Is it the JW's or the God of the bible you no longer believe?

by reniaa 407 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  reniaa

  I have a question for the Ex-Jw's on this forum after months of reading the forum....

  Many say how good it is to be free of the oppressiveness of the JW's that they can now enjoy the freedom to... have sex, celebrate christmas, gamble, embrace politics etc

  There are still biblical scriptures and principles in place that if you still followed the bible would mean you avoid these things and yet these are now embraced as one of the perks of no longer being a JW so in my confusion I ask.... if these are what you want, isn't it more correct to say you no longer follow the bible as apposed to just the JW's?
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  Vachi 8 He Is

  I look at religion and the bible like this: Every concept we have about god is through the programming of someone else, and the ones who wrote it are subjected to this as well. In those times, man was pretty wild so the bible and concept of god was created as a way to keep tabs on who was doing what. Of course if I wanted people to believe my nonsense I would say it was true and that god himself told me to write it the way it was written. The problem with the bible is that it's full of supposed instances where god stepped in and did something and he wasn't all millenia about it. By contrast, we don't have such massive undeniable miracles today, we have randomness. Couple that with what they've been taught about god and bam! god has some kinda role in their lives. We're slowly breaking out of this unfortunate habit though.
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  reniaa

  Thankyou vachi your honesty is refreshing you see as I do that its not just an issue of saying i'm no longer a witness but also if the bible has any relevence or credibility in our life's. If someone wants to leave JW's because they want to have extra-marital sex would they be honest with themselves enough to accept it's not just the witnesses they no longer agree with but the bible as well.

  I'm a very much a bible follower so any christian faith I look at is measured against it! Take christmas a typical celebration often embraced by ex-JW's why? I can google it and find out for myself its pagan origins quite easily, I can then look at the whole 'Golden calf' biblical story where God punishes israelites for trying to put egyptian practices in line with there belief in God, if its ok to celebrate christmas despite it's origins then God was wrong to punish israelites for the same reason? you see my quandary?

  Can we diferentiate between what is purely a JW issue and what is seen as wrong biblically?

  And if we disagree with a principle clearly condemed in the bible then surely we should admit it?
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  Mr. Majestic

  Hi Reniaa,

  Don’t fall into the cliché that the society promotes as to the reason why people leave the organisation. Not everyone that leaves them desires to pursue those things that you have listed as ‘perks’ for leaving the witnesses. Some of us genuinely leave because we have found out that not only are the JW’s wrong, even in regards to their belief in the bible, but we have also done extensive studying of the bible since we have left (being that we were not really allowed to look into it as a JW and ask the awkward questions at least) and have found it wanting as evidence of it being what it claims to be…. ‘Gods word’.

  Because some of us see through JW’s and also the bible doesn’t mean that we turn to a life that is without the so called ‘biblical principals’. There are many people that don’t know much about the bible that live more ‘biblically’ principled lives than many professed ‘believers’.

  But to answer your question "is it the JW’s or the God of the bible you no longer believe?" my answer would be ‘both’, and it would be for the reason of studying the evidence more than it would be for the desire of ‘loose living’ as the rest of your comment implies.

  But just to put a question back to you reniaa, if the bible isn’t true, what actually would be wrong with people "having sex, celebrate Christmas, gamble, embrace politics"???
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  wobble

  Good to see you back Reniaa,the kids must not yet be on half-term !

  Your thoughts are a good counter-balance here on JWD. I am at present trying to formulate my beliefs. I still believe in the God of the Bible and want to live by His standards,but so much of what I was taught in my life suffered from Watchtowwer "spin" so that I now have to check everything by reading the Bible as though I have never seen it before,this method tends to throw up more questions than answers.

  I think it is so easy once you have left organised religion to become virtually atheist,then Satans words become true,you can decide what is Good and Evil for yourself.

  For me ,I hope to continue to strengthen my faith in the true God,and I pray the same for all who wish to serve Him,but those who choose otherwise I wish them happiness and wellbeing and however they choose to live I offer no criticism.

  Love

  Wobble
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  wobble

  I have just seen your latest post, a little bit of WT spin there,just because something has pagan origins it is wrong Biblically???

  Surely the issue is worship being offered to a false god,the golden calf,not the origins of a practise or object,as has been pointed out ad nauseam on JWD virtually everything has pagan origins!

  So with Christmas one would have to define what is true worship,and then "celebrate" it in away that did not conflict,perhaps giving presents to the poor.?

  Love

  Wobble
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  choosing life

  There are a lot of Christians who do not interpret the Bible as jws do. I know the jws would say they are wrong in many areas, but it does all come down to an interpretation, even with the jws.

  How about the scripture that says, One man considers one day as above another and one man considers all days the same? Also let no man judge you in celebration of a festival or new moon? Does that sound like we have a choice in what we celebrate?

  There are many beautiful thoughts and good counsel in the Bible. There are also some ancient customs that make little sense today. Belief in the Bible and a personal relationship with Jesus is just that-personal. It cannot be dictated by another man or men who place themselves in place of Jesus.

  Just because people no longer believe in the way jws interpret the Bible, doesn't mean they seek to displease God.
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  passwordprotected

  I agree that this post has all of the WTS spin you'd expect from someone who is cognitively dissonant.
  
  Leaving the WTS does not always equate to wanting the so-called perks. I want the freedom, but I'm prepared to exercise my freedom within the moral limits I believe are present in the Bible, the Gospels in particular.
  
  I choose not to have my freedom impinged on by a publishing corporation who seem to have an almost fetish for Jewish law.
  
  Birthdays, Xmas, gambling; firm Biblical principles - not Jewish laws - making these activities something incongruent with Christian living should be shown before there's any perceived sneering at those who get involved with them.
  
  Personally, I left the WTS because Russell died believing his prophecy re. 1914 was accurate, he died believing Christ returned invisibly in 1874 and that the 'last days' began in 1799. I left the WTS because Rutherford went around the world prophesying that millions living in 1920 would never die. I left the WTS because they deny the new covenant to all but around 9000 of it's members.
  
  I still believe the Bible, though.
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  Homerovah the Almighty

  As for myself it was easy to realize that the JWS were not who they say they were, it took further contemplation to

  realize the God of the bible was built up and formulated in the peoples minds out human ignorance of those primitive times.

  Sorry to say the gods have never been down to earth and they never will either, only in the minds of men that want spiritual power.
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  AK - Jeff

  I note that you seem to believe that there is a certain 'satisfaction' in this matter. While free thinking does contain satisfaction, it is the freedom itself that should be relished. Of course, many here have abandoned the Bible as well as Jw's. Many have just abandoned Jw's and still respect/accept the Bible in their personal choices. Some people might leave the organization because they want to fornicate, celebrate Christmas, or whatever. Most leave because they find that Jw's are not right. Later they begin to make choices that seem contrary to the Bible by those who still under Watchtower mystic thinking. When Black and White gives way to real light of the spectrum, many different choices are made.