Sure the WT deceived you with its claim to be God's channel but why for so many is there a subsequent loss of faith in God ? It puzzles me and makes me wonder why they were JW's in the first place.
Left the WT but why the loss of your faith in God?
by Luo bou to 65 Replies latest jw friends
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wobble
Yup I wonder that too,except I know that leaving has given me the freedom to question everything.
I think when we leave we go through a progression of changes,especially emotionally,that are unique to each,but similar in many,going from anger and trying to bring down the WTB$,to trying to wakeup those we know who are in,to looking at our own beliefs and where they come from and how valid they are.
I find I am tolerant now of all positions,and certainly think that an Atheistic world view is a valid intellectual position which I respect.
I still believe in God,in Jesus,and to a degree the Bible,but I read that in a different way now,realising its limitations.
Love
Wobble
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yknot
Here is a theory.....
WE are told that the JWs are chosen by Jesus and only they will survive Armageddon.
We are told that Christendom has pagan rituals and beliefs that draws God's wrath and stirs jealousy
A bro/sis then figures out the WTS is lying.
Now what do they believe?
Did the WTS lie about everything or just some things?
So being well trained in the concept of studying, a journey begins.
But the now EX-JW doesn't trust any other bible then the NWT.
So he/she begins to research Bibles and learns about early Xianity and debates of theology.
While expanding this search to better understand the debates they run across scholastic pieces discussing other older pagan beliefs that are similar to the bible's stories.
Now the Ex-JW is overwhelmed and starting to really feel that religion really is a racket and a snare.
From here some go to evolution for answers and others turn to an agnostic POV.
But that is just my guess.
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reniaa
Are the wt lying about YHWH being One God? I find that leaving the Jws and the alternatives are very dependant on why you left.
Certainly if it about people or leadership issues then it would be hard for them to join another religion unless it was very undemanding of them.
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yknot
Reniaa I don't think Arianism is the crux here (nor is it exclusive to the JWs).
And this thread isn't about why a person left the Organization but why they became agnostic or atheist.
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garybuss
Left the WT but why the loss of your faith in God?
I've wondered the same thing:-) Just because one dynamic claim turned out to be a scam, that's no reason to investigate any other superstitious assumptions. All other claims of a super (un) natural nature should just be accepted as credible without investigation.
PS: I have a good price on some oceanfront property in Arizona for sale. -
Bonnie_Clyde
I've wondered about this too. I remember we were one time given the suggestion that if we met an atheist at the door, we could ask them if they always felt that way. If we discerned that the householder lost faith in God because of their religion's teachings, then we could ask if they felt God was to blame for men on earth who misrepresented him.
Now that I've learned the truth about the "truth", I don't blame God. I blame myself for being so stupid as to hang in there for so many years even when there was clear evidence that something was wrong. Even so, sometimes I'm puzzled as why certain things are allowed to happen or why he hasn't given us any clear answers to some of our questions.
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Narkissos
It puzzles me and makes me wonder why they were JW's in the first place.
You may be onto something here. There are many reasons why people became JWs (including, but hardly limited to, being born in a JW family), and how those reasons are connected with the variety of trajectories out of JWs is an interesting topic.
Those who have mainly bought into the WT rhetoric of "truth vs. lie/error" are likely to dismiss religion as a whole for the same critical reasons why they once dismissed other religions. They just expand criticism further.
Those who have been more led to JWs by a combination of circumstances and personal religious inclination are likely to dig religion further through other traditions; they may eventually come to atheism but that probably won't be the same kind of atheism.
Finding out that the temple is empty may produce different reactions, depending on whether you like the smell of incense or not.
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JosephMalik
Lou,
For one thing they lose their faith in God because they do not know anything. They study and study and all they ever learned was a bunch of lies. Combine this with the power struggle to get ahead in that time intensive organization and their drive to keep doing more and more and this is what results. Mental exhaustion. loss of faith, depression. They cannot take any more. Suicide is also a symptom. They chuck it all to relieve this burden.
Joseph