....And what if it IS the truth???? (page 10)

undercover

....And what if it IS the truth????

If WHAT is the truth?

Gonna hafta be a little more specific, especially when it comes to JW doctrine. Do you mean the 'truth' of the 30s? or the 60s? or the 80s? or now?

undercover, You left out the "Truth" of the crucial 1918/19 period when Jesus inspected all world religions and found them all lacking; all but the Bible Students that is. And so he chose THEM .... (wait for it) .... even though JWs now don't believe or teach practically ANYTHING that CT Russell taught at the time!

Go figure!

Cadellin

Welcome, Growinggirl and Notreadytorun:

Great names, btw. Mr. Flipper just spoke words of wisdom. GG, when I was going through the same mental anquish that you are currently experiencing, I asked myself, "If the WT really is the truth, then what else would also have to be true?" IOO, what does it mean in the larger framework for the JWs to have the only "truth"?

Well, for one it means that virtually every avenue of known scientific knowledge is wrong. This includes the vast array of information gleaned from DNA, geology and fossils regarding the history of life on earth, the basic laws of physics governing radiometric decay, the astronomy revealing irregularities in the earth's orbit (causing the known pattern of ice ages), the analyses of ice core samples calibrated to other historical physical data such as volcanic eruptions. I could go on but I won't--Leolaia recently reposted a fantastic listing of science that would have be wrong if the literal flood were true and you should check that out.

So if all this science is flat-out, dead wrong, what does that mean? It means, for one, that we can't "know" anything based on our senses. We can't trust any particular picture of the physical reality governing the conditions of our existence--how life on this planet works--based on any tangible, quantifiable data, regardless of how much independent lines of evidence converge or how consistent such "laws" are over time. (Actually, it would mean that such "laws" ARENT consistent--the very same laws that the WT points to as evidence of a designer. IOO, if the WT's view of life is right, then all those supposedly consistent laws aren't consistent at all). "Knowledge" can't come through our physical senses. It's just not accurate. So where does that leave us?

Basically, it leaves us with no way of verifying reality. The WT claims that w/o the "Truth," we have no purpose in life, that we're twisting aimlessly in the wind. Well, w/o any way of verifying reality--even verifying the reality of Biblical prophecies, which necessarily means relying on some physical data or another--we're left twisting in an epistemological wind, at the mercy of anyone who says, "Believe me--I'm telling you the truth," whether that happens to be the WT or another Jim Jones.

Oh, this was way longer than I intended, but I hope it makes sense. Think about it. I sure have.

Notreadytorun

woah, my brain just exploded Cadellin, but very interesting points you make

thanks for the welcome Flipper

HELLO GROWING GIRL< how r u sis?? you need to chat?? PM me love,

AK - Jeff

AK Jeff - do you believe you that having a faith and enjoying life are mutually exclusive?

Nope. But happiness arrived at under delusion ends up wasting the life that it makes happy. Few people would insist that those delusional souls who fill the mental wards cannot possess happiness - many of them seem to exude happiness - but at what price?

Perhaps a more pertinent question to the answer is the inverse of yours: Do you believe you that having NO faith and enjoying life are mutually exclusive?

I cannot answer for all - but my experience has been that non-believers are at least as happy as believers, most of them much happier. Having a grasp on reality seems important for many of us in seeking this human emotion called happiness. For others, delusion brings a similar feeling.

Jeff

Phizzy

I did not experience happiness in a full way until I got rid of my delusional beliefs and faith. I began then to enjoy life as never before.

I had many years in the WT, so am able to compare fairly.

jookbeard

Girl20

have you actually sat down and read any of the excellent responses posted on this thread, or are you going to start another stupid thread and run away from that as well?

tec

Chalam said it already, but it bears repeating.

Truth is not an 'it'.

Truth is a One. Someone. Christ is that someone. You need only look to Him to know truth.

I agree with those who say that this question that you asked does linger on for a while. 'what if its the truth, what if I'm wrong, am I making a mistake?' Give yourself time to breathe.

Peace,

tammy

Witness My Fury

Already happened Jookbeard...

SweetBabyCheezits

do you believe you that having a faith and enjoying life are mutually exclusive?

"The fact that a believer is happier than a skeptic is no more to the point than the fact that a drunken man is happier than a sober one." -George Bernard Shaw

....And what if it IS the truth????