by purrpurr 94 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
What Cofty said is The Truth.
Why "believe" anything ? Belief being in the sense of " trusting that something is true without satisfactory evidence", to do so is to be open to all sorts of silly ideas, and to condemn yourself to a life of wandering down blind alleys, often led down them, by the hand, by the disingenuous and the unscrupulous.
We left the watchtower but never God. After a couple of months chilling and reading various bible translations we were moved enough to pray "send us where we can worship you as you would have it". We knew we had come out of the "synagogue of satan" and felt drawn to the local anglican church down the road. It could certainly be no worse than where we had come from, could it? If we got bad vibes we would simply walk out we decided.
Wow. Within 20 minutes we gave each other incredulous glances and we realised that the wt had told jws the most incredible lies imaginable about 'false worship' in churches. No denomination can possibly be perfect, but Jesus is not looking for perfection. He told the 'overcomers' in the churches in Rev 2 and 3 not to give up attending when sins were being committed therein, but assured them that he knew the ones who were not leading double lives. He alone is the judge and he alone can read hearts. I do not condemn anyone who attends, even when they follow a different life style to me.
Have never missed a service since and all 4 of us got baptised in the same church 7 months later. Happy to visit Baptist, Methodist and Evangelical churches too, and combined services are really special. We consider Catholics as part of the body of Christ, but their faith structure is not for us.
I definitely recommend a few months 'chill' time to recover from the jw cult abuse before rushing into anything. Try comparing several different translations to understand the REAL gospel and pray for guidance and help.
Whatever you decide is the way forward for you, I wish you happiness peace and contentment!
You are disappointed, but please dont leave God altogether. Why never eating bread again when your long time baker sold you bad products.
Educate yourself and pick your next bakery carefully. And why not baking your bread yourself?
You can figure out things if you realy want to. Pray and ask for understanding while reading different Bible-translations.
Most important thing is, that you dont need a human mediator. Jesus is also YOUR mediator and you can engage in a relation with him, the son of God.
1. Pet. 5:7 is a very valid help.
Find new friends who respect you for who you are.
God bless.
Having other people do the thinking for us is easy. That's why we allowed it for so many years, and why organized religion will always be in style. Interestingly Jesus didn't preach much doctrine. He mostly talked about how to live in this world with other people. He said nothing definitive, that why all his followers are still arguing 2000 years later. keep seeking knowledge and truth. That's what life is about. that's why god gave us a brain. You are now free to use it once again.
purrpurr,
Yes, it's painfull!
Isaiah 66:5-8
Hear the word of Jehovah, YOU men who are trembling at his word: "YOUR brothers that are hating YOU, that are excluding YOU by reason of my name, said, ‘May Jehovah be glorified!’ He must also appear with rejoicing on YOUR part, and they are the ones that will be put to shame." There is a sound of uproar out of the city, a sound out of the temple! It is the sound of Jehovah repaying what is deserved to his enemies. Before she began to come into labor pains she gave birth. Before birth pangs could come to her, she even gave deliverance to a male child. 8 Who has heard of a thing like this? Who has seen things like these? Will a land be brought forth with labor painsin one day? Or will a nation be born at one time? For Zion has come into labor painsas well as given birth to her sons.
John 16:20-21
Most truly I say to YOU, YOU will weep and wail, but the world will rejoice; YOU will be grieved, but YOUR grief will be turned into joy. 21 A woman, when she is giving birth, has grief, because her hour has arrived; but when she has brought forth the young child, she remembers the tribulation no more because of the joy that a man has been born into the world.
Everything Jesus Christ said would happen, is really happening!
abe
I definitely recommend a few months 'chill' time to recover from the jw cult abuse before rushing into anything.
I suggest at least 10 years. That is not sarcasm by the way.
@ FlyingHighNow
It is true that you don't have to go from faith to no faith, many on here hold on to some vestige of faith. Some simply transfer their faith. The caption that the original poster chose, "Just what am I supposed to believe in now?" is strikingly similar to my own experience. When you are programmed to believe that you have the one and only "Truth" and that everyone, I mean EVERYONE else is wrong and for that will die, then it is a tremendously painful ordeal. Some, even on this forum, were not totally and completely vested in the whole Watchtower thing, sure, they went to meetings and to service, but they may have been half-hearted at their full-effort. Others, like I am assuming the poster to be, fell hook, line, and sinker, so for them, faith to no faith is painful.
By the way, I really do appreciate your comments. I find them very insightful and poignant. And the name....GO ROCKY!
Think of how it is with a child, when newborn they are almost like a blank canvas. Watching them grow and explore new things, new ideas, learning things, asking questions. They are filled with awe and wonder of the world around them.
The place you are at now, as many of us is like starting over again. Your belief system has been crushed, the house you built on WT sand has been washed away. What you choose to do now is all down to you. It's time to ask questions, even if you come to dead ends, (we can't know everything). Look at the world around you with new eyes. Dig deep inside yourself and find out how you really feel about things and not what someone else has told you that you should feel. You feel lost and empty because now you have to rely on yourself for your answers. The ones you relied on for answers have proved false. It's a devastating feeling to find out those you trusted can't be trusted anymore. Now you have to find your own way.
However, it's a time of learning, of self discovery, of real meaning. Enjoy the ride!!
purr purr,
You can believe what ever you wish to believe, there are many Athiest vs God threads on this site and many more no doubt to come. I read a lot of them until I came to the conclusion about what I believe. I believe in a God who is a creator, but I don't believe he rewards or punishes humans. Some people stay undecided and reamain happy.
Doing lots of research helps one establish their beliefs.
Kate xx
By the way, I really do appreciate your comments. I find them very insightful and poignant. And the name....GO ROCKY!
Thank you.
An evidence-based worldview is the only sensible option. It also opens up a whole universe full of mystery, wonder and awe.
Just leaving the cult will open up the whole universe full of mystery, wonder and awe. For a lot of us, viewing the vast complexity of our material universe, human beings, animals, plant life is evidence that there is much more to the story of existence than meets the eyes.
Last April, one of my grandson's 19 year old friends took his own life. Part of his suicide had to do with taking too much insulin. I was doing research about how insulin overdoses bring death. I came across a writing by By Dr. Howard Glicksman called Death by Insulin: How Sweet it Isn't!! http://www.arn.org/docs/glicksman/eyw_060601.htm
Our body's system to metabolize sugar and keep us living is vastly more complex than most people know. I recommend reading the series of articles that Dr. Glicksman has written called: Exercise Your Wonder. They are easy to read for the non medical doctor and will leave you in awe when you begin to understand how NOT simple, just the human body is. When you look at how complex and vital sugar metabolism is--your brain dies without sugar very quickly-- it will awe you. He has written numerous articles about our body systems and functions. You'll understand that there is plenty of evidence of design to our human body. What you do with the evidence will be very personal to you.
