by braincleaned 52 Replies latest jw experiences
I don`t fathom people who go from jehovahs witnesses to other beleifs or other religions ,but thats just me . My parents never attended church ,but they sent us kids to sunday school , I stopped at about 12 years of age ,though I always had a curiosity about the bible , which eventually led me to becoming a JW at 19 years of age . After 33 years of being a full fledged member , I now consider myself a full fledged atheist .
smiddy
Is there anyone out there that thinks it makes sense (other than the need to fill the void with the same delusion?)
My problem was with the teachings of the Witnesses it was never with God.
When I was young we had some bad supernatural experiences for a while it probably helps.
Although I disagreed with the Trinity I understand it better now.
Not all who "find Jesus" or claim he found them, after leaving the WT, stick in that rut, some move on and become Agnostic/Atheist once they really examine the claims for the bible and/or the claims for jesus. I know of a number of people like that.
My own journey was along the lines of:
1)realised the WT was full of false doctrine. So I left.
2) got on my knees and prayed to Jesus. Zilch.
3) examined the Bible. Found it simply to be the work of men.
4) examined the many intellectual arguments for God. Found those arguments to be full of holes.
5) searched for evidence of a God or even a Creator, have found no satisfactory evidence.
I do not worry about people who wish to stay in a deluded state and are very happy with their church and/or their beliefs, if they are happy then fine. I could never be happy if what I was supporting was unprovable nonsense, but some people are, so be it.
The only time I get annoyed with believers is when they insist I should share in their delusion, no thanks ! Not for me.
I could never go back to christian denominations, but I might one day become a hindu. I like that it's peaceful, and teaches kindness to animals, and the gods look cool like pokemons. Plus, I don't think they proselytize.
The big wrench for me was realizing there's no everlasting life. I think I bought into it for maybe about 2 years, then reality set in. I just don't see why I should devote 2 hours a week to go to church and praise something that isn't there. Now I just worship me. I am feckin awesome.
It takes courage . . . you must cross a void where you believe nothing.
Sizemik - Bingo! I've been in that void for years. Having been duped so thoroughly I am extremely hesitant to ascribe to any belief system that claims to have "the truth," least of all organized religion.
http://scottleblog.wordpress.com
The Odd Life of Jehovah's Witnesses
I am right there with you, Braincleaned. I don't get it.
BRCI formed from those leaving back in Ray Franz' day. (Go to brci.org if you must)
I gave them a chance when they had their annual conference. I found it sort of like "We are very very Christian and besides Jesus, our purpose in life is to say that Jehovah's Witnesses are wrong."
Ray, although I didn't know him personally, seemed to retain his Christianity very very much. Many of the "pioneers" of the ex-JW establishment movement are Christians. I don't know who the majority is- best guess is that the majority are agnostics or believers that don't get involved with God anymore.
I think it's a beautiful thing that we can all go our separate ways and pretty much get along. Don't be fooled by debate threads. That's a big part of what this forum is about. Even I have broken bread with Shelby and put aside our differences in person. I would be glad to do the same with just about any believers on this board.
LOL! jam! Well said! misanthropic , try scientific based evidence and atheism. It's freeing, elegant, fun, logic, reasonable, and you don't have to wear a funny hat or have a secret handshake! True sizemik. true. My kinda person smiddy! Reasonable in my view Phizzy.
oldlightnewshite , your avatar made me piss my pants laughing. Bold!
cobaltcupcake , I started to be deeply happy when I decided to believe in logic, evidence, and reason. All the rest is just wishful thinking in my view.
OnTheWayOut - way to go! I have a lot of respect for Ray, as he never intended to leave Jehovah, just the way the organization was being corrupted. I personally don't follow his belief, but I certainly understand what he went thru. I love his book; no hate, no revenge, just sadness.I firmly believe we have evolved to a consciousness that needed answers that catered to our denial of mortality, while fully ignorant of the universe around us - hence, invention of gods and religion. I think it is time to be passed that. Science has proven the Bible wrong on so many scientific claims, and has offered us much understanding of our human journey; even on the universe around us. We still are at the beginning of understanding, but we have done much progress in the last 150 years, let alone 2,000 years. I see no reason to hang on to old superstitions. Like Bertrand Russell said, "Well, there can’t be a practical reason for believing what isn’t true. That’s quite... at least, I rule it out as impossible. Either the thing is true, or it isn’t. If it is true, you should believe it, and if it isn’t, you shouldn’t. And if you can’t find out whether it’s true or whether it isn’t, you should suspend judgment. But you can’t... it seems to me a fundamental dishonesty and a fundamental treachery to intellectual integrity to hold a belief because you think it’s useful, and not because you think it’s true."
While I do not agree anymore with the god the watchtower promotes, I have yet to disavow belief in a creator. I do not think evolution is logical, I mean how can we be the best that evolution has to offer (survival of the fittest) when we are destroying our own environment and killing off other species left and right.
Its almost as if we as a species do not fit in to the rest of the animal kingdom. What purpose do we serve? If we all vanished every single species on earth would continue and prosper. As an example we are destroying rain forrests, which in turn threatens other animal species. If we were gone, no problem. Why would evolution allow such a destructive and unnecessary species to survive and thrive? Why?
Anyway I am going off subject. Jesus is at best a good historical figure, god almighty, perhaps but I need to be convinced.
I understand XBEHERE. Myself, for over 40 years, evolution made no sense to me. However, in time I realized that all my Darwinian culture was fed by the WTS. In other words, when I seriously read what "natural selection" was really about, I was floored! I went deeper in Darwin's real words, read all of Richard Dawkins' thrilling books on the subject, and also watched hours and hours of YouTube gems that made such a logical case for it, with strong logic, reason, and more importantly; hard evidence.The sheer elegance and beauty of Natural Selection is jaw-dropping. But I admit, it takes some homework, to open one's mind that has been glued shut by mind control.Here are some precious videos that will start you off on the CORRECT presentation of the theory of Evolution. I hope that like for me, a whole new world will thrill you! Basic evolution - http://youtu.be/vss1VKN2rf8The false problem of Irreducible Complexity - http://youtu.be/W96AJ0ChboUThe REAL reason the WTS accepts the Earth is 4,5 billion years old, but refuse to admit that man is older than 6,000 years:http://youtu.be/5Dsz9erURvoI'm sure this will wet your intellectual appetite.There is a valid reason why the overwhelming scientific community is atheist. Enjoy!
Hey braincleaned!
If you are saying that going from unbelief to unbelief is much easier than transitioning to belief I have to agree.
