My God Complex

xjw_b12

When I left JWism I still believed in God.

I even ordered other bible editions and literature from religious book clubs.

But the more I researched, especially on the internet, and some of the thesises I read, I've begrudgingly come to the conclusion that the bible is nothing more than a series of stories, genelogies, and fables passed down from generation to generation. Little of which has any historical significance.

This God thing I am still having problems with.

I want to believe in a God......or do I?

Do I need a God? Does God need me?

If there is a God and he's trying to prove a point, what point is it he is trying to make?

Is God trying to prove that we cannot live without him?

Can God live without us? Who would his "subjects" be, or who would "worship"him if we kill ouselves off, or "HE" annilates us?

xjw_b12 off to open a bottle of Glenlivet

AlmostAtheist

I want to believe in a God......or do I?
Do I need a God? Does God need me?

I wouldn't be surprised to find there is some genetic predisposition in humans to act in a way that gives the appearance of searching for something spiritual. But at the present, I believe the tugging I feel toward spirituality is simply old habit. How long have you been out of the JW's? I've only been away for a few months, so I figure in a few years I'll re-evaluate the spirituality question after I've had some un-spiritual time to get the habit to die off.

When I was a kid (had never heard of JW's yet) I had an idea for a story about God being "sick" and close to death. The world had to be told, and it had to work together to save him. Of course, when they did do it, he would bless them and the world would become a paradise. Maybe a better story would be that the world in fact did NOT save him, he died off, and there they were.

Come to think of it, Scott Adams did this even better in God's Debris. If you've never read, you should give it a try. Quite a cool read.

Dave

xjw_b12

AA

How long have you been out of the JW's?

Coming up on 10 years now.

I thought I had this out of my system, long time ago. I think my hangup is this creation vs evolution thing. When I was in school, I was very aggressive in presenting the creation sceanrio vs evolution. I would present my arguments in class and during debates and public speaking competitions. I was very passionate about it, and imho very good at it. I took some ridicule for it, but I had both students, and teachers come up to me and commend me on my stand. I even had a few tell me that they were convinced my position was the correct one.

The sticking point for me, is when I look around and see what I preceive as the perfection and beauty of all that lives and breathes. (In nature anyways, us humans can be pretty ugly on an emotional level)

Can I attribute that to a creator who has a flair for the magnificent, and a sense of humour (giraffes)? Yet how do I reconcile that against the Father who has abandoned his children?

When I was a kid (had never heard of JW's yet) I had an idea for a story about God being "sick" and close to death. The world had to be told, and it had to work together to save him. Of course, when they did do it, he would bless them and the world would become a paradise. Maybe a better story would be that the world in fact did NOT save him, he died off, and there they were.

That sounds like an awesome idea for a story and a movie. Seriously.

Come to think of it, Scott Adams did this even better in God's Debris. If you've never read, you should give it a try. Quite a cool read.

I'll have to check it out, thank you.

seven006

XJW,

I went through the same process many years ago that you are now experiencing. I then looked at the god the bible talks about and compared him to myself to see the difference in an imperfect human father and a supreme being heavenly father. Once it was tallied up, the supreme being wasn't looking so supreme.

Did I demand that my kids worshiped me simply because I helped put them on this earth? No.
Did I play games with my kids to prove that they loved me so much they would kill for me just to prove it? No.
Was I a jealous father because they chose to love others as much as they did me? No.
Did I tempt them with a bag of cookies that they could not eat or I would kick them out of the house if they did? No.
Did I threaten to kill them and all their friends if they did not keep telling me how great I was and what a great provider I was every night before they hopped in bed or sat down for a hot dog and coke? No.

I asked myself many questions like this and to my surprise, I was one hell of a lot better father then the bible god was. I had a lot more love, compassion, and understanding then the genocidal and incredibly insecure god of the bible. Also my ex-wife was a lot meaner than Satan and I never cast her down anywhere to fuck up anyone else's life.

If there is a god, he's not the one the bible talks about. No supreme being could be that arrogant, blood thirsty, petty, and neurotic. Using the bibles own words things never add up. God is love...love is not jealous...God is a jealous god...God loved the world so much he gave his son...be no part of the evil world...and on and on. Either god has a real problem making up his mind or he might possibly have a drinking problem. If a cynical middle aged pain in the ass like myself treats his kids better then the god of the bible, it's no wonder the world is so screwed up and confused.

I don't know about evolution but I always got a kick out of the Skeptic Societies comment. Why is it so hard for creationist to believe we all came from modified monkeys when they believe we all came from modified dirt? Going beyond the monkey theory it starts with us coming from smart little globs of bacteria. We see how smart little globs of bacteria can get into our body and restructure our cells that eventually kill us, why not reverse what has already been proven to be factual with germs, viruses and bacteria and think they could evolve to create a living cell as opposed to just killing them. It can be so confusing. Personally I don't care anymore. My interests in who, what, and where, have changed and my priorities in life are my kids. It makes life a lot simpler. I no longer ponder where we came from or where we are going. I care more about where I am now. That's hard enough to deal with. I'll just let the religions of the world fight over the who, what, where, and why, and keep killing each other until either they all can agree, or there is no one left to disagree. I have a lot better, and a lot less insane things to think about

Just a thought.

Dave

holly

Yeah, i remember a newspaper competition quite a few years ago. it asked you write something of great impact in no more than 3 words.

The words that won were ' GOD LAY DYING'

Guess we all need to believe in something

Carmel

Another good read is "God Passes by" By Shogghi Effendi

carmel

czarofmischief

When Jonah met God, he ran away.

When he fled to where he thought safety lay, he wound up in desperate straits indeed. By going where he didn't want to go, he found himself where he should be.

Myth or not, the moral is:

Is there something you think you should be doing, but aren't out of fear, or boredom, or laziness? (Not to be condemning, we are all like that, especially me!) If you cannot find God through mere cerebration, perhaps a more physical route is called for. What physical thing have you always wanted to do? Something you have always thought, yes, one day I shall do that, yes, that is what I was put here on earth to do, and why haven't you done it? I believe that God urges all of us to something beautiful; the Catholics call it a "calling." If He put you here, it was for a reason, yes? Hence, go forth to your destiny, which inside of yourself, you already know what it is.

In pursuit of the animal, we find the divine catching up. But pursue the divine, and it slips away, leaving us with only the animal.

(wishing I had Glenlivet instead of stale tortilla chips, Mountain Dew, and some NyQuil)

CZAR

xjw_b12

seven. you make me cry and laugh at the same time. I have always admired how well you put thought to print. You say a lot of the things I think.

holly. hello. I don't think I've welcomed you yet...so WELCOME to JWD. We will have to encourage Almost Athiest to write that story.

Carmel Is "God passes By" written from a jews perspective? That piques my curiosity.

Czar. Did you copy that out of a book or sumthin? (joking) My reason for being here? Hhmm. I have a few I think. None of them divine. All of them important, at least to my friends and family.

czarofmischief

Did you copy that out of a book or sumthin?

Nah - but I am trying to write one... just thoughts I have about the matter...

It reminds me of the experiences that samurai would have, spiritually enhanced through physical training; that's what I meant. Sometimes the effort put into a project, a material one, can have spiritual rewards.

CZAR

frenchbabyface

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My God Complex

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