by orbison11 11 Replies latest jw friends
ok, cant believe i am saying this
but i am thinking of going to church,,,,a rather large one,,,over 1000, chwk alliance church, i think i can hide quite well in a cong. that big
have a spiritual need, but so hate organized religion,,so i am so confused,,yet i use to love studying the bible,,,,dont ask me why
any thoughts, experiences along the same level?
thanks,,orb
i have been dealing with the same issue lately. I have looked at a couple of non denominational church's. I keep saying i am going to go.. but i am yet to go! I have been "out" for about 9 or 10 years myself.
Going to a church is not a big deal and I truly think it can be a freeing experience. When I first left, I went to just about religious organization to listen to what they practiced and ask questions. Trust me, the world will not fall in, demons won't come from the vents, if nothing else you are breaking the barriers and experiencing other belief systems on your terms.
you are making a wise decision. if you are truly seeking Christ you will find him. I go to a non-denominational church and I love it. i had to go to 2 to find the one i liked the most. the first one was huge but the preacher wasnt preaching the word as much as i needed. it was a lot of show, but the second one was great.
take a chance get involved with the community, you wont regret it
It will be good for you. I found that it was good for deprogramming. I still had a lot of silly JW crap in my head that I didn't know I had until I heard beliefs that challenged them. I've been in three denominations, trying to find the right fit. I'm happy where I am now. Don't pressure yourself, just go and enjoy it.
thank you all,,i feel i still have the jw programming in me,,,re trinity,,,homosexuality (even though i have no problem with it,,,i still feel it is in black and white,,,,yet i have friends who are, etc) i am very confused with that one,,,,
dates, etc,,keep running thru my mind,,,,armageddon, field service,,,oh i was such a dhrone,,,,,,,,,but i have this spiritual need,,cant figuire it out,,maybe it is the community i am searching out for,,as i am all alone,,,will see if i do it,,,will post then
wendy
After leaving the borg as a youth, I spent three years going from church to church before giving up on the narrow mindedness of most of them. The Methodists were the most sincere (IMH0) and I was eventually married in one in my home town. But they all fell short for my needs which was to understand why the worlds religions all claimed to be the pathway to God exclusively. They will expouse ecumenical ideas then tell you that salvation is only through Jesus. Sorry, but the JWS permanently inocculated me against exclusivity. I can't believe in a god that creates billions of people only to reject 99.9% of them as "spawn of satan". Over a decade was spent living free from any organized religion as I had no paradigm or example of how religion can be as positive an influence that is has and can be. carmel
Wendy, The programing that we all had within the religion can make it so hard to move on.
In my VERY humble opinion, you'll only find satisfaction to you inner spiritual need, by looking inside yourself. Although I respectfully accept that for some people this would mean being part of some kind of organised religion, that isn't alway nesecary. You can achieve peace with god, Spirit, whatever you would call it, when you are totally happy with yourself.
Sincere regards to you. I hope it all works out.
Shell69
Hi Wendy - I been having this conflict since finding out that the JW's are a cult. I have been to other churches a few times and it was an okay experience, quite refreshing in fact. I think as long as you aren't still looking to find the absolute "Truth" in any of them then you will fine. Spirituality doesn't come from any organisation but is very much a personal journey IMO.
Maddie
