by Gigi2121 48 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
I like Fayes idea.... Go to some churches and listen to what they have to say. Waking up and getting out of the dub lifestyle is very empowering and frightening not only because you do not know what you will find but mainly because you have had blinders on for so many years.
Good luck, enjoy the ride and welcome to your personal freedom!
pbrow
Just simplify it right down...IF there is a god He/She has simply not communicated to us what He or She wants us to do thus we should do nothing or not try to guess what He or She wants...
Therefore live your life, enjoy it, be happy, be loving, care for your family, have a laugh, have friends and be nice...
If a god calls you up for it at the end of your days then it is His or Hers fault for not communicating to us what He or She wanted...
Welcome GIGI2121 - enjoy your quest for the truth which satisfies your hopes & needs.
Just keep this scripture clearly worded in your mind, and don't misquote it the way that we as Witnesses have adopted: "Simon Peter answered him: “Lord, whom [not to 'where'] shall we go away to? You have sayings of everlasting life." (John 6:68)
Don't jump from the frying into the fire! Paul said that there was,
"...one Lord, one faith, one baptism.." (Eph. 4:5)
He didn't say one "religion", nor did he say two baptisms - one for the elite heavenly-hopers, and a different one for the earthly-hoper riff-raff!
Rutherford got some things right when he said this:
"Religion" by J.F. Rutherford (1940)
"...all Christians must avoid religion." (page 20)
"Nimrod set up religion, with himself as the visible representative of god..." (page 21)
"When Jesus came to the Jews he found the leaders teaching and practicing religion, showing that they had fallen under the influence of the demons." (page 39)
"Christianity and religion are two separate and distinct things, and the two are in complete opposition to each other." (page 46)
I had to look at it this way.
If there is a God he will come through.
If there is not , when I die, im not going to know anyway if i was right or wrong.
I have to not think about it and try to find a way to live the best way I can, that's all any of us can do.
Why can’t you follow a safer line?
Be good to yourself and to others—thus making you good attracts good things towards you (Law of Attraction, and Law of Common Sense), Hence you have the reward now itself, here in this life itself.
This is a safer line, because you do not loose whether God is there or not, whether He has some plans or not!
The following is known as the Atheists Wager (in answer to Pascal's) :
" You should live your life and try to make the world a better place for your being in it, whether or not you believe in god.
If there is no god, you have lost nothing and will be remembered fondly by those you left behind.
If there is a benevolent god, he will judge you on your merits and not just on whether or not you believed in him "
People tend to believe things that form a coherent narrative in their mind. If something seems to 'explain' things to you, you are more likely to believe it, irrespective of how much evidence there is to support it. The human mind is quite resourceful and inventive, and can conjure up explanatory narratives and adapt them to fit a subjective observation of reality. Unfortunately, there are far more ways of being wrong than there are of being right, so most 'hopes' and 'beliefs' are necessarily wrong. The scientific method, while not perfect, is the best thing we have to counter the effects of cognitive ease and confirmation bias and arrive at a truly objective and testable view of how the universe works (or as objective as we can be).
Some people think that objectively verified reality is boring. They want invisible people with super powers, and consciousness to exist outside the brain, and cosmic battles between good and evil. Others think that our understanding of the universe by means of science is breathtakingly beautiful and awe inspiring, and feel honoured to have our brief time in the sun.
