by rulehayl 40 Replies latest jw experiences
Anyhoo, I like my new Church, very Hillsong-esqe. So just wondering if anyone else has stayed the course of Christianity after leaving the JWs, and if so - where did you go?
Interesting post. I left long ago, and through the decades I decided, out of curiosity and for my own self-discovery, to take a closer look at other denominations. I didn't stay a christian.
Pretty much 99.9% athiest now.
It was the realisation that almost all churches were basically businesses selling an intangible product and enriching ( either financially and / or lifestyle wise ) the people at the the top that did it for me , followed by an in-depth study into the bible and origins of christianity etc.
What I have tended to find with ex-JWs is that they often reflect the overall composition of the country they live in. In the USA where most people are religious and profess a belief in God , they will often graviate towards another religion. In Europe , where few people attend church and most people are irreligious, usually they just drift away from any form of belief.
"The righteous were more damaged by their righteousness than the sinners were by their sin"" - John Ortberg.
I think the above sums up legalistic works and rule driven Christianity. JWs fall into this group. Their message is that our denomination is better than your denomination, in fact membership of our church is essential for salvation.
The good new is that there are plenty of grace centred churches out there offering authentic Christian teaching, support and community but without the judgmentalism.
Hillsong is a great church, as is Holy Trinity Brompton in Central London.No doubt there are many near you if you go and explore. Suppress the divisive and unfounded thought that only one church has the "truth". Go where you feel comfortable, ultimately Christianity is about a relationship with God, not membership of any particular church.
I was a Christian for about two years after leaving the witnesses but didn't attend any church. Studying medieval history for a degree finished off any belief in religion. The obscenely cruel tortures enacted against their fellow humans by Christians just appalled me. Where was God when people were being "slowly roasted, for beliefs they neither knew nor understood"? (Michel de Montaigne)
I guess I consider myself kind of a secular humanist from the aspect that I feel people do not need religion to make them a better person. I believe that real truth lies within each human being to find out in time through life experiences, school of hard knocks, and just being decent from a humanistic, empathetic, and ethical view of the world and other people in it.
Here's a wikipedia link concerning humanism : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secular_humanism.
I respect others rights to pursue religion if they feel it will help them ; however I feel the teaching that all humans are sinners that need to be redeemed is totally false. We aren't " born sinners " or " born evil " in my opinion- evil is a taught and learned trait in humans by the environment they are raised in. Little children are not born with prejudices either racially, politically, religiously, or otherwise - not until they are taught these things from the people around them who then shape these children's world view.
If you don't believe me - then ask yourself ( especially those of us who were born into the Jehovah's Witness beliefs ) WHY it took some of us born-in JW's so long to exit the JW cult and religion ? It's because we were " taught " or " programmed " to believe the WT Society world view as minor children without being allowed any other information to have any other viewpoints !
The one difference I have with secular humanism is that I think there may be such a thing as the " supernatural " . Not necessarily a " God " , but perhaps invisible entities of people who have died that may come back through some electrical energy to visit us occasionally like deceased relatives, etc. to assist us or possibly watch over us. I've experienced these connections with deceased loved ones & friends attempting to contact me through electronic media, ie. cell phones, computers, voices through such things and in dreams I have. So I'm not dogmatic on this point- but I'm open to the possibility that something lives on in humans after they die- in the invisible hereafter.
But I don't believe that has any connection with " God " or " Jesus " or any need for the saving of souls due to " sinfulness " . I feel more spiritual now these last 15 years without religion than I ever did in my 40 plus years as a JW. I'm much more balanced, reasoning, ethical, and empathetic in my views now than I was as a JW and have love for all of mankind no matter what race, gender, sexual leaning , or whatever. All humans are important
Here's another link dealing with secular humanism :
Was a born in. left in my late 40s early 50s. Could not abide by churches with dogma and doctrines. I have found Unitarian Universalist a pretty good fit. I love their community outreach and their activism. The people are, on the whole, educated and well read. They just want a better earth....now.
Credit where credit's due...
...the WTS did a pretty effective job inoculating the majority of us against any other form of religious expression.
What's the point in joining any other church or religion (including non-christian)?
They all base their belief system in some unprovable idea that requires that you have 'faith,' when the belief conflicts with logic. And, that's what got us stuck in the JW version of christianity. Whenever, there was a shortfall in evidence, we decided we had to exercise faith.
The other point that's important is that there is a general decrease in church attendance in western countries. If you havn't been aware of this, here's a couple of references, and much more if you make a web-search.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/jun/27/christianity-on-the-wane-in-australia-but-pentecostal-church-bucks-trend
