Admit doubts (page 2)

Realist

is there a way to make a JW admit that he has doubts?

Matty

Not one who still believes it's the truth, he or she will do anything to gain a potential convert. If you are put off in any way the witness will feel bloodguilty.

Nanoprobe

Hate to disagree with you, but I have a group of about 10 active members as friends. We constantly discuss doubts, and I won't even call it doubts, I would call it strong disagreements with the Org.

Lots of active witnesses are saying the Molestation letter was a joke. The big problem is you have to be careful who you talk to, but my friends are tried and tested. However, my sister emailed my son, warning him I was an apostate.

Quotes

*** Song Book 213 213 Working Together in Unity ***
We must act together as one.
Independence wisely we shun.
Harmony and oneness of mind
Bring peace of rarest kind.
Unity brings blessings.
This we'll surely find.
If with talents we are endowed,
There's no reason e'er to be proud.
Modestly, with genuine love,
Let's praise our God above.

Hey, I just want to add that my talents are very well endowed!

Yerusalyim

Can faith really exist without doubts?

Introspection

Lady Lee makes a good point that there's admitting doubt to yourself and admitting it to others. In any case, what this implies is that their sense of self is threatened. If you've always seen yourself as a JW, and something that identity is based on is threatened, then of course "you" are threatened, and then you get into this whole "I don't know who I am!" type of uncertainty and insecurity.

To me it's more important to admit that you are uncertain, that you don't know, rather than that you have doubts about any particular thing. A person can have doubts regarding other things, it could be relationships or whatever. But if you come to some peace with the fact that when all that's said and done, you just don't know, then life becomes a lot easier.

ashitaka

Quotes,

That song truly makes me sick, ugh.

ashi

Matty

Absolutely Mark, it's a part of you, you lose your identity if you have doubts! If there is one scripture that is thrust down our throats more than anything on this subject then it's Hebrews 11:1, which defines faith as "the assured expectation of things hoped for, the evident demonstration of realities though not beheld."

There is absolutely no room for doubt and uncertainty here in this scripture. Faith and doubt are the two opposite extremes of the belief spectrum. Essentially, If you have true faith, then you believe like that it's already happened. I have understandably found this very difficult. Having this totally acquiescent confidence in the future is the witnesses form of Nirvana! How many Witnesses have achieved this position? It seems like it has been achieved by all of them that I know! I live in a bullsh*tters paradise.

Matty

ashi, I agree... there's something sinister and creepy about it. I think most people who want to leave the witnesses really struggle with those words.

Introspection

Well Matty, I think this is where you might make a distinction between faith in beliefs or ideas and faith in God. One way I reason with people who comes from a biblical background is using the idea of a living God. Hey, God can do anything, all things are possible with God. What God's will is is unknown to you, so faith in God would look like faith in the unknown from your perspective.

I think this might start with doubts, but if a person is honest then it's just a simple "don't know" attitude. Doubt has the connotation of negating some pre-existing belief, but if you just don't know then it's kind of a balanced attitude. Now some people want to talk about theology, and I say go right ahead, knock yourself out. But just don't try to pretend that you're truly selfless and humble when the ideas you like is nothing but an ego projection. To me true selflessness and humility points to this intellectually humble attitude of unknowing, and if you don't know how can you get preachy with people??

Admit doubts

Share this