How did you feel about attending another church?

by digderidoo 36 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  yknot

  Growing up I was taken to other churches by non-jw relatives during court ordered visitations.

  I have attended and did Sunday School in Episc, Southern Baptist, Presbs, Catholic, Non-denoms, Assembly of God, Lutheran and the Church of Christ.

  When I was little I was determined to spread seeds of troof.

  Now I see that for most in Christendom worship is personal and the rest is fellowship and upbuilding.

  The WTS would do well to learn a thing or do about fellowhip, upbuilding and charity from them too.

  I associate with a wide variety of beliefs but mostly spend my 'worship' time in the SB and KH... save Wed afternoon and then I am at the Lutheran's for my child's weekly worship and bible lesson class...... (the woman pastor is delightful)

  My kids do VBS at many of the different churches each summer with their friends....(last summer a couple of KH kids did too!)
• 

  jaguarbass

  I left in 83 by 1990 I was checking out other churches, I guess I was kind of slow.

  There was no internet, and I was reading comments from the friends, 30 years a watchtower slave, and some

  other helpful books. And corresponding with several helpful, loving and kind people who

  were helping me cope, and try to make some sense out of life.

  About 1990 I started checking out a Baptist church an Assemblies of God church and a new age

  church. Plus I went to AA for 7 years.

  AA was great and is great if you work it.

  The bible churches, I found too much to pick apart, I felt I was getting hosed again

  like the witnesses did me. They wanted me to blindly accept their word as gospel.

  The new age church, was cool but I didnt have it any me to join any more clubs, churches

  organizations or any group that would have me.

  I recomend you check them all out, Its part of your healing and growing process,

  You might even be wired or engineerd for church.

  If your lucky you will find a church to give you maning in a meaningless world.
• 

  I quit!

  I was a little uneasy showing up for the first time by my self. I live in So. California and attended a mega church where you could show up in shorts and sit out side all year long if you wanted to. That in itself was a pleasant change from going to the KH. It worked out good for me for a while because I didn't feel like getting too involved but could just show up and listen. I think xjws coming from such a strict back ground have an advantage because we don't feel the need to believe everything taught at a particular church and are sceptical about being sucked into another pointless religion. Although it was a fundamentalist church and I liked it overall I never became a fundamentalist. Mainly because I couldn't take the Bible literally. Didn't feel the need to believe that we are living in the last days. I believe in evolution and don't believe the earth is only 10,000 years old. I also went to lot of other churches just to see what they were like and unlike what the tower had told me they were warm and friendly and the music was always better than WT music. Eventually I found out I fit best to the Episcopal Church and that is where I attend now. I still attend other churches sometimes but the Episcopal Church is my home. There are lot of reason I love the Episcopal church but won't go into them here because I don't like to preach and I think we all need to figure out what is best for us and what is best for me might not be the best for you. That is why I recommend going to a lot of different churches and exploring a lot of different beliefs.
• 

  passwordprotected

  My wife and I attending different churches one Sunday last September. This was the first time either of us had been in a church for anything other than a funeral.

  We met up for lunch to compare notes and discovered we'd had similar experiences. Both churches used the Bible extensively, sang praises to Jesus and talked about Christian love, forgiveness etc and God's grace.

  Since then we go to church every Sunday. We've realised that there's nothing to fear. We visited several churches in our local area - all of them evangelical - before deciding to settle in Riverside Gospel Church (we're getting baptised very soon). The people we now view as friends all love the Bible, love God, love serving him and genuinely want to help people come to faith in Jesus Christ, whether that happens in Riverside church or not isn't important to them.

  One teaching that all Christians should follow is the eating of Christ's flesh and drinking his blood; taking communion.

  Jehovah's Witnesses en mass do not do this, therefore they are not Christian and do not have the right to impose any standards as to what they think real Christian churches should be doing.

  Therefore, all of the evils you've been told about Christians and their churches has been fed to you by an Organisation that ritualistically denies the very sacrifice of the Head of the congregation; Jesus. As a result, if I were you I'd re-evaluate all of the misgivings the WTS has fed you about going to church.
• 

  Sarah Smiles

  I feel that it is okay, although the Trinity is always going to be a hard concept for me. I just do not believe in it. On the flip side, I don't believe in some main doctrines of the WTBTS. I know that Trinity is one doctrine compared to many doctrines of WTBTS which I do not believe. Here something, I know the churches would say keep on coming back, and the JWs who say if you do not believe they are the 144,000 you get kicked out.
• 

  garybuss

  I enjoy visiting churches. They are mini cultures in a multi culture society. The people are nice and the food is always good. I visited one nearby country church and during the service there was a pause in the service when the pastor (a woman) asked the congregation to stand and meet and greet everyone within arm's reach.
  
  I laughed to myself during the exchange thinking that could NEVER happen in a Jehovah's Witness meeting because of the people there being snubbed and shunned. Jehovah's Witnesses treat some members as lepers and it's not as obvious at the Kingdom Hall because the meetings are structured to allow the disrespect. The contrast is striking when I visit a (real) friendly church.
  
  After the church service, all present were invited to stay for a full sit down meal. I stayed for the meal and visited with friendly strangers. Some were in casual clothes, some wore suits. The food was GOOD, there were no authority figures strutting around and there was NO BACK ROOM!
  
  
  
• 

  WTWizard

  I don't intend to go to church. I was a Catholic (and not a very good one, either) when I was little. I became a Jehovah's Witless, and I have looked at other church doctrines online since leaving the Washtowel. Trouble is, the core doctrines are all the same, and I do not believe that I was inherently a sinner. I also do not believe that Jesus' death is the key to my salvation (his message is, in fact, to do your own thinking and not let other religions, the Washtowel included, do it for you).

  As such, I do not see myself joining another church.
• 

  moshe

  I tried going back to churches like the Southern Baptist church, but it didn't take. I soon began to see, from my viewpoint, flaws in church teachings. I guess when I had activated my critical thinking part of the brain during my research of the JW's, I couldn't turn it off. Churches don't like having a critical thinker in their midst anymore than JW's do in their KH.
• 

  happpyexjw

  So interesting to see others' experiences regarding church. On occassion I've visited other churches and have liked some better than others. What I have enjoyed most is visiting the cathedrals of Europe and such things as Evensong (vespers) which my husband and I enjoyed emmensely. I agree with another poster here who said there is something about being in that 1,000 year old church, a place that has been used to worship God for so long that is pretty awe-inspiring. The truth is though, I have trouble with some teachings like trinity (makes no sense to me), hellfire, etc so would be hesitant to actually join anything. I guess even after being out for some 18 years, I am still trying to sort out what my own beliefs are about God, faith and the Bible's place in my own life. At least now I can accept others as they are and not judge them (even JWs) based on what they believe. For me, if I learn nothing else in life, this is important to becoming a decent human being.
• 

  outofthebox

  Religion? Me? Nah!!!