meant that to mean different philosophies of atheism. Kind of summarized as an optimist-atheist, pessimist-atheist, etc.

I don't see anything wonderful about bacteria that kill us, viruses, or cancer cells, but hey, that's just me.

You're starting from the assumption that 'divine' means wonderful for each person on a case by case basis. Do you think Homo Neanderthalensis thought Homo Sapien was the greatest thing since sliced bread? No - but it worked out in the end, didn't it?

That's all I'm allowing for - that, in the end, there is some purpose to life. That all the diversity and wonder of our world isn't just some pointless random occurance destined to be wiped out before it has a chance to spread and never occur again.

I don't believe there is any all-powerful god controlling things with a grand purpose in mind. I *DO* believe there is some purpose. I think, as we are all alive, the Earth itself (and the universe) is alive and has something in mind for itself. So, kind of supernatural, but no 'demons' or evil spirits or angels.

A fanatic is one who, upon losing sight of his goals, redoubles his efforts.
--George Santayana