It's Amazing!

by whathehadas 30 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  cameo-d

  Whattha: "But this is a big testimony to what the WTS does to people's concept of God. "

  WTS gets no credit for this. The reason people "become" atheist is because they really do examine the scriptures deeply and also outisde sources of commentary from scholars, and the study of history. It's just the more you know and the better your reasoning skills become, you begin to see things in a different light.

  I do believe we are created beings; I also believe our evolution has been manipulated and is still being done.

  Jesus said "If you know me you have known the father." The traits of Jesus are nothing at all like the OT god.

  Jesus also says we have NOT known his father.

  To me, that is clear indication that he is no relation to the OT god.
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  Atomahawk

  I'm of the opinion that religion and the belief in god/s was the easiest solution for mankind to answer the questions that has always haunted us. Where do we come from? What happens when we die? And the myriads of other questions related to the human condition. It's our nature to question and was totally unavoidable considering our uniqueness on the planet. The reason I believe many eventually leave their religions and even turn away from the belief in an almighty god/s after being fervent believers is simply a matter of lack of answers to even the simplest of questions. This is the one that did it for me, "Do's god exist?" One would think that if he/she/it actually exists and it was important to actually know this it would be known and unquestionable. Let's face facts it could have been easily hardwired into our brain. If your a man do ask yourself "am I a man?" If your a woman do you need to ask the question? Why do we need to question if god exists? If an almighty exists logic tells me that he/she/it would want this fact to be known, not debated. I won't delve into the other questions that mankind has pondered as we could spend multiple lifetimes discussing them.

  If god doesn't exist mankind has the moral obligation to shed itself of it's primeval believes if we are to expand and improve as a species.
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  Wasanelder Once

  The Society did so well at destroying organized religion in our eyes that we "Know" they don't have anything to offer. When we learn of the falsehood of the Organization, we have no where else to go. Couple with that an education and its near athiesm that's left. I know I have profound doubts. The Bible has become all that I defended it against. W.Once
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  doofdaddy

  As stated on other threads I believe that humans created gods because we were/are terrified of being alone in the Universe.

  Why?

  Because it puts a huge burden of responsibility on each of our shoulders. Without god, we are personally responsible for what happens on this planet.
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  flipper

  WHATHEHADAS- Good thread. I was a born in witness, got out almost 6 years ago at age 44 . I have felt more spiritual and more able to fully express myself to my fellow humans since exiting the witnesses than I ever did while in. Freedom of thought and speech is great . I feel that we as people can enjoy helping others because it makes for better relationships, helps us sleep with a good conscience at night, and feel good about ourselves and others. It always bothered me that the " hook " in Christianity and the JW cult was to reward people for being good with a cookie, or living forever in paradise. I wonder if all the witnesses would be decent and nice if their were NO reward ( which I believe ) ? I doubt it.

  I feel Christianity helps people not deal with the unkown of the future by GIVING them a future - even if it's just a guess. People need to know that because they are afraid . I rather enjoy NOT knowing the future and treasure every day of my life to make a positive difference somehow in this world. And treasure my wife and loved ones- because we never know when it can be taken away from us. Just my 2 cents
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  pseudoxristos

  Compared to most religions Witnesses are already practically Atheists. They've managed to rid themselves of several myths held by Christianity (Trinity, Hell, inmortal soul). To remain a Witness one must perform a balancing act. They must not continuing with the reasoning that lead them to discard these myths nor can they accept these myths again as valid.

  I'm not at all surprised that a high percentage of ex-JWs become Atheists.

  pseudo
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  TheOldHippie

  When telling people that all of what they have learned about the Bible / God / Jesus, they have learned thru the WBTS, and that they are the only source of knowledge - then when confidence in the WBTS teachings fail, it is understandable that confidence in the Bible / God / Jesus also fails. It ought to be pointed out to a stronger degree that the truths presented in the Bible stand on their own feet. Books issued in the early 1970s pointed out that governments would ban the WBTS and dissolve the companies, so that the JWs would be on their own, separated from the organizations, and then they had to survive for a while on their own. But when so much is invested in stating the only way one has learned about the Bible truths, has been thru the WBTS - can they survive isolated, on their own, without the organizational apparatus and structures functioning?
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  Heaven

  Knowing that you've been lied to most of your life about a lot of different things makes you very wary of anything that sounds too good to be true -- Caveat Emptor!. Why is the Bible written by all men? This makes me very suspicious. This is where my head is at:

  1 Thessalonians 5:21 "Prove all things; hold fast to that which is good" --> OK... let's go to the crux, to the very foundation and basis for all of this... Prove that God exists.

  No one has yet to do this for me. You can give me your opinions, your beliefs, your hopes, your ravings.... but there is no proof. So you can't even do what the Bible tells you to do... how messed up is that?!
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  carla

  I had two seperate ministers at completely different times tell me they believed the jw's & Mormons produce more athiests than anybody in the world.

  There are many ex jw's who still believe in God and have become Christians. I think all jw's have been spiritually abused so I can understand their caution, reluctance, and sometimes dislike for all things 'religious'. Some believe but cannot or willnot submit themselves to overreaching men/women who think they can control someones spirituality or relationship with their Creator.
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  designs

  Whether you believe in a Supreme Being or not how do you want to leave your mark on history and what things are important for you to accomplish in your lifetime.