Do you miss the sense of superiority?

by Diest 24 Replies latest jw friends

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  Diest

  This is and odd topic but there is a part of me that really misses feeling that I knew more about the world than 99.9% of the people. I spent so many years in school being the odd person because of religion. I embraced it to some extent. I loved the idea that I knew better than everyone else. I remember getting into arguements with other Christians or even Atheists and thinking how stupid they were. I knew what would happen to the world. I knew that I would get to live forever so you better listen to me.

  I am glad that I left all religions behind me. I would never go back. But there is a part of me that really misses that sense of mental security that the JW provide. I really wish I could just know the answers to the major questions of why are we here and what happens when we die. It is a lovely security blanket. One that I miss.
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  LucidChimp

  Yup. I miss knowing the meaning of life and the future.

  Having all the answers is a warm fuzzy feeling.

  I wouldn't go back either, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't find the position comfortable when I was in it.
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  sspo

  You are not the only one that wants to know the meaning of life...it's a question that cannot be answered and it has plaqued us from the beginning of time.

  We are born as everything else in the universe and then we die. End of matter and i am happy with that knowledge.
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  nicolaou

  Oh, I enjoy that feeling now more than ever! Being proved right every time only comes second to exposing the ignorance of faith over and over and over . . . .
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  Diest

  "We are born as everything else in the universe and then we die. End of matter and i am happy with that knowledge."

  Tha it my feeling too but it is somewhat less satisfying than the feeling that you know better than everyone else.
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  eyeuse2badub

  If a false sense of security/superiority is better than no sense of security/superiority then I would answer yes to your question.

  However, I have found it much more comforting and intellectually rewarding to have; questions that cannot be answered as opposed to answers that cannot be questioned.

  eyeuse2badub
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  adamah

  Diest said-

  Tha it my feeling too but it is somewhat less satisfying than the feeling that you know better than everyone else.

  LOL! Ahhh, yes, there's nothing quite as emotionally-satisfying as that feeling of superiority that only comes from the Dunning-Kruger Effect.

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect

  Adam
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  Gopher

  I fear I almost have a 'sense of superiority' in reverse. I know the WTS is running a scam, those inside the organization generally do not. (This is with the exception of those inside who know the TTATT and realize that the WTS promises are all empty. It must be hard to deal with that while putting on a brave JW face every week at the meetings.)
  
  After I left the JW's I had to mentally adjust to the idea that I was wrong and had been misled. That led me to really research and learn about things I never did as a JW, including history, politics, science and of course the background of the WTS.
  
  All those times I went from door-to-door as a JW (with all the canned answers in my Reasoning Book and in the prooftexts I had memorized) now look empty to me.
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  adamah

  Gopher said-

  All those times I went from door-to-door as a JW (with all the canned answers in my Reasoning Book and in the prooftexts I had memorized) now look empty to me.

  Yeah, but on the bright side, it wasn't like you were raping, pillaging, mugging, murdering, addicted to substances, etc. To some extent, you were motivated out of goodness (with a healthy dose of motivation of eternal panda-petting thrown in, as a lure), so it's not like you were doing any harm to those who said, "No thanks, I'm not interested".

  Adam
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  KateWild

  questions that cannot be answered as opposed to answers that cannot be questioned.-eyeuse2badub

  Excellent point. That is the difference between intellect and stupidity. All kids under five have this intellect. Even if the question is why? It's a very good question.

  Kate xx