Wasting one's life on an ancient fantasy

by Nickolas 23 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  Nickolas

  I could not help but think of my devout Witness wife when I saw this in yesterday's funny pages:

  

  It is reminiscent of something she said awhile back about being restored to all the glories of youth when the New System comes. From my non-theist perspective this is a sad example of escapism. Worse, it is wasting one's life. All the available evidence, all of it, indicates that reality is the here and now, that belief in a wonderful life after death (or after Armageddon) is an ancient fantasy. You are born, you live your life, you die. While it can be argued that hers is a happy delusion that helps her and others like her cope with the harsh realities of life and death, it is still a delusion. The days, months and years wasted, the relationships that are forever ruined for wont of delayed reconcilliation, all the things lost because we do not recognise how precious they all are, is the price that is paid.
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  PSacramento

  I think that, hoping for a time when "all will be right in the world" is not a very productive thing to do.

  I think that working towards that time is far better and when I mean working I mean "being the change we want to happen".

  From the Dalai Lama:

  A Precious Human Life:
  "Every day, think as you wake up, today I am fortunate to have woken up, I am alive, I have a precious human life, I am not going to waste it. I am going to use all my energies to develop myself, to expand my heart out to others, to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings, I am going to have kind thoughts towards others, I am not going to get angry or think badly about others, I am going to benefit others as much as I can."
  
  Never Give Up:
  "No matter what is going on never give up
  Develop the Heart
  Too much energy in your country is spent developing the mind instead of the heart.
  Be compassionate
  Not just to your friends, but to everyone.
  Be compassionate.
  Work for peace in your heart and in the world.
  Work for peace.
  And I say again
  No matter what is happening
  No matter what is going on around you
  Never give up."
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  Chariklo

  Have you ever noticed how Witnesses all think that the world is a terrible place. oh, they say that God made it beautiful but Mankind spoilt it. They concentrate on everything that is violent or brutish or degraded. Their questions at the door are often focused on war or criime or some such thing.

  They never, ever, say "What do you thiink about the latest technological advance, or a new cure, or how smallpox has been eradicated, etc. It's all doom and gloom and Jehovah is going to wipse it all away with a sweep of his angry hand.

  Nickolas, thanks for posting this, and I love the cartoon! I don't think, though, that your wife's delusion is a happy one. I think, as you do, that shje and all JW's are missing out on so much in a wonderful world.

  PSacramento, thanks very much for posting the extract from the Dalai Lama. That says it all.
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  designs

  Good Cartoon. I think with the 'Book of Mormon' Play winning all the TONY awards many more will question the silliness of their Churches.
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  Pams girl

  Great cartoon Nickolas!

  I do feel a bit sorry for devout JWs, they are so busy waiting and wishing on paradise earth they forget to live in the now for today, really "Live" if you know what I mean. The life they have now doesnt seem that important and that saddens me a great deal. Im learning to take each day as it comes, and relish everything about my life, even the crappy bits instead of dreaming about whats to come.....or not as the case may be.

  Paula x
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  AGuest

  I think with the 'Book of Mormon' Play winning all the TONY awards

  Not to go off topic for more than a sec, but OMG, dear designs (peace to you!), I would LOVE to see that play! What I saw on the Tony airing was hilarious!! I also LOVED NPH's opening number!! I had my husband record the entire show and we rewatched the opening last night. Oh, wait! What about the Hugh Jackman/NPH number?!

  One of if not the best Tony presentation events I've ever seen, truly.

  Well! Glad to know we might have a little something in common!

  Again peace to you!

  SA, who LOVES live theater, including but not limited to "Broadway"... on her own
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  jaguarbass

  Thats what we do in this dimension is waste time.

  Everything is a waste and meaningless.

  Thats what Solomon said.

  I do think going to meetings and wasting time spreading confusion going out in field circus

  is full tilt wasting time on steroids.

  But to each his own.

  I like music, I spend most of my time and energy with that.

  Some folks lilke basetball, football, baseball, nascar.

  What ever makes one happy and doesnt hurt their neighbor.

  But witnesses do hurt their neighbor and loved ones with their legalism and refusing medical treatment.

  To hell with Jehovahs witnesses.
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  steve2

  The overt focus on the negative leads to JWs and similar groups missing out on living in the here and now. Little wonder they recite all the bad stuff in the world, ignoring the considerable improvements (e.g., in human rights, in the improved standard of living for huge proportions of humankind, in the increased awareness and response to child abuse and exploitation - compared to a few short years ago in the goldern age when abuse was swept under the carpet.)

  Little wonder too that when JWs grow old and see all their contemporaries dying off they must wonder in their quieter moments what a sham it's all been.
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  LongHairGal

  Nickolas:

  Good post.

  I always said that the JW belief system is very similar to that of Christendom, except the JW "hereafter" is supposedly here on earth. The problem is that Christendom doesn't encourage its people to squander their present physical life waiting for a "real" one later on. The people I know from Christendom make the most of themselves and do the best they can while they are living here on earth.

  Not so with the JWs. It is so sad that JWs literally squander their present life and they let it slip through their hands like a fistful of sand while they are engaged in wishful thinking and mental slavery.
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  chickpea

  i am so with you on this one

  i keep telling my kids this IS the one sure life they have
  and it is best to aspire to a line of thought lincoln espoused...
  to leave the world better for having been in it