by Scott77 23 Replies latest jw experiences
I think its good for people to make an effort to talk to other people that are having very similar life experiences
there is a commonality in all of us no matter who or where we are in this world.
Answers to are questions are never found unless pursued with a honest and open mind.
Good to see the new folks walking in and saying.... Hi
Welcome Scott77. Share as you are comfortable.
Welcome to the board
Thanks Mouthy. Hmmm.., just curious, why your nickname Mouthy? I thought it was kind of funny. Please, are you talkative or like talking a lot?
Peace,
Scott77
WELCOME!!!!
Belated Big Welcome Scott!
The good thing about this site is that nobody presses you to say or do anything,apart from stick to the very liberal rules,enforced by Uncle Simon and others in a very sensible way which serves to keep this place a great place to be.
It is easy to keep a great degree of anonymity so as just to fade from the Borg as many on here are doing,if possible though it is good to give the minimum of info. so we know the kind of guy you are,as you have done,i.e College education etc,but some on here are a little too reticent and it makes commenting on their threads less easy. As and when, perhaps all Newbies could give more biographical info,and vague location etc.
Again HUGE welcome to you and all newcomers,this place rocks!
Love
Wobble
Thanks Mouthy. Hmmm.., just curious, why your nickname Mouthy? I thought it was kind of funny. Please, are you talkative or like talking a lot?
Yep!!! I talk alot!!!! So thought it describs me to a tee. http://exjw.weebly.com/
As you can see LOL
Great to have you aboard
Grace Gough<<< real name
lisa
Many thanks for the welcoming messages, the same with you wobble. Ya,I agree its very important "keep a great degree of anonymity so as just to fade from the Borg". Just to let ya know, I am a liberal dude, kind of which explain why it was so easy to get feed up during my time with congregations of the WTS. mouthy, I will check the details of the site. Thanks for the link. Iam glad users on this site are kind of international family some from as far as England, Australia and nearby in Canada. I think that is amazing.
Scott77
I'm largely self educated, but found that the more educated you are, the less you can swallow some WTS teachings and mindset. That's because higher education, unlike public school education, encourages critical thinking, thinking for yourself. So, of course it's the enemy of authoritarian, micro managing religions.
I'm sure that's why they're not big on higher education, although they've had to soften that somewhat as they need professional people for some things as much as anyone. What a quandary!
At one point, I really thought WTS theology would evolve into something more rational and more "liberal"...not in the political sense, but in the sense of doctrinal flexibility. I had hoped they would eventually outgrow and discard some of their more unsupportable and radical beliefs. I'm surprised they even accepted the new "generation" teaching as it undermines the whole 1914 thing, but apparently they had no choice, as the old interpretation was just ridiculously unfeasible with the passage of time.
But, when it tightened up even more and got even more authoritarian in the 90s, I got less and less convinced. I have this feeling that in the next few decades it will go the way of the dodo...which would be a fitting symbol for the incomprehensible doctrine they've tried to impose on people for so long.
Unless they change.
But religion in general is undergoing a gradual shift, an evolution. It has to, for it has outgrown one of it's long time social functions, that of providing moral and social control. We have other things that do that now in society, such as psychology or humanistic philosophies and people finding commonality of thought and practice through things other than religious belief, such as internet forums that address a whole variety of interests.
Someone once said that psychologist are the secular "priests" of our time. We've replaced outmoded moral codes and religions with a human understanding of the human psyche that seems to be more workable than religious codes. If religion wants to survive, it will adapt and become largely counseling/charitable/social assistance oriented without the burden of unsupportable doctrines and myth. Don't get me wrong, myth is useful. But it tells me more about the person who believes it than about what they believe.
But, I think spirituality will always be part of being human, it's been around as long as there have been modern humans. The more personal and mystical experiences and expressions will remain, because they've always been so, but religion as we currently understand it will probably not be around forever. Look how much religion has changed in just the last 200 years.
