Question for the nonbelievers and atheists

by nykid 50 Replies latest jw experiences

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  stuckinarut2

  Yes, good point jwfacts!

  I agree....
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  KateWild

  I have stopped believing the Bible is inspired and from God. First I disagreed with the scripture at 1Cor 14: 34,35

  , 34 let the women keep silent in the congregations, for it is not permitted for them to speak.+ Rather, let them be in subjection,+ as the Law also says. 35 If they want to learn something, let them ask their husbands at home, for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the congregation.

  Then after reading some posts on JWN, I listened to Bart Erhman's promotional video, promoting his book "Misquoting Jesus".

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfheSAcCsrE

  I found that reading the bible account of Jesus' resurrection was evidence for me that the bible is not consistent, therefore cannot be from God.

  I do still believe in a creator though, science gives me enough evidence to support a guided process that requires an intelligent creator.

  Kate xx
• 

  PSacramento

  Have you read the arguments counter Bart's arguments?

  There are quite a few of them...
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  KateWild

  Have you read the arguments counter Bart's arguments?- PSacramento

  I have watched a debate he had with a believer of the Bible, his arguments were weak IMO. Have you any specific examples that would give me a better perspective?

  Kate xx
• 

  Onager

  It was a long period of study for me, but I did have one epiphany moment and, oddly, it was while watching "Conan the Barbarian" (the original one with Arnie).

  It's the scene where Conan (barbarian) and a more civilised chap are talking about their gods. Conan says that his god Crom lives on a mountain, only respects strength etc. and the other god says his god is greater than Crom, his god is the everlasting sky and Crom lives under him.

  It hit me that is exactly how the gods we are supposed to believe are real have developed. It's all about my god is better than your god. That's the driving force in the development of a deities characteristics. On top of a mountain > in the sky > above the sky for example. The gods have evolved to fill the needs of the people that believe in them.
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  Separation of Powers

  Like many here, I am not an atheist. I am an agnostic. I simply don't know if there is a god. Yes, there may be a spirit realm with all its intrigues and such, but the god of the Bible, is not that god. I always had a hard time with the concept of a "loving" god, having been taught from an early age that he wiped out entire nations, put plagues upon his own people, used the elements to terrorize them, treated women like objects, killed children without mercy, and THEN you get to the new testament. The Jesus figure is not god, nor does he represent the god of the old testament. JW's like every other religion using the bible, try to explain away the petty and vengeful god of the OT by speaking of "justice" but the argument holds no merit.

  I held on to my beliefs as long as I could, thinking that the ORG had it right and that I needed to be more humble and simply accept. I realized, like others here, that if the ORG was gods true channel, identified by the so-called "love amongst themselves" of the NT that it was all a farce.

  Now, I simply don't know. I recognize the wisdom of many belief systems. The subtleties of truth found in all religious cultures. But, in doing so, I recognize that we choose to believe what we believe. As the Buddha said, "Life is suffering." In that truth, I have found comfort. No, not that I enoy suffering or am a fatalist. It is simply a recognition, unlike the JW's who blame every little issue on Satan, the world, are own imperfections. In that simple, elegant truth, I have found that man has always faced the difficulties of this life. It is up to us, up to me, to find happiness and not expect some divine entity or organization claiming to represent him to do it for me.
• 

  James Brown

  I am a non believer of the watchtower

  Because of January 1, 1976.

  I did not see any difference on that day from the days before it.

  I also believe the watchtower company of 2014 is

  a very different corporation than it was in 1976.

  They used to believe that those who were of a discernable age in 1914 as

  a generation would not pass away before armegedon and the new system.

  I don't think the watchtower has ever been right about anything.

  that they prophecied.

  Which makes them false phrophets and the bible says to turn away from false

  phrophets.

  If we could take the governing body over to the middle east we could probably stone them today.

  For being false prophets.
• 

  LisaRose

  So many reasons

  The old testament is full of stories that could not possibly be true. Science has proven that man has been around far longer that any interpretation of the creation of the earth in the bible account. The flood of Noah could not possibly have happened as the bible said. Evidence for evolution is overwhelming, DNA evidence tells a compelling story as to evolution.

  The old testament God is not is not a loving heavenly father but a petty, vindictive tyrant. Innocent children were slaughtered because they were born into the wrong tribe, rape and slavery were condoned.

  The bible is inconsistent and contradicts itself. It's not the cohesive, God inspired book that the Watchtower claims it is, it's a bunch of books written by people in a primitive society that reflects their own prejudices and ignorance, not that of any divine being.

  If you accept that the only true God is the one of the bible, you accept that salvation is primarily location based, as other holy books and Gods exist in other countries. Would a loving heavenly father condemn a person because of where they were born?

  To believe the bible you have to accept that God was involved with mankind for thousands of years, then abruptly stopped a few thousand years ago and hasn't been heard from since.

  After praying to God for thirty years, I finally had to admit it was strictly a one way conversation. I realized God was an invention of primitive mankind to explain things they couldn't understand, things that science does explain. There is no proof that there ever was a God or than any religion is better than any other religion, especially the Jehovah's Witnesses. Life has new purpose for me because I realize this life we have is all we get. I am not afraid of dying at Armageddon or going to hell, I don't have to waste time sitting in the kingdom hall being bored to death or knocking at doors trying to peddle useless magazines. Life is good.
• 

  xchange

  What specifically made you stop believing in God and the Bible?

  Easy. Reading and listening to Christian apologists. Reading the bible.
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  opusdei1972

  I still believe that there must exist a superior being (or more than one) in the universe. However, I no longer believe in the Bible, because archaelogy, anthropology, history and textual criticism have proven that the Bible is not reliable. A superior (a Divine one) being could not inspire a book with many contradictions.