As I move further away from theWT.....

by Viviane 33 Replies latest watchtower bible

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  Viviane

  I've, over the years, looked into many religions. Obviously, from those that have seen me post here, I've become an atheist simply because I couldn't find any reason to believe in God. Recently, though, over the past few months, a new change has started.

  All religions look silly now. For quite a while, after becoming an atheist, I held on to quite a bit of respect for religion and it's traditions and customs and eschtatology, but the further I move from having been a JW, a religious person, basically, the more I have distance between me and that life, the more I find any religious belief to just be ... silly.

  Not to say I don't know and love and respect many religious people, of course I do. But I find myself giving no respect to belief in the undetectable, the unprovable, the unknowable. I find it hubris to pretend to know thing that can't possibly be know. It seems to me to be a sad and pitiable fact that people sit around and wonder and argue about whether or not Adam and Eve had Down Syndrome. I find it absolutely insane when someone says I have no morals and am going to hell because I am an atheist and then turns and demands I respect their version of their religion, as if having a belief entitles them to something.

  It does not.

  This move our from being a JW changed me, for the better, I think. My kids father is still a JW, recently they told me that he often blames me for them not accepting the JW religion, believing in evolution and using "independent" thinking. They said they didn't blame me. I told them I WAS responsible for that, as much as I could be, but rather than accept blame, I would list freeing their mind as one of my proudest and best accomplishements.

  Anyting similar happen to anyone else?
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  Lostreality

  Yep. Absolutely.

  I was firmly in the "respect other religions!" catagory for a while. Trying to defend others' beliefs, trying to respect and dance around rules and regulations, when it finally hit me.

  I have to *acknowledge* a person's religion, but I'll be damned if I have to *respect* it.

  The entire idea of religion seems silly. The rituals, the traditions, its all just...Silly.

  So yeah, I'll acknowledge that your religion forbids you from this or that. But I'll be damned if I let it influence my life.
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  HeyThere

  I am struggling with that at the moment. I have very fond memories of church as a child. I attended methodist primarily but a few others who were all independent churches who were involved in various humanitarian efforts and charity. I loved going on missions trips to help build schools and having holiday dinners where all the kids cooked a meal, adults came a paid for the meal as if at a restaurant and we used proceeds to feed the homeless. We had fun and helped others. It was a great experience.

  However, my experience with the Jws caused me to research more and the more I researched the more I realized the bible is not only full of holes that I did not see as a youth, but also taking natural events and turning them into acts of god. As an educated adult I just can't believe these things. I consider myself agnostic now. There could be intelligent design, but I don't see how a loving God would continue to punish billions over time due to Adam and Eve's mistake.
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  Theredeemer

  It is very possible to respect a person without having to respect every decision or detail of their life. I respect my brother as a man but not his choice of religion.

  Not respecting one's religion , political affiliation and so on also does not mean we can harrass them about it. All it means is that if they bring it up or shove that shit in our face expect reprecussions.

  This is the deal i gave to my family. Dont ask, dont tell. I guess you can call it a "spiritual detente".
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  Simon

  Yes, I experienced the same thing.

  I think once you break down and deconstruct one religion, it does allow you to see other religions for that they really are and kind of 'innoculates' you against the madness. They all use the same techniques and just have different 'branding' to appeal to their particular market segment.

  Some people don't do this learning and analysis though - they leave and feel lost and that they need someone else to guide them. Easy pickings for recruitment to another faith / business.

  Digging into things also helps avoid the niggling "OMG, what if they are right?!" worries that are soon swept away with learning and information.
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  cofty

  Yes, me too. I no longer sympathise with the almost universal assumption that we ought to respect other's beliefs.

  Imagine a world where groups were divided over their opinions of the best Shakepearian play. If millions of Hamletians viewed the followers of Shylock with suspicion and wars were fought between the disciples of Macbeth and those of Othello.

  To me the claims of religion are jsut as ridiculous. It all "Much ado About Nothing".
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  Simon

  Stone the infidel! Yorickians attack!
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  OneEyedJoe

  I seem to be somewhat of an oddball in this respect (though I think there were a few here that went through a similar process). I've been atheist in all but name for probably about 12 years (all my adult life). Of course I did lip service to god, sometimes I prayed but it was always more of "cover your bases" kind of way because there was always that little bit of doubt that the JWs might be right. All the while I spent much time musing on the impact of atheism on morals and on the meaning of life and the conclusion I always came to was that religion was unneccesary. But always there was that tiny bit of doubt. When I found jwfacts, and the outright lies in the creation book, it was like flicking a lightswitch. In that moment I became a full-fledged atheist and a weight was lifted from my shoulders (but a heavier one replaced it since I'm not stuck in for my wife's sake).

  This seems to be a pretty common tragectory that people take upon leaving their religion - once you start thinking about things critically it's a difficult habit to lose. This appears to be especially the case among former JWs. So much of the JW religion is about mocking other religions and pointing out their flaws that it makes it very difficult to then go and join up one of those religions without being able to see them for what they are.
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  Finkelstein

  Moving away from organized religion such as the JWS offers the capability to look at religion from many different perspectives,

  sociological, psychological and theological. As for myself I've found looking deeply to who, what and why has been an engaging

  and interesting experience to say the least.

  .
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  Vidiot

  Simon - "I think once you break down and deconstruct one religion, it does allow you to see other religions for that they really are and kind of 'innoculates' you against the madness."

  Not to mention that since the WTS does such a thorough job immunizing its members against any other forms of religious expression, becoming an XJW can have quite the unintended-but-liberating effect on an individual.