Do you have to be part of organized religion?

trumind

Ok. This is my first thread and I am very interested to see the kinds of responses I get. My question to you all is do you beleive you have to be a member of some type of organized religion in order to have God's approval? I was raised in JW household, never baptized. My mother became inactive as a result of a divorce that left her with 5 small children to care for by herself. At first, the brothers and sisters were very supportive. I remember one moring waking up and finding boxes and boxes of food on the porch. As we stopped making it to meetings, my mom was working two jobs, they stopped coming around. At 10 years old, I believed that because the JW's stopped caring so did Jehovah. It was not until now, as am adult I realized that Jehovah never left me. When I pray, he still hears me. All my life he has been with me. I believe that. It caused me to ask myself do I have to be a part of an organization to have Jehovah's love? Not just JW's but any organized religion?

Silverleaf

Welcome to the board, trumind! You pose an interesting question.

My response may not be exactly what you're looking for, but here it is anyway:

You wrote:
>>My question to you all is do you beleive you have to be a member of some type of organized religion in order to have God's approval?<<

My response is: Absolutely not. In fact my personal belief is just the opposite. Of course, I'm Pagan, and while Pagans can and do worship in groups and belong to organizations at times, the general idea is that one's relationship with God/Goddess or however you see the divine is not a group project, it's a one on one relationship that does not know the boundaries of church walls or pre-written rules. We each forge our own relationship with our creator on individual terms and that relationship cannot be designed for us by someone else any more that our relationship with our human parents can or should be dictated by a third party.

You also asked: >>do I have to be a part of an organization to have Jehovah's love?<<

And in response I can only ask,[hypothetically] if you have siblings, do your parents only love you as a group or do they love you as individuals? [If you don't have siblings a better example might be, do you think your creator can find an individual tree in the forest? Can he see an individual soul among billions? If so, then the answer to your question has to be no.

Just my humble opinions, blessed be and good to meet you, trumind!

Silverleaf

D wiltshire

trumind,

No organized religion is in no way nessasary to have a relationship with God.
That's all Watchtower propaganda.

I'll defend your right to say it, but it doesn't mean I beleive it.

Introspection

Hi Tru. Your post reminds me of a line in one of the Star Trek movies where captain Kirk asks this alien who poses as God: "What does God need with a starship?" I think the same thing can be said about organized religion. I think it's pretty simple. You may be part of a community that is supportive, but just the word "organization" will tell you it's not as personal. But of course your question was whether people needed an organization. Of course it doesn't make much sense to say God doesn't need an organization (which should be pretty obvious) but you need an organization to reach God. What possible reason would there be? Does God want you to fill out a detailed form and have you sign in three places, have it notarized etc?? Even more specifically, if we're talking about having God's love then can't God just read the heart? Why do you need any of the other stuff? It might be nice to be part of a small community of genuinely loving people, but certainly not having membership in some organization. After all, having that membership is no guarantee that you'd survive armageddon even according to the witnesses, so what's more important?

Introspection

I also wanted to chime in on Silver's point. I think when it comes to any religious organization, the logical thing is that the spiritual strength of the organization comes from the relationship each individual has with God or the divine, not from the organization itself. Maybe after being a witness for some time this isn't as obvious, but just take baptism for example. Isn't it supposed to be a personal dedication to God? Even the witnesses agree that the individuals in the organization comes to a certain point in their relationship with God and then they're good enough to join, so what's first and foremost there? After all, if people disregard their relationship with God, isn't it just an organization of men? The fact is, if you don't have an organization and have a relationship with God, that would be pretty good. If you have the organization but not a relationship with God, that means nothing. I've been out of the loop for a while, but last time I checked the organization was stressing loyalty to itself more than one's relationship with God, that should tell you something.

Tatiana

Watch the movie "Stigmata". It didn't change my mind about not needing organized religion. It just reaffirmed my thoughts on it.

April

"Love never dies." Voivodul Vlad Draculea (from Bram Stoker's Dracula-1992)

gumby

Welcome aboard.
As an answer to your question....many who became christian were not always around households and places of meeting in the first century and God was still with them.Those who could meet in homes (which was the custom at that time period)did so with fellow christians. Accepting christ as savior was what was emphasized and belief in him and then the holy spirit would then be with you and be your guide. If meeting together with other keeps you strong...why not do so? Your question is a good one and one many have themselves asked.
HERE IS SOMETHING I WOULD LIKE TO JUST THROW IN THAT I THOUGHT WAS COOL TO SHARE WITH YOU OFF THE SUBJECT
The Center of the Bible. This is pretty strange or odd how it worked out
this way. Even if you are not religious, you should read this.
What is the shortest chapter in the Bible?
Answer - Psalms 117.
What is the longest chapter in the Bible?
Answer - Psalms 119
Which chapter is in the center of the Bible?
Answer - Psalms 118
Fact: There are 594 chapters before Psalms 118
Fact: There are 594 chapters after Psalms 118
Add these numbers up and you get 1188.
What is the center verse in the Bible?
Answer - Psalms 118:8
Does this verse say something significant about God's perfect will for
our lives?
The next time someone says they would like to find God's perfect will for
their lives and that they
want to be in the center of His will, just send them to the center of His
Word!
Psalms 118:8 (NKJV) "It is better to trust in
the LORD than to put confidence in man."
Now isn't that odd how this worked out (or was God in the center of it?
Before sending this, I said a prayer for you. You got a minute? 60 seconds
for God? All you do is simple say a small prayer for the person who sent
you this.
"Father God bless _________ in whatever it is that> you know he/she may be
needing this day! And may ___ life be full of your peace, prosperity and
power as he/she seeks to have a closer relationship with You." Amen.

**Faith doesn't get you around trouble, it gets you
through it.**

TAKE CARE AND ENJOY THE JOURNEY

gumby

I DID NOT MEAN TO SEND THIS PART OF MY LAST POST. I DON'T LIKE THIS!

Before sending this, I said a prayer for you. You got a minute? 60 seconds
for God? All you do is simple say a small prayer for the person who sent
you this.
"Father God bless _________ in whatever it is that> you know he/she may be
needing this day! And may ___ life be full of your peace, prosperity and
power as he/she seeks to have a closer relationship with You." Amen
SORRY

peacepipe

Hi trumind and welcome aboard!
I'm newer to the board but I read your post with interest as it's a good question. The JW's as you know say it's important to worship together as do most other religions I'm aware of. But sometimes it seems that the goal steers away from worship and into keeping the church going financially, or rituals that don't really make sense etc (just my view- I'm not saying I'm right).

Anyhow, I hope that someday I, (like SilverLeaf & some others on this board have seemed to found), will find the "god of my dreams". The god that loves you always and not with rules and dogmas but within the moral codes set forth by the natural order of the universe and our sense of reason(does that make sense? I'm not sure). A personal relationship that makes you more human and alive and intune with everything. Organized religion has its benefits for some but there are others whose questions are just to big to fit into it's boundaries and still be content. You'll find your way. Keep searching and read the board. There is alot of useful information you'll take in here. Remember happier days are ahead.

The unexamined life is not worth living

Satanus

tru

You absolurely do not need to be part of anything to have gods approval.

That said, i believe that religions serve some good? purposes and some bad ones. Some people believe that human developement consists of stages: 20 years of growing up and learning how to live in the world, another 20 years raising a family, finally finding oneself at around 40 years, and exploring spirituality or the meanings of life or somesuch for 20 years, then from 60 years on, teaching others. During the earlier stages of life, a person feels much insecurity, and belongong to a group, religious or whatever reduces this insecurity. Ever been part of a clique or gang when you were a teenager? One would hope that at some point in everyones life he/she would be strong enough to break free from groupthink.

Ultimately you can approach god ONLY by yourself. Christians say you can only go by the 'door' jesus. Fine, go by that door, if you want. Jesus wanted people to be like him, to realize they were divine just as he was. He even called them gods. After you have gone through that door, god still approves you all by your lonesome. Oh, do whatever you want.

S

Do you have to be part of organized religion?

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