I have already stated specifically what sort of evidence would convince of the supernatural.
What has god got against evidence?
Are EXJW's predominantly atheist?
by sabastious 120 Replies latest jw friends
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Dagney
If you would have told me I'd end up with a belief in god, I would have told you were out of your mind. I prayed to "jah"fervently for several years after I left JW, and remained actively "christian", readin' my Bible every day, listening to xtian radio/TV. I was raised a traditional JW "in," scared of lying science, the world...you name it.
While reading the Bible, I felt all warm and fuzzy with the New Testament. Then I started reading the OT, and preceded to pretty much dislike god. The Genesis account, the Flood, Job/universal sovereignty and other accounts just made no sense whatsoever. I cannot see a loving god there anywhere. I read a book about bible writers and started investigating science, and I was done with god. It was weird, but I was done.
I find it interesting also how many exJW's have gone from "Jehovah is everything" to no god. From feeling Jah was helping in every aspect of our lives and completely ignoring 7 billion other lives. But truthfully, with most of the exJW's I know, and I know quite a few, that is by far the majority.
Sometimes I think it is JWs just have too much church in their lives and are burnt out. For me, it wasn't that. It was god didn't turn out to be the guy everybody said he was. And my life is no worse without him.
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00DAD
Hasn't Cedars done a survey on this?
Haven't read all the posts, but I do remember reading a comment on this topic when I first started posting here about a year ago. I'm paraphrasing:
JWs are great at making athiests. First they prove all other religions wrong, then they prove themselves wrong!
Technically, that would/should only sour a person on religion in general, not a belief in God per se. But, from my own informal survey, I have found that a large percentage of ex-JWs are definitely athiests.
00DAD
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sabastious
On this point we can all agree - hallelujah!
When faith is not dependant on evidence is when it ceases to be of any value. That's like having a bucket, but never putting anything in it.
-Sab
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sabastious
Do we come across as angry without knowing it? I think the reader's bias can cause them to see anything they want, so it's not really the atheist's problem if no anger was intended. Can an atheist get angry? Sure. So what?
Well, atheists tend to have a lot of religious information on hand in their mind after doing extensive theological research. When they get angry they can and will take out their frustration through a medium of believer-bashing. Essentially they have been collecting rocks for so long and they are not above throwing them at believers to make a point.
-Sab
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sabastious
Sometimes I think it is JWs just have too much church in their lives and are burnt out. For me, it wasn't that. It was god didn't turn out to be the guy everybody said he was. And my life is no worse without him.
Does this mean your faith in God is contingent on how many blessings he brings into your life?
-Sab
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sabastious
I have already stated specifically what sort of evidence would convince of the supernatural.
Since you have concluded that the supernatural doesn't exist, then how could there ever be evidence of it?
-Sab
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Chariklo
I think it means they're just human, Sab. They react against the system that so abused them.
They have no real experience of anything of God. Their concept of God is formed by the judgemental, vengeful Jehovah of the Watchtower's creation.
They have no knowledge of the holy, no experience of God's all-merciful love because they have never been allowed to learn about grace; in the Watchtower everything is twisted. They know nothing of devotion, or of true prayer. They just don't know, and that's why they argue. They are convinced they're right because they know the Watchtower is wrong. They've escaped that, but it's like jumping over a fence and finding yourself in a desert.
They argue in circles, and turn a deaf ear to any but their own, confirming to each other their defensive prejudices, especially when shut away in a private place together, where they can't be seen or heard. .
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NewChapter
Well, atheists tend to have a lot of religious information on hand in their mind after doing extensive theological research. When they get angry they can and will take out their frustration through a medium of believer-bashing. Essentially they have been collecting rocks for so long and they are not above throwing them at believers to make a point.
Okay, so they have a lot of information and have done a lot of research and are able to present an opposing argument. *shrug* You'll have that. It doesn't make it angry. Things can get frustrating, but any debate can be so. That is no reason to start an 'angry atheist' meme. There is passion on all sides---not that big a deal.
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NewChapter
They have no real experience of anything of God. Their concept of God is formed by the judgemental, vengeful Jehovah of the Watchtower's creation.
They have no knowledge of the holy, no experience of God's all-merciful love because they have never been allowed to learn about grace; in the Watchtower everything is twisted. They know nothing of devotion, or of true prayer. They just don't know, and that's why they argue. They are convinced they're right because they know the Watchtower is wrong. They've escaped that, but it's like jumping over a fence and finding yourself in a desert.
They argue in circles, and turn a deaf ear to any but their own.
That's not even close to my experience. There are a lot of atheists in the world---only a tiny percentage have ever been JW's.
We can only tell you that we do know true prayer, devotion, and faith. If you choose to not accept that, it's okay.