Great thread Littletree.
This is something close to me also. I have no spiritual inclinations and as a child in the JWs I felt that I was on the outside. Everyone else appeared (alledgedly) to have a strong belief and faith whereas I could never share their enthusiasm or excitement. This made me feel like a complete fraud and a hypocrite.
I so wanted their fervor to engulf me, but it never did. God, Jehovah, Jesus, etc were too abstract a concept for me to adopt. Like you, I felt that good things happened by your own deeds and actions.
I still have no need for any spiritual activity, and don't foresee this changing. This is no doubt connected to the fact that being a JW was not an informed and free adult choice, rather it was a case of parental compliance.
However, I admire those who can dissect doctrines, beliefs etc in the search for truth.
One thing I have noticed on the board tho - sometimes those who have no religious beliefs, or indeed now despise any form of religion tend to be rather judgemental. They seem to regard those who still need to fill their spiritual vacuum as somehow letting the side down.
We must appreciate and respect other's beliefs, and not generalise whilst taking the moral highground.
There are good Christians, there are bad Christians, and likewise JWs. I feel it's important to look at who the person is rather than what they are.
Is religion and faith not possible for some?
by littletree 13 Replies latest jw friends
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Freedom Fighter
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OICU8it2
Man I think like that all the time. The only thing that makes me feel there may be a God is the design in creation and the infinitisimal sp? odds against some sort of quantum vacuum fluctuation starting it all. Hell, even that would require a preexisting quantum state and perhaps space for it to occur in. As to faith, I think it is a built-in (by whom?) self-help mechanism. Maybe God only pops up every few thousand years. That would only be a couple of days to him. So insigmificant yet suupposedly every hair on your head is numbered and you are worth more than many sparrows and are created a little lower than angels. I used to think there was no result from praying because my prayers were hindered due to lack of service, faith, and other unmentionables. Time may tell but not for us.
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seedy3
I get the question, "Oh so you must believe in Evoloution" when I tell people that I am an Athiest. But the thing is I do not "Beleive" in evoloution or anything for that matter, I do think Evoloution has a possibility, and the short term effects are 100% proven (i.e. selective breading and such), however the long term effects are not as clear. So without "Facts" I cannot "Believe" in it as that would take faith in the unknown and I do not have faith in the unknown. Do I think man will travel to distant galaxies, Well I think it's a good possibility, but again I do not have faith, I only think it's probable. Do viruses cause colds, and the flu, yep for sure, and I don't need faith, that's fact.
Ok
Seedy
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larc
When I was in my late teens, I was a true believer in the JWs. I took me several years and several stages to become a nonbeliever. With that, I bacame an agnostic, which I have been for most of my adult life. I am 63. Someone mentioned that he found people of our ilk to be judgemental. I don't judge. After all, I used to be a believer myself. I also do not try to convert someone to my way of thinking, though I will discuss it if they ask. The worst person to talk to, in my experience, is a drunk at a bar who wants to tell me about Jesus.