Do Not Be Driven By Fear

by snowbird 40 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  snowbird

  I was reading the accounts of those who have decided to return to the JW's and I was struck by a common theme in the posters' reasons for going back.

  That theme is fear and anxiety about the future and their place in it.

  My advice is to trust in Jesus of Nazareth and not some promises made by the WT. How can WT give you assurance of anything when they themselves are just as uneasy?

  Read the WT studies that are done here; pay close attention to the WT paranoia. As were the 1st century Pharisees, they are consumed by fear that their influence is dwindling.

  Here is something that I found very helpful when I was leaving WT.

  Revelation 3:20 “ Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.” NIV

  Revelation 3:20 "Look at me. I stand at the door. I knock. If you hear me call and open the door, I'll come right in and sit down to supper with you.” MSG

  Why not open to Jesus and Him alone?

  Sylvia
• 

  nicolaou

  I was struck by a common theme in the posters' reasons for going back. That theme is fear and anxiety about the future and their place in it.

  Sylvia, I ask this with sincerity.

  How would you face the future without your faith? Would you feel anxious or fearful without your relationship with Christ? Are you really so different from some here who cannot face up to life without a religious - dare I say it - crutch?

  Nic'
• 

  snowbird

  I am answering with sincerity.

  How would you face the future without your faith?

  I don't know, but thankfully, I don't have to.

  Would you feel anxious or fearful without your relationship with Christ?

  I would be filled with dread.

  Are you really so different from some here who cannot face up to life without a religious - dare I say it - crutch?

  No different at all, that's why I started this thread. However, my faith isn't a crutch- it's a shield.

  Sylvia
• 

  BurnTheShips

  How would you face the future without your faith? Would you feel anxious or fearful without your relationship with Christ? Are you really so different from some here who cannot face up to life without a religious - dare I say it - crutch?

  Atheism is - dare I say it - a crutch for those unable to deal with the reality of God. Christianity is difficult and atheism appears to offer an easy way out.
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  leavingwt

  Atheism is - dare I say it - a crutch for those unable to deal with the reality of God.

  Dig a little deeper, please.

  I'm sure you'll recognize that this analysis is very inaccurate for the vast majority of atheists here.
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  ex-nj-jw

  god is not a reality it's a fantasy

  nj
• 

  snowbird

  god is not a reality it's a fantasy

  nj

  Not for and to me. Sylvia
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  BurnTheShips

  Why do more atheists commit suicide than theists if it's so great?

  http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/...ct/161/12/2303

  OBJECTIVE: Few studies have investigated the association betweenreligion and suicide either in terms of Durkheim’s socialintegration hypothesis or the hypothesis of the regulative benefitsof religion. The relationship between religion and suicide attemptshas received even less attention. METHOD: Depressed inpatients(N=371) who reported belonging to one specific religion or describedthemselves as having no religious affiliation were comparedin terms of their demographic and clinical characteristics.RESULTS: Religiously unaffiliated subjects had significantlymore lifetime suicide attempts and more first-degree relativeswho committed suicide than subjects who endorsed a religiousaffiliation. Unaffiliated subjects were younger, less oftenmarried, less often had children, and had less contact withfamily members. Furthermore, subjects with no religious affiliationperceived fewer reasons for living, particularly fewer moralobjections to suicide. In terms of clinical characteristics,religiously unaffiliated subjects had more lifetime impulsivity,aggression, and past substance use disorder. No differencesin the level of subjective and objective depression, hopelessness,or stressful life events were found. CONCLUSIONS: Religiousaffiliation is associated with less suicidal behavior in depressedinpatients. After other factors were controlled, it was foundthat greater moral objections to suicide and lower aggressionlevel in religiously affiliated subjects may function as protectivefactors against suicide attempts. Further study about the influenceof religious affiliation on aggressive behavior and how moralobjections can reduce the probability of acting on suicidalthoughts may offer new therapeutic strategies in suicide prevention.

  Think about what atheism really says: We are an accident. We have no purpose. There is no reason for us to be here. The atheist will say that he finds fulfillment in relationships, hobbies, maybe just a good beer. But when those relationships close, those hobbies bore, and that beer stales, what then? An atheist, truly alone, has no reason to weather the hardships of life. Why bother? He or she is just an accident. But as for us, we always have Jesus. When nothing else is left, we still have a Rock upon which we trust. We have reason to persevere. We have hope. Because we have faith. BTS
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  snowbird

  Amen and amen.

  Sylvia
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  leavingwt

  Why do more atheists commit suicide than theists if it's so great?

  Dude.

  Come on.