by KateWild 105 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
Phizzy,
As I don't think God answers my prayers I don't pray before I make descisions. I used to as a JW and I gave up my job as a chemical analyst to pioneer, I prayed about it, God answered through the WT. Obviously this has resulted in disasterous consequences, and I am still unable to get a job now.
Kate xx
Glalaxie, I like to chit chat as I am isolated. I also like to hear a variety of opinions to help me find my way, some people have good logic to help mr deprogram from WT and my indoctrinated mind. I also post questions like this because I know lurkers ask questions like this when they are having doubts and don't feel upto posting themselves.
I find I can recognise intellectual intimidation, and I don't think I fall prey to it. I like to research.
Kate xx
Thanks for the reply Kate ..Ah yes intellectual intimidation many fall for it through fear , even a belief in god can be enticed in this way as history has shown
Always be wary of it.
As always best wishes
Kate,
The way you titled your post says a lot. I did not have any belief during high school and college. Certainly, I wasn't an atheist. I was more of an agnostic. I was young and wanted to keep my options open. A segment of the student body was Jewish. I learned a lot through personal encounters, Some could not be bothered with me b/c I was not Jewish. I identified as a Christian culturally but not religiously. A history course on the NT convinced me the WT lied. I was exposed to international students.
Let me assure you many people of great intellect and reason identify themselves as Christians, or Hindus, etc. A professor said that we were free to choose what aspects of God to keep and which ones to discard. My solution fits me. I would not impose it on anyone else. Living in New York City, there is an amazing intersection of all different beliefs. We get along, particularly surprising given some historical antagonisms. Liverpool must be the same. I have nothing against atheism.
I suggest you come up with your own solution. It does not have to be a rational decision. I found a community where I felt very cmfortable within the university. If I had stumbled into a local church, I probably would have stumbled back out. My gut told me it was right for me. I love the music, ceremny, incense, history, and sermons. I wanted a community.
It is interesting how people of different faiths and no faith get along in the normal world but we have problems here.
This is the transcript of a video by Steven Fry on what to do if you don't believe in God that I found on upworthy. It resonated with me, perhaps you will find it of benefit.
Narrator: How can I be happy? Some people believe that there is one single meaning of life. They think that the universe was created for a purpose and that human beings are part of some larger cosmic plan. They think our meaning comes from being part of this plan and is written into the universe waiting to be discovered.
A humanist view of meaning in life is different. Humanist do not see that there is any obvious purpose to the universe, but that it is a natural phenomenon with no design behind it. Meaning is not something out there waiting to be discovered, but something we create in our own lives. And although this vast and incredibly old universe was not created for us, all of us are connected to something bigger than ourselves, whether it is family and community, a tradition stretching into that past, an idea or cause looking forward to the future, or the beautiful, wider natural world on which we were born and our species evolved.
This way of thinking means that there is not just one big meaning of life but that every person will have many different meanings in their life. Each one of us is unique and our different personalities depend on a complex mixture of influences from our parents, our environment, and our connections. They change with experience and changing circumstances. There are no simple recipes for living that are applicable to all people. We have different tastes and preferences, different priorities and goals. One person may like drawing, walking in the woods, and caring for their grandchildren. Another may like cooking and watching soap operas, savoring a favorite wine, or a new food. We may find meaning through our family, our career, making a commitment to an artistic project or a political reform, in simple pleasures, such as gardening and hobbies, or in a thousand other ways, giving reign to our creativity or our curiosity, our intellectual capacities, or our emotional life. The time to be happy is now and the way to find meaning in life is to get on and live it as fully and as well as we can.
You can watch the video here
Hi Kate,
I like how you think about things.
Phae
