by punkofnice 33 Replies latest jw friends
If I had a quid for the amount of times I've been told that the reason I no longer see evidence for a god is because the watchtower(TM) damaged my trust in god.....................................I'd have at least a pony!*
Could there be any truth in this?
Have you been told similar for your choices in 'spirituality'?
What evidence for God do such people offer, that stands scrutiny ?
If that was me I'd need to disagree, my view of god came from the jw in the first place and I never did question whether they were correct or not. Now I am able to freely choose for myself I just dnt see the evidence. I would like to see evidence but I've yet to see it (or feel it)
Phizzy - They don't.
Just the usual anecdotes. Just the usual lovey dovey mushy stuff about how HE loves me yadda yadda. If he loves me he's got a warped way of showing it.
My least favourite is that god makes more sense than evolution. At which point I point out that there are more than those two choices. Oddly my point is lost.
My lease LEAST favourite is being shown a scripture which is supposed to make me see the light. Using the book to prove the book I mean.................
iCeltic - Agreed. Whether I was a JW or not I'm now using my critical thinking (that god apparently gave me), to evaluate my life the universe and everything.
I have never been 'told' that, but I sure do feel it. My experiences with the witnesses has left my spiritual life in tatters. Prior to attending my last meeting half a year ago I was reading my Bible daily without fail. I read Genesis to Revelation in under 2 months. I was regular pioneering and thinking to go where the need was greater. I felt I was developing a nice relationship with God. I felt half good most of the time.
Now I can not even contemplate stepping inside a kingdom Hall, I am unable to even touch the Bible.. I don't see how I could ever teach anyone these things again that I used to as I no longer believe it myself. I no longer believe in or respect them as a people as I used to. They quite disgust me in fact.
And yes.. I am currently unable to speak to God at the moment either.
So in answer to your question punkofnice yes the Watchtower and it's followers (especially it's leaders and elders) have all but wrecked any spiritual life I had entirely and my faith in God with it is also very severely dented as he has become so closely bound up with them. I need to separate the two which is far from easy.
I am sifting through the debris seeing what if anything is salvageable. My house of sand and twigs has collapsed entirely. I am having to learn to build everything from complete scratch. Thank you Watchtower.
Perhaps what has changed is your interpretation of the facts. As you point out regarding evolution there are many different ways to view things. Ways that imply the existence of a god and ways that don't.
@Punk:
My opinion is that seeing evidence for God has a lot to do with your personality. The way your brain works, in combination with the information available to it, decides what you believe about the world surrounding you. We who grew up in the org were subject to information control that made even pretty materialistic (in the philosophical way, not the greedy one) minds simply lack the option of "no God" even though we lacked any evidence or feeling of its existence. Once we - whatever the reason - broke through the information barrier and saw that "no God" actually is a perfectly viable option, that makes a lot more sense than the alternative, unless you're of a more supernaturally inclined persuasion.
What the JWs did to me, was to make me realize that no other religion made sense, so when I realized that they don't either, I was completely free from all organized religion.
Oculos - I feel your pain. I certainly enjoyed my time at the Baptist Church. It felt 'spiritual' if you will but I am now like you. I can't look at a bible. When I see scriptures recited I throw up a little in my mouth.
Having said that I wonder how folks that leave other cults feel?
GromitSK - Mayhap. I am trying my hardest not to let the old 'confirmation bias' grip me.
I actually do go to a cathedral service on occasion. Not because I believe but because I enjoy Evensong with a full choir and pipe organ.
I don't think I'm an athiest in the "usual" sense of the word, but when I appeared before God one night, on my knees and deep in fervent prayer, I'm sure I heard Him say, "How could I ever be accused of creating him?" Rather than feeling rejected and condemned, I was flooded with unanticipated joy. I am perhaps one of the few souls whose trip to athiesm was kick-started by a "god" who, despite my wearying supplications, declared he did not create me. Who am I to question "god"? If blame must be apportioned, at least I know where it shouldn't go; Don't blame the Watchtower, okay.
