to ex-jw's specifically: with what have you replaced your belief system..

by thebeliever 44 Replies latest jw friends

  • thebeliever
    thebeliever

    i.e. how do you now understand the world... and your place in it?

    I personally believe in evolution... and also a "higher power"... it seems more and more people are drifting away from organized religion, but they are then left searching for meaning and purpose....

    going to college/university and studying a normal curriculum, one is exposed to philosophy, the socrates and platos of history, who in many ways started widespread discussion on such topics as above. Some sort of philosophy has to be studied I believe, just so one can understand the history of man, from that point in time and how we came to Christianity in the first place.

    However, it is a very personal matter, as we must all find our own answers.

    I believe it is natural for people to be drawn to ponderings of purpose and god, and there are many ways to seek connection to that souce. But upon achieving a connection, one must still deal with day to day struggles and routine, or the state of the world.

    I would like to inspire people to think about their level of awareness and consciousness. Mainly, because people who are ignorant to their spiritual selves tend to cause the most damage to other people and our planet. The way things are continuing man will one day indeed destroy the earth and that saddens me. It saddens me greatly that life and our planet are treated so callously. That their are people who were taught to think about "power" the way we were taught to think about "serving Jah". So their whole life is centered around building and maintaining their power (think governments, large corporations, monopolies) at any expense to our environment and populace(deforestization, endangered species, oil spills in the oceans, dumping garbage, waste, toxic chemicals, the dying barrier reef, polluted air, depleted ozone, mutating bacterias, man-made diseases, not finding a cure for aids (and other ills) because the drugs one takes to suppress it is such big business, children starving, people starving...)

    If your beliefs lean more towards zen, then you'll see the troubles with the world and people as part of the balance of yin and yang. That we must know the evil, to understand the good. We must feel the pain to know the love. But why if god is love? Or is the belief that god should intereven or that the higher power is really that personified part of the disillusionment of religion. That god is there, but not going to get involved? That god is just energy, and we were not made in "his" image. Is this all just an illusion. Suffering only exists in the mind

    Would like to hear what you think.

    I haven't seen the second Matrix movie yet, I own the first one... do you think that'll help me, lol (smile)

    thebeliever

  • Hamas
    Hamas

    Hi

    When I left the Watchtower, I had so many questions going around in my head and I wanted answers to them all. I placed my whole belief in the Bible as the inspired word of God; nobody could convince me otherwise. I remember downloading so many personal testimonies and searching the web for many answers that I needed. Many ex Witness sites helped me in my journey.

    Maybe it is just me, but it seemed that the majority of people when leaving the Witnesses became Christians, and so many sites encouraged me to take in Jesus as my Lord and Saviour, because that was what the bible really said ! I knew that the Watchtower Society had lied to me on so many occassions, so I decided to place my trust in those that said the 'apostate' teachings of Christendom were right after all, because this was what is outlined in the bible.... you know, Triity, Hellfire, immortal soul etc.

    I found that as much as the Witnesses claim to understand scripture and have the truth, no matter what argument a person could come up with there is a solution for it anywhere in the Bible. For this reason, its a catch 22 trying to understand the bible, because I could quote a verse to you that proves my point; yet you could quote a verse to me that proves your point !

    So, at first, eager to gain answers to my questions, I hung on to the belief that Jesus was my lord and saviour, you know, born again style. The testimonies of Randy Watters, Ray Franz etc helped me to reach such a conclusion.

    However, as time went by, I decided that this was not the case. I studied the bible, I lived as it would ask of me... but it was to no avail, my friend. After my so called 'personal dedication' to Jesus, my life turned to crap. This means no disrespect to those that decide to do this, it just means that it didn't work for me. I found it difficult accepting the fact that no matter what happened, it was all part of Gods plan. For instance, when something bad happened, I was expected to pray to the Lord, as he could give me stregnth. However, when something good happened, I was expected to praise the Lord, for it was his work ! This mentality didn't appeal to me.

    I think truth is what you make it. If it works for you, then use it. If it gets you trhough your day, then use it. But if it doesn't, and it makes you beat yourself up, forget about it, because nobody really knows the truth ! This is why I am against preaching, because nobody knows the truth.

    Right now, the belief that I have replaced the WT with is the belief in reality. My opinion is, just wait to see what happens.

    Remember, it ain't where ya from, it's where ya @ .

    www.escapethewatchtower.com

    welcome to the forum, by the way.

  • greven
    greven

    I replaced my beliefsystem with logic, reason and based on those: the scientific method.

    Being thouroughly deceived I decided to use those systems mentioned above because my experience with them proved them to be the most reliable methods/models for seeking anwers. I do 'believe' in evolution but I think the use of the word 'believe' doesn't describe it well. Up until now it has proven to be the most useful model for explaining the biological world around us. When a better model or improved version appears that explains these phenomena better I will have no trouble using that ofcourse.

    Greven

    BTW welcome to the forum

  • Ravyn
    Ravyn

    I don't think I replaced it---I realize now that I never really believed the way JWs do anyway. I discovered MY belief system and am still refining it based on MY personal experiences.

    I see the need for religion and ritual in human life, mine in particular. But I try to see the big picture and look at it objectively, still I wish I could do without it. But I have always been fascinated with archetypes and symbols and mythology. This time I am using religion as a tool to feed my spirituality tho instead of what dictates it or defines it.

    I consider myself a witch for lack of a better term. I am also a deist, into some New Age stuff, and Catholic. What works for me on Monday mornings may not work for me on Thursday afternoons. I use what works.

    Ravyn

  • Mr Lebowski
    Mr Lebowski

    Yah, one interesteing thing about leaving and afterwards, taking responsiblity for you belief systems, is taht you are conscious of what you choose and most others aren't.

    you seem to have picked up many of the same items I have... buddhist philosophy without the religious trappings, etc.

    I'll go along with a power larger than myself alone, but that we are all part of... that's as close as I get to a big white guy with a beard.

  • Frannie Banannie
    Frannie Banannie

    TB, Rome wasn't built in a day and my belief system is still a work in progress....I just know that it isn't connected to a church or any other manmade organization, nor to the writings of men....mine has to be "outside the box" (IMHO) for it to be real to me....

    Frannie B

  • maxwell
    maxwell

    I also don't think I replaced my belief system. There are many things that I thought I knew before that I don't know right now. And I feel ok with that. It's ok to not know if there's no way of knowing. I do believe that there is some "normal" things that most humans possess like a sense of fairness and the desire to be happy and the desire for those around them to be happy. I believe that there are "good" people and "bad" people and that sometimes bad people have to be restrained, punished or removed (I think that sometimes the death penalty must be used). However, I don't think any of these standards should be set for society at large by any one religion. A basic principle of the constitution is that no person's freedom should encroach upon another person's freedom. I think that's a good place to place limitations. And personally when I define a person or action as bad, it's when that person or action is unnecessarily limiting someone else's freedom. Harming a person is an even worse form of encroachment. Any religious group should have the right to practice their own beliefs, but if they try to legislate their beliefs or push them on others, then they are attempting to limit others freedom.

  • frenchbabyface
    frenchbabyface

    Ok the question is, with what have you replaced your belief system ?
    well I guess thinking system ... as many said in different ways ...

    Here a little bit of our story :

    It's my son who really opened my eyes ... first because of his bone cancer (and blood issue) after 8 months of fights because of this. It came to the point that he could die ... And oh my ... he was like ready for it ... he didn't care about that but about me staying alone in this stupid world * : I thought I'd rather die myself right now instead of letting him die without giving him a chance ! I said to the DOC - DO IT ! (they were about to do it anyway without my approval) and said to my SON TAKE IT (the Doc and I won't got the choice anyway) ! GOD HAVE TO UNDERSTAND ! Actually this guy is not only my unique son, he is aslo my only real brother/sister, my only real friend, and most of time wise enough to be my father !

    * at this time Anthony was more faithfull than I was . Had already told him from the begining that I will support him whatever will be his décision ... but he was sticking to JW's counsels !!!

    by the way No JWs for any support ! (just remember how they where bothering him to get baptised !!! Mother F.....RS !) they just forgot about us !

    Then 4 years later ... we had a talk (my son and I) wondering what it was all about, talked almost 3 days without sleeping ... And OH MIRACLE ... WE FORGOT ABOUT THIS GOD ! WE HAD ALREADY FORGOT ABOUT THE JWs A LONG TIME AGO...

  • Francois
    Francois

    I replaced an organization of men, ANY organization of men with Taoism. Not the Taoism of today with it magic and its funerary rites, but Taoism in its pure form as found in Lao Tsu's The Tao Te Ching. To me this form of Taoism is the ultimate in a personal relationship with the pure form of God, or Tao.

    I looked briefly at Buddhism, but a philosophy with no God was not appealing to me.

    To me, God is necessary as the first cause of philosophy and is vital and inescapeable to any hope of a continuing life in This personality. And He is the designer, overall, of evolution - physical and spiritual.

    But this conversation is one that could go on and on and on for quite some time.

    Frank Tyrrell

  • Ravyn
    Ravyn

    I just finished Deepak Chopra's "How to Know God" from three years ago(2000)...and I wish I had the money to buy a case of these books to give out for xmas this year! oh my...talk about new 'light'!

    Ravyn

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