what to believe now?

christopherceo

This is my first time posting here or on any ex-jw forum but I want to know if anybody else is not sure what to believe anymore. Paradise on earth sounds great and it was drilled into me for 11 years, it's just kinda hard to shake. What about armageddon? What now? Please pardon my basic questions but I am newly out of the grip of the watchtower.

twinkletoes

Welcome christopherceo

So glad that you have joined the forum. Many of us have asked that question and are still asking now,

I believed that I had the truth ( over thirty years as a JW), but what a shock to the system to realise that things

that we were taught were in fact, in many cases, lies.

I have bought a few different translations of the bible, and am now trying to actually read the bible more

often instead of WT & Awake mags and society literature as number one reading material.

You will find a lot of help on this forum, but it will take time to come to terms with what has happened

in your beliefs.

Look forward to hearing from you again

TWINK

Edited by - twinkletoes on 14 January 2003 15:18:20

bigred

It's so hard to know what to believe. I felt the same way as you, and to a great extent still do.

My friend, Joy (Joy2bfree on this board) always says to live the law of love. That's a good idea.

target

Chris:

Welcome to the board! We have all been in your shoes, some still are. Some of us know what NOT to beleive but we are not sure what we SHOULD beleive, and then some of us have it all figured out. Be patient and do a lot of reading here. This kind of transition takes time. And ask all the questions you want.

Millie

Valis

Greetings chritopherceo....welcome to the board! First don't understimate yourself or your ability to make your own way. You might even ask yourself if those things are what you should be concerned with at all. Think of the time you have now to catch up on all the things you could have believed in if it not for the ludicrous notion that there is only one was to worship.

What about Armageddon?

Dude, the world isn't scheduled to explode for another 7.5 billion years...don't sweat it...

Paradise on earth sounds great...

Yeah, but the wait is a bitch...

If you have decided you need a spiritual connection you might try different churches. The Unitarians are probably the most amenable to everyone whether or not you're a buddhist, muslim, JW, athiest whatever.

If not then find things that give you a sense of awe like the high mountains, deep forests, oceans, sky, whatever....its a great substitute for something you can't see...

Welcome again.

Sincerely,

District Overbeer

raistlin_majere

Holmes,

You have been stuck in a fishbowl painted black on the outside to keep you from seeing something else that might actually be better than what "was drilled into your head for 11 years". There is world out there with people one hundred billion times better than those you know within the "Congregation".

I would tell you to go read books on everything you were told not to. You may still feel a need to defend the Jehovahs Witnesses. Don't. They need be exposed for the crooks they are, and harbor aid and abet.

You will eventiually get to enjoy tearing down all the walls that they placed up around you.

TFY:QA.

Think For Yourself: Question Authority.

auntiem

My Dearest Chris.

Remember when you were first introduced to the JW teachings and you found a lot of excitement and joy at what you first heard? Well, now you have a chance to explore and study and look into ANYTHING you want to. Just keep an open mind and don't be gullable. If something religous interest you look into it with a keen eye. Dig up the roots and deeply examine whatever it may be. You will be suprised at what you find out. On a more personal level, what ever it is that you decide to believe in will be your own, and it will be enjoyable because you won't have to feel guilty, fear or any other negativity. When the JW's tell you "where will you go to without the Society"...don't fall for it. There are lots of places to go in mind, heart and spirit.

Hugs!

aUnTiE M

"Start by doing what's necessary, then do whats possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible." Saint Francis Of Assisi

"An act of goodness surpasses a thousand prayers." - Sa'di

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful citizens can change the world. Indeed it is the only lthing that ever has." - Margaret Mead

LyinEyes

Welcome to the board, Christ.......sorry I always shorten names.

I have been d/a for a few months but over a year ago I decided to not be a JW anymore.

It takes a long time to shake the feelings you have,,,,,,, I am not sure, at the stage of recovery I am at anyway,,,,,,, that you ever stop those feelings, those questions. I was raised JW and it was all I ever believed and I wanted to be on paradise earth , live forever and see all my dead loved ones, and never fear them dying again.

I don't know the answers anymore. I am not sure what I believe anymore.

I made myself a nervous wreck for months at first when I tried to pray, tried to read the bible or just tried to find the some truth out there. I even thought going to another church would help. But I never went,,,,, I was too afraid.

Now I can tell you were I am now. I have accepted that I may never ,probably will not ever, know the truth about the mysteries of God , life after death, etc. I am going to live my life and get all I can out of it now,,,,,,,just in case this is all this is. I have a family , a great hubby, I feel alive, I feel free.

I do think that if there is a God, he will read my heart and no that I havent totally given up on Him, and would do what ever he told me too, if he directly told me what to do. I lost trust in the Bible , in JW and religion as a whole. I am sure that if God loves us and has plans for us,,,,,,,he will understand that many of us are in a state of confusion and despire over what we are going thru.

This gets me thru the day, and hopefully as I get older and wiser thru life, I will see things clearer. But this will do for me now.

Being a JW we are taught we had all the answers,,,,,,,,, it is hard to live with the fact that we now do not ,,,,,,, that we were lied to, mislead, and no wonder we can't trust anymore.

So for now I trust in myself and hope that God will help me along the way, even if I don't know he is helping me.

Elsewhere

wednesday
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christopherceo
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Banshee

(((((((((Chris))))))))

Welcome! Hope you enjoy participating on this forum. I sure have. Guess what, Chris?! YOU get to choose what you believe and don't believe now. You can study and explore all kinds of philosophical and religious texts as well as other things and base your choices upon what YOU learn. No more being told what or how to think or how to run your life. At first, it can be a scary thing, having all of that new freedom...but, as time goes by out of the WT, it will feel GREAT!

Thanks for post!

what to believe now?

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