Why Do People Abandon the Christian Faith? (page 3)

leavingwt

Aguest -- Thank you. Wouldn't it be nice if God used the Church to lead people to Christ? I'm a simple man.

Terry -- I enjoyed your comments. There are a number of believers here that would agree with you. There are some others that would call your words heresy. I like the notion of constant growth and maturity. This sort of view would allow me to believe in a God who gave me a brain -- and wanted me to use it.

frankiespeakin

PSac,

I think that even those can find God in their own way, at least I hope thay can.

Why does God even need to be found? Is he lost(JOKE). Seriously what is the advantage of looking for some one that can only exist in people's imaginations. It is all based on an idea(assumption) that a supreme intelligence want to be found in a game of hide and go seek and that he rewards the effort?

Why would a supreme intelligence even want to be found if he existed? Isn't this just another fairy tale on equal footing with putting your tooth under your pillow for the tooth fairy to take and leave a cash prize when you wake up?

feenx

LeavingWT - As sad as it is to say that 99.9% of the world are skrewed, that's probably not too far off from the truth. One of the posters above said it is our own fault the state of organized religion is the way it is today. And I think that's a valuable assessment.

People today are lazy, they want instant gratification and everyone, everyone, wants to get something out of the deal. What is this religion going to do, for me? They're a large hurd, blindly following, along with everyone else, towards what they think will be a fat payoff.

Rather than each taking responsibility for their own actions, people put "faith" into something hoping in the end, if they follow all the given rules, everything will work out.

And everyone gets themselves in a tizzy about it, because their religion is so much better than the person next to them. Which is really quite ironic since neither of the two has any better concrete evidence that their beliefs will actually happen.

That's like two people at a Comicon convention arguing over which is more realistic, Star Wars or Star Trek.

So really, what it comes down to, is what each person gets out of their religion. I've come across people who genuinley do seem to get something from their faith, and I think that's fantastic. Sadly, I think the majority of people in the world don't end up getting what they think they will.

slimboyfat

I haven't abandoned the christian faith, I think the NT still contains a powerful message of freedom.

You have got to be joking. The NT is one of the most manipulative, hateful collections ever compiled.

It always amazes me, the people who leave the Witnesses because of the false prophecies, but don't seem to mind the false prophecies in the NT itself; who object to the GB discouraging marriage and having children, but turn a blind eye to Jesus and Paul doing the same; who dislike the anti-intellectualism of the Watchtower, yet have no problem with Paul ridiculing the 'wisdom of the world'; who object to the GB claiming a special right from God to tell people what to do with their lives, but seem to think it was alright for Paul to issue injuctions: 'yet not I, but the Lord', speaking in God's name.

BurnTheShips

Life is about growth and change and adaptation.

You innovate or you capitulate or you vanish.

Christianity has a somewhat similar concept relating to growth, it is especially prevalent in Eastern Christianity. It is called theosis. Literally, it means transcending, becoming like god.

BTS

slimboyfat

Andrew Holden wrote an interesting article specifically about how and why Witnesses leave the religion.

http://www.lancs.ac.uk/fass/sociology/papers/holden-cavorting-with-the-devil.pdf

moshe

Most religion is a business today, people. Just walk into a dentist office - do you expect to get a hair cut? Would you expect to get a shoe shine at a used car dealer? Religion has a product to sell and , if you make yourself available as a customer, they will market it to you diligently. If a thinking person breaks down religious doctrines into their basic dogmas and asks themselves , Opinion or Fact?, on each point, they will discover how solid their faith is. Some people only belong to a religion to be part of a of community and for social and physical support. At least their eyes are open.

AGuest

Aguest -- Thank you

.

Dearest Leaving... you are quite welcome and may you have peace!

Wouldn't it be nice if God used the Church to lead people to Christ?

I guess I don't understand: the Most Holy One of Israel Himself leads us to Christ. Why would you want a middle-man? Doesn't the "price" go up when you "buy" from a retailer? Why not "buy" wholesale, directly from the manufacturer? Why drink water AFTER it's traveled downstream, through the town, where it picks up sewage, then through the city, where it's stripped of all natural nutrients under the guise of being "cleansed" only to have a plethora of toxic chemicals added back in to make it "fresh" and "clean"... while it really isn't (the truly fresh and clean stuff has to be captured at the source, right, BEFORE it's polluted and/or stripped?)

I'm a simple man.

And I'm a simple woman. So, we are like in that sense. The difference between our respective "simpleness", however, is that while we both may prefer water over wine, I prefer pure, unadulterated water over the "improved/enriched" type.

I bid you the greatest of love and peace!

Your servant and a slave of Christ,

SA

PSacramento

I just cannot see how a person would know all of these things. You're placing so much responsibility on ignorant individuals, IMHO.

Probably, maybe too much exposure to the JW's.

They were born, they went to church, they loved it, they're happy.

I think that when one is happy that is more than enough for most.

Why would they suspect that they need to do any hard work? Why would they ever develop a desire to do more than their parents or loved ones?

I think that when one has questions then the suspision is already there and needs to be addresed.

Granted, I think youv'e expressed that your beliefs are essentially universalist, so its' not as if it's all life and death, Heaven or Hell, in your own view, correct?

I am not qualifed to answer questions of heaven and hell and who goes where and why, I leave that to Jesus and God.

Not sure what an universalist is...sorry.

Why Do People Abandon the Christian Faith?

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