This whole fear issue

Lady Lee

I have some friends who are Christians. I have gone to their church a few times. Never once have I heard them or anyone else say they have to attend services. I've never heard anyone wonder if a church official is going to call them to find out if they have been shariung the message of the Bible with others or to make sure they are at the services or to tell them to bring others who might be interested.

My friends find out about special interdenominational conferences and they decide if they want to go -- or not. No pressure is put on them whatsoever.

They certainly don't have to look over their shoulder to see if someone is going to cathc them doing something that might go against their religious beliefs.

They lead good honest moral lives. With no pressure put on them and certainly no fear of God pounded onto their backs.

So why do they go to church? It's simple. They want to. They want to share their faith in God with others. They get together with other people in their church but they also have many friends who are from other faiths or even those like me who haven't got a clue.

They want to.

That's it.

They will talk religion with me if I start the discussion. They totally understand my strong reservations about having anything preached to me. And they respect that. And when I do open the subject they share, not preach. We just sit and talk about various questions. With never any pressure to go to church - theirs or any other.

Isn't that exactly how it should be. If you believe in something you do it and share it. No fear. No shame. No guilt for not doing it.

Simply because you love God and want to express that love.

Wendy_Warden

I was wondering about that. My BF is always a little shy/embarrassed to say anything about his church. I've never gone and I understand he can't come to mine, but still. I feel like asking him why he thinks the JW church discourages their followers from reading anything even the Bible without the direction of the church.

I actually read an old watchtower that said if a man were to study the scriptures without the "guidance” of the org then they would be in darkness in two years time. If darkness is the freedom you have outside the JW then I think so. If your faith is truly and easily found in the word of God then you shouldn't have to worry about people reading it on their own. People in the Catholic and Amish churches are discouraged from reading the Bible as well. If darkness is freedom then go for the darkness. Wendy

delilah

So why do they go to church? It's simple. They want to.

BINGO. they go out of love....they are not forced to go out of fear. Big difference, eh?And that freedom of fear is wonderful....I do not miss the "looking over my shoulder thing" at all.

Nice post Lady Lee, I enjoyed it very much.

codeblue

LL

Lady Lee

It is really amazing how heavy that fear weighs down on us.

Where I lived in Montreal there was a Metro (subway) station. It had 3 sets of 30 steps from the platform level to the street level. I could never run to the top - not even close although I certainly tried many times.

Once I discovered the truth about "The Truth" I felt lighter than air. And the very next time I tried running up those stairs I did it. All the way to the top and still had plenty of air and energy left to keep going. I remember turning around and looking at the stairs in shock that I had just gone all the way up.

I have lived almost my entire life with some form of abuse. I am used to being weighed down with fear. But making it to the top that day and feeling so good and light was just awesome.

It really is amazing how much that weighs a person down.

Many people don't realize how oppressive the Quebec government is in Canada. If you speak only English you are at a disadvantage. When you walk into a store the sales staff MUST greet you in French. When you make a call to a business they must answer in French. It is harder to get work when you only speak English. Public signs MUST be in French. If you add English to the sign the English must be smaller than the French and never first.

And as a kid my education was in Ontario and except for a few beginners classes I never learned to speak French. Whenever we would leave the province for a trip, a convention, whatever I could always feel this lighted load off my shoulders. And when we returned home I could feel this pressure back on me as soon as we crossed the border. It was a strong physical sensation. And this is one of the main reasons I did not want to move back to Montreal, Quebec where both my daughters live. I have no desire to live in that kind of atmosphere where individual rights and freedoms are ignored or oppressed.

looking_glass

Many fundamentalist religions use fear as a factor. And as a matter of fact, I do know several "good" Catholics - Jesuits that are teriffied of burning in hell. So there is an aspect of fear in many religions. I believe that most organized religions are dangerous if a person allows someone or something else to think for them and make decisions for them.

Lady Lee

Many fundamentalist religions use fear as a factor. And as a matter of fact, I do know several "good" Catholics - Jesuits that are teriffied of burning in hell.

True but they don't live with the fear of the priest or another member of the church spying on them and then reporting back to the priest. If they don't attend a mass it isn't a big deal and they aren' "marked" as a weak Christian with all that "marking" means in the WTS.

I think there is a huge difference between a doctrine that if you sin (well who hasn't) you will pay after you die and the WTS-style of marking and turning your entire support system, friends and family against you to the point that they will cross the street to avoid you because you smoked a cigarette or stepped inside another church for a friend's wedding..

looking_glass

LL - I agree to disagree. I don't believe that JWs solely have the market on the whole policing religion thing. LDS do it. 7th Day Adventists do it. I could go on with respect to the various thousands of religions that participate in this type of mind control over their congreation. I don't know percentages as to the number of religions that practice this type of mind control. However, I still stand by my theory that most organized religion does much more harm then good.

And as for family members and/or friends turning their backs on one another ... I am sure that you have seen the same as I have seen families that turn their backs on fellow family members for perceived wrongs whether religious based or not. It is a condition that is present in society today. The ability to HATE for little or no cause but a person's perceived notion of right or wrong.

Lady Lee

lg I totally agree that other fundamentalist religions practice shunning.

You mentionned Catholics (in your first post). That is what my comment was responding to - that the Catholic church has a policy of shunning anyone who leaves the Catholic Church or commits a sin. EcCommunication is not widely practiced in the Catholic church - at least not any that I know.

Mormons, Amish, even Orthodox Jews and many others practice various forms of shunning. And I am sure it is just as painful to the ones who are shunned. Years ago I had a Jewish friend who father litterally tore the shirt off his back and denouced his daughter and never spoke to her again.

And as much as some churches do practice various forms of shunning and have caused many of the problems in the world today there are many many many religions that do so much to help those who need helf - think food banks, shelters for the homeless, food lines, clothing and housewares all to aid the needy. And many actually go to hospitals to HELP people and give them spiritual and emotional support instead of making sure they are obeying the rules.

As much as we can say religion has hurt people we also have to acknowledge how much good they do - without checking to see if the person in need is one of their own. When I worked at the Salvation Army they never asked if the person belonged to the church and they never told them help was conditional on attending services.

lovelylil

I agree with looking glass. But lady Lee, it sounds like the church you went to is very balanced in their beliefs. You should go and worship God only out of love and the fact that you are not there under fear. Good point! I know others who rather worship God in their own home or outside in the woods, or where ever. And thats o.k. Too. Many believe you have to go to a certain building or believe a certain creed but it is just not true. There is truth in all religions and we should feel free to follow it where ever we shall find it. Those groups that use fear, whether it be hellfire or destruction at armegeddon are all on a power trip and are led by men, not by Holy Spirit.

My favorite worship these days is being outside, looking up at the sky and thanking the good Lord that I am alive and I am Free!

This whole fear issue

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