Posts by Curtains

40

how important was the hope of the paradise to you? and what do you hope in now?

by Curtains in

jw
friends

many become and remain witnesses because of the hope of living in a paradise earth.

for those who have left how did you cope with the loss of this hope?

or do you still have this hope?.

Curtains

BROTHERDAN

The problem is that JWs focus on their "reward" instead of knowing God and loving Him. They take John 17:3 and try to take in "knowledge" so that they can get their reward. It's a very selfish way to live.

I hope to be wherever my Lord and Savior is. Whether the end result is in heaven or on earth, I hope to serve Him now as I will then.

your point regarding JWs focusing solely and selfishly on the reward is so not the case. I'm not sure I know your history. were you ever a jw?

Most Jehovahs witnessess love God in the same way you describe loving God.

You have also raised an important issue for me. I think it is quite basic to want and desire reward. How does one reclaim one's desire for reward after seeing this aspect sabotaged by the Jehovahs witness teachings described by some of you in this thread. New chapter seems to have freed herself. My path is similar to hers. Rewards are very important to me - brotherdan would you class this as a selfish way to live. Or am I misunderstanding you?

hoffnug

If there exists something like paradise, it is going to be in heaven, it even seems more logic to me, with less practical problems.

I like what you have to say because the idea of heaven presents vast opportunities and rewards

darth,

I never had love for Jay Hoover. I did FS because of my hope for Paradise and eternal life. When I realized that the Bible is a scam and that all religions are hoaxes, I left. My hope is to live 80 years. I know I will die and never be ressurected again. No one ever turns back from the dead. Not even Jesus.

thanks for your honest response.

40

how important was the hope of the paradise to you? and what do you hope in now?

by Curtains in

jw
friends

many become and remain witnesses because of the hope of living in a paradise earth.

for those who have left how did you cope with the loss of this hope?

or do you still have this hope?.

Curtains

me too doofdaddy - i am also quite future with a ? oriented

40

how important was the hope of the paradise to you? and what do you hope in now?

by Curtains in

jw
friends

many become and remain witnesses because of the hope of living in a paradise earth.

for those who have left how did you cope with the loss of this hope?

or do you still have this hope?.

Curtains

daringhart

I struggle with it.

I admittedly do not know what to believe.

if it helps - I don't have a solid set of beliefs either. But congratulations on finding comfort in believing in God and Christ after the WT

40

how important was the hope of the paradise to you? and what do you hope in now?

by Curtains in

jw
friends

many become and remain witnesses because of the hope of living in a paradise earth.

for those who have left how did you cope with the loss of this hope?

or do you still have this hope?.

Curtains

pontoon

None of us know what the paradise would be like, at first it all sounds wonderful, Wat illustrations make it look fairy-tale-ish. But though, if true, perfect health, plentiful food...etc what not to like? But in reality I don't believe in fairy tales. I believe there would be much hard work to do, industry, farming, fixing and repairing tools and buildings and equipment as time and wear takes it's toll. I don't believe petting a lion and playing with a cobra is literal. In the wild food chain will still be there. Then we'll have to learn "new scrolls". KH every night. Worship every day. Suits and ties again. Here we go again

over here we were always told that the pics in the publications were just an artist's impression. I think somewhere along the line we realized they were infantile. In my vision KHs, elders, kingdom halls etc don't figure. my vision is very nature based. I like your points about industry, farming etc

acquagirl, emptyinside, awaken2004, foundsheep, finger, longhairgirl

40

how important was the hope of the paradise to you? and what do you hope in now?

by Curtains in

jw
friends

many become and remain witnesses because of the hope of living in a paradise earth.

for those who have left how did you cope with the loss of this hope?

or do you still have this hope?.

Curtains

outlaw otowo leavingwt - I'm afraid you did not understand what I meant

40

how important was the hope of the paradise to you? and what do you hope in now?

by Curtains in

jw
friends

many become and remain witnesses because of the hope of living in a paradise earth.

for those who have left how did you cope with the loss of this hope?

or do you still have this hope?.

Curtains

awen

Peace

At first the idea of a Paradise sounded like a good idea. One day I had an epiphany about it.

Matthew 16:25-" For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it."

If I truly loved God, then I shouldn't be doing his service with the idea of gaining a reward at the end. I thought of the whole 1975 fiasco and although I could understand why many people left, I had a serious problem with it. They were serving God with a time limit in mind. If things didn't happen within a certain amount of time, then they ended up leaving God. The thing is, this wasn't God's fault, but the WTS' fault for putting the idea in people's mind in the first place. Jesus himself said that no one knew the date for his return (except God) and so having some sort of time limit in mind was a waste of time and not done out of a sincere heart.

I agree - it is so important to let Jesus' words regarding the end remain open - therein lies the beauty of them. To set a time limit is completely at odds with his words. I like matthew 16:25 too

40

how important was the hope of the paradise to you? and what do you hope in now?

by Curtains in

jw
friends

many become and remain witnesses because of the hope of living in a paradise earth.

for those who have left how did you cope with the loss of this hope?

or do you still have this hope?.

Curtains

I don't have time to reply to everyone on page 1 but would dearly have like to as there were some points I wanted to comment on. I'll be back later today.

40

how important was the hope of the paradise to you? and what do you hope in now?

by Curtains in

jw
friends

many become and remain witnesses because of the hope of living in a paradise earth.

for those who have left how did you cope with the loss of this hope?

or do you still have this hope?.

Curtains

publishing cult

I am no longer attached to me and don't ever expect to see me myself living on and on. You are misundestanding what I am saying. sorry I can't be any clearer. I really like zen and am interested in seeing it as describing rather more than a vacuum

40

how important was the hope of the paradise to you? and what do you hope in now?

by Curtains in

jw
friends

many become and remain witnesses because of the hope of living in a paradise earth.

for those who have left how did you cope with the loss of this hope?

or do you still have this hope?.

Curtains

freskalynn

Besides I had already replaced the tenet with new things and their teachings didn't bother me at all. Having a form of worship does give one hope and peace of mind. I do have peace of mind. I don't belong to a religon.

factfinder

I believed in the paradise earth- I wanted to be healed and be healthy. Now my parents are dead, I won't ever see them again. :(

As for what hope I have now? There is none. The future looks very bleak to me now.

I'm so sorry about your parents. I lost mine 2 years ago and I too have experienced bleakness. To me seeing the future as bleak is a necessary part to being alive. The bleakness passes just as day pases into night and so on.

40

how important was the hope of the paradise to you? and what do you hope in now?

by Curtains in

jw
friends

many become and remain witnesses because of the hope of living in a paradise earth.

for those who have left how did you cope with the loss of this hope?

or do you still have this hope?.

Curtains

new chapter- what can I say. There is so much in your post that I agree with. But the anticipation aspect, (that of being on the threshold of something momentous) existed before we became witnesses and mutated into a hope for paradise conditions and any other changes Jehovah witnesses forsee. I now see Jehovahs witnesses as a byproduct (amongst others) of what I am trying to describe. Therefore I can participate with them fully knowing what motivates them. I love what you now enjoy.

.

I have replaced hope of living forever with a gratefulness for today. I am so happy I woke up in time to value this life before it is gone. I woke in time to look around at the wonders, and not simply wait for armeggedon to fully enjoy it. I hope every day I learn something new and that I leave something good behind.