Is Happiness Without Religion Possible?

Brian J

According to the 11/2017 Study Watchtower.......apparently not.

Is it really true that one can be happy without religion? Certainly an individual can be happy without false religion, but a person cannot be truly happy unless he has a relationship with Jehovah, who is described as “the happy God.” (1 Tim. 1:11) Everything God does benefits others. His servants are happy because they focus on helping others. (Acts 20:35) For example, consider how true worship promotes family happiness. True worship teaches us to honor and respect our spouse, to treat marriage vows as sacred, to avoid adultery, to raise respectful children, and to practice true love. As a result, such worship unites people in happy congregations and a happy worldwide brotherhood.—

HowTheBibleWasCreated

A bunch of BS... Happiness does not come from religion....

Spirituality (as in realizing the universe is greater and awesome and still has mysteries etc.) Yes

The moment you trade off your mind to a non-existent deity in the sky you lose any sense of wonder or deep thought

Our nature itself is happiness. Only when we are diverted from this fact we feel unhappy. For example, someone shouted at you. Now you are thinking about this questioning its reasonableness … propriety ..etc … finally you forget all about this and settle down—now are reverted to your original nature of happiness.

You can only divert your attention from happiness, and your happiness can never be destroyed because you are made of happiness and other qualities. You are an individual which is from indivisible, Latin [in + dividuus “divisible”, from divido “divide”. Individual is all about your immaterial substratum on which body is sustained. This substratum is indivisible, minuter than the minutest, not composed of parts, cannot be destroyed. This applies to God who is also an individual made of happiness and other qualities. The only difference: among many individuals, one would be supreme.

Lost in the fog

Are people truly happy in North Korea?

Happiness is indeed a human condition. But within the Org as with North Korea everyone is on tenterhooks in case they step out of line and get slapped.

It is impossible to be truly happy when you are worried that someone of your (supposed) friends might report you for a word spoken out of turn, or a joke with a double meaning you happened to tell.

Christianity is supposed to draw people closer to the Divine Nature, not make them feel afraid, shameful, or guilty 100% of the time.

All Christian religions will be happier doing what the written word of God instructs them to do to follow the path. But once man-made extra conditions come in to control the person, then happiness flies out of the window!

Bungi Bill

Is happiness without religion possible?

Bloody right it is, as I have found out over the last 23 years!

smiddy3

consider how true worship promotes family happiness. True worship teaches us to honor and respect our spouse, to treat marriage vows as sacred, to avoid adultery, to raise respectful children, and to practice true love.

Yeah right, shun any family member simply because they refuse to be religious hypocrites like Jehovah` Witnesses who preach hatred of anyone who do not worship the way they do.

And family members are the first to wear the brunt of this hatred

krismalone

Those same values are taught in philosophy, Buddhism, humanism. It's human nature to have a sense of justice, fairness and mutual respect. Actually current laws give much more freedom and protection than the bible.

The god of the o.t. says it's o.k. to have slaves, to beat them up, to keep the wife and children of a slave, to have concubines, to have sex with single women, to kidnap women, to divorce them for any reason and to kill anyone that finds the o.t. God repulsive.

If beleiving in Santa Clause and Mickey Mouse makes you happy and gives you hope, does that mean you should impose those beliefs on others and declare them unhappy for not beleiving like you? If you need to beleive in an invisible deity to avoid doing what is hurtful to others, then maybe your dog has more integrity than you.

MrRoboto

and that from the folks who used to say religion is a snare and a racket!

well at least that was one teaching they had right.

I figure if theres a god who "is love" then he realizes that there is no objective way for me to prove his existence so he will have to prove it. if my salvation is contingent on believing and he provides insufficient (i.e. none) evidence then how is that love? an ancient collection of errorful writings are not proof enough anymore (back when i was all in, it was)

paradiseseeker

Plot twist: I've never felt as unhappy as when I was most deeply in within the organization.

The guilt feelings for not being good enough in the field service, the notion that "Jehovah" goes before the things I want, the mental barriers and self-limiting thoughts that this religion builds around you, the impotence when you see something that is unfair but you know that you'd better shut up about the whole thing, the fear of being caught in a situation that would lead to misunderstandings, the fear of losing a friend in the case he is disfellowshipped.

Of course there are many things that this organization teaches that contribute to happiness, such as being respectful, kind, honest, clean and self-disciplined, but they can't be compared to the relieve that you feel when you wake up from all that crap and become master of your life, beliefs and choices.

no-zombie

Of course people can be happy without religion. This is because, as one psychologist said, happiness is “the experience of joy, contentment, or positive well-being, combined with a sense that one’s life is good, meaningful, and worthwhile.”

This being the case, any person who works to help others in some meaningful way, regardless of that person's religious views (or lack there of) has the opportunity to be genuinely happy. Conversely, self-centered and selfish people are almost always unhappy regardless of that person's religious devotions, because its all about themselves.

Sadly in our Organization, the Governing Body has long focused on people performing visible religious acts for salvation that often becomes as dry and meaningless as those who use rosary beads to say their many prayers to God. Whereas the path to happiness can often be found when a person starts to cultivate, what we would call the fruits of the spirit. Qualities such as love, joy, peace and long-suffering; qualities that can be grown independent of the Kingdom Hall ... as shown the the thousands of police, firemen, doctors and nurses who dedicate their lives to help strangers in trouble and who receive the reward of contentment when they have the opportunity to do some good.

no zombie