Have you abandoned the hope of everlasting life? (page 3)

Backed away

Thank you FHN,

Death is not love to me.

I still cannot pick and choose portions of the Bible to believe as inspired or not based on if its cruel or not. death is cruel and we will all face it. if you could remove death right now, would you? I know I would if I had the power to spare my children.

Like I said, I respect everyones right to believe as they wish and I have 6 children. they can all believe differently and THEIR Father will love them and never favor one over the other.

The fastest way for me to get rid of my demons was to remove God. but.. if God does exist and gave us a free will, I'm just exercising it.

We may disagree, but I appreciate your response.

wanderlustguy

This makes no sense. Just look at this way, each day you get up and you aren't depressed, you would like to accomplish certain things that day and enjoy the company of your friends and family, or maybe even some solitude. You'll take life day by day and not give a thought to sudden death, or pro-longed death coming along and plucking you away. Life without worry or fear of death is far superior to this one where we don't know when death will strike.

It maks total sense. Everything and everyone dies, that's the thing that makes life precious. Yes it's tragic, and yes it's unfair, but that PART of the experience. It is great to think there may be more, and I look forward to finding out if there is, but assuming there isn't can remind us how precious life is and remind us to be open to the experiences we have in front of us.

I think for some (not all) people the hope of something more becomes a crutch and allows for laziness with regard to fulfilling a persons dreams. As in "I'll have a better life in the New System, or Heaven, or whatever. Heaven can be right now, it's all a matter of choices and determinations. And if it comes later, so much the better.

Life is full of uncetainties and the possibility of it all ending, just because a person embraces it does not mean they think about dying all the time. Being able to embrace death as part of life and transcend the emotions that come with it can be a path to indescribeable inner peace.

All of this is my opinion though...I don't expect it to be shared.

tijkmo

Tij, things will get better. They WILL. All things pass. This too shall pass

hey fhn..thanx..

my comment was more flippant than depressive

things have gotten better..to the extent where i still go to bed hoping i dont wake up but when i do wake up - i don't spend the day thinking of ways to end it all like i used to.

i used to want to live forever because i loved life..i loved my wife, family, friends, jehovah,..so i never wanted to die....and now that i no longer have any of these to love and they have not yet been replaced..then i really have no desire to live..

but...life goes on..long after the thrill of living is gone

Narkissos

Realising that I did not want to live forever as a finite being (whether physical or otherwise, that's not the issue) was an important step in my exiting the JWs.

To push WLG's point one step further, I'd even say that life would be unbearable to human consciousness without the certainty of death. We're just too scared of the prospect to think about it straightly, except in limit situations.

Eternal (rather than everlasting) life or immortality I understand as the smiling face of "death," not its denial.

OnTheWayOut

i've decided to just wait and see what happens. i'm no longer going to live my life worrying about what happens after i'm dead.

Great outlook. If everyone adopted this attitude, some would party 'til they dropped, but most would make the most of life.

Instead of wasting life, they would find enjoyment and try to allow others to enjoy life. This is my answer too.

bebu

Like jgnat, I've never been a JW, so I have not had to "give up paradise earth", etc.

Nice post, FHN. BTW, I've read that some pope (can't find the actual quote right now) said that the Bible has to be interpreted thru the context of God's eternal love (eg, that "God so loved the world.." etc.) Which means that things on a small scale that are difficult and cruel-looking do actually bring a greater positive good. That is a gap for faith, many times.

ECC 3:9 What does the worker gain from his toil? 10 I have seen the burden God has laid on men. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. 12 I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live.

I think that humanity was made with the capacity to bear eternal life as real LIFE, not death/ annihilation. What is impossible to understand or feel in my present body and handicapped soul (for lack of better word), will be (imo) possible and natural in the one to come. Although I may add, I believe that rest (or peace) is an integral part of eternal life, and death grants access to rest.

bebu

OUTLAW

Of coarse not..Look at all the Jehovah`s Witness`s who have lived for hundreds of years...OUTLAW

james_woods

It is not so much a question of "abondonment" for me -

It is more of an admission that neither I, nor the WTS, the Catholics, the Jews, (feel free to insert your choice of belief in here...) or anybody else really knows for sure what happens to you at the moment of, or the moment after, death. Note that I don't think those "near death" experiences count for much of anything - if it was just "near death", then it wasn't death, was it?

There is, however, a powerful point to be made of how truly horrible an experience the "new world forever on paradise earth" would really be if you take the time to think out what this would really be like. Providing, of course, that you logically follow through on exactly what the JWs are teaching about this. Worse psycholocially than burning in hell, IMHO.

M.J.

Like the Jews of old, I will be much contented to be an old man who lives out his years. Whatever happens next is not on my mind. I'm far too busy in the present. I always have and hope I will continue to love the joys and wonders of the present life!

Narkissos

There is, however, a powerful point to be made of how truly horrible an experience the "new world forever on paradise earth" would really be if you take the time to think out what this would really be like.

The amazing degree of selfishness and stupidity some JWs can reach with the "prospect of everlasting life" (ignoring their unbelieving children or grandchildren as if those were not their true "post mortem future," not to mention the rest of future generations) is thought-provoking too.

Have you abandoned the hope of everlasting life?

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