hmmm, thats a good point sam the man, i dont know the answer to that one. what is your view on the bible? do u still beleive it at all? and if you do/dont what has made you decide? thanks
confused 18 year old
by lonelysam 22 Replies latest jw friends
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Sam the Man
Well Sam,
I'm sorry to say that I dont believe in the Bible. When I first knew that something wasn't right within the Organization, I wanted to grab something else. I done so much study, going around in circles examining the Bible, various other religious beliefs. Knowing that the Society were liars and have conned me all along really hit me hard, and it got me thinking 'if God doesnt use the WT, then who does he use?'
So thats when I started to study. All this of course whilst still going to the Kingdom Hall. I knew that this wasn't Gods Organization from my days at Bethel, which are still hard to talk about freely. I was living two lives...one, at the Kingdom Hall with my NWT, but the other life was with 'Jesus' and the proper translations. Hell, the WT had lied to me, why should I believe the NWT? Any other translation would do...I checked out so many testimonies, all from ex Witnesses. The underlining current in all of those was that people had left and become 'true followers of Christ'
That was what I wanted...to please God. Was God Christ? Wow, I really might be going to heaven after all... all these things ran through my head for a while. But then this spiritual state declined. Now the WT will tell you that the decline was due to not going to the meetings... which isnt true, because I was still going. I started to decline because of the study that I was doing. The things that blew my mind... I never even realised about the Bible. After all my time growing up and reading the Bible, I never realised that two of the gospel writers never claimed to have seen or known Jesus. I never knew that Paul of Acts was clearly not the same as Paul who wrote the letters. I couldn't bring myself to believe in the fairytales anymore Sam... and when you take a step back, and look! The Bible is full of them. I could not understand why for hundreds of years prior to Christ there were myths of people/Godmen who were exactly like Christ! You know, born on 25 Dec, turn water into wine, die on a cross, raised on third day, 12 disciples, etc. How can this be? The answer is that the early Christians were Pagans who adopted their own version of mystery Greek/Egyptian Gods to suit their needs. It had gone on for years prior to Christ.
I could not understand the story of the three wise men. Following a star would send you in circles. Herod the Great did not kill any babies. Nazareth did not exist in the 1st century AD – the area was a burial ground of rock-cut tombs. The original Mary was not a virgin. The idea was borrowed from pagan goddesses.... so many things to bring out, but not enough time to cover it all in one post.
Do you really believe that we are in this mess because a snake spoke to a woman in a garden? Do you really believe that God hated Cain because he was burning fruit yet Able was burning animals? Where did Cain's wife come from? Why do the two gospel writers place Jesus birth at different times?
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lonelysam
i know exactly what you mean about ''which is the true religeon'' im starting to think maybe there is no true religeon, and maybe God looks at individuals instead of groups. As to do with the rest of your post sorry to say i dont understand alot of it, i will do my research though (just like you have), im still learning alot about the bible and hopefully soon will understand it a bit more. it seems as if you have dealt with a huge amount over your time in bethel, and the way that the organisation has lied to you