It's amazing to me how many of the ExJws no longer believe in God. I know some of you have many reasons to believe in what you do now. But this is a big testimony to what the WTS does to people's concept of God. A God that is always lookin for you to do your best, always bending over for others, and keeping your head forward when you have doubts. You can believe what you believe but don't you think that it's kind of odd, that you used to spend alot of time speakin about God. I still belive in God but I had times where I wondered if he/she exists. I'm not that smart and well verse like most of you. I haven't spent anytime in researching athiests views and concepts. But I know that we are physical and to look to something that we can't see, hear, touch, or smell for guidance is quite a challenge. The FDS wants us to put our trust in them, cause they been trusted by Jehovah and Jesus to lead us. When you figure out that this trust was misplaced you lose all faith. But hey you have the freedom to choose what you want to believe. If God doesn't like it and really wants you to believe in him. Why don't he come down and prove his existance? ooh wait a minute did he do it already? Never mind, Peace ExJws and wannaBJws(Reniaa, Spike Tassel, etc)
It's Amazing!
by whathehadas 30 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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bluecanary
When I started to question the JWs, I started to question EVERYTHING. If I had come to a community like this and focused more on scriptural arguments against the witnesses, I may have remained a theist. Working things out on my own through critical thinking led me to believe that an Abrahamic God is unlikely.
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VIII
Being raised in *The Truth*, I had doubts when I was a kid.
Why did I have to go pound on doors in the freezing cold weather to sell magazines? Magazines no one wanted?
Why did Jehovah never, ever answer my prayers? Ever.
Why was I supposed to follow the most mundane rules? Why did some mysterious men in New York City seem to make the rules?
I got lucky and went to college and stopped going to the meetings and took a class in religious studies. I started wondering why worldly people were supposed to be so bad. They weren't.
Then I, like bluecanary, started seeing the bible in a whole new light. And I decided that the bible was a good book for wandering around the desert 7000 years ago.
Having faith in an invisible god seemed like a waste of time.
Check out http://whydoesgodhateamputees.com
I'll add that when I see an amputee with a new, grown limb they prayed for on Oprah, I may start to have faith again. Til then, I am going to be a skeptic.
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reniaa
I had doubts but I turned to the bible really trying to see what was the truth and it led me back to the witnesses.
YHWH is God biblically and it is noticiable all the arguments on here very few address whether we should believe Jehovah is our God and Jesus is his actual son.
What makes people have faith should never be other humans because then it will fail. My faith in Jehovah is complete and in his son too. Being a witness is then about being with people that believe as I do imperfect yes but so am I.
belief in God is becoming a taboo subject have you noticed? Faith is appraoch from a sceptical almost apologetic viewpoint.
Reniaa
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isaacaustin
whathehadas...yes it is is sad...I guess when people are duped, having served an oprganization cloaked as God...only to realize it was simply, like the wicked witch in the Wizard of Oz, a group of old dudes pulling the strings....the beleif in God crumbles all together. Itg happened to me...only to come to God many years later...realizing Jesus is all we need....so much different from service to the WT
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Jadeen
Personally, I have a hard time reconciling the God of the OT with the God in the NT. They're the same, right? So why did God have such a huge personality change? 2 Sam 6:6,7 God strikes down Uzzah for daring to touch the ark to keep it from getting knocked on the ground. The NWT says that "Jehovah's anger blazed". How many other times did God get angry? The flood- "People are being evil, I'll kill them all!" Tower of Babel- "People aren't filling the earth like I want. I'll confuse their languages and spread them throughout the earth myself!" Sodom and Gomorrah- "People are sinning! I'll destoy them with fireballs from the sky!" And so on. Then we get to the NT and all of a sudden "God is love"????? It does not make any sense to me.
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The Berean
Here's where I am:
I'm not sure if there is a God or not. If there is, what he/she/it does is none of my business. I am not going to magnify God's soverignty, prove his rebellious childrern liars, or expect special treatment. I am happy I had a chance to live. I suspect we are all sort of God's entertainment or that he/she/it has walked away to tend to other business. Whatever happened, God has the power and right to do anything he/she/it pleases.
Being one of Jehovah's Witnesses taught me that if you wish to you can assign significance to every move on earth. I have decided that my activities are not important ...
Thank you God for all the happiness, pain, joy, and disappointment that goes with life. I gave it my best shot. I fear not death.
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Casper
Growing up, I didn't even know who God or Jesus was until around age 18, and then just bits and pieces. (strange I know, but that's the way it was.)
When the Witnesses came to my door in the early '80s, I was really interested to finally find out what it was all about. That was the only Bible knowledge I had for years.
When I faded 11 years ago... I tried to hang on to the feelings I had, but after being here and watching the "History" channel concerning the size of the universe and such, I sort of lost it.
I have a need for a faith of some sort, just not sure the Bible is where it's at. I believe one's faith should be a re-freshing experience, something to long for... I certainly never got that as a witness.
I do think something is out there, what I may never know... but, I keep searching.
Cas
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whathehadas
I feel you on that J, that is strange how God is Bipolar in the the Bible. I think that since this was the first time he created man and since he chooses not to look into the future regarding mans choices, everything in life is not only a learning experience for us but for him also. The thing that gets me is if he intended the creation to be perfect. What would he, Jesus, and the rest of his Myriads and Myriads of spirit creatures be doin. Just watchin and twiddling their thumbs like a security guard watchin a empty lot at night, where the chances of anything bad happening are slim to none. Just a thought.
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ablebodiedman
I am an EX-Jehovah's Witness who still believes in the bible.
If you are an EX-JW who no longer believes in the bible and might be offended that some still do then you could always do an exit right here:
I want to explain what I currrently believe and why.
I believe that Jehovah's Witnesses are in fact Jesus Christ's Kingdom mentioned in the bible.
I also believe that they have been undermined by Satan in a truly spectacular way.
About to quote a scripture so I expect everone who no longer beleives in the bible have gone now.... right?
2 Thessalonians 2:9-12
9 But the lawless one’s presence is according to the operation of Satan with every powerful work and lying signs and portents 10 and with every unrighteous deception for those who are perishing, as a retribution because they did not accept the love of the truth that they might be saved. 11 So that is why God lets an operation of error go to them, that they may get to believing the lie , 12 in order that they all may be judged because they did not believe the truth but took pleasure in unrighteousness.
Satan's success is described above as being very powerful. In some translations words like miracle and wonder replace lying signs and portents.
The question I asked myself while still a Jehovah's Witness was that if Satan's unrighteous deception was to be so succesffull immediately prior to Jesus Christs return then would he have sucessfully undermined false religion or ... true religion.
It occured to me that if Satan had undermined false religion then it would not deserve words like power, miracle or wonder. His unrighteous deception could only be described with words indicating success if he had undermined true religion. As I believed that I was in THE true religion then an obligation existed to find out what the Unrighteous Deception was and that I should search for it inside the Jehovah's Witness Organization and not outside.
I was determined to find out what the "operation of error" was and what "The Lie" was I had been convinced to believe.
Upon finding the "operation of error" and seeing "The Lie" my faith in the bible actually increased!
Exposing the "operation of error" and "The Lie" is what got me disfellowshipped.
I also did some research to understand why the people who were "operating in error" and believing "The Lie" were going to perish as a retribution.
After all, why would they not be forgiven?
There is only one sin that will not be forgiven.
Grieving the Holy Spirit.
I believe the Jehovah's Witnesses have already committed the "transgression (sin) which causes desolation".
Through the newly invented Jehovah's Witness baptismal vows the "Holy Spirit" has been removed and replaced with "God's Spirit Directed Organization".
In order to further understand I needed to find out how "God's Spirit Directed Organization" was organized.
This is fully explained in the "Jehovah's Witnesses - Proclaimers of God's Kingdom" book on page 109.
There is NO mention of the Holy Spirit having anything to do with "the organization" explained.
Instead on Page 109 the Governing Body is quoted to say this after implementing "the organization":"it has proved beneficial to have a number of brothers taking counsel together to consider the interests of the kingdom work"
a number of brothers! ............ mere men.
So the Holy Spirit has been removed from Jesus Christ's baptismal commandment and replaced by "a number of brothers."
Grieving the Holy Spirit.
The only unforgivable sin.
The baptismal vows effect the entire Jehovah's Witness organization and so even righteous people are condemned through this "operation of error".
The transgression causing desolation. (see Daniel Chapter 8)
So as an EX-JW that is what I believe.
Most of the things the bible said would happen in the end times have already happened.
That is what I currently believe.As an EX-JW I can with much conviction tell you that my faith has dramatically increased.
I feel very sorry for all the JW's who are currently still held captive by a very spectacular deception!
abe