Is is easier to just forget about religion as a whole?? (page 2)

kid-A

"I do believe there is a creator, but have no idea what the purpose is....."

I enjoyed your post EC, but statements like these always confuse me. You admit you have "no idea" what this 'hypothetical' "creator's" purpose is, and yet you continue to profess a belief in it? May I ask why? Do you really see any "purpose" whatsoever on earth? Do you not believe that we ourselves define the purpose of our lives? You have the strength within yourself not to rely on the crutch of religious supersitions. You do not need a god to tell you what to think, believe, do, act, anything. You only need your own strength, courage and intelligence to become a fully realized human being.

You need to look beneath the surface of your belief structures. More importantly, ask yourself, where did these beliefs come from? Did society or my parents "tell" me to believe this? How did this belief become implanted in your mind? Once you have dissected these cognitive frameworks, you will be free of unnecessary bondage to believing in the supernatural.

Gods come and go. We used to worship Zeus, Thor, Ra, Apollo, Neptune, Artemis, Zerubabel, the list goes on ad infinitum. They are ALL DEAD. Yet amazingly, humanity is still here. Belief in these fictional creatures once served an important social function. They dont anymore. Someday, Yahweh, Allah, Buddha, Jesus, Vishnu, Krishna, will all be joining the cemetery of long-forgotten gods.

Study biology, neurophysiology, psychology, evolution. Get the facts about the reality of the natural world and humanities place within it. You will quickly enjoy the peace and psychological freedom from the superstitions that your logical mind is now questioning. Once you have abandoned your emotional reliance on ancient, primordial spirits in the sky, you will truly be free.

the dreamer dreaming

religion is a dis-ease and the cure is simple, honesty.

once I determined to be completely honest with myself, I could stop pretending and just pay attention to what is going on.

I dont have to pretend to understand how things work nor why they work and I dont have to pretend to know there is any meaning to living other than the meaning it brings me....

I can accept that my perceptions are facts, but not any of my beliefs about them.... I cannot be sure that I am not dreaming, thus the name.

there are a lot of what if's and I dont have to pick any of them as being TRUE.

I have come to the view that every move I make is a gamble towards my own peace of mind and like any good gambler I seek to improve my skills and learn the odds of the game and not to expect the game to bend in my direction out of any magical concern for me.

blumandy

i thought staying away from religion in general, was the way to go , when i first got disfellowshipped. but 11 years later, and a hubby, and 2 kids, makes me realise i have to figure this thing out. so ive started researcing diffrent religions. and i already knew i wouldnt go back to jw's, but found the proof i needed from the niv bible, that some of there teachings werent always what the bible said. i researched the making of the jw bible, and there was really no formal training of the other language, before making the jw bible. i was shocked, but then when i researched the history of jw, i was even more shocked, anyhow im getting off subject, i guess what im trying to say is, i felt like u at one point, but now ive come to see, that for myself and my family, i need to figure this religion thing out. i havent joined a church, im still pretty turned off by organised religion in general, jw left such a bad taste in my mouth. but i think for my family sake, we will certainly celebrate christian holidays, i felt so left out not celebrating them as a kid, and maybe in a way im making up for that, (u should see my house at christmas). ok im rambling, just do ur on research when ur ready, and do what u feel is best for ur kids. i know i didnt want mine to suffer as i did.~mandy

poppers

Hello EC. Giving up religion is the first step toward freedom. Some may not like or want to hear this because it's scary. But even more critical to finding real peace and freedom from suffering is to investigate the nature of the one who wishes to be free. In other words, ask "What am I really?" and then look honestly.

the dremer dreaming said this

I can accept that my perceptions are facts, but not any of my beliefs about them.... I cannot be sure that I am not dreaming, thus the name.

This is very profound because it gets to the root of everything - beliefs. We have a sense of self which is based on beliefs, but when investigated the sense of personal identity dissolves. This begs the question, "What am I really?" Discovering what you really are brings peace, contentment, and fulfillment.

garybuss

For me, disbelief can actually be a belief, like the Jehovah's Witnesses disbelief in hell fire. Their disbelief is so much of a "belief" that it's listed as a "belief" by them.

I guess I'm skeptical of claims where no proof is offered. Evidence isn't proof and neither is logic and reason.

Dispensing with with personal disbelief has been expensive for me. So has ignoring obvious disconfirmations.

anewme

If I had kids I would take them out on a starry night and point to the sky and ask "Do you think that man will ever know everything about the vast universe?
Then man will also never know everything about God."

What man or group of men can tell you anything about God that you cannot know in your own God-given heart?

Why look to others as a mediator?

Others can inspire us and point us in a direction, but then they should let us go to worship God on our own, not enslave us to pay for their new steeple or bell ( or in the WTS case pay for the pedophile lawsuits)

Like it was said, develop your own relationship with God and encourage your children to do the same.
It was also noted that the spiritual men of old had no mediator nor church. They had a one on one relationship with their God.

Holidays are nothing but a human show of appreciation. Celebrate if you want to. Nothing wrong with appreciation. But are they from God? Absolutely not. They are from man. Is he offended by them? I dont know. What do you think? Are you offended by a show of appreciation from your child?

I get more appreciation for God these days out of reading an astronomy book or a book on ocean and land biology than a Watchtower.

No mediator for me.

EC

Thank you so much for all of your insight....I can not tell you enough how much this site has helped me move on even if I was just lurking....:-)

I think when you spend almost 30 years, like me, going to the meetings and all the usual...and then stop...you feel somewhat backwards...like you should be doing something, but if the JW did something good for me it was never again to except something blindly...I just can't stand to listen to a church sermon on hell...its like that cake again with the roach sticking out...

I am very intrigued by other religions though...just not moved by them to do it. It is very important for me and my children to travel and see how really small we all are. I think experiencing someone eles culture is the best learning tool and I look forward to doing that now that I am able to. I remember watching a TV show with my family....the Amazing Race..and my husband said that we should do that b/c we would probably be pretty good at it, my sister(JW)was over that night and said "Yeah you would be good at it, but there is no way you could do it b/c you may have to do something in a religous ceremony(they had to shave their heads in a ceremony for one part of the race).....now I am free to do whatever I wish and would never mind doing something like that...but just don't ever see myself grabbing a hold of a certain religion anymore...ever..

As far as a creator...I grew 3 beautiful children inside of my body..there is no way that just happened...imo

Thanks again all! I truly do appreciate it!

blumandy

EC, it sounds like ur on ur way to doing whats right and best for u and ur children. i wish you the best in your research and your cituation. i think ill always have a gut instinct to reject church, but i wont reject god.take care, and hope to chat again.~mandy

garybuss

Religions like the Jehovah's Witnesses are like the real estate deal where the guy says, I've got a great building for you, a deal! It's gonna cost you everything you have, and you've got to pay for it before you get to see it. If you miss one payment, they repossess the escrow on the building. If you get sick and might die, they say: No problem! We'll see you're recreated in a perfect replica body to enjoy your new building after you're dead . . . as they cash your check.

See Kissing Hank's Ass . . .

parakeet

Forget about religion for a while; the children won't turn into little Satans just because they miss a few church services. Read books about philosophy and history. Look closely at the natural world. Take time to relax. Enjoy your children. True spirituality is inherent in these simple, everyday things.

Is is easier to just forget about religion as a whole??

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