Has anyone felt like leaving God altogether?

by lookingnow22 82 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  Francois

  It really is difficult to believe in the Christian God. It is impossible to comport the God of the OT, with the God of the NT. And in the attempt to do so, JWs are not alone in coming up with semantic, rhetorical argumentation that would insult the intelligence of a cretin. For example, "The Godly Quality of Hate." Utter absurdity.

  Personally, I don't think it's possible to develop a positive relationship with a schizophrenic god made in man's image who displays every human fault, foible, and fuck-up writ large. It is possible, in my opinion, to adopt a more positive awareness of an unqualified absolute reality via contemplation of eastern concepts of deity; the "deity" if you will found in the Tao Te Ching for one. It's not really a deity anyway; more a comprehension of a Way, a method of being, reacting, of relating to what seems an alignment of the self to the natural tapestry of life. "Going with the flow" some have styled it.

  And you can no more "leave" this Way than you can stop breathing and live. You can go with the Way, the flow, or you can go against it. And when you go against it, well, the way is hard and bad things happen. You lose your wife, you get fired from your job, your house burns down, war breaks out, weeds grow in your garden, your peanut butter dries out, your dog runs away. Going with the way, the flow, is no guarantee of success, but it's a damn sight easier that going against it.

  Is there a God at the place this river is flowing to? I dunno. But it surely makes the trip easier to go with it. And you can still be a part of a sympatico organized religion while you're doing this if you like. For while organized religion may be a channel for growth, may help one go along with this flow, I think it's important to realize that the riverbed is not the river.

  Anyway, afternoon musings from Francois, worth every bit you had to pay for it .

  Francois
• 

  safe4kids

  Interesting post and I've enjoyed reading what everyone, for the most part , had to say...

  Personally, I struggled a great deal with this issue when I first left. I believed in Jehovah, could even understand why he allowed me to hurt and seemingly ignored my prayers (felt I deserved it-I'm bad,y'know ), but I was so angry at him for all of the hurt that my innocent children were going through that I totally turned my back on him.
  Throughout the development of my current belief in god, or the lack thereof, I have agonized over what to believe and what to model for my children. I won't bore you with the details-I've picked up and discarded several ways of believing-but now I have settled into what makes the most sense to me, based on my own experiences and what I know of the world around me. I believe that at one time, there must have been a creator of some kind who loved his/her work....but that individual is no longer in evidence. I'm not interested enough, or talented enough, to debate deep theological issues with anyone; my reasoning is simple and I'll give just one example:

  We have laws that require suspected cases of child abuse to be reported - this implies responsibility on the part of the person who is aware that abuse is occurring to take action on behalf of the victim; if I, as a mere human being, have the responsibility to take action when I see a wrong being committed...how much more responsibility would an all powerful being have to stop the horrors that occur in the world every single second??? I have come to the conclusion that the creator is: a)dead; b)missing in action; c) away on a really long trip; or d)just doesn't care...

  However, altho I don't live my life anymore in accordance with religious standards of any kind, I do believe that we are all interconnected; that I am responsible to my fellow humans and to my physical environment to be the best person that I can be; to do my best to leave this place a little better than I found it.

  As the song says, I believe that "love is the answer"...love to the other (often annoying!) people who inhabit this planet, and to the physical and natural world as well....

  My 2 cents....
  Dana

  "This is not a novel to be tossed aside lightly....it should be thrown with great force."
  I Don't Know
• 

  mommy

  Lookingnow22,
  I left the Wtbts, over 8 years ago, because I did not think that org had the love of god. I was very religious for years. Actually up until a few months ago. It was amazing, one day I am going along and everything was normal. Then here comes Farkel with a post that pulled the rug out from under my feet. Of course he did warn in the beginning that we were going for a ride.
  http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/forum/thread.asp?id=4252&site=3#50921

  I read it and reread it and even (yep)prayed about it. I could not ignore this logic. And I accepted that God is not real. It was ok. I am not saying I didn't feel sad, a little, but mostly it was for jealous reasons. I miss having the beginning and end tied up in a pretty package. I heartily agree with Alan F. I never left god, there is no god in my eyes.

  I understand why people want to believe in god, and I will not try to push my views on anyone. I just think that if any christian today, honestly looks at the info that is out there, they will see how blind and shallow their faith is. They need to be honest with themselves, and alot aren't honest. I know I did for years, with good intentions, but I could no longer be like that, once I saw another viewpoint.

  I hope I do not offend anyone with this post. It is not my intent, I just wanted you to see it as not leaving god...just using the reasoning capabilities you have. Since then I have read some on the evolution theory, and I am quite amazed at the reasoning used. When I was a christian I would never even look at this material. But now...oh boy, I am eating it up.
  wendy
• 

  Camay05

  Not really, However I have managed to confuse my self with too much info. In my quest to find the truth I have researched every thing.
  From the scholars who translated the bible all the way back to the spanish inquestion (however you spell it).

  Every thing I research is some how connected to the WTBTS and its cultist ways.
• 

  ThiChi2000

  Well, Paul states that we will be judged individually as a person, not as a group or with membership into anything.

  Why blame YHWH for what Jesus said would take place....
• 

  kes152

  "To WHOM (not 'where') shall we go away to?"

  I have NO ONE else to "go away" to, I stick to my Lord and his Father, NOT because i have any fear for his wrath, nor because i feel a 'need' to belive in something.

  I have NO fear for the wrath of God, for such wrath is not upon me. I already KNOW who I am and I KNOW where I am from. I have even 'seen' some of it and I truly know who and WHERE my Father is.

  I have had a 'taste' of their realm of which they live, and I will give ANYTHING to go back there. But, if i did go back now, no one would "bear witness" of my Lord to my neighbor.

  It is for this reason I CANNOT leave my Father and my Lord. They have so much love for everyone on this board and cry "day AND night" for all of you, because no one is seeking them. They offer their hands to you all, over and over again, and IF you listen, you only listen for a season.

  But when he brings to your attention errors that YOU need to correct, you literally "push him out" and go as if you never heard him.

  Thus you 'remain' in the darkness, walking as blind "men" not seeing 'light.' One thing is for sure:

  He told me to tell you all that his love for you still remains, that he knows ALL of your hearts (you too, Fred Hall) and that he understands "where you are coming from" with regard to being 'misled' and then not looking for him.

  He has a loyal love. So no matter how many times you will do wrong, he will ALWAYS ask for you to return to him. Of course, it is your choice to do so or not.

  Neither he nor I will 'force' you, you have to WANT it.

  I have nothing more to say, until next time,

  My peace remains....
  Aaron
• 

  FreePeace

  I have left whatever God I was serving, I think His name was Jehovah, or something like that. Here are things they way I see it:

  1. IF the Bible is true (which it's not), then this battle between Jehovah and Satan is just that--a battle between Jehovah and Satan. Humans were innocent pawns in the affairs of the supernatural. Humans were used, and because they were not supernatural, they had no control.

  2. The idea of putting trees in a garden to temp humans is cruel and dysfunctional. It imputes wrong motives. A moral and loving God would not do this. (To hell with the JW God-needed-to-establish-his-headship bullshit).

  3. To punish billions of human beings for the sins of one man is ludicrous. If your adult son murdered someone, would you also execute his children (your grandchildren) also? Of course not! We are individuals with individual rights and free will.

  4. IF God is love, then where the hell is He when so many people are suffering so terribly? Where is he for the little girl or boy who is sexually assaulted or raped? Where the hell is he when a parent loses a child to some disease; or a child loses a parent? (I could go on, and damn it, I think I will!)

  5. Where the hell is God when the tears of pain stream down one's cheeks, begging and imploring Him for some comfort and a way out of some terrible situation?

  6. Where the hell is God when the little girl is raped in front of her mother in Sierra Leone, and then has her forearms chopped off?

  7. What excuse is there for God telling Moses to kill all the little Medianite boys, fathers, mothers, sisters, and any girl or woman who wasn't a virgin, only to become a sex slave to the Israelites? Why, the human Israelites had more compassion than did God, because at first, they wouldn't do it! (Read "Atrocities of the Bible" at TruthQuest)

  8. There is no excuse for God to allow human suffering and death, simply because he can "undo" it and make it as if it never happened (even more JW bullshit). Such a God is morally reprehensible and owes any sentient being an explanation (just before He is executed for crimes against humanity).

  To sum it all up, if there is a God, he can go fuck himself. I would love nothing more than to talk to Him face-to-face and hear His lame explanation as to why he has allowed all that he has.

  As you can see, I have some definite issues with the God-concept. I am not necessarily an atheist, but damn close to it.

  Humanity is much better off by ditching any reliance on a God-concept. It is much better to recognize once and for all that we are in it FOR ourselves, and BY ourselves. That suits me just fine. At least I can take responsibility for my own life; my own successes and failures; and not keep futilely looking to some God who is silent toward the outcries of humanity.

  FreePeace

  "The World is my country, and to do good, my religion." --Thomas Paine

  My webpage: http://www.geocities.com/freepeace2000/Truthquest/TruthQuestx.html
• 

  Flip

  did you feel like you wanted to leave and forget God altogether?

  Lookingnow22, define "God".

  Flip
• 

  LadyBug

  Dana

  We have laws that require suspected cases of child abuse to be reported - this implies responsibility on the part of the person who is aware that abuse is occurring to take action on behalf of the victim; if I, as a mere human being, have the responsibility to take action when I see a wrong being committed...how much more responsibility would an all powerful being have to stop the horrors that occur in the world every single second??? I have come to the conclusion that the creator is: a)dead; b)missing in action; c) away on a really long trip; or d)just doesn't care...

  I feel the same way. It is beyond me how a God of love can allow so many attrocities and yet expect sinful humans to take responsibility.

  Multiple choice: I think .... (c)

  BEW
• 

  LadyBug

  Looking

  Since leaving JWs I often wonder what's the point of even believing in God. He doesn't do anything for us (if he does I'm missing it)

  I can't even pray anymore except for the odd occasion when I give it a try and I feel ridiculous. As if there's not really anyone there. And I'm talking to myself.
  
  At times I feel guilty for thinking like this, as if I'm treating the "Almighty Creator" in a blasphous way.

  I spoke to Dave about it and he said he feels the same way. So maybe lots people feel like this.

  BEW ... My Thoughts