Complete reversal: from Witness to atheist

by Ephanyminitas 47 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  rhett

  I would be one of those people who went from JW to very strong agnostic. What I mean by that is I lean much more toward the atheist but I do remain open to the possibility of some sort of more powerful being. Actually, I can't really see anything that an all powerful god creature would be needed for that can't eventualy be answered by science but hey, you never know.
  As for the people who use the complexity of the universe as proof that it was created by some super power, how did that super power come about? If this supreme being is so powerful and wise that it could create such complexity then it must have a great story of how it came about.

  Back down the bullies to the back of the bus
  Its time for them to be scared of us
• 

  pseudoxristos

  count me as well,

  Nice to see others have come to the same conclusions, without a support group and the manipulation required of other belief systems.
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  Perry

  It's flip of the coin for me. What scares me about atheism, is its political implications.

  Where it seems some have suspended judgement, I have moved on to a hypothesis in which to measure my existence. I feel that I can just as logically choose a consious infinity over an unconscious infinity since neither one is demonstratable. For me, it is far more useful as a tool for human development and quality of life to have an exterior model as opposed to a subjective context to develop and arrange meaning through my experiences in life.

  However, experiential meaning alone cannot capture the true genius of the human spirit and its magical-like ability to create where nothing should be creatable.

  Perhaps man has created God. If so, man has wisely seen fit to place the sacred symbolic objects of life outside of himself for safekeeping.

  Our symbolic vehicles for creating meaning like family, love, honesty, altruism, (the man on 9/11 who said, "let's roll")selfless bonding in friendship, are all free from distortion and manipulation if the construct for its source is outside of us and lives within God...a conscious infinity.

  A big part of my personal victory over the WBTS was to not let them destroy or taint my free will. It would have been easy to become cynical and distrustful of any unknown and run toward exetentialism as a hideout from the ideology evangelists and manipulators.

  After several years of simply withholding judgement, I realized any thought construct will be used as marketing for larger world views. At some point it was time to make a decision and come to some conclusion and worldview for myself. I chose Christianity. Not in a typical religious sense, but more from a Skinnerian model.

  I often question if I've done this out of rebellion to the shackles of the Tower. I honestly don't believe that I have, but rather truly believe the teachings of Christ are ideas that, while never achievable in a perfect sense, work well with our goal seeking mental organizational nature to satisfy our need to create, transform, and experience meaningful psychological anchors.

  I do not trust these processes in the hands of any human or group of humans and feel they are best preserved in the nature of God regardless if real or imagined.
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  patio34

  Hi Perry,

  Enjoyed your post. You said, in part:

  I do not trust these processes in the hands of any human or group of humans and feel they are best preserved in the nature of God regardless if real or imagined.

  This says to me that humans would be in the hands of religionists if there is no god. There are a great many historical reason to be wary of that, IMO.

  Pat
• 

  gumby

  Quote:.... All evidence is subjective. You have to want to believe in God in order do so, and that throws objectivity straight out of the window! That's all that faith is: looking at that which cannot be true, or at that of which there is no evidence, and convincing yourself of it.

  You have to WANT to believe in ANYTHING you believe in don't you?
  Don't you have to WANT to believe in Atheism to believe in it?

  Faith in a creator or the bible SHOULD be based NOT on blind faith but rather, faith based on factual evidence and an assumed conclusion on what you have understood.

  Many who are believers are so because its "feels good" or "seems right", but if they had to defend the truthfulness of WHY they believed they would be hurting for answers......this is true!

  You said "faith is looking at which cannot be true".......say what dude!
  I have faith the sun WILL RISE tomarrow.......can this not be true the sun will rise tomarrow?

  You said "looking at faith in which their is NO EVIDENCE"
  NO EVIDENCE!!!!!!!
  Creation is no evidence? Archeology and the bible is no evidence? Personal testimonies of God working in peoples lives is no evidence?

  There is PLENTY of evidence for believer to put their faith in a God who loves us and will not forsake those who know and love him.
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  LucidSky

  I am borderline Christian at the moment, but am leaning more and more toward agnosticism. I simply can't explain how a perfectly just, wise, and loving God has created a world that for billions of years has fed on conscious suffering and death (right next to life and pleasure, of course). I also feel that evolution does indeed account for simple form changes, but it lacks a certain explanatory power when it comes to powerful innovation and complexity. It all seems too convenient that the universe succeeded in bringing us into existence. I have recently thought more about pantheism ( http://www.pantheism.net) as a solution to both dilemmas.
• 

  Elsewhere

  gumby,

  The belief that every piece of matter in the universe is attracted to every other piece of matter is a hard one to swallow for some people... but there it is every morning, my bathroom scale confirming it again and again.

  There are also people who believe that the earth is being visited by extraterrestrial intelligence - yet there are no crop circles on the Whitehouse lawn.

  When it comes to the supernatural, I prefer to call myself a non-believer.

  "As every one knows, there are mistakes in the Bible" - The Watchtower, April 15, 1928, p. 126
  Believe in yourself, not mythology.
  <x ><
• 

  saltiest

  I guess I'm leaning more towards Agnostic than Atheist. With everything that has happened in my life I find it very difficult to believe there is a god of any sort. An all-surrounding power...maybe. I've checked into different ideas over the past seven years since I left but nothing seems to grab me as reality yet.
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  SEAKEN2001

  I don't think I fit any particular classification, but I am closer to athiest than I am to theist. I call myself a Christian, not because I believe the Christian doctrines taught by the theologians, but because I was raised in a Christian community and was indoctrinated according to what is commonly called "Christian". Much like a Jew who claims his Jewish heritage but is not a religious person and does not believe the Jewish theology.

  In a religious sense I am probably more a Deist or Agnostic. I do not worship a God nor do I feel it necessary to have "faith" or "believe" in any doctrine or tenets. However, I do sense a spiritual nature in man and there are phenomenons that are outside of our purely fleshly experiences. I don't try to interpret the spiritual as anything more than part of the human condition. And I appreciate the various philosphies that have helped shape our collective cultures and continues to shape them. I certainly don't think Jesus was anything more than a beloved man who was interpretted by others as more than he was. I think other philosophers and teachers throughout history have been treated similarly and that it is inappropriate to assign any special honor to any of these people. But I don't find it objectionable to honor certain ideas and thoughts as beneficial for societal good, from any source. I enjoy many of the Eastern philosophies and those of Animism. I also enjoy many of the modern secular philosophies. What I find hard to swallow is the propensity in the human race to set up as gods people who happen to come up with good ideas and share those ideas with others.

  Most Christians would not want to associate with me as a "brother" and will group me squarely in with you "wicked" athiests. But this whole idea of being athiest or theist or Christian or non-Christian is often seen as a religious issue. I do not see it that way. I am not a religious person but I am a spritual man and I believe in the progress and evolution of the human condition. That makes me damn hard to classify.

  Sean
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  Mulan

  Ditto, what my cousin, Sean says. It causes some problems at home, since my husband is very devout, and reliant on God, whoever that is, but I don't make waves. I know it bothers him, that I doubt, but he gives me that freedom too...........but still it gives him cause for concern.

  Marilyn (aka Mulan)
  "No one can take advantage of you, without your permission." Ann Landers