by littleblueuk 50 Replies latest jw experiences
Prayer should help too.
It helped me immensely.
I prayed to Jehovah to help me see reality.
I also prayed to Jesus and "accepted him into my heart".
Now I'm an atheist with no answers, just more questions.
Some claim I'm really a God Hater pretending to be an atheist.
Enjoy the cruise and be sure to give Mom lots of hugs and kisses.
Didn't mean to push at you Oompa. Those are just my thoughts on the probability of things. We will never know with certainty in this life whether or not there is some kind of deity up/out there. As you indicated, that deity hasn't clearly manifested itself (except to those who have a certain amount of faith in the god(s) of their culture).
If belief helps you in some fashion, I'm not trying to push you away from that. I'm just offering an opinion here -- being the evil atheist that I am. I've found it's possible to live a clear-thinking and satisfying life without a belief in a sky-daddy, but I know not everybody is ready to embrace agnosticism or atheism. We all have to decide based on what the evidence tells us personally.
A god is what we make "it?"
'Still doesn't really tie in with a "loving God" who cares so much for mankind (allegedly.)'
Exactly. Sorry, oompa, if this further adds to your frustration.
S
Telling you what something is NOT is the opposite of identification.
GOD is:
1.Someone the human mind cannot grasp.
2.Not human
3.Not earthly
4.Not "body" or material
5. Not finite
Something or someone who exists possesses identity.
God is portrayed in a mode of being "superior" to existence itself: without beginning or end.
God has no dimensions.
God has gender without sex.
God transcends the human mind--yet--we are to take in "knowledge" of Him.
Nothing can be infinite because things which EXIST are limited to what they ARE in quality and quantity: this much and no more.
Quantity? One that is also three? But, three that is only one?
Perception of God is non-sensory. Knowledge of God is non-reason.
God is Creator of the Universe? God created everything out of NOTHING? There is no NOTHING. Creating everything out of nothing is creating everything out of "what there is none of."
God is omnipotent? Unlimited? Actually existing things can act only in accordance with their nature. Nature begins and ends in terms of what it IS and what it ISN'T. Identity is a limit.
God is the systematic contradiction of every valid metaphysical principle.
To get to God you must must abandon reason, referents, existence, identity, perception, knowledge, quantity and enter the world of
THE ANTI-CONCEPT.
Taking anything as a "given" without testing, processing, measuring or integrating it with reality is anti-conceptual.
The brain merely accepts "as is".
No analysis.
Just faith.
I have the same struggles and I have finally concluded that either: a)God does not exist in the terms described by JW's or.. b)He is not a god I would consider worshiping I would not stand by and allow my children to suffer if I had the power to stop it simply because of my own pride or to teach someone a lesson. It does not follow that a being 'higher' and more powerful than me would do those things. One comforting thought I have found since leaving JW's is that spirituality does not have to encompass a god figure. Spirituality can be your connection to anything greater than yourself; humankind, charity, the earth, the universe....etc. At this point it's not logical in my mind to believe in god and it causes me less pain and agony to just let go of the whole theory.
I'm with you, Miligal....
How do you balance God's commandment "thou shalt not kill" (unless, of course, I order you to wipe out an entire city.)
How do you balance God's commandment "thou shalt not kill" (unless, of course, I order you to wipe out an entire city.)
Careful.
You're sounding pretty blasphemous.
God could kill you for that.
The issue of why God allows wickedness is the single biggest argument against there being a loving, omnipotent God. There is no logical response to why God allows wickedness, and all followers of ancient holy books struggle to provide an answer that cannot be quickly shown to be full of holes. For this reason there are a number of differing concepts that have developed about God, such as that there is an intelligent creator who is not involved in human affairs (deism), or that the creator is evil (gnostism).
Since God is not actively involved in people's lives, the main reason people believe there must be a God is as an explanation of creation. The main reason they want there to be a God is for the hope of an afterlife.
I struggled with this as well. Then one day I realized that Yahweh is nothing more than the same old superstitions and myths wrapped with a new bow. No theist can ever answer the question "How do you know God exists?" with an intellectually satisfying answer. It's always an appeal to emotion or personal revelation.
