by wings 36 Replies latest jw friends
Was Athiest for a time
Evolved to an Agnostic
Put all my faith in "Me"
Served me well for a long time
Recently it became "Not enough"
Has made me reconsider spirituality
Not entirely comfortable with the
Mystic, supernatural part though
So, we'll see
How do you deal with "no faith"?
I live. I don't use the word faith very much if at all, and certainly not in the religious sense.
What do you put faith in?
Nothing. I take people for who they are.
How was you transition from belief to non belief?
Shattering and sudden in a way.
Does it bother you that others have faith in God, and why?
No. Only when judgements are skewed.
Wings,
A dancer does not live a moment, they live in the moment. A poet does not write lines, they live in the lines. An artist does not paint pictures, they capture moments.
Life is a collection of moments, some golden, some not. Recognizing that this life is all we have helps us not just to live moments, but to explore them, respect them and live them fully. In many ways it is the same realization that we have as we get older. Realising that we might only live another ten years for example focuses the priorities and helps us to live each moment as fully as we can.
Enjoy what you have, it will be gone very quickly. Make it count.
HS
How do you deal with "no faith"?
What do you put faith in?
How was you transition from belief to non belief?
Does it bother you that others have faith in God, and why?
wings (honest questions, headed there myself)
I've come to accept that "faith" is the lazy man's hope.
It is a kind of erosion process that nibbles away at the need for education.
Pure superstition and faith differ not at all. Substitute "god" for rabbit's foot.
When faith takes over as your purpose in life you pass from having a life to wishing for a make-believe one.
With make-believe you can have things any way you want--IN YOUR HEAD. But, you can't stay inside your own head.
There is a real world. The more Faith and Belief and such take over your consciousness, the less competent you become at living in the real world and seeing things as they really are.
Ever know somebody who does alot of Pot? Eventually they get so "laid back" and paranoid they cease to be a person.
Religion is like sucking on a giant spiritual doobie all day. A ravenous hunger for experience--real experience--(spiritual munchies) compels the weird behavior which follows.
JW's binge by Pioneering.
It doesn't work.
God substitutes don't work either: mysticism, astrology, paganism, another denomination, etc.
Real is real and fake is faith.
THE HARDEST PART of getting well (in the psychological sense) is LETTING GO of that dreamy illusion of a dream world just up ahead that never gets here.
Habits are hard to break. But--break them you can!
For me, it came with learning real things. I threw my self into learning about physics, logic, history, etc. Actual data that could flush my brain out.
Replace make-believe thinking with data. Learn epistemology (in Philosophy). Get yourself a new toolbox.
When you are finally armed and dangerous you can go back to your old FAITH and look at it square in the face and suddenly have that EUREKA! experience seeing it is all a steaming pile for the very first time.
Then, the healing begins.
Donny, I must be going through that slow meticulous process. Not like getting hit with Holy Spirit, more like a painful detox program. To put faith in myself is the hardest thing for me.
Homer, I understand the intellectual (and emotional) freedom that thinking for yourself can bring. Probably the main reason I can't turn from the path that I am on.
doofdaddy, I seem to have no interest in considering another spiritual avenue. Maybe someday, but I just can't bring myself to think beyond what I can understand around me right now. I would feel like I am trying to make myself believe something that I don't.
Fadeout, I have been avoiding labels to put my beliefs in. I am still very unsure of myself. Think "confused" or "blender brain" might fit. I wish you well
W. Once, I have spent a life time putting faith in something stronger and more powerful than I am. Not having faith has cognitively brought me back to me. Praying for circumstances to change doesn't work anymore. Praying doesn't work any more. Just alone with me, and I'm having a hard time with it.
Gopher, thanks for the links! I'll check them out as soon as I post this.
Mysterious, you said:
if you look at faith as lost you will forever be trying to deal with it...
I don't feel as if it is lost, however, there is a void that I am having to deal with. Also, I seem to have some measure of respect for the role faith has had in my life, so I'm grieving rather than angry.
Hortensia, I need to get busy living too! Good comment.
h9k, I hope to be in the discovery process for the rest of my life. I am not looking for definitive answers. Just working with some major adjustments right now. tks for your comment
Prince, so just how is it pronounced?
Caedes, I loved your post. I can't imagine ever not having deep appreciation for the majesty of the world. Understanding there are no second chances brings a realness to everyday living that I love. Faith in myself is hard, but I can have faith in friends, and in love. I also believe that theists have the right to believe what they want, and to try to convert me. Freedom of thought is important to me, so I will respect others for the same.
Satanus, I'm sure my collective conscience could use some help....
How do you deal with "no faith"? Not well at all....right now i seem to have no purpose in life....jw sure gave you purpose. Now i will grow old and die....great
What do you put faith in? sunrise....and sunset....and growing old and dieing
How was you transition from belief to non belief? harsh...devastating.....all lost in just an instant after 25 years of doubts
Does it bother you that others have faith in God, and why? yes it does sometimes....esp if they have not put forth the effort to really establish that faith....and because faith can lead to so much judgment of others
wings (honest questions, headed there myself) me too...but still believe there had to be a designer at some time....something can not come from nothing either
I believe I can try everyday to be the best "me" possible. I believe that I can do something everyday to help someone else. I believe that in time mankind will figure it all out. Is that faith?
changeling :)
Humans are very inventive and we are very good at making ourselves part of a story to compensate for the uncertainty we see around us. I think the stage you are at is very healthy because it seems to me that you are seeing how life really is.
I like waht HS said
A dancer does not live a moment, they live in the moment. A poet does not write lines, they live in the lines. An artist does not paint pictures, they capture moments.
immersing oneself in something knowingly rather than unknowingly being caught up in a lie seems to be a creative fulfilling way to live. (although perhaps HS is conveying something else)
My route into the arts has been through study. I try to make my own meaning through reading philosophy, listening to music etc.
ql
ql
Wings,
I became agnostic as an active JW... my last few months I rarely prayed since I found it difficult to believe in the guy in the sky.
I suggest you do some redaing... books by Sam Harris and Richard Dawkins have been very helpful for me. I don't agree with everything they say, but they address many of the questins in your post. I'm almost finished with The God Delusion right now...
I actually feeel very comfortable not having an interaction with "god"... if he/she/it exists, I do not know. But I don't think that god is interested in me personally. I take comfort in the thought that this life is all there is.. as I stopped believing in a paradise and the resurrection a few years back.
So I am determined to do good to others and make the most of my life on this planet... and I hope that I have at least 40 years left!
Lance
Good questions!
1. Very well! I feel freed by not believing in the unknown. It was a burdon to me. I believe as I experience things for myself.
2. Myself for making my life what it is. No one can do it for me. I am 100% responsible for what I do and how I react to what happens to me.
3. Slow. As I tried out different churches and asked questions, I noticed how useless the Bible really is in answering them. I fell out of love with Christianity gradually.
4. Yes. I fail to understand how others can believe in something that I find impossible to believe in after a lot of thinking and research. How in the world can anyone believe in the god and Jesus of the Bible? I don't judge them, however. They have a right to their own style of belief as I do.
5. I'm still stuck at the point about "there had to be someone that put all of this here." Could it be process of eliminating the weaker so the stronger survive? Could there actually be a master or masters that have this thing called the universe going?
I think it's OK not to know everything and not to have all of the answers. I mean, do I REALLY need them?
