I guess my question is, 'Does God believe in Atheists?'
Outaservice
I Don't Believe in God, or wait, Maybe I Do. . . a little wisdom please?
by Pioneer Spit...oh, i mean Spirit 26 Replies latest jw experiences
-
-
JamesThomas
Pioneer, listen to your own wisdom. If you choose to believe in God, and yet your heart can not accept the murderous frolics of mutant deities, then don't believe in them! Cast off your Bible programming and it's tiny little gods. You've outgrown archaic tribal myths and fictitious "holy" characters.
I suggest you take your heartfelt desire for knowing your Source and sustenance, out into nature and inward into the depths of your own sense of being and existing. Stop believing that what the word G-O-D points to is an objective thing or entity, and thus so tiny as to be absent or separate from the intimacy and immediacy of your own existence. Open yourself to discovery and realization of the true depths of Reality that beliefs only hide.
Awaken from the slumber of believing.
j
-
MeneMene
Evetteto said, "borg(which I really dont know what the letters stand for...HELP)" ... I am curious too. I know it means the organization but how did it end up borg??? Thanks
-
Balsam
I've been out now for 5 1/2 years. I have felt one extreme to another and all over the place since leaving. I've doubted Christianity, doubted the bible period. It was a Jewish Rabbi Harold Kushner who wrote the book "When Bad Things Happen to Good People" helped me to find faith again in the Divine. It is a wonderful book that give everyone who reads it a spiritual hug.
How does the Divine view Atheists? Well I believe that he/she our creator and life giver understands all and there is no need for explaination for how we feel. Most of us when we leave the JW's we are so wounded by our experience with this religion that it just kills so much in us.
Today though we live in a sometimes violent world and life is unpredicable, it is equally beautiful and awesome. I watched the movie "The March of the Pequins" and though where is the divine in all that they experience as they try to care for their precious eggs and hatchlings. The many who die trying to reproduce. It is like us in our struggle, only the penquins don't think or reason on the divine. They just do what come to them through instinct. They know that to survive is the key to all things surrounding their live, and yes death happens. And yes the movie captured how they mourned the loss of their eggs or hatchlings. They feel life just like we do, only they don't talk about God or wonder where God is and why he allows them to suffer. Don't we see that in all the animal kingdom, why is it that we as humans even think about the divine? So much to think about and wonder about especially when we are not fighting just to survive each and every day.
-
seattleniceguy
Hey there, Pioneer Spit.
I am conflicted as to whether I can or even want to believe in God.
My advice? To me it doesn't make sense to want or try to believe in something. When you find it difficult to believe in something, it's not a problem. It's your brain saying that things don't add up.
The whole religious concept of working to believe is ludicrous. How much work would it take for you to believe in Santa Claus? Is there any amount of 32-page brochures that could convince you of His exalted existence? Think for a moment about why that is.
You don't need to render a decision right away if you don't find convincing evidence either way. If you find the concept difficult to believe, but you're not ready to say you don't believe in God, there's nothing wrong with saying, "For me, the jury's still out on that one. I just don't know." Perhaps the biggest legacy of religion is the need people feel to have iron-clad belief systems in place about things for which, gosh darnit, there's just not that much data available. It's okay not to know.
Just my two cents. Hang in there.
SNG
-
kitten whiskers
Give yourself time. I too try to read mostly from the new testament. Came near a nervous breakdown while exiting the jw thinking and trying to figure out so much. Is God's name Jehovah? Is he a trinity? I still don't have all the answers I want. But I am learning to trust his love and not be AFRAID of him. I am going to a church that teaches and shows love. Today the preacher said " If we are in the middle of God's will, we don't have to fear. We are never alone" JW teaching is so warped compared to this simple statement. What did the scriptures really say is God's Will? Loving God and neighbor and taking care of widows and orphans. When we can attach God's will to these and not just think " we have to go in field service every available minute and it will still never be enough", Christ's load does become light and his yoke kindly. This is what I have been finding in the past year since I left. Pour your heart out in prayer and keep searching. Remember the scripture, if you knock it will be opened to you? Keep knocking. I have so many times wished I could ask Jesus questions face to face and have answers. I know I'm not alone. Sometimes it seems like the knock at the door will never be answered, but I think we grasp a small amount at a time. This is a very emotional and psychologically challenging time. I hope you find your answers! Hugs, Kitten Whiskers
-
OnTheWayOut
To add my 2 cents,
I find it difficult to believe in God after my experience with a mind-control cult.
I looked for God in a vulnerable state, I asked for his guidance in my life, and
what I got was something that took over my life and threatens to further ruin
it if I ever leave it.So now, besides having doubts about God, I know I will avoid any organized
religion. I have examined some scholarly writings on the ancient Hebrews and
their belief system, I have examined how the Bible might have become what it
is today- this has only further led to my rejection of religion as a whole.If there is a God, virtually all religions teach that he is not out to destroy all of
mankind that doesn't discover the one true religion. If God wants to be worshipped
correctly, He would allow good people to find him, so I don't think he is so
shallow and vain that He's worried about every last person getting it right. I
personally feel that any God out there is very understanding and forgiving. If I try
to be a good person, and he has not revealed himself to me with 100% accuracy, then
it is only my job to be a good person and He will forgive anything else. That's in
harmony with most Christian religions and many others. There may be many paths
that help people to spiritual harmony, and God (if he's there) probably appreciates
any efforts you make to find them. Enjoy life and continue the search for truth. Though
you may never be at your destination, the journey is important. -
Narkissos
I would second SNG's suggestion from the opposite (i.e. religious) angle.
Whetherthere is a God cannot be separated from whathe/she/it/they is/are. Reverence for the true mystery which the word "God" may stand for can incline one not to decide about either. Of course one could use the word "God" as a perfect unknown ("x") but it would not suit common definition. So this would actually be begging for misunderstanding.
Heidegger once said something to the effect that "questioning is the piety of thinking".
-
freedomloverr
****As a JW I believed that God is an angry God who feeds on our soldiering endurance and tears, and we can appease him by being superior to others. ****
those were also the same qualities that *gods* of ancient Egypt, Greece, etc. displayed. they were only myths- correct?
I can understand your inner conflict. I've been there also. try to understand that the *god* we were taught as jw's was a faceless, powerless, ancient tribal god that could very well have been cousins with Baal, Artemis, Nanginal, etc. that's all he was.
but *god* (I cringe to use that word because of the conditioned response it can induce) or as I like to label it - *infinite inner wisdom* is something that starts from a dark, silent, motionless place deep within you. you are divine and you hold all the divinity you will ever need to be spiritually whole again. it takes time to find it. anger and inner frustration are a beautiful blessing. they are birth pangs before something majestic arrives in your path.
you may want to try meditating. it brings answers and peace and *god* -
Gregor
Does it ever occur to anybody that the ONE that could settle all this is completely silent/absent? Even a humble human endeavor like, say, General Mills, can inform millions about their new Sugar Crunch cereal in a matter of a few weeks. But the supposed Almighty God can't make himself known? He sets on high watching while y'all run around like a bunch of ants trying to confirm his existence? Puh-leese!
Do you WANT to believe in "God"? (or UFOs, or ESP or ghosts, etc) Then do it! Enjoy!
For those of us who don't, the whole subject is just toooo stupid to even discuss.
