The Great Love of Your Life (page 3)

mommy

Trevor,
Baaahhhhh:)
My love to you brother:)
wendy

Frenchy

I seem to be drawn to people seeking the truth, but run like hell from anyone who claims they've found it.

I think that a great deal of us feel exactly that way. As a matter of fact there have been some very fine points made in these posts.

but are you suggesting folks who post on H2O or forums like this are still seeking the truth or they wouldn't be there?

Not all. Some people like to criticize...anything. Some are seeking justification for immoral conduct and lifestyles, they want to be told that everything and everyone is good regardless of what they do. Others can't resist getting on the soapbox to promote their own little ideas. They want to be told how smart they are...hey, a virtual following is better than no following, right? Some only lurk, the lure of the forbidden brings new excitement to their lives.
But there are a great many who are looking for ‘the truth'. These have been convinced that there is a truth and having been so close to it makes them want it even more. It was a notion so deeply ingrained in a heart yearning so much for it that it will not go away. It's a feeling and not a knowledge that what they were told existed MUST exist, somewhere there HAS to be a truth.

-Seen it all, done it all, can't remember most of it-

JAVA

Frenchy:

These have been convinced that there is a truth and having been so close to it makes them want it even more. It was a notion so deeply ingrained in a heart yearning so much for it that it will not go away.

Good points; Saying, thinking, and believing "the Truth" mantra countless times as a Witness doesn't mean the concept disappears the hour we no longer see ourselves as JWs. Some might continue believing "the Truth" notion years after leaving; perhaps taking it to their graves.

By itself, there is nothing wrong believing "the Truth" is out there. It becomes dysfunctional when one believes they've found it, and condemns, criticizes, and shuns others who don't share the identical belief. Religiously speaking, "the Truth" cannot be proven; it still comes down to a belief system someone cooked up, and followers believe (sometimes by force).

It's a societal norm for most of us to believe in God, and if that's true, He surely has a plan for doing something with us--otherwise, why are we here? Yet, if we grew up in part of the world that believes God lives in all people, all animals, and in everything else (like trees and rocks), then our spiritual quest for truth has a different twist. Instead of looking to answers from a higher power, this belief system sees God in all things. Seeing "the Truth" coming down from the mountain is a foreign concept to them, as their concept of truth is foreign to us. Thus the question, what is truth?

The idea of finding religious truth reminds me of the saying, "Look out what you pray for; you might get it." I found "the Truth" for many years--God help the next one who finds it.

trevor

Thanks to all of you who are taking the time to join in this discussion.

I think the thing we all mean when we say we are looking for truth is - what is the purpose of life and what finally happens to us. It is our awareness of our existence that compels us to seek answers. Animals have no such problem. They just are and they just exist. Did life originaly intend us to occupy our time thinking about the future?

If the life force with all it's intelligence and power had wanted us to know for sure then we would. No one has come back to tell us what, if anything, is on the other side. People like Jesus who is reported to have done so never put a word on paper himself. His whole life is a second hand account told by men. I once read a book called '300 near death experiences.' The accounts from those who claimed to have been to the other side and back were utterly compeling. But in the final analysis we individualy choose whether to belive them or not. They could be called witnesses to the truth, but as with any witness their testimony can be inacurate.

Whatever we finaly settle on as truth will always be nothing more than an opinion of our own or someone else which we choose to accept. We then call it our faith and defend it against other peoples opinions. Could it be that the life force has not mapped out the whole future of the universe but is having an adventure that will lead to where it will lead and we all have a part to play in the final result? If that were the case then the only truth would be the present moment.

trevor

JAVA

amicus:

That fits me quite well, but I hadn't realized it until now.

That has happened to me so many times . . . while reading a book, hearing a poem, seeing a post, etc. All of a sudden something jumps out that expresses a deep feeling. Language is a clumsy way of communicating thoughts and feelings, but every once in awhile something comes along that nails a lingering sentiment.

On the topic of truth, I appreciate this quote from Rene Descartes:

"If you would be a real seeker after truth, it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt, as far as possible, all things."

Frenchy

If you would be a real seeker after truth, it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt, as far as possible, all things.

No truer words ever spoken. As I often say, truth is exonerated by scrutiny and only error need fear a close examination. Lots of lies begin with: "Believe me when I tell you..." Or "This ain't no lie..." Just saying something does not make it so BUT.....
Although I try real hard to discourage it, from time to time a thought will form in my mind. Two or three of those boogers will get together and before I know it they have formed an idea and I have the devil of a time getting rid of it!
Faith is a wonderful thing but it has a dark side as well. Once we have faith in something we are prone to overlook the obvious and toss reasoning to the wind. The spouse is the last one to know because he/she refuses to see the signs. Same thing with the believer. The spouse/believer will accept contradictory information because he/she wants so much to keep that faith in tact and therefore dares not to question. Any statement made by the one in whom that faith rests is accepted without question. In time that is the undoing of the one on the receiving end of that faith. They come to believe that they have total control of the other and for a while they do. In the end, however, reality has a way of really messing up a good idea. Reality is persistent and will not be denied indefinitely. When that faith cracks the results are usually disastrous. This is not an argument against faith in either marriage or religion but rather to point out that in either case the recipient is not always worthy of the faith placed in him/her/it.

-Seen it all, done it all, can't remember most of it-

thinkers wife

I think everyone here has made some valid points.
IMHO, truth is something different to each individual. And how they go about finding it and practicing it is very individual as well.
The key, is being able to be content and satisfied with what you believe to be the truth for you, without being dogmatic and preachy about it.
One of the greatest joys in life to me is being able to share thoughts with others. Without fear of reprisal or judgement. It is always so interesting to find out where peoples quest has taken them. How wonderful to be able to discuss it without stepping on egg shells.
Keeps life from becoming boring. Plus you might learn something to add to your own puzzle.
TW

Carmel

....$0.02

The only thing not effected by inflation is the worth of my thoughts!

Wow, Waiting hon, you're free to quote me!

Oh, yeah, why am I here..? considering I jettisoned the mothership over 40 year ago, had lots of time to "recover" invesitgated lots of belief systems, got all the answers to what is "reality", guess I just can't help myself from going through a second childhood! You see, I was always the kid who got sent out to the hall for making wise cracks! Dam, should have gone on to Sat Night Live and made my millions! but no, I just hang around where the stumbled vimmen is and look for hungry honeys!!

carmel lounging in his cave

waiting

Hey Sweetpea,

The only thing not effected by inflation is the worth of my thoughts!
Wow, Waiting hon, you're free to quote me!

Why is it that you give your two cents worth, but they ask a penny for your thoughts? Someone's making a profit here. Steven Wright

My mother-in-law is quoted by a somewhat simple minded brother on a regular basis on her encouragement on how to stay in the Truth (she is 81). "You don't look to men and you don't look to the Society. You try not to pay attention to them. Keep your blinders on and stay in God's organization."

In other words, don't look at the actions of the people nor the teachings of the organization - just go to the meetings and out in field service. Good advice for a work horse with tight blinders on.

This is directly contrary to what we encourage every other person in the world to do with their own religious organization. We help them to look at the teachings, the works, the faith, and the persons within. But our own - well, that's another story.

waiting

Edited by - waiting on 13 January 2001 14:13:39

RedhorseWoman

"You don't look to men and you don't look to the Society. You try not to pay attention to them. Keep your blinders on and stay in God's organization."

I don't think I have ever seen the JW experience summed up quite so well before. Just turn in your brain and keep walking.

The Great Love of Your Life

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