by Etude 29 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
Exactly what I have said here for awhile. If you leave JWs and become a 'christian' you are just a hypocrite in my opinion. Once science is shown debunking Christianity why stay?... to be a fool perhaps?... Is that what the WT does to people?.
I am thankful that most on here are non believers and if you must be spiritual (like me) try Buddhism or naturalism...
When I left the TRUTH, I felt compelled to go in search of the real truth - if for no other reason than my respect for "Jehovah." I considered Catholicism but ended up at a non-denominational community church. That lasted a few weeks... and several $20 bills in the plate.
Eventually I arrived at the conclusion that religion - in all it's forms - was a bunch of bunk. BUT I STILL BELIEVED IN CHRISTIANITY.
Now, I believe ALL RELIGIOUS PHILOSOPHIES are man-made attempts at explaining the unexplainable.
I AM STILL NOT AN ATHEIST!
I can't look at the physical universe and conclude "random chance." I think there is an intelligence out there who made all this possible. I don't think for a moment he gives a shit about the human condition and I offer up no explanations. I am perfectly comfortable with "I DON'T KNOW!"
Go with God.
Zoos: I understand where it is you find yourself. I too held on to the idea that no matter how stupid religion is, God must still exist. Realizing He appears not to give a shit about His creation is the first step to the final realization that there is no one to give a shit.
It was somewhat scary for me to go there. However, I kept looking and considering every possible point of view (a never ending quest) and finally had to admit that order in the universe does not require an intelligence. What is required for its existence? I'm happy to say "I don't know", although I've arrived at some clues. But the most important thing is to never stop looking.
When I first left I searched for the true christian religion. Found problems with the lot of 'em. I then examined if the Bible was to any extent true, and found it was at least 90% fiction. I then examined the evidence for god.
The latter was harder, I first had to define what I meant by "god", which I boiled down to a Supreme Being whose chief quality was Love.
I found no evidence for such a being. And a huge quantity of evidence against the existence of such a being.
I decided too that quality evidence was vital in answering any question about life, it was only the Scientific Method that would help me, or anyone, arrive at the truth of things.
It seems to me that the ones mentioned in the O.P who join another group teaching unsubstantiated mumbo-jumbo, have not reached the adult conclusion outlined in the paragraph above. They are intellectual children.
I can't look at the physical universe and conclude "random chance." - Zoos
False dichotomy - "Random chance" is not the alternative to intelligent design.
When somebody discovers that their beliefs are false I think it is normal to assume hopefully that at least their most core beliefs are true.
It takes time and courage to hold everything up to honest scrutiny. I'm always a bit puzzled by anybody who goes straight from JW to unbeliever. Did they ever actually believe?
If you leave JWs and become a 'christian' you are just a hypocrite in my opinion. - HTBWC
I disagree with this judgement. Everybody has their own journey.
Once science is shown debunking Christianity why stay?
Not all versions of christianity deny scientific facts.
I'm always a bit puzzled by anybody who goes straight from JW to unbeliever. Did they ever actually believe?
I dunno, it's actually hard to answer "did I ever really believe it" ... or was I merely conditioned to think I did (?)
There are no right answers, everyone is free to believe or not believe what they want. I think it's generally better to put some effort into researching and learning in order to make at least some semi-informed choice on the matter.
But it's not surprising that many who's only experience of belief in god, and that their religion was the only true one, when they discover that it's all bollocks decide not to believe in anything. I mean, part of the JW mindset is that all other religions are false, so they are already convinced of that before they leave.
People who believe in "the one true God" have effectively wiped out every other conceivable God there could be, so they are well on the way to atheism. All they have to do is knock down one more God and they're there: No god.
It takes time and courage to hold everything up to honest scrutiny. I'm always a bit puzzled by anybody who goes straight from JW to unbeliever. Did they ever actually believe?
I certainly did however when the JW doctrine started to unravel I just followed things to their logical conclusion - i.e. there was no evidence for the existence of any kind of deity, least of all one with some kind of real interest in humankind.
As Simon says, I was already convinced that other religions were false.
It took maybe no more than 6 months to deconstruct things once I really started looking properly.
Con- version. being conned into another, or ultimate version (of religion), like the choice of the Flora vs Fauna approach of the Cain & Abel brothers in the snake story.
take time to let life, the spectacular universe speak for itself.
