Jesus is the answer!

by startingover 60 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

Eliveleth

lalliv01 said:The agnostics and atheists on this site have much reason,
logic and current science on their side and I learn much from their statements and
rhetorical questions that make me think. However, I can't bring myself to believe that
this beautiful planet we inhabit came about without an intelligent and caring Creator.
I need to know who or what made all the atoms (or quarks) in the universe.
My thoughts are very much like lalliv's in this area. The posters on this site have given me a lot to think about and research. My faith has been strengthened by it. There may be no logic in having faith, but there are a lot of logical things that strengthen what I believe in the way of a Creator. What if Jesus is the answer to living forever? By believing this what have I lost? What have I gained? I live my life the same. I believe that one should live a life that does good to others. If Jesus is real and he says that because he came to earth and died and was resurrected, I can live forever, I find comfort in that. It gives me hope. It gives me a reason to get up in the morning when I am in pain. To not give up when I see so much unkindness and injustice in the world. When I reach the end of my life and find there is no afterlife (but if there is none then I will never know) I have changed nothing. I will have lived my life the way I believed was right. I have loved and have been loved. Is there any more to this life than that? To reach the end and be content with everything you have done? To have no regrets?
What if I am wrong? What have I lost by believing that Jesus was/is real and following his teachings? My life has been and is based on the Bible and the principles that Jesus taught. I think it has made me a better person.
There appears to be a historical record that Jesus lived. http://sonic.net/sentinel/naij3.html If he was real, then perhaps what he said was real also.
I do not believe in trying to change anyone's ideas as to whether to believe in God or not. I do not believe that you can change a person by what you say. I do not believe in trying to "convert" others to my beliefs. A person can have "facts" presented to them, then it is up to them to prove them for himself.
As to what others say convincing you that what you believe is not true, I do not think that happens.When I was a JW I thought it was ridiculous that we could not read anything "apostate" because it might "turn us away from the "truth"". I still feel that way. If I did not believe that I would not be on this site. If my faith can be challenged just by what a person says, then my faith was weak to begin with. I believe that it takes more than words to change a person's belief. I believe that each person should be open to hearing both sides of a question. Leaving the WT was not because of what a person or persons told me or what I found out about the WT on the Internet. It was what I found out by asking for Holy Spirit that changed me. For those who do not believe there is a Holy Spirit, I challenge you to ask and find out. What have you got to lose?
Love and hugs,
Velta
serotonin_wraith

A chocolate dragon made everything. The universe, the planets and us. When times are hard he breathes the fire of goodness (which is invisible and doesn't burn) all over us to make us feel happy. When we die we may end up with him in the magical kingdom, IF we believe in him now. If we don't, we will burn forever in his pit of fire (the usual kind, not to be confused with the fire of goodness). The chocolate dragon has a set of rules that have to be followed. He thinks homosexuals are living a bad life and they will be punished. You can't be gay, you can't even fight for equal rights for gays- like letting them get married, otherwise you'll be bad too. If scientists teach that evolution is real, you should not embrace their ideas, you have to believe the chocolate dragon made us. Tell your children this too. There's no point looking for the cure to cancer, because one day the chocolate dragon will come to Earth and fix all our problems. It's better to talk to the chocolate dragon every night before you go to sleep, and even though he doesn't answer, he listens. You have my guarantee. If you believe in the chocolate dragon, life seems better. As everyone knows, you can't be good to people without the fire of goodness. Without that, you wouldn't know how to act well to other people, you would be very bad indeed. If there is no magical kingdom when we die, then what is the point of life? It gives people hope.
So that's why I believe in the chocolate dragon, and you should all look into the idea too. What have you got to lose?
mentalclearness

I believe Jesus was a real human being who existed. And he was a prophet..Beyond that I do not know the absolute truth. But I'm probably one of those people that don't need him or god to be happy and content in my life. Reading the posts of others hasn't influenced me just as being a JW for years and reading their publications couldn't convince me of certain doctrines.
lalliv01

Eliveleth wrote:
It gives me a reason
to get up in the morning
when I am in pain.
To not give up when
I see so much unkindness
and injustice in the world.
When I reach the end of my life and
find there is no afterlife
(but if there is none then I will never know)
I have changed nothing.
I will have lived my life
the way I believed was right.
I have loved
and have been loved.
Is there any more to this life than that?
To reach the end and be content
with everything you have done.
To have no regrets
What if I am wrong?
What have I lost by believing ...
A person can have "facts"
presented to them,
I challenge you to ask and find out,
What have you got to lose?
What have you got to lose?
Elileveth, I think you're a poet. Please forgive me for taking such liberty with the
lovely words (Prose, I call it) you wrote. And I agree with you, a person can
be a sincere,dedicated scientist,believe or at least confide in the evidence, and still
search for the cause of it all. You believe in Jesus, others have a different believe,
so what? Like you said, what have you got to lose? Whose stomach is upset because
of what I believe? I hope nobody. And yet,people hate,even kill because of others beliefs.
Pity. Who is the loser, the hater or the hated?
Lalliv
Eliveleth

Serotonin said: A chocolate dragon made everything. The universe, the planets and us. When times are hard he breathes the fire of goodness (which is invisible and doesn't burn) all over us to make us feel happy. When we die we may end up with him in the magical kingdom, IF we believe in him now. If we don't, we will burn forever in his pit of fire (the usual kind, not to be confused with the fire of goodness). The chocolate dragon has a set of rules that have to be followed. He thinks homosexuals are living a bad life and they will be punished. You can't be gay, you can't even fight for equal rights for gays- like letting them get married, otherwise you'll be bad too. If scientists teach that evolution is real, you should not embrace their ideas, you have to believe the chocolate dragon made us. Tell your children this too. There's no point looking for the cure to cancer, because one day the chocolate dragon will come to Earth and fix all our problems. It's better to talk to the chocolate dragon every night before you go to sleep, and even though he doesn't answer, he listens. You have my guarantee. If you believe in the chocolate dragon, life seems better. As everyone knows, you can't be good to people without the fire of goodness. Without that, you wouldn't know how to act well to other people, you would be very bad indeed. If there is no magical kingdom when we die, then what is the point of life? It gives people hope.
So that's why I believe in the chocolate dragon, and you should all look into the idea too. What have you got to lose?
Serotonin,
When a person leaves the Watchtower (or are disfellowshipped) they are at a very vulnerable place. They have just lost all their friends and loved ones who are still in the organization and have discovered that the Watchtower is not God's organization or are questioning. Because they are discovering this, their beliefs are not unclear and they are trying to find a way.
When I first left, I was very timid about expressing what I believed. I think there are a lot of perple, Jehovah's Witnesses or those newly out, that come to this site for answers, encouragement or comfort that they have done the right thing and not "left Jehovah". This may not seem important if you have never been there, but these people are hurting, dissolusioned, scared. I know because I was there. My husband and I left 24 years ago. I still remember my state of mind.
When I first visited this site, maybe in the mid-nineties, I only posted little innocuous things like: "Hi, welcome to the board". I was scared that I I said what I believed that I woulkd be attacked. Being in the WT makes you paranoid. These lurkers are out there watching. They are vulnerable, not knowing how they will be received. If I had seen or received this post when I was newly out, I would have run like a scared rabbit. You obviously have never been a Jehovah's Witness, Serotonin, or you would know what I mean. This should be a place where you can express your views without feeling that you will be ridiculed or insulted because of what you believe.
Some Jehovah's Witnesses who come here trying to discredit those who believe in the trinity or evolution use these tactics. It should not be this way. People should not be hurt or discouraged because someone has an agenda.
I (This has become longer than I intended, please go to next post)
serotonin_wraith

Why would you think I am discrediting you? I just gave my thoughts about what I believe. I know I can't offer any proof, but I have faith in the chocolate dragon. It's almost like you don't respect that. If you don't want people to attack your faith in God, you need to refrain from doing the same to my beliefs. I know they sound silly to you, but I can't help that. If you'd had a personal testimony as I have maybe you would understand.
Please respect my faith.
Eliveleth

(Continued from last post)
I think you should go back and read my post again. I DID NOT SAY that my belief in God caused me to not want a cure for cancer to be found. In fact, I support mentally and financially organizations that are looking. I DID NOT SAY that if I didn't believe in God that I (or anyone else) would be a bad person. I am not sitting around putting my life on hold because I am waiting for God's Kingdom. I DO NOT BELIEVE that homosexuals are bad persons. In fact, my daughter is a lesbian and she and her partner live in my house. I do not judge, I do not believe it is my place to do so. I accept and love people unconditionally. I may disagree with what they believe,but I do not reject them.
You are assuming that I believe things that I do not. You cannot categorize Christians. We do not all believe alike. Aside from believing that Jesus is the Son of God and came to earth to die for our sins, there may be many things that we believe differently. Your experience with Christians may have led you to believe that, but each person is free to interpret the Bible according to their thoughts. I believe that unless you allow Holy Spirit to interpret God's word, you can take anything out of context. THIS IS MY BELIEF.
You asked me to research evolution and abiogenesis and I did. I think perhaps you should do a little research of your own as to what different Christians really believe and not assume that all of us are the same.
This post was not worthy of you.
Love and hugs,
Velta
Eliveleth

And I agree with you, a person can
be a sincere,dedicated scientist,believe or at least confide in the evidence, and still
search for the cause of it all. You believe in Jesus, others have a different believe,
so what? Like you said, what have you got to lose? Whose stomach is upset because
of what I believe? I hope nobody. And yet,people hate,even kill because of others beliefs.
Pity. Who is the loser, the hater or the hated?
Lalliv
Thank you Lalliv, for your kind words.
I think that everyone in the world has a slightly different belief. I have found no one to this date that believes exactly the way I do. And next year because of what I have learned, it will be a little different as well. Yes, people hate because of their beliefs. I do not understand this, but I know it is true. We are all losers when people are not tolerant. I hope we will get an opportunity to exchange views. Were you a JW? Have you posted your story yet? Our website is: www.geocities.com/veliveleth
Love and hugs,
Velta
Eliveleth

Why would you think I am discrediting you? I just gave my thoughts about what I believe. I know I can't offer any proof, but I have faith in the chocolate dragon. It's almost like you don't respect that. If you don't want people to attack your faith in God, you need to refrain from doing the same to my beliefs. I know they sound silly to you, but I can't help that. If you'd had a personal testimony as I have maybe you would understand.
Please respect my faith.
Serotonin, Please share your personal testimony. I want to understand. Love and hugs, Velta
serotonin_wraith

It is hard to explain unless you experience it yourself. I just felt the fire of goodness and it made me want to do good. His plans for all of us were revealed to me. I know you believe in an invisible dragon, so you're not too far removed from how I think. Maybe the real dragon will spare you.
Hugs back,
SW.

Jesus is the answer!

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