This friend was a fellow elder with me. In the last few years he's successfully faded with his immediate family. However his mother who was never "strong in the truth" is still a "believer". Honestly, she never could explain the reasons why the religion did this or that but she was a "believer". On the other hand, my friend is very sharp. He's an astute businessman and he can see thru bull very easily. Still, there's a part of him that feels JWs do have some "truth" in them. They correctly don't believe in the trinity, the immortality of the soul, hellfire, etc. So what's his hangup??? He's not satisfied in not knowing what really does happens when you die. He wants to know! He NEEDS to know! He said that at least when he was a Witness he had solid answers----that he was going to live in paradise on the earth. Now he's unsure about everything hence he is still searching for "the Truth". He was not bewildered by my telling him that since I believe that when I die I'm simply nonexistent. Because he felt I wasn't being honest with him. He felt I HAD to wonder and be concerned about what will really happen. I am not. Still, I feel bad for my friend because he is deeply troubled.......Any suggestions???
I Talked To A Friend About His Feeling That JWs Are Right In "Some" Things
by minimus 23 Replies latest jw friends
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JH
I guess we don't all have the same craving to live eternally.
Personally I'm not satisfied with just thinking I'll die and never live again.
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M.J.
Perhaps an illustration?
There are many scientists who each take up the task of trying to discern how various features formed geographically on Mars. But routinely, each scientist, upon examining the exact same imaging data, comes away with a different theory on the reality of what actually happened. The differences arise from each scientist's differing mindset--essentially their biases read into the data. To a certain point this is unavoidable, but in general the more objective a scientist is (i.e., the less prone they are to force the data to fit into their own preconceived notions, and the more willing they are to seek out and consider the observations of other scientists), the more likely they are to be accurate in their assessment.
Think of the scenario where one scientist settles upon one theory...and begins to condemn all others for not only disagreeing with that scientist, but also for disagreeing with each other, thus declaring himself the only scientist worthy of consideration.
Does this scientist's conviction, certainty, and self-appointed authority have any bearing on the accuracy of his theory? Or could these be more of a detriment than an aid?
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Check_Your_Premises
Since he is still trying to find the truth I might suggest a couple of books that could help him in general, rather than give him all the answers to his specific "hang ups".
The first is How to Find the Truth by Joseph Brinks http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0970882408/sr=8-2/qid=1139594928/ref=sr_1_2/002-7923498-4217611?%5Fencoding=UTF8
This book is pretty good in the sense that it gives you a methodology to use in trying to find spiritual truth. It relies on an adaptation of the tried and true scientific methods. On the other hand it does use examples of this method that appears to be a thinly veiled attempt to debunk Christianity and promote Orthodox Judaism. But ultimately it is about the "how" of finding spiritual truth and challenges the reader to validate all their conclusions, rather than accept them at face value.
Another great book is Finding Faith by Brian McLaran. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0310238382/qid=1139595459/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/002-7923498-4217611?s=books&v=glance&n=283155
This book is just an absolute gem. It goes through all of the questions and issues that come up for a person as they seek to find a relationship with God. Again the focus of this book is the "how" of faith rather than the "what". Furthermore it goes through a great description of "bad faith" that is probably a must read for any current or recovering dub. A few (off the top of my head) "bad faith" identifiers are:
1. Based on unquestioned human leadership
2. Is arrogant and unteachable
3. Is based on fear or coersion
4. Is dishonest (denies or avoids the existence of facts that might refute faith)
So that is my advice. Help him to focus on the "how" of his faith. If that is sound, the "what" will naturally evolve from it.
CYP
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M.J.
Would he be open to reading a book by a Christian author? The book I'm thinking of does not dive into what one should believe but suggests how one should go about finding their faith.
It's called Finding Faith by Brian McLaren.
It's highly reccommended here by some posters and has some great info.
Edited...crap cyp ya beat me to it
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Check_Your_Premises
gloat gloat gloat
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GetBusyLiving
I'd love to live forever in perfect conditions. Just because I want it doesnt mean it will happen. All we as thinking human beings can do is to objectively look at evidence.
These people need to grow up and face reality.
GBL
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undercover
The JWs are right in some things...
But so are the Catholics, the Baptists, the Mormons even.
I think you're friend is alright. He just hasn't come to terms with the fact that no one really knows what's going to happen in the future or when you die. Once he does that he'll realize that putting faith in any religion that places itself on a pedestal as God's earthly prophet is fruitless and he'll shake off the last of the chains that are still loosely binding him to the JWs.
JWs have always felt a smugness(maybe that word's a bit too strong, I dunno) about knowing, or thinking that they know, what the future holds and where they'll be in a hundred years. When you take that 'knowledge' away from them, it can be unsettling, disturbing even.
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greendawn
The JWs may be right in some things but that doesn't stop them from being a destructive cult and we don't want those few right things to entice and trap the unaware.
Biblically it's not easy to determine whether there is life after death, but Jesus did say that: whoever believes in me will never die. In the worst case all dead will have to wait until the resurrection day at some future time to come to life for a second time. There is no eternal extinction with the first death but only a temporary one. -
jgnat
How about if he took a simple quiz?