Why did you leave and did you still hold on to some beliefs for a while?

by happpyexjw 26 Replies latest jw friends

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  suchafool

  I stopped because I couldn't understand how God was gonna kill everyone that was not a JW. I prayed for a long long long time about that. Asking God why would he do that when there are people from all religions that truly live there lives according to the bible and believe in his son, it just didn't fit well with me. I would cry over this. My husband was a non-believer and I had an elder tell all of us at bs that those who had non-believing mates would have to get used to the fact that they weren't gonna make it. I hated that. So from that to questioning other things, I started going online and reading everything. I read Cof C and that was mind blowing. It is was the main thing to help me see that the watchtower was just another religion. Really looking into who Russell was and Rutherford was, I would ask myself if I had lived back then would I really have believed these men, don't think so , I would have thought crazy, weirdo people.

  I still believe in God and his Son, the resurrection, I can't understand the Trinity, hellfire, etc. But I still try to read the bible on my own and that has been fun. No one telling me what I should believe. I do believe that there is no "true" religion on earth today and I can't bring myself to be part of any other religion out there. So some things I still believe that was taught from them but as a whole no.
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  kanootcha

  I realised JW beliefs were rubbish after reading the bible through a couple of times in quick succession. (All of their "proof" scriptures are taken wildly out of context and are thus biblically unsustainable)

  Then I read the bible a couple of times more and realized the bible was rubbish too. (Internal contradictions, "books" written by multiple writers and compiled thousands of years after the fact in some cases, uncorroborated self-fulfilling internal prophecies also taken out of context, no evidence of most of the happenings in secular recorded history, the list just grows and grows)

  Then I looked into non-christian religions and found an even more confused mass of myth, superstition and tradition. (Certainly no better than 'bible' based religions)

  Then I was an agnostic for a long time. (not really bothering to look into anything, as I thought there wasn't really enough evidence to decide)

  Then I looked at the history written in the stars, the rocks and fossils...and i told myself..."geez, you could have saved a lot of time if you'd just looked here first".

  If there is a god it's gone to GREAT pains to hide the proof that it ever existed or created ANYTHING. I'm over playing metaphysical hide and seek with a mythological being invented by scared early homo sapiens.
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  iknowall558

  My curiosity was aroused when I read an article in an Awake mag. , encouraging the reader to 'exdamine the roots of their religion'. I remember commenting to my husband that as a JW I had never done that. Started with the Proclaimers book ,seeing as this is the official take on the orgs. history and was stuck on page630 onwards where the list of FALSE DATES are mentioned along with their 'excuses' about the bros. being 'over zealous' at the time and full of'good intentions' etc etc. I knew what Deut 18 said concerning False Prophets' and I couldn't get it out of my head. I read that scripture every day, two or three times a day for the next few weeks. I decided that if the WTBTS had gone against Scripture and made excuses for it , but still claimed to be the org. God was using then I had to get out. I then got my hands on every book I could to find out everything else I could find out about them and I was Shocked about how far away from the True religion they actually were.

  I D'ad 6months ago, and have found it difficult to accept who JESUS really is, to accept the concept of the Trinity etc. But I have accepted that the org. and its teachings are littered with lies. I have attended an ALPHA course but was too fresh out of org, to accept what I was being taught. There was a lot of resistance on my part because my mind wasn't entirely free yet. I am now on my 2nd ALPHA course ,mainly cos I'm accompanying my mum who came out of org a few months ago, but this time my mind is more receptive to what I'm hearing and what I'm being shown in the Bible. I have been reading the Bible with fresh eyes and without the filter of the FDS and have found a big difference in how Jesus is portrayed. Things wont happen overnight, but I would advise you to keep praying and to keep reading your Bible and things WILL be revealed to you. YOU WILL KNOW THE TRUTH...and it Will set you free.
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  ataloa

  I left because of an ongoing situation in our hall, that had to be investigated over a period of years by the c.o, and finally wound up going all the way to bethel for the resolution. I knew, with what they decided, they were not interested in the Bible and doing things God's way. It is my belief they even went against their own publications to serve their own purposes. I knew people were not cared about. I was devastated to find I had been hoodwinked all those years.

  The beliefs I still hold are the ones I went in with: Jehovah is God; Jesus is his son (if the Bible is true). When you die, you're really dead, not being kept alive forever in torment. I'm a little more agnostic than I used to be.

  I also believe that mankind will always live on the earth. I suppose that's the one belief I learned from the witnesses and still retain.
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  drew sagan

  I think the most important thing I gave up after leaving the JWs was the belief that the Bible somehow could "interpret and speak for itself". Once I passed on that principle (which is based on idealism more than reality) I eventually had a real change of mind in regards to how I viewd the Bible and God.

  I eventually embrace modern biblical textual criticism, it makes the most sense to me. This isn't to say that I don't see any value in religious belief and tradition (because I do), it's just that my opinions have changed on why I think it's valuable.
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  WTWizard

  Once they told me to just meet men, it occurred that Jehovah had no intention of my ever meeting the opposite sex, and from that point on, nothing Jehovah said mattered. At that point, all I wanted was to waste the hounders' time and energy and hope that resulted in unresolved problems elsewhere in the congregation, and in the Unholy Spirit being hindered as much as possible.

  As for beliefs, if I believe God wants something out of me (due to His opposing me meeting the opposite sex to this day), I will not do it. I feel He wants me in some kind of sequestered religious service or missionary work for some religion--and so I look at atheist sites and I have read the book The God Virus for more atheist and Satanist viewpoints. And for things like Christmas, I do it (only now I intentionally use it to worship the sun). And of course, I have the Ouija board.
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  happpyexjw

  It is striking to me how varied the places where we all have landed are. From atheism, agnostism, satanism, mainstream Christian groups, eastern religions and just about everything in between has been mentioned here. Many are satisfied, but some of us are still searching and others are just content to simply be where they are and enjoy the freedom from such a controlling religion. Thank you for sharing. This is very interesting stuff!