Just curious, if anyone had lost faith whilst on JWN and do u think it is an honorable experience?.
How many of you have lost your faith on JWN
by Most Noble 58 Replies latest jw friends
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wallsofjericho
raises hand
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Most Noble
do you think it was a great loss?
and
do you somehow miss those days when you believed and still hold on to something?
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King Solomon
Losing your faith in what was and is a lie is not an excuse to lose faith in what is real, you know....
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leavingwt
I was a member here at the time I discovered that my faith was based upon ignorance, lies, misinformation, wishful thinking, and an absence of critical thinking skills.
At first, it was a little unsettling. Within a few short months, it was as if a huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders. My life took on a greater meaning.
As Ingersoll put it:
When I became convinced that the Universe is natural -- that all the ghosts and gods are myths, there entered into my brain, into my soul, into every drop of my blood, the sense, the feeling, the joy of freedom. The walls of my prison crumbled and fell, the dungeon was flooded with light and all the bolts, and bars, and manacles became dust. I was no longer a servant, a serf or a slave. There was for me no master in all the wide world -- not even in infinite space. I was free -- free to think, to express my thoughts -- free to live to my own ideal -- free to live for myself and those I loved -- free to use all my faculties, all my senses -- free to spread imagination's wings -- free to investigate, to guess and dream and hope -- free to judge and determine for myself -- free to reject all ignorant and cruel creeds, all the "inspired" books that savages have produced, and all the barbarous legends of the past -- free from popes and priests -- free from all the "called" and "set apart" -- free from sanctified mistakes and holy lies -- free from the fear of eternal pain -- free from the winged monsters of the night -- free from devils, ghosts and gods. For the first time I was free. There were no prohibited places in all the realms of thought -- no air, no space, where fancy could not spread her painted wings -- no chains for my limbs -- no lashes for my back -- no fires for my flesh -- no master's frown or threat -- no following another's steps -- no need to bow, or cringe, or crawl, or utter lying words. I was free. I stood erect and fearlessly, joyously, faced all worlds.
And then my heart was filled with gratitude, with thankfulness, and went out in love to all the heroes, the thinkers who gave their lives for the liberty of hand and brain -- for the freedom of labor and thought -- to those who fell on the fierce fields of war, to those who died in dungeons bound with chains -- to those who proudly mounted scaffold's stairs -- to those whose bones were crushed, whose flesh was scarred and torn -- to those by fire consumed -- to all the wise, the good, the brave of every land, whose thoughts and deeds have given freedom to the sons of men. And then I vowed to grasp the torch that they had held, and hold it high, that light might conquer darkness still.
Let us be true to ourselves -- true to the facts we know, and let us, above all things, preserve the veracity of our souls.
If there be gods we cannot help them, but we can assist our fellow-men. We cannot love the inconceivable, but we can love wife and child and friend.
We can be as honest as we are ignorant. If we are, when asked what is beyond the horizon of the known, we must say that we do not know. We can tell the truth, and we can enjoy the blessed freedom that the brave have won. We can destroy the monsters of superstition, the hissing snakes of ignorance and fear. We can drive from our minds the frightful things that tear and wound with beak and fang. We can civilize our fellow-men. We can fill our lives with generous deeds, with loving words, with art and song, and all the ecstasies of love. We can flood our years with sunshine -- with the divine climate of kindness, and we can drain to the last drop the golden cup of joy.
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sizemik
Good question . . .
I didn't "lose" my faith . . . I deliberately discarded some strongly held delusions.
So it was no loss at all . . . all gain. And no, I don't miss being deluded . . . it's cast off a huge unneccessary burden.
EDIT: LWT, great quote . . . sums it up for me too.
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whathappened
Sizemilk said it all!
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Phizzy
sizemik has put it very well indeed.
But faith in what ? I had already lost my faith that the WT was God's Org. by the time I found this site.
I then went on to examine if the Bible was God's word, many on here helped me to see it was not, suggesting reading I should do etc
I then went on to examine if God exists, again with help on how to do this from here on JWN, I was able to see there is simply no proof.
So, yes, the loss of any "faith" I had mainly occured whilst on JWN, but now I am happy to know that I am not deluded, not thinking that baseless stories are true, and am free to examine any thought or idea and reject or accept it, which I will do on the basis of weight of evidence.
What I have "lost" is delusion, false hope, a wrong world-view, and lots of prejudices etc, I have lost my ignorance and replaced it with valuable knowledge.
I know that since this has happened I am a much better human being.
THANK YOU, ALL ON JWN, YOU ARE WONDERFUL !!!!
Indeed , it has been a Most Noble and Honourable experience !
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Christ Alone
I'll jump in among the sharks and say that JWN has strengthened my faith. Reading everything that athesists send my way has given me a perspective that I never had. It's confirmed my belief that God not existing does not make sense in any way. But I LOVE reading and learning about different faiths and non faiths. I'll read anything I can get my hands on now. No fear of that like I had when I was a Dub. I can understand throwing away a Christian faith, but belief in an intelligent designer absolutely doesn't work, and science can't answer the philosophical and spiritual questions that have always been around. (I am saying this about the BELIEF or NON BELIEF, not speaking about individuals nor attacking them).
JWN has forced me to research in and out of the Bible, and my faith has only been strengthened. I've found it sad that many, not all, have left because of the idea that "If the Watchtower is wrong, then I'm done with a belief in God." After leaving the WT, my understanding of God has changed 100%. I realize that I never knew Him. I wish others got to know and experience first who Christians believe that God is, before leaving and joining the cool kids of atheism.
So no, I have not lost my faith on JWN. :-)
Ok, I'm ready for the attacks. I'll make my leave before they begin. :-)
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leavingwt
Christ Alone: I would prefer to think of myself as predestined to Hell. God made Hell, somebody has to go there. "Sounds legit."