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wantstoleave

When I expressed my doubts about my beliefs to my parents the other day, my mom said that 'no matter what people do, they are always searching for something. If it's not this religion, which one will you go to?'. She gave the example that practically since time began, people have been clinging to hope in some form or another, namely religion. That people worship something, religion or otherwise. What she was getting at was that even if I left the organisation, I would feel empty and feel the need to 'search' something out.

How do you feel about this?

chickpea

i feel the advances in scientific understanding
will eventually erode the foundations of religion

primitive cultures developed highly imaginative
concepts of supernatural dieties to try to cope
with events precipitated by natural phenomenon
as well as the mundane realities of "hey, he quit breathing"!

the legacy? "my god is better than your god" conflict
that has pock-marked the species development for
millenia...

it isnt easy for me to accept what i am realizing
as i have never "not believed" in a god... it is hard
to realize that ultimately we all have to hitch up
our big boy/ big girl panties and just deal with
the reality that THIS IS IT!

getting there, one new understanding at a time

and man is it motivation to get things done NOW!!

GapingMouth

I've heard it said many a time - "Where would I/we go?" And they quote the scripture where the disciples tell Jesus the same question, "...you have sayings of everlasting life." As an atheist (and I speak with no intent to offend but with no kidgloves on either as Dawkins put it) I have to ask, why replace one delusion with another? Why stop believing Santa exists but replace it with Unicorns? The JW belief that those without religious truth are without hope is a fallacy, designed to prey on the minds of any who think about leaving. Why can't people find fulfillment and joy in real knowledge of evolution and the wonderfully elegant process of natural selection? It doesn't make it any less amazing to take God out of the picture but the opposite. Saying that all people need to worship something just isn't true. You can, as most atheists are (or at least as most ex JWs will agree) be happy without being in any organised religion at all.

LouBelle

I don't think that if you'll leave you feel empty, you may still have questions that you want answering - and that if for you to find.

That is the witness way of reasoning - where will you go or what will you do if you don't have the org & jah. Life doesn't begin and end with them. Their puny org has only been around for a hundred odd years, life went along pretty well before they appeared.

Some people are happy knowing that they will turn to dust and therefore live life for today. Live in the now and take in as much life as you can!

wantstoleave

Thankyou for your replies :) I hope I can come to some sort of realisation and contentment as time goes by......just got to get over some family hurdles first :)

WTWizard

First, they have not proven that God exists. Then, if He exists, they have not demonstrated that He is even worth worshiping.

I have seen too many incidents in the Bible of God setting up a situation where someone was being herded into an adverse judgment that could not have been avoided. Cain, for instance--since when did Cain owe God a lamb (especially since Cain did not have any lambs to offer)? And, I thought that people were supposed to be vegetarians during that period--what gave Abel the right to keep sheep for eating back then? Yet, Cain was set up in this way for an adverse judgment.

Another problem that God created was Saul. Jehovah kept him waiting, and the nation was threatened. At which point Saul had to offer the sacrifice--or else the Bible would have bashed Saul for not doing something. God intentionally waited until 5 minutes after Saul made his necessary move. I believe this is a situation where Saul could not have possibly came out in good standing with God--a set up.

There are also too many cases of God destroying people with no good reason. Just walk in and demand that everyone give up their culture and take up your rules--what if someone were to do this in Brooklyn and then bash the Washtowel Babble and Crap Slaveholdery for not adopting a culture that they did not want? Killing everyone because they do not believe as you do--as God ordered? Destroying everything of value--as God ordered? And, expecting people to believe that all this is because God loves them, under penalty of getting stoned to death?

From what I see, God wants everything anyone does to be what He tells us to do. Make the species with the capacity to think, and then ban them from using this capacity. Capriciously and arbitrarily depriving individuals of things necessary for life--or to make life worth living--and then exploit them for your own purposes (and allow other religions to exploit them, expecting them to remain without the necessary things, and then blaming that person for being scammed). To me, if Jehovah is going to abuse me like this, and expect me to do His will (and hold me responsible if the leaders f*** up), there is no chance for me to ever get in favorable standings. So, why even bother trying--I would rather dog my "duty" to make God happy and worship the Devil instead.

AGuest

May you have peace!

One of the responders attempted to quote John 6:68, but seems to have really missed the point, I think, which point may be just what YOU need:

"Therefore, JAHESHUA (sorry, I don't use the name "Jesus" because it's not accurate, which I can explain if you wish...) said to the twelve: 'YOU do not want to go also, do you?' Simon Peter answered him: 'Lord, WHOM shall we go away to? YOU have sayings of everlasting life...'"

Did you notice that Peter did not say "WHERE are we to go away to" but, rather, WHOM? Dear one, THIS is the "truth" that religion consistenly FAILS to tell you about... and why ones feel "empty"... EVEN when they are a PART of a religion. There IS no "where"... there is ONLY a WHOM, Christ.

People go from religion to religion... searching... and coming up empty... sometimes even after wasting many years... because... HE IS NOT THERE! God, and so, by connection, Christ... does NOT dwell in handmade temples. There IS NO "visible representation." There IS NO church, so far as such is an institutional organization, large OR small.

God wells... in HIS PEOPLE. WE... are the "temple" of God... the place where He dwells... IN SPIRIT. In is IN US that He comes... He and His Son... and make their "abode" (their "home," "place of rest," "dwelling place"...) 1 Corinthians 3:16; Romans 8:9, 10; John 14:23

Religion... including, primarily, the WTBTS... doesn't TELL you this, however, because THEY DON'T KNOW IT. They don't know it... because their neither KNOW God... or the One whom He sent forth, Christ. It is this KNOWING... not "taking in knowledge of" but actually KNOWING both God and Christ... that means everlasting life.

Religions, however, and I am speaking of those that claim to be "christian," while they acknowlege that Christ rose from the dead... STILL CONSIDER HIM DEAD... at least as far as his ability... and DESIRE... to communicate with us. They acknowledge that DEMONS can speak to, guide, lead, compel, and influence us... but the One to whom ALL AUTHORITY... in heaven AND on earth... cannot and does not! ANd that even if he did, WE CAN'T HEAR HIM!! How can that BE??!! Hebrews 12:25; John 10:27

The Most Holy One of Israel, JAH of Armies... DOES speak to us, dear one. Through His Son. That One is the WORD of God... and he is ALIVE! John 1:14; Hebrews 1:2; 4:12; Revelation 19:13

So, DO NOT BE MISLED: there is NO religion that will satisfy your "craving"... for TRUTH. There is only ONE... The TRUTH... JAHESHUA MISCHAJAH, the Holy One of Israel, and Son and Christ of the MOST Holy One of Israel, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, JAH of Armies. Psalm 68:4

May you be granted ears to hear... if you truly wish it!

A slave of Christ,

SA

wantstoleave

AGuest, are you a witness?

GapingMouth

AGuest, I think it is you that misunderstood me. My point was that JWs misuse that scripture!! I have had conversations that went like this: Me: Don't you think that (whatever we were talking about) shows they aren't the true religion? JW: Yes, but where else can I go? Its like the scripture in John where the disciples ask where else or to who else they can go. The WT has sayings of everlasting life... Understand now? I also find it extremely arrogant that people who can not prove God exists supposedly have so much information on how he wants us to live our life. You can't prove God is there but you can say things like "the WTS doesn't know" and then claim YOU DO!? In the words of Jar Jar binks, HOW WUDE! Religion as an organisation or as an individual makes claims no sane person would and I am just supposed to respect it and not scrutinize it as I would anything else? I don't think so!

GapingMouth

And while I am ranting, God dwells in his people?! What the...? So what is God? And if he dwells in his people... What does that even mean!? You see God in people? Even though they all do bad things? And what about, as Sam Harris said in a debate with David Wolpe, Elvis? Using your logic of God dwells in his people, you could say the same for Elvis! All those who believe he is not dead are right afterall because he dwells within them! YAY! Moron.

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