Have your faith been made stronger or made weaker since coming here?

by jam 61 Replies latest jw experiences

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  IamPresence2012

  Although I was and ex when I discovered this site,,, It makes me realize I made the right decision to leave, Once you learn the truth,, you cannot unlearn it, I saw the light and am glad to be free from the organized religions.

  As far as having faith inthe bible,,, After alot of research I've learned being a history book it has lots of myths put there by men, It was not inspired as we are led to believe. Some items have been ommited and some added to serve an agenda so I cannot trust it entirely. But it has some truths about some events that happened many moons ago. The wicked one has infiltrated the bible and religions,, Go within yourself to find the truth, as Jesus said, once you find the truth, it will make you free. I am Free from the illusions on this world.
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  PenelopePaige

  IamPresence2012- I like that. Agreed. :)
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  ShadesofGrey

  My faith in Jesus Christ is stronger, but mostly not due to this forum. This forum tends to make my faith weaker if I let it. It can also be depressing. I have had to learn how to handle things.

  I dont think coming to this site has made any difference to my faith. I've learnt some things. It has made me think. Sometimes it's made me laugh. I've felt sad that some seem to have lost their faith.

  Yes. I completely agree.
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  ShadesofGrey

  Fernando, it is good to see you and I enjoy your posts. Thanks.

  Carmen
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  bioflex

  Coming to this forums is one of the best things i have witnessed, not only has my faith in Jesus/God/bible been made strong, i have also beefed up my ability to reason and discern.
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  bioflex

  @Phizzy: Just a side question that may need another thread, to believers like "Tec", why do you think God and or Jesus have granted you faith and not me ? I prayed long and hard for faith, on my knees, to Jesus and to God, ..... nothing.

  Most at times its because you want to discern the things of God with the knowledge of men.
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  00DAD

  Honestly, I don't know what the hell to believe any more ... it's very frustrating.

  The only thing that makes sense is to go back to what I believed BEFORE becoming a JW 26 years ago and see what, if anything, still makes sense.

  That's a lot of life to re-do over. I hate what the WTBTS has done to me and so many people I love.
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  Found Sheep

  Well when I came here I still had faith in Jehovah and Jesus and the Bible but just didn' tknow what to do with it. I knew JW's were off but didn't know how far off. Now I'm Agnostic but in some ways have more faith. Faith that there are good people on earth and if you work hard to be good, good comes back to you, not all the time like it should but enough that now I work hard to be good tword others.

  When people call themselves "Christian" I think a lot of the time they are saying "act Christian". Sure I try to act Christian but I think most of the stories in the Bible are just that, stories to explain the un-known.

  I do think this site made me think beyond the box. It was hard to swollow at first but now I'm at peace, for the most part, that there is no paradise.
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  LV101

  Fernando -- Appreciate your post and all those who profess their faith/spirituality. Sad the W/tower has the true gospel in it's possession when masses are hungering/thirsting and without hope in the world.

  It's always encouraging and inspiring to read faith-inspired posts by Christ's followers for me.

  LV101
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  Band on the Run

  Both. It depends son my mood. My mood determined my faith ever since I left the Witnesses. Part of me mi sses the certainty. I was on one path and I was going to diverge from the Witnesses whatever. This site has completely heightened my sense of just being enraged at the Wt. Fortunately, I never had a family shunning problem. I was certainly threatened by loss of loved ones. Reading the stories here reminds me of the fear I faced as more and more of the essential me had to remain hidden. They seemed to define the terrain and not me. I was not willing to risk disclosure and lose touch.

  The Bible discussions here confirm my present faith. I don't know the answers but I certainly have questions. Where I attended college, knowing the answer was deemed inferior to asking hard questions. I think law school increased my questions. My family remarks how much I changed. I am much more detail oriented. I can weep for the times I only saw what the Witnesses wanted me to see when such richness was available. I like a collegial approach to Bible study rather than someone preaching to me, knowing that they cannot know more than any human and less than most animals. Most of the discussions here are collegial. Some are not but that reminds me to be so grateful that I was freed.

  The certainty I miss may not be part of any adult experience. Thinkiing as a fourth-grader will not solve my faith problems. Certainty has its pleasant attributes. The Nazis were certain.

  I suppose this site hasn't done anything to my faith. It allows me to put my past in context. I survived a cult.