Explain why you are happy if you believe there is no afterlife vs when you joined JW's

by Bad_Wolf 54 Replies latest watchtower bible

• 

  smiddy3

  I was a convert at 19 believed in the illusion of one world one government {Theocratic} one religion

  " what a wonderful world this would be "

  The prospect of living forever under such a system controlled by a God that created the Universe was just an added bonus.

  After 33 years being deluded this way the penny finally dropped and now 25 years later this site has opened my eyes up even wider to what lengths of deception the WTB&TS /JW.ORG will go to in perpetuating this lie.

  Three things I`m convinced of

  1. Religion is a snare and a racket

  2. Religion is the Opium of the people

  3. The Bible is no more Gods word than the book of Mormon or the Q`uran or any other religious scriptures /Texts

  of any other culture.

  I am happy with the life I have lived and I can assure you I will not die gnashing my teeth in fear of any judgement from any God
• 

  SWAT

  John Proctor said: ". . . the JW religion prevents its members from actually living their lives now! They steal your life in exchange for a lie. Since leaving the religion I am able to actually live a real, authentic life."

  That's the very same argument that Satan (the serpent) used when he spoke to Eve. He said that God lied and that she would be better off, have a better life, (i.e. "actually live a real, authentic life") by not listening to Him.

  SWAT
• 

  Bad_Wolf

  Swat - tell him to tell us what to do then. Old books written by men, changed, revised, no idea true source over thousands of years. Can't very well do what the almighty wants if he doesnt tell us anything.

  Or do you believe group of men who have been wrong about everything and always flipflopping, etc, speak for him?
• 

  OnTheWayOut

  I joined JW's as an adult with childhood exposure to it. So I bought into the "everlasting-life" thing for awhile.

  Opening post says: "The reality you are embracing now is the worst case scenario of when you were in it, eternal death. But if you joined it of your own accord and not raised in it, why did you want eternal life then and now say you would never want it?"
  
  
  One huge problem with your statement is that the reality of our futures does not depend on what we believe. It is what it actually is. I bought into their promise but then realized it isn't true. So regardless of what another person thinks I am "embracing," it has little to do with what will actually happen. I learned not only that the Watchtower's promises are lies, but that people have been using the Bible to promote lies since the Bible was written.
  
  You can say I don't know what the future after death is. For an absolute certainty, I cannot prove that I do know it. But we live and we die, we exist no more. If that is wrong, then some megalomaniac demanding my licking his boots during this life to grant me part of that afterlife while he is practicing his high level neglect of mankind, it's just not worth it to me.
  
  
  
• 

  Bad_Wolf

  One huge problem with your statement is that the reality of our futures does not depend on what we believe. It is what it actually is. I bought into their promise but then realized it isn't true.
  You can say I don't know what the future after death is. For an absolute certainty, I cannot prove that I do know it. But we live and we die, we exist no more. If that is wrong, then some megalomaniac demanding my licking his boots during this life to grant me part of that afterlife while he is practicing his high level neglect of mankind, it's just not worth it to me.

  I am assuming this life is it, though I hope for more. I was talking about those who if eternal life was possible (not limited to jw or religions version but any) but those who say they wouldn't want it. I think it's a shame we weren't born further into the future. If we truly are alone and everything happened by chance, and how rapid science is advancing, at some point I think extended life if not eternal life can be discovered.

  
  
• 

  AverageJoe1

  I remember that old booklet you mentioned Freddo. The great thing about that title is that if you put a comma in it, the meaning changes completely:

  Is there a God, WHO CARES? ha ha
• 

  contramundum

  From a child the idea of living on and on forever frightened me. When I became an adult, that fear never left me because I just could not comprehend the idea of eternity. My coping mechanism was to look ahead only as far as the end of Jesus' thousand year reign - a finite point in the future.

  Nobody I knew seemed to experience the same feeling of dread and because we were taught that God had put thoughts of time indefinite into our hearts, I wondered why it wasn't in mine. Maybe I wasn't supposed to make it into paradise.

  I do not want to die, but at the same time, now I have left the religion, I don't fear death as much as I feared living forever.

  CM
• 

  SWAT

  Bad-Wolf said:

  Swat - tell him [God] to tell us what to do then. Old books written by men, changed, revised, no idea true source over thousands of years. Can't very well do what the almighty wants if he doesnt tell us anything.

  Or do you believe group of men who have been wrong about everything and always flipflopping, etc, speak for him?

  
  

  It cannot be truthfully said that the Watchtower Society (WTS) has been wrong about "everything".

  For example, the WTS has always been correct in teaching that man does not have an immortal soul. The WTS correctly teaches that there is no consciousness after death.

  Also the WTS correctly teaches that God is not a "trinity" and that Jesus was God's first creation.

  The WTS correctly teaches that Jesus' original name is "Michael," and that he is in fact the one and only archangel.

  The WTS correctly teaches that God purposed for Adam and Eve to have offspring, and that those also would have offspring, and so on until planet Earth was comfortably full.

  The WTS correctly teaches that God purposed for the paradise of Eden to be expanded until there was a global paradise, and the WTS correctly teaches that that is still God's purpose.

  The WTS correctly teaches that God has a personal name, and that it appears in the Hebrew Scriptures close to 7,000 times. And the WTS teaches that the exact pronunciation of God's name is unknown.

  The WTS correctly teaches that true Christians should not participate in the wars between nations.

  The WTS properly makes adjustments in teachings when necessary

  Yes, the WTS is STILL wrong about some things--which is the reason I expect to see more adjustments in the future. And because the WTS is wrong about some things, and I am aware of it, I am forced to be inactive.

  SWAT
• 

  pale.emperor

  Accepting that the chances of us being born at all were almost impossible coupled with the fact that life is finite means I live my life NOW and I own my own mistakes. It also means we should love who we love completely and not take it for granted because one day they won't be around. And neither will I.
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  stillin

  I always felt that there would be something more. Death is a ripoff. Nobody knows what it is because nobody is alive to talk about it. If justice prevails in the universe, I'm not in too bad of a position.

  There are some smooth talkers out there who could convince you of anything. And they may actually believe themselves. But they don't know. Maybe they just like to be followed.