Rocky-Girl,
Exactly, instead of doing all the mental gymnastics necessary to try to make it fit, why not just admit they just like the idea of it and would probably stick with it even if Jesus himself told them it was a nonsense.
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over the last couple of years, i have done a lot of reading, and rather than answering my questions, it has made me think even more - particularly about god and the bible.. when i was kicked out of the wtbts, it was because of my personal belief in jesus.
Rocky-Girl,
Exactly, instead of doing all the mental gymnastics necessary to try to make it fit, why not just admit they just like the idea of it and would probably stick with it even if Jesus himself told them it was a nonsense.
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over the last couple of years, i have done a lot of reading, and rather than answering my questions, it has made me think even more - particularly about god and the bible.. when i was kicked out of the wtbts, it was because of my personal belief in jesus.
I spent most of my life never even considering any of this debate. But the last ten or so have been consumed with it, and I have come to a simple conclusion.
Believers believe because they want to.
he was recruited, sort of, when his church (unity) was queried if they had somebody who could.
god is love.
feel love instead of hate for that person who wronged you.
Thanks for sharing Terry. I can relate to the feelings stirred up by your experience.
if he is the lord god almighty, solely the creator and sustainer of the universe, why the need for a name other than that?
doesn't monotheism require belief that the other, named gods worshipped by the pagans don't exist in a place beyond the imaginations of their worshippers?
why then the need for a name, if it isn't to reinforce a differentiation between him and lesser gods?
I think you will enjoy this essay: http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/211731/1/but-did-you-know-that-God-has-a-name-A-personal-name-Nine-Billion-of-them
if you just want the juicy details where i leave, i'll make disclaimer where it begins, if you just want to know what happened with the elders and organization after i realized it wasn't true, i'll mark that seperately.
we didn't do jack shit in service, or in the congregation.
maybe this was how jehovah came about?
I missed this first time around, but glad I found it. I have enjoyed your voice of reason and excellent way of expressing it in other threads. Thanks for sharing your story.
That definitely needed to be said Trevor. Thanks for expressing it so well. It's tough to have a discussion with those who have invisible goalposts.
I personally don't see any disrepect and am totally into the discussion. There have been a ton of threads like this and although the persons discussing never change their viewpoints, others reading it can sure be enlightened, like I was many years ago.
this post - and i warn you now, its a longish essay - is going to be all about names.
but to get started, a little quiz: - what do the following all have in common?.
mount fuji, the river avon, the sahara desert, lake niassa.. .
Excellent!
are jehovah's witnesses the only religion teaching the truth?.
the statement that only jehovah's witnesses are teaching the truth is an extraordinary claim.
such a claim would require extraordinary evidence.
I concur, great post!!!!
Grenade? Really?
of all the issues affecting every person's picture of reality, nothing is more fundamental than questions about god.. is there one god, creator and sovereign of all?could there be more than one god?
or no god at all?if there is a god (or gods), then what is that god (or gods) like?nothing determines your worldview-and the course of your life-more than how you answer those questions.
yet some atheists like to make light of the god question.
Great post JonathanH!