Personal experiences...

summer

Have been reading SO much on this site...it is not even funny anymore. I am now into "The Best of"...a gold mine of personal experiences! While reading, a question often comes to mind. For those who care to answer...did your personal experience with the JWs also killed your belief in Jehovah, Christ, and the Bible?

blueviceroy

It made me reexamine ALL of my preconcieved ideas and all the notions I had about spirituality. They goaded me into doing some Real research about our human state . (which inversly led to disblieving Jw nonsense) Not all bad was had suckling on the poison teat of dogma. I must give credit to where credit is due . thank you whatchtwer and jws for helping to open my eyes to the hypocrisy and deceit practiced by organised religion on the weak ,trusting and decent people in the world.

Gopher

I'd say my beliefs were seriously wounded by association with JW's, especially my adult years inside the organization.

JW's do quite a job indoctrinating you against all other religions, i.e. "Babylon the Great". So I learned a distrust of them at an early age. Then when I decided JW's were a scam, I was without religion. I tried religion (through reading, TV preachers, and discussions with religious friends) but decided I never wanted to hear sermons again.

It took a journey to find what philosophy made sense to me. The more I read both sides of the Bible argument, the more I came to see that a lot of the Bible was mythical. For example, the flood of Noah's day isn't scientifically possible as described in the Bible. That led me to the conclusion that it didn't happen. Then you have Jesus being quoted in the Gospels as saying "in the days of Noah...." as if it were factual. Not only these , but many other things made the Bible less and less believable.

As for God and Jesus, or whatever people want to call their favorite deity, I see so much suffering and disaster upon innocent people, yet we are supposed to believe in a loving, caring God? If God exists, it started to seem to me that he was either evil (intentionally neglectful), weak (unable to prevent chaos) or absent (either non-existent or off on some distant project in another corner of the universe). After pondering on this, I voted for "absent".

oompa

I now really do not know what to believe anymore. The bible is an old book copied and translated by a bunch of men who have had their own agenda. About all I know and believe now is that there had to be one hell of a good designer for everything. I have always been amazed by the very small (atoms, ameoba etc.) and the very big (ocean, plantets, universe etc). And plants. You plant a dang little seed, add water and get some light and damn....tomatoes from some to die for, or watermellon, straight from dirt! How the crap can so many great things come from dirt.

great job god, now show me how you would communicate to me.....oompa

Twitch

did your personal experience with the JWs also killed your belief in Jehovah, Christ, and the Bible?

Pretty much. What it took to deprogram from the mindset didn't stop at the bottom of a cross. In fact, it's really not that far to the abyss from there, so to speak. That being said, I would say that I have had what amounts to a spiritual experience or two that would seem to be mere glimpses of natural law that could be construed as divine and universal. The book and those names are just somebody else's interpretation and attempt at communicating the feeling that cannot be described.

IndependantThinker

It made me trust in the first inkling's I had of spirituality before all the dogma.

If I'm wrong so be it. If I am wrong I will accept whatever punishment comes with it. I am a Pagan, but I have Jehovah and the Bible ingrained so deep in me I pray to Hectana, Pan, Jehovah, and Jesus. But still I have in the back of my mind the story of those who prayed to "unknown God's" just to make sure they didn't leave one out. I'm not so sure they weren't entirely wholesouled.

38 Years

When I quit after 38 years, I had the freedom to read and think any way I wanted. I still believe in God and I try to be a good Christian. I have never been able to resolve my issues with organized religion, and I don't think I ever will. It would be easier if I had never been a JW. However, whether I'm right or wrong, I don't beat myself up about it anymore.

changeling

I believe man invented the concept of god and worship to explain the "unexplainable".

I believe religion is a burden at best, dangerous at worst.

Does having been a lifelong witness have anything to do with my currents beliefs or lack of? Who knows?

But I am happier then I've ever been and have a sense of peace and freedom I never knew existed before.

changeling

Honesty

While it is true that the Watchtower Society did amke a strong attempt to really mess up my beliefs regarding Jesus, in the end He won.

bluesmurf92

I didn't have as much experience as most others. But I still try to find my way.

I don't always do well. Sometimes I'm angry with Him. Sometimes I don't believe Him. Sometimes I think He must love to torture people, or tease us with false promises.

But at least I'm looking for Him, asking Him, talking with Him, instead of blindly accepting whatever I'm told. Maybe there's hope for me yet.

Personal experiences...

Share this