by John Aquila 78 Replies latest jw experiences
it's as if an alcoholic says, i know all the dangers of drinking. but i enjoy it and if i want to die from drinking that is my choice.
but in reality they are selfish in the fact that just like an alcoholic, if they drink and drive they put other peoples lives at stake.
and if the JW keepS preaching lies, they put other peoples lives at stake and there family lives at stake.
this cult of a religion has done so much damage to my family life....it is poison just like alcohol!!!!!!!!!!
I became a JW because I honestly believed what I was taught, that was in the 80s, there was not Internet to research things then. All the years up until the end of last year I did not consider it necessary to research anything, because the indoctrination is such that one does not need to research these things because the Watchtower does it for you and presents you with the truth. So that's the indoctrination and you believe it.
When, after researching a non-doctrinal aspect of JWs, how much money they have, I stumbled on the Candece Conti case, that was the first domino. The facts about the Watchtower and its toxic teachings hit me thereafter like being constantly kicked in the balls.
As it is very unpleasant to be kicked in the balls, that could be the reason why the facts do not affect JWs, because they are protecting their balls. This protection mechanism is call Cognitive Dissonance (CD), every single person alive is affected in one way or another by this, to deny that is proof in itself. CD is not a disease or an illness, it is a protection mechanism that everybody has, it can be beneficial, but in the case of being and staying in a cult as with JWs it is certainly not. Understanding the mechanisms of CD is an aid in releasing the bonds of the cult.
You and all apostates have nothing to offer. You have no answer as to why we were put on this earth and where we are headed. Most of you think this life is all there is. You debate among yourselves whether humans evolved or if they are in some type of computer simulation.
So when your parents or children die, all you have is these great memories for a short while. Then a few years will pass and those memories will die, because most of you believe this life is all there is. That is the saddest thing a human can believe.
Thanks John that is quite an insight into human feelings isn't it and an explanation for why religion itself exists. What most born-ins fail to understand is that many religions teach life after death and most of their members find comfort from that. To stay in a high control cult because you're afraid of death in unnecessary.
I know many of us don't feel the the need for this type of comfort or to have all the answers to life, death and so on but some people do. I just wish people like my loved ones would see that they can have hope and comfort elsewhere without ruining their health trying to keep the rules of this cult.
I know this post won't please everyone because some feel that religion should just not exist, but it does. My view, along with that of many scholars is that people invented it because they needed something to get them through. Yes there were power plays and politics and priestcraft involved but there were also ordinary people just trying to survive the struggle of life, and the death of loved ones. What we don't need is cults that rob people of free will and destroy families.
Will humans one day be able to cope without religion and just enjoy their lives? Will we be able to face reality and cope without it because of all the efforts humankind has made through science, medicine, philosophy and so on to make our lives easier? I hope so. Meanwhile people like your friend should have the freedom to look around and find whatever works for them, but within the mindset of this cult this is forbidden.
Witnesses are conditioned to have an answer to everything (even if it's totally wrong) and for everything (even if it's wrong).
They act as if they accepted the universe as the indifferent place it is with infinite unanswered questions, then being alive sucks. That is sad. Choosing a comforting deferred reality instead of being humble and courageous enough to be otherwise.
And if the end doesn’t come in my time and I die, how do you think I will feel if the last few moments of my life I see my wife and children and Know in my heart that I will see them again. Do you know the comfort that I will feel on my death bed knowing this? Or if I see one of my children or my wife dying before my eyes, do you even understand the comfort that I will have knowing that I will see them again.
All I can think is this:
Ask him why it is only by serving within this particular organisation that he can have any reason to believe in an afterlife?...
Because Jehovah won't resurrect him or his family if he doesn't serve the org?
What leads him to believe that a loving God would only reward with everlasting life.. those that preach false doctrines and are willing to cut their own family members out of their lives completely?
Especially for something they may not even personally believe in? (Hardly anyone, perhaps even nobody, would believe overlapping generations etc. if it wasn't in a Watchtower)
Would not a loving God reward those who live with personal integrity and honestly held beliefs that are based on the overwhelming evidence, rather than mindless drones that would support a false religious belief system just because they like some parts of it and want to live forever?
How would an all knowing God who supposedly requires worship in truth, and to love your neighbour (fellow man) and Him above ALL other things feel about such people?
defender of truth
What leads him to believe that a loving God would only reward with everlasting life.. those that preach false doctrines and are willing to cut their own family members out of their lives completely? How would an all knowing God who supposedly requires worship in truth, and to love your neighbor feel about such people?
Good Point!
John Aquila:
Excellent thread. It has not only provided us with a great topic of discussion, but also ultimately allowed for definitive conclusions to be reached. Thanks!
