Then & Now (page 2)

tazmaniac

To me it is like....if this is supposed to be gods message for everyone. And he is interested in each one of us and "and desires non to be destroyed but attain to repentance". Then why is it so convoluted. With something as complicated as life in this human body you would think that the bible would or should be like an easy to read, exhaustive instruction manual. I dont know what or who to believe anymore. I think I am more like a universal unitarian now. Well thats my two cents and if you want change back...just email me and I will send you a coupon for something. Taz

Mulan

I think that when you step back and look at it objectively it has so many flaws that it obviously isn't inspired anymore than the works of shakespear or homers illiad

Simon said the above, and I agree. I've read a few things that expose earlier accounts of the exact same stories, and they obviously aren't inspired and no one says they are.

I think it has some good ideas and suggestions for living, but so does Dr. Phil and all his books. Other writers too, like John Bradshaw, Kevin Lehman, and others. All it says to me is they had some smart guys back then too. Much of it is common sense.

goofy

I do believe the Bible to be inspired. I do believe in God, Jesus and the resurection. I do not believe any organization has a claim to absolute truth. I think that the Bible was written a long time ago and that God allows some changes with time, but basic truth does not change. For instance in Bible times women were to bare children, sew, cook, take care of the household. I think that God understands that today, we as women, cannot possibly take care of all that as most of us are working full and more time jobs. These sort of things I think change. Debate, no I am not debating with anyone. I can still find scriptures. I think the "whole truth" is summed up in Jesus' words "Love thy God with your whole heart, and love thy neighbor, on these commands the whole law lays."

hooberus

I have never been a JW, but I think that many ex-jws here did seem to chuck the Bible in the trash, when they chucked the "Bible Society" (WBTS). It makes me wonder if they really had faith in God and the Bible to begin with, or if their faith was more in "God's Organization". There seems to be a pendilum swing reaction with some here in that when they rejected the Society and found out that they had been lied to, they then went to the opposite side and embraced doctrines opposed to scripture such as evolution, atheism, liberalism, etc. Perhaps they should have given the scripture more of a chance, as well as learned what historic Christianity has taught about things such as a relationship with Christ, before they threw the baby out with the bath-water.

larc

hey hoo, I find your remarks to be condescending, insensitive, and unchristion. Since you were never one of us, you have no idea what we went through, before, during, or after our experience. We did not swing in one direction from one extreme to another. We desperately made an extreme effort in a search for truth. We, in our own way, found what was true for us. While you may not agree with what any one of us concluded, you should not doubt our sincerity in our attempt to find the truth. To say that we initially lacked a believe or faith in God is an insult to us. Shame on you, for your view of us!

larc

Another thing or two. Prove to me that evolution is unscriptural. Can you prove that God did not use the process of evolution to create? Also, what do mean by liberalism, as I suppose you can contrast with conservatism. Please define you terms in this regard. After all, Jesus was a liberal. If fact, it could be argued that Jesus was a communist.

RAYZORBLADE

Hooberus, one has to wonder, and your observation is noteworthy.

Pour moi, I originally had believed in the Bible, and given the Jehovah's Witness ability to rattle off scriptures etc., it impressed me.

I was looking for something. As a youth/teen, I was questioning my sexuality. Being a teen in the 70s and not knowing which way to turn, I thought turning to God, the Bible and incidentally, the Jehovah's Witnesses, that I would somehow find some solace, support and hopefully 'divine' intervention.

Anyways, as I spent more time READING the Bible, and investigating it, the more I read, the more I questioned some things about it.

Sure, having been a JW is enough to make you never want to touch a bible ever again. But for me, it was not just so cut and dry. I'm sure a few others would state similarly.

It's gradual, it's THAT over wrought repititious review of the bible, over and over and over again (yes, different versions/translations), and some questions still linger.

Perhaps, the JW experience is the launch pad to questioning all things pertaining to the Bible.

It isn't just the JW experience that has many lay persons asking or questioning the bible.

It was a good wake-up call for me, and my interest in it (the Bible) is nil. But for those of you who can use it to argue/debate active JWs - I'm glad. For those who believe it in, if you can refute the insanity of fundamentalism, I take my hat off to you.

Hope this makes sense.

El Kabong

Hooberus comments are typical for the fundie christians. These people have never, ever, been JW's and, as Larc said, never went through what we went through. After I left the witnesses, I had my stint with the born again fundies. Let me tell you, they are JUST AS BAD as the witnesses. When I first started going to a particular fundie church, I made the mistake of telling them I was an ex-jw. Hoo-boy, these people wanted to debate me right then and there, like I still had to defend the JW faith. Then they would go as far as to actually say that JW's worship the Devil. WTF? Worship the Devil??? How Judgemental can one be? Some fundies, especially those who are of the super-christian class, are just as bad as elders wives. Now, that's pretty bad!!!!

joannadandy

How many of you still believe in the bible? I believe it's a nice book that's one cultural look at what spirituality means.

How many of you have moved away from it? ME ME ME!

How many of you, cannot debate scripture/doctrine? (post-JW) I still can, I just don't care to. Unless of course I talk to some relgious psycho who assumes I know nothing, and then I rattle off a few scriptures of my own..the stuned "ohh" is always priceless.

How many of you, still actively hold the bible as divinely inspired? Nope. No way, no how.

gold_morning

Razor

I think there comes a time when we all begin to search again. Maybe not all of us...... but for sure, some of us.

I know I spent 16 years away from God. I did not read the bible and felt much anger inside. For some reason, about 5 years ago I got out my old NWT version of the bible and began to read it one night. I remember feeling soooooooo bad at how much I had forgotten.

What really amazed me was forgetting so much was to my benefit because I was reading it differently. First off......I was reading it minus all those Watchtower bible aids. I was reading it fresh. Mind you, allot of old JW teachings would pop up into my brainwashed brain.....but it slowly became a learned skill to read the bible for what it was.

I could not believe how different that things were that I was reading from what I had been taught. It sort of became a quest for me to put the whole religious mess together. It took three years of really reading, but honest!!!!!!.... it happened. It was October 1999 that I became a born again christian. I was finally free. I finally had freemind and had God in my life again. For me, it made a huge difference. I thought I would never be right in the head again.

I guess what I am saying, somehow we have to seperate God and his word the bible from the cult of JWism. We are so brainwashed to think there is this one and only correct religion to get saved by........when really there is NO RELIGION that can save you. It is only your friendship with Jesus.

I too struggled with all those memorized scriptures. I guess if you don't use it you lose it. But, remember......it is good you lost it, because they had it all wrong and used those scriptures to prove "untruth". You would be surprised how fast you would learn scripture again.

To anyone reading this....please don't knock it till you try it.

If any of you have any questions.....please feel free to e-mail me anytime. I been there and understand completely.

[email protected]

Then & Now

Share this