Research question on "true religion"--for exWitnesses

by IsaacJS2 14 Replies latest watchtower bible

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  IsaacJS2

  Hello all. I am nearly done with my writing project about why I went from a JW to an atheist. Whether you are an atheist or not, I was just wondering what you thought about the biblical signs that the Society points to as proof that it is the "true religion." The essay is basically a breakdown of why I reject the Society's claim to being the "true religion" and I was looking for specific arguments that I hadn't already thought of.

  I'm tempted to post this essay somewhere once it's complete, but I don't know where I would since it's looking to be between 40-50 pages long. Still, completing it will prove useful to me at least. :-) Thanks for any help you'd care to offer.

  IsaacJ
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  pixel

  I can tell you this: you can upload your research as a PDF and them the people here, including me, could download it and read.
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  fullofdoubtnow

  Hi Isaac,

  Obviously, I haven't seen your essay, so I don't know what is in it, but one argument I'd be tempted to use is the watchtower society's record on prophecy, which is pretty woeful, ie 1914, 1918, 1925 - all dates when they specified the world would end, as well as 1975 of course, which they more or less set as the date. Compare that with Deuteronomy 18:21,22, which indicates that anyone making a prophecy that they claim has come from god, which the wts has done, is to be considered a false prophet, and was to be put to death, not granted god's favour, something else the wts claim to have.

  Good lucjk with your essay, I hope you get it online somewhere.

  Linda (a fellow ex jw atheist)
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  unbaptized

  Why did you become an atheist? Can you explain?
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  jwfacts

  For info showing that there has never been a religion that taught the same as the JWs go to http://jwfacts.com/index_files/slave.htm This article traces all the "similar" groups such as the Waldenses and shows that they were not.

  Here is some information to show that God does not only operate through one organization. http://jwfacts.com/index_files/organization.htm
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  IsaacJS2

  Thanks for the replies so far. This part of the essay is basically taking the Society's "proofs" that they are the true religion and showing that even if we accept them as evidence, even they aren't good enough. In a way, this part of the essay is a little redundant since I later disprove their list any way. The point is to sort of double up on my argument.

  Note that it isn't so much a "this is you should leave the WTS" as much as it is a "this is why I won't be coming back and why my WT inlaws should shut their fat gobs" kinds of an essay. It is a little personal in that sense, but it is written so that others could look at it too.

  I will list what I'm mostly looking for in the next post.

  IsaacJ
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  IsaacJS2

  What I really needed help with are 2 of the 7 "proofs" I have found that (according to the Society) proves it is the true religion. I need as many Xian denominations as I can find that match the criteria, preferably ones that overlap across both. That way, it shows that there are other candidates even by their own standards!

  One is "God's people will be hated by the world." I'm looking for Bible using Xians (since that is one of the requirements they offer). So far, I have the Mormons, who have been attacked with military force, and need to find a decent list of others that can seriously be seen as hated. The Mormons aren't so good as I don't think they fit the next item on the list. I would really have to research every denomination unless a list already exists elsewhere. If you know of ones that also fit the next item, that would be perfect.

  The other item on the list is "God's people are no part of the world." Here is what I have so far: Amish, Hutterites, Mennonites. Any other Xian examples that are no part of the world at large in some useful sense? They should be at least as separate as the JWs, or more so. Maybe ones that refuse political involvements and interfaith efforts? Obviously, ones as separate as the Amish and Mennonites would do.

  The key is to have more than 2 or 3 denominations that fill both these requirements. 10 or more would be awesome. There are actually 7 requirements that I have found in the Society's literature, but the rest of these pretty much point to all of Christianity, so they don't narrow the field at all. These 2 are the key.

  Thanks for any help! If I find ones on my own I will list them here.

  IsaacJ
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  IsaacJS2

  Sorry Unbaptized, I've been trying to get back to your question. I will try to keep it fairly short...if I can. As you may have noticed, I have trouble keeping my posts short. Not posting this to debate the issue with anyone, BTW. That's already gotten me in trouble elsewhere.

  Basically, my problems in the Society left me with a desire for answers. Was I really the screw up here, or is there real evidence that the Society is the screwy one? Inlaws bugging me about their "True Religion" helped to egg me on because I wanted to have a cohesive rebuttal. So I began researching the Society's literature and their doctrines. This led me to discussions and articles on philosophy, and I had begun to see myself as pretty agnostic anyway. There were plenty of atheist arguments to be found, and I simply found that their arguments were easily the most powerful. The apologist's replies seemed weak at best.

  So I began to learn more about atheism and in recent years, I have to say that--in my view--that's the most likely one to be correct. The universe makes the most sense to me from a secular point of view. God and the supernatural requires too much explaining and backpedalling for me. Like I said, no offense intended against anyone. I know people who believe won't agree, and that's fine.

  In other words, my bad religious experience led me on a quest for answers. That quest led me to atheism as the most sensible choice IMO.

  IsaacJ
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  jwfacts

  At http://jwfacts.com/index_files/similar.htm it discusses some religions similar to JWs. Most cults (3000 in the US) force their members to be "no part of the world", and punish with excommunication of some sort or other. Mormons, and Exclusive Brethern are very similar to JWs and as separate and cult like. The both excommunicate, claim to be the only true religion and avoid association with non believers. Iglesias de Christi are a Filipino religion that has stricter morals and separate themselves as well. All the above groups are equally hated as well.

  I have noticed on internet chats that JWs sprout about how persecuted they are, which is related to your issue of being hated. Persecution is not limited to JWs, any religion is persecuted by others when in the minority. Particularly are religions that force their beliefs on others persecuted and hated, so Mormons and JWs are most likely to be hated in Christian lands, and Christian missionaries of all denominations are in non Christian countries.
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  IsaacJS2

  Cool links, jwfacts. I will check them out.

  IsaacJ