This is a great video! Must watch..... "Intelligent people beleive in God"
by stuckinarut2 5 Replies latest watchtower bible
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smiddy
It certainly is a great video ,so very true on all points covered.In my case the person who witnessed to me ,I was a convert,was a trusted workmate who was "different" from everyday normal people and he used JW speak that I was unfamiliar with that intrigued me.He was spanish had a persecution complex about what was going to happen and so was somewhat secretive about everything.which also intrigued me.
I was also in a vulnerable state at that time also which made the conversion easier .
I think an alternative title should read intelligent people believe in God/ cult religions that way they would be covering two birds with one stone.
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sparrowdown
He has a great way of splainin stuff that guy doesn't he.
Dear Young People, once you turn 18 yrs old you have the privilege of being responsible for your own decisions about what is truth and what is a ridiculous claim, regardless of what your parents believe or taught you to believe. Don't let any religion tell you otherwise.
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David_Jay
While this video does cover very useful and important points, it needs to be pointed out that "belief" and "faith" in God are concepts based on Christianity and the religion of Islam. That is how God is reacted to in those groups, but it is not true about all, especially the religion that started the concept of the God of Abraham that many non-Jewish people claim to "believe" in.
Religions like Judaism (upon which Christianity and Islam claim their religions are based), Jainism, Buddhism, Taosim and some other religions are "practice" based. They do not require a "belief" or "faith" in any particular deity. Jews, as a matter of fact, don't actually "believe" in God (which is the specific reason for us being named after Israel--"one who wrestles with God"--and not Abraham).
With the claim of Christians and Muslims that their particular brand of monotheism was merely transferred intact from Judaism, I find too many people apply arguments against "belief in God" as presented here toward Jews as well. This in effect is just like what is warned about in the video, believing in another incredible but false story.
Judaism is a religion that is practiced, like Buddhism. It doesn't require a belief in religious concepts as a requisite to membership or for "salvation," especially since there is no salvation concept in Judaism. While of course there is a "God" at the center of Jewish religion, the response to this concept is definitely not one of "belief" or "faith." In fact when the rare occasion of a Christian converting to Judaism occurs, it is this type of mental assent in credulity that must be rooted out of them. One can totally accept the reality of the Jewish God-concept while being agnostic or atheist and still practice Judaism. The idea that the Jewish concept of and response to God is the same as Christian and Islamic views is actually the same type of ridiculous claim spoken of in the video that people learn from birth, family, community, etc. and that is almost impossible to convince others otherwise because of this lifetime of indoctrination.
Don't get me wrong. I AGREE with this video. The argument that "intelligent people believe in God" to me is a contradiction in terms. If something is supposed to be real, what is intelligent about merely offering it mental assent? If the God of Abraham exists, it is actually demonstrating a lack of intelligence to merely "believe." A true intellectual response to this concept would be just that, an intellectual "response" or physical reaction, not merely a mental one.
People measure how serious another is about reality based on their actions, not on their claim to mental agreement in a concept. An intelligent person for instance, doesn't merely believe in a healthy diet because just "believing" in a diet will not help you. It is the person who follows the practice of daily eating a healthy diet that we can call intelligent.
Just having faith that a certain healthy diet will do something beneficial for you but never eating it is not intelligence. Singing, praising, and preaching about the diet to others, testifying to its beneficence and passing out tracts to passersby telling others to also believe in the diet but themselves never daily living and eating the healthy diet is never, ever intelligence. Yet, this is how too many so-called "intelligent" people "believe" in God.
Otherwise, good video.
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Rainbow_Troll
Since becoming familiar with those of other faiths, I've come to appreciate just how narrow and fanatical the JW concept of faith is. I've met plenty of Christians, for example, who sometimes doubt and struggle with the existence of God. But, just as David mentioned, their religion isn't just a matter of belief, but a practice that involves trying to live as Jesus did to the best of their present ability. In many religions - even Christianity - having doubts is a natural part of having faith. It's just a matter of being honest with oneself and others rather than pretending to know things about the world that one has no way of proving.
What JWs and most fundies miss is that most religions have an inner dimension to them of personal subjective experience. The faith of a non-fundamentalist does not stand or fall on the veracity of scriptures or the authority of a cult leader, but it rests on the foundation of a person's own personal experiences. If one feels the presence of God, for example, than faith in dogma, scriptures and annointed leaders is superfluous.
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nonjwspouse
To practice grace ( giving, caring,loving,helping etc) was my own fathers religion. He occasionally attended a service at a local Church with his family, but the majority of the time he practiced his faith, his grace, genuinely and consistently. The bible encourages socializing (whenever there is two or more gathered in his name, there is love). It isn't possible to practice grace to others without socializing with others. It does not mean only to be man's many, many ideas of a religious group or building.
In my own belief, this is what the Bible conveys to us, the example of the story of Jesus. Practice grace towards others.