I see my contribution as a single flake of snow. On its own insignificant, but in sufficient numbers, a force.
Greetings
by Monsieur 36 Replies latest jw friends
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Monsieur
jgnat, thank your for the recommendation,
you are so kind! a pleasure interacting with you.
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Emery
It really sounds like you would enjoy Bart Ehrmans book ' God's Problem: How the Bible Fails to Answer Our Most Important Question-- Why We Suffer '. Your thoughts and form of reasoning really harmonizes well with the issues brought up in his book. You should definitely check it out! I agree with you that religion and faith in God is a means to structure and community that works great for many believers. There is nothing wrong with being a JW, however the amount of control and authority its leaders possess over the lives of the rank and file is the issue for the majority here. Of course that's a whole other subject.
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Giordano
Beliefs in the unknowable based on what tradition you were raised in be it Christian or Hindu or Islam etc. means that you are as far away from the truth as you can be. In my opinion all beliefs are a construct by other humans and depending where you live you will be a part of those traditions to some degree. On this forum we witness the chains coming off............ eyes opening. Not because of any one post or thought but because the individual has reached a point where honesty becomes more important then make believe. For me 45 years ago it was the blood issue and Armageddon. Both were very strange beliefs and pretty much unique to the JWs and both flew in the face of common sense. As my critical thinking skills sharpened I began to dismiss what can best be described as the death cult beliefs of the WTBTS. Here was a group I was associated with who looked to add to human suffering by their policy on blood and their belief that paradise earth would only be ready for them when seven billion people were destroyed by Jesus and his army of angels who would be dead set on bombing the hell out of everyone with flaming meteors....and or wacking them with swords........or whatever. So the idea of fretting over Syria with it's 60,000 death toll to date is such a small drop in the bucket that I see why so many witnesses would turn a deaf ear to any wars and suffering content in the knowledge that a mere ten hours a month, if that, and attendance at meetings will qualify them for everlasting life except it doesn't as they will be further tested in their new world because god, who has no interest in human suffering, also doesn't trust us to love him, obey him, worship him etc. 45 years ago at the age of 23 I freed myself of the JW construct as well as god and living became simple and rewarding. I stayed the same person I was only saner. In my fifties I became seriously involved with non profits that actually accomplished good things for people and their communities. I served as a volunteer and then a trustee for the next 15 years. Helping people who were suffering on some level to live a better life. After all one can not depend on god to do it.
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jgnat
For Monsieur:
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Monsieur
thanks Jgnat!
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return of parakeet
Monsieur: I believe that our faith provides a ‘haven’ or ‘parameters’ from which members can significantly obtain structure and order in many different ways. This is the case for those members that consider themselves ‘spiritually’ motivated and that are wholeheartedly seeking a spiritual ‘truth’. I know hundreds of people that fit this description and are genuinely happy with their current ‘state’ in life (with all their experiences past and present and expectations).
Those who find comfort in "structure and order" are like birds in a cage. They're told what to say, do, and think. This is not a "haven"; it's a prison, and those who willingly abide there have abdicated their responsibility to grow up, think for themselves, and live fully as adult human beings. Even so, I would say fine for them if that's what they choose to do, except for the children. To force a child to live a dub childhood is a crime. I know; I lived it, as have many on this forum. It's a horrible experience. You're starting to see the bars of your prison and wondering what's outside. Don't be afraid. If some of the comments here seem crude and angry, welcome to the real world, Neo. Not everything is sunshine and roses. But that's what freedom is, both the good and bad.