by ballistic 37 Replies latest jw friends
Its made me a skeptic for sure. I trust noone totally. No matter how proven or real something seems I feel I could be being blinded. ANYTHING is possible to me. ANYONE can be lying to me or decieving me about anything they say or do. Anyone I think is my friend can turn their back on me at any second. Anything that I trust in my life can be gone in an instant. So I dont trust much.
I hope it IS just a phase.
flower
This is my first post, I hope it makes sense.
The view that I had as a JW, and the view that I think is rather prevalent in the organization, is that the JW's are God's Organization and therefore Organization = God. After realizing that organization is false, I struggled with whether God was false. As someone said in an earlier post, we all go through stages and I have past the "there is no God" stage. Now I believe in God, I am just more careful about how quickly I discount the way that others believe in God. For instance, if I was born in India I would be taught to reject Christianity just as quickly as I was taught to reject Hinduism because I was born here. So, if we all have to be Christian to be acceptable to God, what about all those people in India whose parents taught them to reject Christianity? I find it hard to believe that God just writes them off. I also wonder, if Christianity is the only way, why did God pick the most selfish, me-first, materialistic society in the world to be the vehicle for the one true religious faith? That is the type of questions that I struggle with in the stage that I am currently in. I am certain, however, that God will help all of us to work through all of these stages in our search for the real "Truth."
Spot on TheRedPill, welcome aboard!
I can't begin to think of all the numerous erroneous decisions I have made – there’s just too many – I’ll have to have a good think and come back tomorrow!
Red - can I call you red? Firstly welcome to... well I was going to say to the matrix.
I wasn't saying I am totally Godless. I still feel there is a place in my life for philosophy, science and spirituality while having no definate opinion, i.e. while having no definate opinion as I posted above.
TheRedPill - Welcome, and I really enjoyed your first post! I think you are right on the money!
I won't beleive anything without proof anymore, and the few things I do beleive that can't be proved in a court of law, like love and devotion, I won't dogmatically shove down people's throats.
Hello Ballistic and everyone
Yes I too, am one that was raised all my life inside the org along with my husband. And that was the same path we were raising our three sons to believe...until 4 years ago when through the grace of Jah he "opened" our eyes, spiritual eyes and showed us through questionings and reading and NOT just trusting that the society should interpret so-called truth.
Yes, we too, were misled along with MANY others here for a very long time. Over 30 years. But it was MAN that we were trusting (nobles) and the organization we were giving our loyalty too. But in our hearts and our lord knew this, we TRULY loved Jehovah and Christ purely.
The "REAL TRUTH" has NEVER changed. It was US that changed it for a time. Calling it the WTBS. But the real truth remains the same and it is to that that we now give our true loyalty to.
Jesus calls HIMSELF "the Truth" JOHN14:6 and that we must come to him and take HIS yoke and allow the spirit who he mentioned would come after his going away in JOHN 14-17 is what teaches and guides us now.
Like some here mentioned, we don't need to go to a building to worship 5 meetings a week. Our preaching or praises is daily on a personal level, and we can fellowship with fellow christians anytime we wish to not when we are told we have to to get life. Yes, we too can sleep in on saturday mornings and spend them with our sons and do family things together.
Our approval does not come from man anymore. Or worrying whether the elders see us and don't see us.
We answer to ONE. One that sees ALL we do and knows our heart and is so much more merciful than we ever thought of being inside that org.
That is just part of our story. We are much more happy now that we understand true freedom of Christ. That is still our personal decision to server him.
To each his own..............
With christian love
JUST A MOM (Kim)
Well it certainly made more skeptical and apprehensive about a lot of things. Actually, my most memorable awakening came when I was studiing a unit in propaganda, it being an election year and all. I realized that was what the Dubs were doing to me was a major bit of spin, not unlike the politics of the day. So now I look for the "spin" on anything, whether it is global warming, jungle clear cutting or tax issues. They all have their spin doctors..
I became an agnostic, which to me is more open minded about issues rather than theist or atheist. Both of the latter stake a claim that I was not ready to endorse. I still remain more open minded to things that are not politically correct to believe in. If it passes the test of scientific scrutiny, then it is worth believing in. If not, it is superstition and fit for the fire..
Summing up, I'm more openminded and tolerant rather than dogmatic and know-it-all.
carm
Carmel, I like that, it goes right along with TheRedPill too. The WTS is very close-minded (and encourages it) as do most "religions" that exclude whole belief systems. I think open minded and tolerant is what any higher power would want of us! Putting people into little molds (religions or life choices) and categorizing them as good and bad / right and wrong is closed...
JUST A MOM - I, of course, do not agree with your current religious opinion, I also say each to his (or her) own.
But... my question to you is: to what extent have you methodically and thoroughly questioned your NEW belief system, in the knowledge of how easily you were previously deceived?
