I didn't get a chance to read everyone's posts, however it is your call on how to raise your kids. Teach them what you think is important about God. Most of all teach them right from wrong, how to be good people, and to believe in themselves. Also stress the importance of thinking for themselves and not just following others because somone says so. You seem like your on the right path, and I wish you the best of luck.
Ok we've left the Org - Now what?
by Nellie 49 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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Nellie
Daystar - I must tell you that I find that whole Secular Humanism thing very interesting. Without giving it a name or knowing it existed, I've always felt that it was possible to BE a good person and lead a moral life WITHOUT being a JW. I never bought the whole "the rest of the world is bad" syndrome.
But the idea of setting limits based on authority is my obstacle. By what authority do we decide what is right or wrong once we leave the org? Obviously, the bible is the ultimate guide - or is it? Talk about questioning everything! After abandoning the witness dogma of the 144,000 and the new system, what then is our purpose in life? Now honestly, I don't really need a purpose beyond my life - being the mother of 4 rapidly mobile children is purposeful enough! But 20 years from now, when my youngest is 26 and "hopefully" no longer needs me, and I'm sitting here contemplating "the meaning of life" will I be satisfied?
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myelaine
daystar,
you said: I now believe that the bible, and indeed every holy book, is more used as a tool for enslaving or at least controlling the masses than anything else.
very interesting...does one "use" the Bible to serve the God of the Bible or does one "use" the God of the the Bible to serve themselves. two different things..
michelle
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daystar
But the idea of setting limits based on authority is my obstacle. By what authority do we decide what is right or wrong once we leave the org?
I think that it is a very difficult thing, and scary. In leaving the Org and questioning the very essence of your previously held beliefs, you have effectively invalidated the authority that informed your highest values and beliefs, or at least called it into question.
Secular humanism is an attempt to recover from that. Honestly, I have not found anything to lead me to believe that Secular Humanism claims to arise from any authority other than it just "feels right". Well, of course it does. A person whose core values are called into question due to the invalidation of the previously informing authority (the WTS, and/or Jehovah) feels lost. They still have the same values. To find a philosophy that supports those values while exluding the previous authority can be refreshing. However, I think there still needs to be a source of authority, a reason that the set of values are good or right.
I began looking into God Himself. I was always intrigued by Hebrew and the Tetragrammaton, that mysterious four letter word. I studied the name of God, YHVH. What does His name really mean? Who exactly is this God I was taught to worship? I found a very different God than I was taught to believe in... very, very different. And that led to me beginning on quite an amazing, magickal journey of self-discovery.
I have found the authority that informs my values to reside within rather than without. And this authority carries much, much more weight than the God I thought I knew growing up.
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daystar
very interesting...does one "use" the Bible to serve the God of the Bible or does one "use" the God of the the Bible to serve themselves. two different things..
Certainly they are different things. I think that most people, being rather sheep-like, "use" the bible to serve God, of course. However, the humans in power, with authority, seem to often have different aims, different values.
Religion and government have always been the two pillars of world power, with commerce being introduced a bit later in history. They have alternately worked together, fought against each other, for dominance. Nonetheless, religion is a pillar of power over masses of people. Belief in God is used as a source of control over billions of people. Belief in the authority and power and correctness of a government is a source of control of billions of people. In fact, belief in a particular govnmental "dogma" is just as powerful as a religious one. In the West and perhaps much more of the world, it is just assumed that what we call "Democracy" is the right way to go. "Commies", socialist, etc. are "bad". But, they believe that democracy is bad. Just like many Christians think Muslims are "bad" or of the Devil and vice versa.
" I slept with faith and found a corpse in my arms on awakening; I drank and danced all night with doubt and found her a virgin in the morning."
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Justin
Why bother with the Bible at all? Because I accept people where they are, and my suggestion of using a children's book of Bible stories was intended for someone who doesn't claim to have answers but who wants to pass on some sort of Judeo-Christian heritage to their children. Usually these people just send their kids to Sunday school and forget about it, but an ex-JW who no longer has a religious preference can't do that. If someone already knows they prefer secular humanism, then obviously they won't be concerned about their kids learning anything about the Bible.
Furthermore, in my stating that some approaches to the Bible are humanistic, I didn't mean secular humanism. I meant the kind of approach that sees God in our fellow humans rather than thinking that vindicating God's sovereignty is of paramount importance - or, to put it another way, emphasizing the 'second greatest commandment' rather than the 'first.' And as for picking and choosing, I'd rather have a kid learn about the Good Samaritan rather than about Samuel hacking King Agag to pieces. But I suppose that for some ex-JW's, when it comes to the Bible, it's a matter of either taking it or leaving it.
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zagor
Try studying something you like before thinking about everything else you've been t aught . Start here perhaps http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/12/94165/1.ashx
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Nellie
It's not that I have a problem letting go of the dogma or the oppression, it's this: Fundamentally, I've always believed that if God does want us to worship him, then it is reasonable to think that he would let us know how he wanted to be worshiped. That said, it would then be our responsibility to find the way and follow it.
Over the years we all develop our own little cliches and one of mine was that I wanted to worship God the right way and that to date, no one had ever shown me that what I was doing was wrong, and until such time as I found out it was wrong, then I would do it. Well, the day came that I found out that it was wrong, but my fundamental desire to do what God wants of me hasn't changed. The real problem is that now I no longer have an organization telling me HOW to worship and it's really scarry taking the chance that I may not get it right on my own!
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JamesThomas
The real problem is that now I no longer have an organization telling me HOW to worship and it's really scarry taking the chance that I may not get it right on my own!
Dear Nellie,
Perhaps there is no "right" or wrong. Could it be that your true Source and Sustenance ("God"), is greater than the affects of phenomenal dualities; and too close to be a thing far away in need of worship?
I suggest -- when it comes to the Divine -- you stop worrying about what to believe, what to practice, what to wear, what to say, what to think, what hoops to jump through, etc., and just be sincerely and earnestly attentive and present with life, and allow things to flow from there.
You may find the book : The Power of Now, by Eckhart Tolle, to be helpful. It won't give you a new "organization" or belief system to lean on, but it may help you to see that what you seek you already are.
j
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Nellie
JamesT -
Thank you. I think I have self-trust - that's what allowed me to use the filing cabinet. But this is self-trust at another level - after being instructed on the proper way to worship for a lifetime, it's a little scary to accept the responsibility for yourself. While I feel up to the challenge, it's nice having the JWD family to share the journey with!