A thought occured to me today about a formerly held view as a jw regarding people of other religions and people who left the 'truth'. The first view which had bothered me for many years and for some time hotly disagreed with, was the ol' bro or sis who comes back into the service car and remarks on how the householder was Catholic and how they must be so stupid and blind! The second view I actually believed before was that all people leaving the org must certainly be hopeless and lost spiritually and obviously would NEVER go to another religion. Any takers on similar experiences and feelings? boa
People in other religions...
by boa 3 Replies latest jw friends
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cypher50
For the two views you present, I am guilty of the first one but not the second (partly). I remember many times saying of Catholics that they "just don't get it" and even using terms like "they are a hard sell"... *shakes head sadly*
The second viewpoint though I never did use or understand. Yes, I did have pity and sadness when someone "left the truth" but I wasn't shocked if I heard that they had gone to another religion. In fact, I took it as proof that they were under Satan's influence...jeez, I was a jackass...
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The Grudge
I certainly remember having those exact thoughts. The first. Although, In away I still do sometimes have those thoughts.Its just that now I lump JWs with that group,which is,all people involved in organized religion.
The second. Yeah. I also thought some(people who left the truth) just had to know it was" the truth", but just couldn't stop thier evil ways.
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Carmel
Religious prejudice is more difficult to overcome than most any other kind. Our religion defines how we view the world and all the interrelationships that make up the human condition. When our basic beliefs are challenged, we tend to get pretty defensive to protect our psyche. Most or our religious beliefs are underpined by emotion, and our faith is often fairly shallow. Consider how many Christians claim their whole faith would be gone if the literal resurrection of Jesus were not true. Yet in this day of "enlightenment" we look at the illogic of such a story and with good reason consider the mythological components, see that other cultures had the same myths and begin to look again at how the story could be understood more in keeping with sound science. So we who felt betrayed by the FDS share a double burden. We are want to jump into another "religion" yet we crave knowledge. We want answers, but not the social coersion and bildge water that comes with so many groups. We want the spirituality, the rewards of a close knit community, but not more "religion". Is this not an oppression?
carmel