I know 99% of the posts here are for exposing WT doctrines and fallacies ,but there was a time that we really believed that we had full Bible understanting .I know now that this is the case ,but why can't we use that as a starting point rather than the end of the road ? Why can't we be more like the Jews of John the Baptist's day that acknoledged their errors and started over again by whiping the slater clean and getting baptised in expectation of the Messiah's coming ?
Was it all for nothing ? We can't we start over again ?
by raymond frantz 20 Replies latest jw friends
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sooner7nc
You can polish a turd and make it nice and shiny...but it's still a turd.
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LostGeneration
Some do that, and it works for them.
I tried to. But then I kept applying the same tests to the bible that I applied to the WTS.
I ended up as an atheist.
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raymond frantz
Mission accomplished for Satan then
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leavingwt
Satan is just like the Easter Bunny.
Once you realize he doesn't exist, no need to worry about him.
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King Solomon
Probably why many modern-day Jews adopt secular humanist views: they know the flaws of the OT, but continue with Judaism moreso for a sense of cultural identity and social interactions, and out of tradition (and as JWs ask themselves, what else would they be?)
Most Jews are not willing to die for their religion (as the nutsy Gentile evangelists are willing to do, in a flawed understanding of blood transfusion).
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clarity
Hi RF, do you really need to start again ... really?
Why not just carry on with a clear sense of yourself now.
Not following any prescribed way.
You get to make the rules for you now. If you want to follow advice from
old writings ... do it. But you get to pick what makes sense to you ...
not what made sense to Rutherford, Knorr or anyone on the GB!
>
And no, it wasn't all for nothing. We do things for a reason.
Sometimes it is wrong and sometimes it may be right... or half & half!
This time we have learned a valuable lesson ...... never,
never give your mind or will over to someone else!
clarity
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Sulla
At the risk of becoming a bore on this question (yes, I know: too late), raymond frantz, the reason is because JW-ism is closer to atheism than it is to Christianity. Just look at the core claims of Christianity that are rejected by JWs:
- Divinity of Christ
- Bodily resurrection of Jesus
- Bodily resurrection at the end of the age
- Non-material and rational soul
- Concept of original sin
etc.
The JWs are great deniers of Christian claims. As such, it isn't surprising (to me) that people who leave the JWs wind up without religious affiliation in disproportionate numbers. People who get tired of their minivan probably tend to switch to another minivan. Maybe an SUV. Why? 'Cause the minivan is the right fit for them, even if that particular make or model doesn't work any longer. A Miata: probably not a high-likelihood choice.
So, the process works something like this: having accepted the claims that nearly every orthodox Christian claim is false, as JWs, but that the JWs have special insight into the timing of the End of Days, people find themselves no longer believing that last claim. But rejecting the idea that JWs have the timing of the End all sorted out doesn't suggest that anyone would (or should, maybe) go back and accept all those other claims that were rejected earlier.
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Morbidzbaby
I can only speak from personal experience, but once I realized the WT was BS, I started from "the beginning... As in "In the beginning, god created the heavens and the earth". That's right. I studied Bible doctrine itself without looking at this or that religion's interpretation of it. I studied the history of where the Bible came from. When it was compiled. The goings-on in history at that time.
For me, this completely blew the Bible and any other Christian denomination out of the water. I also researched science and other belief systems. I have my own set of "beliefs" that work for me...but they don't involve a belief in any "god", nor do they involve Christianity in any way.
And I'm happy this way. I'm open to other answers, but what I have right now suits me just fine. A jealous Bible god who is out to kill and destroy anyone who doesn't worship him does not suit me at all.
