Loving your religion as a way of life as much as a belief system

Qcmbr

Before I start this isn't a preach about the LDS church! I'm sitting here at work having been called in and thus missing Sunday meetings and I feel an ache to be at church. I sat musing on this and the thought came to me that I actually love my membership of my faith, I enjoy the people (for the most part), I am fulfilled by the lifestyle, I am disappointed when we don't 'win' (in statistical battles etc.. :) and I am generally satisfied by the doctrine and apologetics (I don't feel painted into too many untenable positions and I have more than satisfactory explanations for many of life's 'unanswerables'). In short - and this is the crux of my post (not a 'big up for Mormons') - I feel part of the fabric and culture of a faith and I love it. Even if I left I couldn't deny its part of who I am. It's a bit like that patriotic welling up you get in your heart when you watch your country play sports - even if they are cr*p - no matter how much we get whipped by the Aussies at cricket I cant help but feel fiercly proud of the whole English thing. Do any of you still feel that about the JW faith? - or did you ever feel it and miss that passion and emotional involvment?

DanTheMan

I have more than satisfactory explanations for many of life's 'unanswerables'). In short - and this is the crux of my post (not a 'big up for Mormons') - I feel part of the fabric and culture of a faith and I love it

The WTS's explanation for life's unanswerables is that everything we see is a complete deviation from how things are supposed to be, this deviation having been set in motion by a talking snake fooling the mythical progenitors of the human race into disobeying Yahweh the desert deity, and that this deviation will be corrected soon when Jesus-Michael, son of Yahweh the desert deity, kills everybody except JW's.

Nah, I don't miss being part of that fabric and culture.

Qcmbr

I'm still at work and I'm all alone at the top of a ten storey building :(

tetrapod.sapien

hi Q,

i used to feel like that when i was a witness. but in leaving that state of mind, i left religions and countries and clubs behind.

now, i feel more woven into the fabric of nature itself, seeing my body and the earth as a temple. and it's in these places that i feel a reverence that i never knew before. divine, by nature.

peace,

tetra

Carmel

I recall being a real zealot around nine or ten years old. I always did well on the tests we took monthly at the KH so got lots of Kudo's from adults. But once I started asking questions and pointing out discrepencies, the crap started and any emotional attachment began to wain. As I think about religion now, having left the borg, dwelt in agnosticism for over a decade then became a "believer" again, I am pretty detached from a lot of things that would normally emotionally hook a person. I enjoy a lively conversation about ideas and enjoy being part of a group of people that see themselves moving humanity forward in a subtle but positive way. Growth numbers are important to many in religions, but for me that is only a sign that they are insecure and need lots of "success" on the surface to authenticate they are on the "winning team". What I relish is seeing people move toward a way of life that is intellectually stimulating, socially rewarding so that both individually and collectively the belief system is working. I will never see the "golden age" but I am witnessing the process that is getting us there.

Such is life. We should all be able to love living.

carmel

chaiyah

There are times when we can share with others, the love of God's ways, and there are times we're in the Diaspora and it's just Him'n'us facing a harsh world. God is not necessarily in a church, nor out of it. He transcends "church." What I find works best for me is to join in His rest day, Friday sundown to Saturday sundown, and just kick back and listen for His "still small voice." Church-going is relative to where I happen to be living and who's nearby. I've found occasional fellowship with Quakers, Catholic monks and Anglicans, but also reverent and law abiding agnostics. I wrote a book about it, and it's an on-line freebie picturebook to read to one's children and point out the pictures -- www.holyconservancy.org/990007.htm , "Cherish the Children." Chaiyah

TopHat

I will take a look at your book chaiyah...welcome to the board.

yaddayadda

If you get a lot of satisfaction from staying in your church then stay. It can be a great framework for a vibrant social life, a community of like-minded people. If you don't experience any severe cognitive dissonance between your personal beliefs and what you keep hearing at your church, then it can't be that unhealthy to stay. Some people would rather be right than happy, and happiness is found in relationships, not dry words, doctrines, and creeds. Good on you.

betterdaze

Carmel said,

"What I relish is seeing people move toward a way of life that is intellectually stimulating,
socially rewarding so that both individually and collectively the belief system is working.
I will never see the "golden age" but I am witnessing the process that is getting us there."

Thanks! Could not have phrased it better.

~Sue

Fe2O3Girl

I actually love my membership of my faith, I enjoy the people (for the most part), I am fulfilled by the lifestyle, I am disappointed when we don't 'win' (in statistical battles etc.. :) and I am generally satisfied by the doctrine and apologetics (I don't feel painted into too many untenable positions and I have more than satisfactory explanations for many of life's 'unanswerables').

I did feel like that, and I am sure that a lot of JWs feel like that. I believe that the feeling of belonging more than makes up for discrepancies in the doctrine and apologetics for some JWs who actually understand the teachings, which is why banging on about some phrase on page 234 of the Finished Mystery book isn't going to make any difference to them.

I'm sure lots of us have heard JWs explicitly state that they don't care if it isn't The Truth, they wouldn't want to live any other way.

Loving your religion as a way of life as much as a belief system

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