Good morning Zound!
This ABSOLUTE conviction in something that admittidly went on in your head and your feelings is a little scary.
Within... inthe spirit... so not quite the same thing as in 'my head and feelings'. Remember too, that this was not an isolated incident.
The whole JW situation came from those ***holes in Brooklyn taking advantage of peoples 'faith' or 'hope' to believe in certain things. Perhaps deluded themselves, but regardless, the Brooklyn boys encouraged this 'blind faith' - resulting in JW's that regardless of the evidence, regardless of anything they may see or hear about Watchtower's lies, regardless of their own doubts they WILL GO DOWN WITH THE SHIP. They will weather any storm and eventually die thinking that armageddon is just around the corner etc etc.
I think most ex-JW's would know at least one JW like this - the Watchtower doctrine is so much a part of their brain that the Watchtower society could completely self destruct and these diehards will ignore it completely and stick with what they are totally convinced is true.
Yes, I hear you.
The point of mentioning that is - you say that this time you've cracked it! This time you are REALLY convinced. This time you KNOW. Nothing could possibly convince you otherwise. No room for doubt.
I understand what you are thinking.
But I do NOT know... anything... other than Christ. He is the Truth, and I listen to Him.
Believe me, when I stopped studying with the witnesses, I had no idea how I would EVER trust myself again. How could I ever do that, when I thought I had it right with them, and I was so wrong?
Well, I didn't and I don't.
I put faith in Christ... and let Him teach me. And of course, he is right there in front of our 'faces', and was all along. "I am the Truth. Listen to ME. Follow ME."
Not ourselves, not men, not religion... just Him.
Do you see what I'm getting at here? You can replace the JW experience with a Muslims experience, with a Budhists experience, with any number of persons experience that do not even have anything to do with a particular religion.
It's easy to say, "well they were just deluded, they are just misled - they are listening to Jesus but not KNOWING Jesus."
For a large part, I would suggest that they are not listening to Christ in the first place. They are listening to men, religious leaders, etc. (Muslims don't even claim to be listening to Christ, but to Mohammad (though with any religion, there are those who are also listening to religious leaders, and what their religious leaders say that their Prophet meant)
Jw's are listening to the GB and the wts. Replace most any religious institution in place of the wts, and most of its adherents do the same.
You are claiming faith. ABSOLUTE conviction. Unshakable. Anything me or others have to say could not possibly shake your faith. Any evidence could not possibly shake your faith about Jesus.
It might... if you or others HAD something that was evidence against Christ and my faith in Him... but you do not. I do listen to what people say; I don't put my fingers in my ears, or run away, or disengage. No one has presented evidence that is against Christ, so how can my faith be shaken?
(I mean, yes, I know you don't have anything that will hold up against Him. But that doesn't mean you couldn't prove me wrong if you had something that proved Christ false. But... you don't.)
Can you see the similarities in this conviction with convictions such as the JW's or lets say that woman in the US who drowned her children in the bathtub because 'Jesus told her to'. You've attempted to explain the distinction, but could you have another attempt at how you see the distinction there?
JW's put their faith in men, even when those men and that religion are shown to be false. They are not listening to Christ. (they will take the GB's word of what Christ is written to have said any day of the week... OR... they won't be jws for much longer) They are told NOT to examine evidence outside of their faith; they won't research their own religion; they are afraid of anyone who has left or who presents them with the facts or truth of their religion. (not mere arguments, but actual facts of what their own religion has previously taught, etc)
The woman who drowned her children in the bathtub is also not listening to Christ. She may have heard a voice that identified as "jesus" tell her that, but that is not THE Christ (Jaheshua), because all that He HAS taught us is against harming or killing others, and drowning one's own children (or anyone) is against love as well.
So what people say is from Christ CAN and SHOULD be tested... against Christ's own teachings, and against love. Whether is is a religion or religious leader saying so, or someone saying that they heard it directly from Him, themselves.
Hope I'm not coming across as aggressive - I'm asking these things to challenge my own beliefs also, not just to try and prove a point.
No worries.
On a side note:
You are willing and fairly good at explaining your reasoning (though I don't agree with it) - I wonder if you would mind giving me some feedback in the near future on a project/article I'm working on regarding trying to teach people critical thinking ability? I'd appreciate a firm believers feedback, suggestions on it - and you seem very articulate, engaging and definately a firm believer.
I can certainly look at it... I can't promise anything more than that until I see it though. But I could look at it, sure.
Peace to you,
tammy
