Are EXJW's predominantly atheist?

by sabastious 120 Replies latest jw friends

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  Chariklo

  First I've heard of that, Cofty. I don't know much about Mormons, nor have I ever met anyone who is one.

  My background is more within the medieval mystics, their writings and posetry.

  For example Julian of Norwich, The Cloud of Unknowing, etc
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  cofty

  Chariklo - Mormons teach that acceptance of the truth of the Book of Mormon is not to be established by researching the evidence but by personal confirmation by the holy spirit - they talk about a "burning in the bosom".

  This is exactly the same trick that is used by christian mystics to body-swerve inconvenient evidence and put feelings before facts.
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  Dagney

  But what you said seemed like a deciding factor for you was that your life wasn't any better off when you gave up God which affirmed your nonbelief.

  No. The deciding factor for me was specifically the issues with the Bible writing, the OT god and stories being, just well stories, and not being able to reconcile suffering humanity with Jehovah answering only JW's prayers, counting the hairs on everybody's head and knowing when a bird falls. That suffering humanity always bothered me, even when I was a witness. It just so happens life has been significantly better without god.

  I just don't have faith in god. It is all about truth. It has nothing to do with rewards.

  Frankly, my argument with JW's over the years is if god loves the world soooooooooooooooooo much, then why are his instructions so vague and no two believers in 100% agreement in anything. It is clear to me there is no such god in that scenario.
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  vangogh

  although I was never baptised into the WBTS , I became a Christian by reading the bible (not the NWT, I used the NWT interlinear only for the Greek). When I read what the Bible actually had to say and about Jesus, everything fell into place from Genesis to Revelation. I had for years left the world of 'Christianity' because all I had known about it was what I had learned from the WBTS so I was really put off anything to do with religion. One day, I watched a programme made by the BBC, called 'The Story of Jesus'. Watching the programme just made me pick up a Bible and I started to read John and Romans, I wondered if I had been reading the same bible. I checked what I had read with the Greek of the NWT interlinear and saw how that everytime there had been anything written about the Diety of Jesus, the NWT had changed it. I know that The WBTS claim that the true meaning of the Bible is locked and only the WBTS can unlock it but I asked myself, who did God, through the inspired writers, write the Bible for and actually when we think about it, God wrote it for each and everyone of us, ourselves,God wanted us to be able to understand His message to us, why would he make its message so hard to understand that he would have to make an Earthly billion dollar organisation to decipher it for us. We could be alone on a desert island or in the deepest jungle and the Bible message would still apply to us just the same because God wrote for us, each and every one of us. Thats my own reason why I became a Christian. Jesus told us all that the only way to The Father is through Him , I dont think what Jesus said could be clearer.
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  Satanus

  Sab, i agree w you description of the jws in your second post. They see themselves as science base, but it's psydeo science. The spiritual and spirituality makes them get queasy.

  S

  Ps, i didn't read all the other posts after your second one, so sorry to anyone if they already stated the above.
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  Vidiot

  NewChapter - "...it is my dry run for my Halloween costume, so I am a bit dolled up. When you get to the other board, I've posted a lot of the pics."

  Lookin' forward to it, doll(ed-up)face.
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  snare&racket

  I think modern atheist growth is more about easy access to information and education that anything....
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  NewChapter

  I think that's a big part of it, Snare. It's also our willingness to speak out and let others know it is okay to question this most off-limits question
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  NewChapter

  I remember when Q described in a lot of detail how he would tell others to listen quietly to themselves and how the spirit was directing them. It directed many of them to the Book of Mormon---and if any think that was the wrong conclusion---then it could be argued that the quiet inner voice that they attribute to holy spirit is also leading them wrong.
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  Phizzy

  My quiet inner voice led me to.......... Beer !

  mmmmmBeer !