My experience with some ex-JW Christians

opusdei1972

Currently I can accept the existence of "God" if you say that "God" is a superior rational being. I support the idea for the existence of superior beings living in other places. It means to me that we, humans, are not the superior ones in the universe. But nothing else. More discoveries will tell us the final truth.

On the other hand, the God of the Old Testament is a primitive human invention with many moral flaws. And the God of the New Testament is a fraud, which is still deceiving many naive people. So, the Bible is a dangerous book if you believe it is the WORD of GOD.

When I left the Watchtower, I continued to believe in the Bible. So, I wanted to join the Channel C forum, a Christian forum for ex-JWs. There I shared my love for the Bible with some ex-JWs who are Christians. However, I started to show a critical view because I started to study the Bible from a scholarly point of view. For the first time I opened my eyes and I began to see the Bible flaws. This was a very interesting discovery for me, so I started to share it with the guys of Channel C. However, some of them became very aggressive against me. One of them, after leaving the Watchtower Society went to a divinity school to learn Christian theology. This guy was one of the most aggressive, which means that his Witness fanaticism remained in him. He thought that his Bible knowledge learnt from that divinity school turned him a superior Bible interpreter. In fact, what I realized is that those theological schools are schools of quackery, where you have to learn sophisms to defend the Bible contradictions.

Indeed, this proved to me that those religions coming from the Bible, as well as other sacred books, create a big problem for the human society.

rebelfighter

How about God created us to get along with one another and love another and care for one another. Had God created religion there would only be ONE religion SO all these religions are man made, the stories are man made. Let's try are best to get along with one another.

talesin

NN, I have experienced both. I've had and still do, friends who are Xtians. One is a self-described "Divided United" member of the clergy (referencing the Canadian split in the UC re women pastors among other things). As you can easily tell, she is very relaxed. She cares not, what you believe, nor is she preachy. I stayed with her in the country for a few months, when I was healing at one time. lol, I went on visits with her -- cup of tea, how was the fishing season? I heard you were sick, do you need any help? TOTALLY not like an elder's typical visit. Another friend, and his g/f are close, and heck, I knew him for a decade before I knew he prayed, etc.

BUT, his friend who I met onlne through my old buddy, is a whole 'nuther ball of wax. Once he found out I was exJW, he started sending me scripture and attempting to 'save me'. From what? My atheistic godlessness? Fck knows! Eventually, after two warnings, the first to CEASE AND DESIST with the religious BS, the second to stop hairy-assing me, I had enough. Still, the fool persisted. So I capped an email saying I would report him to the police. Finally .... crickets.

It's intolerable.

opusdei1972

REBELFIGHTER: You have a good point. If there is one God who created us and instructed us with the true religion, he is totally impotent and incompetent, because religions are a mess. What kind of God is that who can't propagate a coherent theology??....For instance, the New Testament says that Jesus is the head of the Church. But, which church???, there are many churches doing what they believe it is the truth, contradicting themselves. Many of them even partook in wars in the name of Jesus. Is Jesus the head of a church?? What a fraud !!

LisaRose

For me, losing my faith in the JW religion ultimately caused me to lose faith in God, although it took me a number of years to complete the process. Once you start questioning most of what you so ardently preached at one time, how do you stop at just the religion? Why would you? I felt I had to to look at everything, not just the Watchtower doctrine, and when you look at belief in God with the same critical thinking skills you used to determine the Watchtower was false I believe you can only conclude that belief in God is just as false.

I am not anti religion, as I believe it does fill a need for some people, and not all religions are as bad as the JWs, so it's fine by me if someone believes. But all major religions teach things that contradict known facts about science and the world, so don't pretend there is any logical, rational reason to believe in God, because there isn't. I look at posts by people who switch from the Watchtower to another fundamental, conservative religion and I wonder why they bothered to leave the Watchtower in the first place.

However, some of them became very aggressive against me. One of them, after leaving the Watchtower Society went to a divinity school to learn Christian theology. This guy was one of the most aggressive, which means that his Witness fanaticism remained in him. He thought that his Bible knowledge learnt from that divinity school turned him a superior Bible interpreter. In fact, what I realized is that those theological schools are schools of quackery, where you have to learn sophisms to defend the Bible contradictions.

I am currently reading a book about the Clergy Project. It's a program to help those clergy who have lost their faith in God. Some of what they go through is similar to leaving a cult like the JWs. They have a lot invested in their profession and most every one they know is of their faith. It can be very isolating and there can be a lot of criticism from the church hierarchy. Like any organization there is considerable pressure to maintain the status quo and hostility when they don't back down. Of course theological schools are full of quackery, how else do they convince otherwise intelligent adults to believe in fairy tales and teach them to others? But I think they are having a harder time of it these days.

besty

none so righteous as the converted :-)

galaxie

Opusdei...."if you ' say ' that god is a superior rational being ". There in lies the rub. To say or in other words define/ describe 'god' as anything you care to mention is entirely a construct of human imagination. There are undoubtedly many and complicated reasons as well as simplistic reasons eg., I just wish it to be so..ex jws who cling to their belief in god have not imo fully understood why being a jw and the reason for that religions existence is entirely due to belief in 'saying' that god is a superior rational being...they are in effect just going around in circles.

rebelfighter

opusdei1972Did God write the Bible or did men write the Bible? I will ask the same question with all the other religions and the books they follow did their God's write their books or did men write them? They will all tell you that they are inspired by God.I have found most religions have their good points and they have their bad points.

punkofnice

Once upon a time I believed in Jehovah(tm). Then I went to a Baptist churcha nd believed in God. Then, I experimented with 'spirituallity'. Now, I don't believe in Gods, fairies, spirits, aliens, demons or much.

Life has it's own problems for me, I cannot ponder magical sky daddies right now.

rebelfighter

opusdei1972Don't get me wrong, I think there is a lot of good sound advise in the Bible. Especially if you read it to live a life of high morals, to love one another and to take care of your neighbor.
I am now in my 60's but I placed on my wall as a teenager a poem which I read twice a day when I rise in the morning and before going to bed. It has been made into a song and there is a book out now that takes every line of the poem and ties it to many verses in the Bible.
Footprints in the Sand

My experience with some ex-JW Christians

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