by avidbiblereader 16 Replies latest jw friends
Seriously, think about this, when you look back on your faith, was it really in God, or was it the God from the Witness perspective and you really did/do equate the Witness organization with God, or was it really in men?
With so many that have been disillusioned with God since leaving the witnesses, where was your faith really in?
Respectfully,
abr
As a dub, I thought my faith was in God.
But, as I began to study the Bible without the WTBTS blinders on, I then came to put my faith in God, rather than men.
BA- Puts faith in God, not men- now.
As a dub, I thought my faith was in God.
I too thought it was in God until I got out and realize the way that I was stumbled and could not even read the Bible and pray for over two years that my faith was more in men than God.
I am glad now that God has straightened me out and showed me a serious flaw in myself. He has plenty more revealing to do to me.
abr
I appreciate your question abr. I know you to be a man of faith. For this, you enjoy my respect. I have yet to be able to separate the Watchtower God from my current concept of God. I apologize if my comments have sometimes offended the "believers" amongst us.
My faith in God was sincere and intense. I simply felt from a young age that He was far off from me, even while I implored others to seek Him. The disappointments I suffered as one of Jehovah's Witnesses have deeply affected me.
With love and respect to all those who still believe,
Nvrgnbk
Thanks for your comments and I try to be a person of faith and have a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG way to go, thank God for His patience. When I think back on my 22 years as a witness and how hurt, disillusioned, stumbled and every other negative thought and emotion, I realized that my staying away from the Bible was only hurting me and that my faith was misplaced because I equated even when out, the organization with God.
Wow, was I wrong and only by personal reading, studying and praying WITHOUT witness influence and publications that the God of the Bible and the witness Bible are two very different persons. My faith is now properly restored where it should have been for over 22 years. The witness, have done more damage than the good they think they have done. I hope you find peace and comfort.
abr
I think from being young, religious and social conditioning introduces many youths into self conflict with their own biology and what God is all about without really understanding what a balanced view of it all, in practical terms, is all about.
If you'd been to taught how to be happy about what you think and feel without always looking to authority for a leading role in your life, you'd no doubt be confident on your own take on life and God without forever searching for role models or some other persons view on life to copy and paste into your own!
If you can help kids be confident kids, that's half the battle - they're already learning to be who they are - next help them believe in what they feel in and around the people in their lives!
At the time I could have sworn my faith was with Jehovah. Looking back now though I realise it was with men, I just didn't realise it.
Greetings ABR,
Welcome home from your holiday. Good to have you back on board!
It truly is different for all of us, isn't it? As a very little boy I walked to church with my older sister every Sunday because I had this childhood thing about God. I loved my Sunday school books and Bible. Fortunately for me, when I finally became a JW at nearly 20 years of age, I was so tuned in with my Heavenly Father, that the Organization was more repellant to me than attractive. Oh sure, I did as I was told, but cognitive dissonance seemed to settle in subconsciously from the outset. There was just so much that smacked of artificiality and was at odds with my perception of the Gospel's simplicity. Yet the "true message" came to me nearly 40 years later and put me in company with the likes of you! Ain't it great, new friend?
CoCo
ABR,
Do you ever worry that your 'relationship' with God exists merely in your mind? Afterall, this must be the case for those of other religions - yes? If you are an ABR, then you likely discount the validity of millions of other people's 'relationship' with God. For them it DOES exist ONLY in their minds. Yet you are different -what makes you so certain its not the same mental trick?
Like many of other religious beliefs, yours likely follows a similar model. You believe (I suspect) writings in an ancient holy book that dipicts supernatural interractions between God and humans from a time long long ago - events whose veracity is extremely difficult to substantiate with evidence. And, just like those other belief systems, yours too must explain why these depicted supernatural interractions, for some reason, are never observed or substantiated by evidence today. This leaves modern believers of religious writings today with no other choice but to accept the supernatural claims of these ancient writings on the basis of "belief", "faith" or some other concept that overlooks and avoids tangible, confirmable evidence.
How do you explain the descrepancy of miraculouse historical dipictions, yet their complete absence in our modern experience?
What convinces you that your beliefs represent reality?
Thanks,
FW
Brinjen, thanks for your comments, SOBERING when you really stop and ponder, smacks you in the face
CoCo, thanks for the welcome back, I think too that it is different for everyone but when I look back I realize that my faith was so misplaced and it is sad that very insidiously they get you from trying to please God, to pleasing men and your faith is in them and not God. I remember back on a 4 part KM, Directing New Ones to the Organization. How stupid I was and didn't see or didn't want to see it. It is always about faith in FD salve. GB or the organization. I knew the artificalness(?) of the Society but wanted to believe it with my whole heart and yet knew better. I too thank God for allowing me to see the simplistic message and to come with grips with where my faith really was. I guess as the Bible says, "he will finish your training", just glad it wasn't attached to Brooklyn Bethel but rather to Him and the Christ. Yes it is great Friend!!!!!!!!!!
abr
It truly is different for all of us, isn't it? As a very little boy I walked to church with my older sister every Sunday because I had this childhood thing about God. I loved my Sunday school books and Bible. Fortunately for me, when I finally became a JW at nearly 20 years of age, I was so tuned in with my Heavenly Father, that the Organization was more repellant to me than attractive. Oh sure, I did as I was told, but cognitive dissonance seemed to settle in subconsciously from the outset. There was just so much that smacked of artificiality and was at odds with my perception of the Gospel's simplicity. Yet the "true message" came to me nearly 40 years later and put me in company with the likes of you! Ain't it great, new friend?
CoCo
