Is going from the JWs to another Religion just a "Rebound?"

by braincleaned 52 Replies latest jw friends

  • braincleaned
    braincleaned

    *A rebound is the need to fill a void with something we partly had confort in; whether in romance or Faith...I posted the following in another thread, and I welcome your feedback - especially if you disagree with my logic.

    "
    As per one of my notes, my biggest fear is my, our, natural tendency for confirmation bias. And my biggest frustration is that so many don't even acknowledge they have it -- not mentioning those who don't even know what it is. Did I say frustrating?

    But why should I care? After all, even if one wants to believe in fairies and chocolate covered mountains, who the hell am I to deny them their "truth?" Who cares what quest I have, how dare I intrude and shove my perspective of reality in their face? Right?

    Of course, it would be ridiculous to claim as a fact that God doesn't exist. Even as a convinced atheist I would never say that.
    However - there is strong evidence that the Abrahamic God of the three main religions, does not exist. Why? Because of the written scriptures from where his existence originates. Accurate scientific and archeological knowledge has chipped away to the so-called truths of the Bible. It's validity on the very origins of life, the flood*, the miracles that conveniently have never happened in our recorded times, the absurd and cruel morality of the Mosaic Law that condones genocide, slavery, and the stoning of almost anyone, even a rebellious teen (ack!), etc...

    Bottom line, the Bible is a great book - but not trustworthy as Truth as it lacks basic logic and true morality. Hence, the biblical claims that there is such a God makes his existence very improbable.

    Granted, nobody can "choose" to believe one way or another. However, we can "choose" our sources. Consequently, what we believe can then be influenced by the choice of our sources. I find it sad that such a huge chunk of the world's demography find it normal to trust the Bible. Ironically, NOBODY would trust scientific or medical books that are 2,000 years old. Anyone would find that preposterous.

    Personally, I have already dismissed the Abrahamic god as a possibility.

    * Concerning tales like the flood and other stories, some say we shouldn't take the Bible literally, like some religions do in pure denial of hard evidence (ex. JW). I agree. But then why take the existence of an all-knowing, all-powerful deity literally? How does that make any more sense? Not take the stories literally, except for the main character. Where's the logic there? It's like saying that it's ridiculous to take "Jack and the Beanstalk" literally, as a true story -- but guess what? The giant REALLY exists on a cloud above!

    Logic fails in this world, still crippled with references and superstitions of old. And I would like to encourage those who leave the JWs for another religion to analyse why they do so, in flagrant contridiction with logic. It it because they got used to the security blanket of faith? I think yes in most cases..."

  • stillin
    stillin

    I also ponder things like these. Just how clouded is our judgement after having swallowed bait like WTS was? I think that you come across as a balanced person. Not willing to just grab ahold of the skirt of the next "Jew" who comes along. Life is way too short for that.

    But it does seem that people will let you down every time. I feel that if there is a God in Heaven, then in His/Her all knowingness, He knows the issues that I grapple with and I am grateful for the occasional person with whom I can kick these things around. I sense that they are "sent" by God. They aren't to be latched onto and enshrined, they are to be enjoyed, learned from, encouraged on THEIR way, and recognised for what they are...fellow human beings trying to put it all together.

    I really can't imagine any harm in that.

    You keep on keeping on!

  • apostatethunder
    apostatethunder

    I can not speak for others, in my case I was raised as a Catholic, and after a few wasted years in the WT, I decided to come back.

    Believing in God or not is a personal decision, that should be respected.

    I do not try to convert anyone to Catholicism, but don’t like it when people insult it either.

    We as human beings are spiritual beings, and not recognizing this part of ourselves cripples us in a way that no amount of logic can make up for.

    There are many mysteries in the universe, and humans have always wondered about them. So, no I don’t think it is a rebound to look for another religion to fill you spiritually.

  • Diest
    Diest

    Being spiritually minded is one thing, while organized religion is quite another. Having to give logic up in order to be in organized religion cripples us in a way that no ammount of faith can make up for.

    There are many lies or falsehoods in all religion and many humans through out history have pointed this out. Many of them have given up their lives to fight for this truth. So I think finding a personal religion or personal spitituality to guide you is wonderful. It keeps you from getting 'married' to another crazy belief system.

  • King Solomon
    King Solomon

    Heh, I like that Jack and the Beanstalk example, and am adding it to my bag of tricks... ;)

  • Sulla
    Sulla

    Does anyone here see any problem with the statement that the exisence of the Christian God originates from written scriptures? As a logical criticism of a position you may not have yourself, of course? Anyone? Little problem? Teeny little cart-before-the-horse thing? Little assuming facts not in evidence sorta error? Look in the dictionary under: conclusion, jumping to. Anyone?

  • Berengaria
    Berengaria
    Does anyone here see any problem with the statement that the exisence of the Christian God originates from written scriptures?
    Can you give us an alternative?
  • binadub
    binadub
    Does anyone here see any problem with the statement that the exisence of the Christian God originates from written scriptures?

    Would you say most of what we know about science, evolution, math, history, etc., etc., was learned from written material?
    Some from lecture--but that also applies to Christian theism.

    ~Binadub

  • EntirelyPossible
    EntirelyPossible

    I do not try to convert anyone to Catholicism, but don’t like it when people insult it either.

    We as human beings are spiritual beings, and not recognizing this part of ourselves cripples us in a way that no amount of logic can make up for.

    Very nice. get upset when people insult YOUR religion and proceed directly to telling people what they should belive.

    In a nutshell, that's why religion is a joke of the worst sort. The worst part is, you don't even get it.

  • WTWizard
    WTWizard

    The best "rebound religion" is no religion. If you are leaving the witlesses, you need to do more research if you wish to remain religious. The person that commits to another religion, especially another Christian religion, so soon after leaving the witlesses is going to end up in a bad religion. However, the person that does extensive research on those religions is in a better position to choose something that will work for them. The broader the research, the more likely you are to find the right one or to stay out of it altogether (and avoid problems). Unless you already did the research while in the witlesses and have a long-standing wish to join one of them (or rejoin them), I advise staying out of religion for a while after leaving the witlesses and doing a full research on all paradigms before recommitting.

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