by suavojr 31 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
They stuck around after the WT's failures because they didn't have the cajones to admit they had been made fools of.
Did you listen to the interviews with Harold Camping's followers after the rapture never arrived? Same logic, different cult. Followers so wanting not to admit they had been stupid in giving their life's saving to a loser, that they still maintained that Camping had some kind of Devinely inspired purpose and still were not prepared to abandon him.
I get what you are saying but some humans are just too gullible and are easily misled by people in authority. If you take the example of the person that I referenced in my OP, I know that although he is not sure why the ‘paradise earth’ is not here yet, the WT regime is better to him than the Castro’s regime.
We see the parallels between the two systems (Castro & WT) but for this person he thinks he has more liberty among the JW’s and he blesses the WT God for helping him and his family get through his ordeals. It is hard to break through such hard ice.
Nevertheless is it sad to see the dissonance in his eyes and the sad realization that his life is coming to end. I don’t feel that we should blame people for staying just because they just want to believe.
"Nevertheless is it sad to see the dissonance in his eyes and the sad realization that his life is coming to end. I don’t feel that we should blame people for staying just because they just want to believe."
VERY TRUE suavojr. Having this experience is what began my own awakening years ago. Watching avery faithful relative die a terrible death.
He may die sad, but what of it? If atheists are right, he'll be just like a flashlight with batteries that wear out. And it doesn't matter if people die happy or sad. Once they fade into nothingness, they simply cease to be. But if there is a life after death, Jehovah's Witnesses and other Adventists will necessarily have to adjust to the fact that they were wrong about the afterlife. Is it better to be an atheist at the end, or cling to the hope that there will be "something" better coming?
The worst case scenario is to die and then discover that cows are ruling the Universe. I'm not sure I could adjust to that.
People who have had near death experiences have reported that die-hard atheists have the most difficulty in passing. Many, they say, are gripped with a fear of being damned to an eternal hell because of their disbelief. And until they humble themselves, they remain in the company of a host of other spirits who roam the earth in confusion and depression. So only time will tell.
Cold steel said:
And until they humble themselves, they remain in the company of a host of other spirits who roam the earth in confusion and depression.
Since when is saying 'I don't know there is a God', 'I don't see evidence for a God' be a sign of haughtiness? and what proof do you have that spirits roam the earth in confusion and depression?
I have no proof of anything, just a belief. In the near death experiences I've read, people talk about these spirits wandering the earth. Some of them trouble the living as "ghosts" and abide among the spirits of Satan, seeking to lead the living astray. Eventually, these spirits do move on; however, the spirits of those who followed Satan are trapped here until the return of Christ. They will then be bound until the end of the Millennium. Some of those who have had near death experiences have tried to communicate with these spirits, but they almost unanimously report that these attempts are futile. Howard Storm (a former atheist), Elane Durham, George Ritchie and others all report seeing these spirits and feeling the suffering and hopelessness they experience.
Back in 2010 my Father told me that he has no idea what they are talking about any longer. I was elated, did the happy dance inside but remained calm on the outside. He also told me that he didn't want to die. I think this was very telling as it was an indication that he was starting to realize that he is going to die one day. I told him I didn't want him to die either but that no one gets out of this life alive.
This religion is one that demands performance. It is designed for able-minded and able-bodied persons.
My Father's dementia has removed his abilities to perform. I do not know what his status is any longer but I assume he has been removed as a Ministerial Servant. He is no longer capable of being 'active'.
And still... Armageddon has not arrived.
Heaven, I am sorry your dear Dad has dementia.
I hope your dad still has friends and gets company.
Whether a person has dementia or not, as you say, once one stops the hectic paced JW life, no matter what their past decades performance was, they are now yesterday's toast.
Normal, outside people would not understand why an older aged JW person would think they would not die?
Normal people know from an early age, that all living things end.
I came to that wake up moment of clarity at age 62.
Sounds silly, but true.
(((Hugs))) to your dear Dad from me.
LoisLane
suavojr (quoting his dad elder friend) - "I think humans will eventually go extinct if Jehovah does not do anything"
Interesting.
Reminds me of the WTS's explanation for "This System of Things" lasting so long: that God was allowing Satan and "rebellious mankind" all the time they needed to prove that their way of doing things was doomed to failure.
At one point when I was still in, it occurred to me that the only real quantifiable "proof" that humankind's way of doing things was doomed to failure was if "that way" directly brought us to the brink of extinction.
At the time, I reasoned that - logically - only at that moment could God step in and prevent it (via the Great Trib) to prove his point with any degree of finality...
...but...
...immediately after, I realized that - despite all that's going on in the world - humanity is still a long ways away from that moment; therefore, we were still a long ways away from the Big A.
(I still nominally believed at that point, although - in retrospect - the "apostate" writing was clearly on the wall LOL)
Yep, that is where the idea comes from vidiot. Although my dad thinks that way, I was not quoting my dad. My dad is 64 and thinks he is not going to die before the big A but at the same time he is planning a trip to the social security office and file for his retirement. Ah the irony!
