The funny thing is I don't know if I care if I find my path
Here's a thought, Sassy. Does your path have to include religion? Mine doesn't.
talesin
Religion..
by Sassy 37 Replies latest members private
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talesin
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myauntfanny
I don't know if it's normal, but I sure want to do a runner when people start discussing the bible.
Aunt Fanny
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LyinEyes
Good point Talesin. I think that is where I find myself, on my own path. I am half American Indian and since leaving the borg I have been looking into the native american ideas of spirituality. I have come to the conclusion you can be a very spiritual person without being "religious". I can sit outside , enjoying the seasons, the animals, the wind, even the storms that are brewing outside this very minute. I can marvel at the power of the things I can not see. In this way I feel some connection to something very strong, powerful and spiritual.
I feel like Sassy ,,,,,I gave so much of my life being a JW, I was so busy doing all the works that I didnt give myself time to enjoy the day. Now I can go outside and just enjoy being there. It is a very peaceful place for me,,,,even if I don't have a belief that is mainstream in my area. It is comforting to me to know that it is ok for me to feel this way.
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Corvin
Right now, I am not interested in religion, and I am certainly not jonesing for a WT replacement religion. Religion very much turns me off. The word "truth" has been so perverted by the WTBTS that right now the only thing I desire is to expose their lies.
Maybe one day I can settle down and get reaquainted with God, but not the now.
Corvin
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Sentinel
(((Sassy))) Not to fear. I'd say you are very normal. This is probably a very good thing as well..taking time to re-think your life from all angles, instead of just jumping into something else. I too, tend to stay away from doctrinal discussions--especially because I truly don't believe the bible as a whole is "god's instruction book". If it is, then he sure left out a whole lot of stuff for sure.
/<
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Sassy
good thoughts from all of you. Interesting how we have similar but different reactions and I like that...
I don't personally need a replacement religion and I'm not looking for one. I guess I am secure enough to feel like if there really is a God, something will fall into place. I am not going to force something into the puzzle piece I pulled out of my life. Somethings doesn't have to be made to fit. And if there is a God, I kind of think he understands after what we have been through. I'm not bitter about religion, I just don't trust it.
If there isn't a God, then I am not wasting my time either.
I like talesin's thought that maybe our paths do not need to be a religion.. that is a thought isn't it?
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reboot
Ah(( Sassy,)))know just how you feel.
All talk of religion makes me cringe now. Just as people probably used to cringe around me lol..
.I grew up in a family that went to church every Sunday-then a break-then got involved with the WTBS...I always thought I was spiritual-but now I can't seem to be bothered, I just can't muster up any former enthusiasm for whether or not one scripture backs up another or what it 'means'- I think the WTBS took away my desire for religion...sometimes I use expressions like 'bless you' or 'pray' but I mean them in a humanitarian way....sometimes I feel strange being here as I feel that I don't want to hear any religion being discussed-it's simply not important to me anymore; but being here's about more than that..I just stay away from the threads that people get worked up over religion in.
I think its a normal reaction-and a healthy one- you're managing on your own with your personnal belief system and morals and don't feel the need to lean on a book to guide your every move.
I do appreciate the humanitarianism of Jesus and the 10 commandments....but the rest is too open to interpretation to be relied on and I can't understand why anyone would want to complicate their lives worrying about it.I just try to be nice to everyone.
edited to add; .....said Reboot answering a thread entitled 'religion'.....
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bebu
I think everyone has a 'religion', like it or not. It's whatever setup/framework that is most dominant at the time. For example, if you believe that the physical universe is "it" and God is just a word, then it is what you believe and order all your personal life by. It is possible for folks to act in ways that lead to evil, apart from religion, such as identity fraud, cooking books, embezzling, driving drunk, etc. And these cause the bulk of society's troubles, perhaps? (I don't know.) The gal who got arrested in our town for credit card theft was not religious.
Communist atheism has not been a bed of roses, either, if you look at stats. "Lack of religion" has not been a panacea. The problem of evil is one not limited to religion. However, I think that organized religion is often used as a springboard for a lot of evil, esp. if the religion itself is given the status of God.
bebu
+ .02
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SAHS
IMHO, I think that society in general does need whatever sort of basic personal code of ethical conduct is necessary for reasonably peaceful relations so that people can at least function in a manner that they don?t have to end up dominating, oppressing, or blowing each other to bits.
This does not necessarily have to be religion, or even, for that matter, politics as we know it. However, people need something. But instead of the whole world arguing and bickering about religio-political semantics until the proverbial ?cows come home,? it could just be something as simple as this: everybody treat each other as they would like to be treated, try to work for the cooperation of social and economic growth, and, for goodness sake, let?s celebrate diversity and happiness.
I know that is ultra simplistic, and may differ a wee bit from what you see on CNN, but, ... well, ... it?s just a thought, eh.
?SAHS
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Euphemism
When you've had something crammed down your throat all your life, I think you'd be pretty abnormal if you didn't have a bit of an allergy to it.
I think that's especially true of theology. Unless I'm much mistaken, you were never really that much into the doctrinal stuff even when you were a Witness, were you? So why on earth should you be interested in it now?
That's my take, anyway.