Thanks, I am interested in information on Pagan Trinities. Not being raised to believe in a Trinity understanding the concept is all quite new to me.
I do not promote either view of God as correct. Rather I see that the bible creates the confusion, as you mentioned and so I don't think it possible to ever know the answer or the truth. A Witness is raised to believe in an absolute truth, but I no longer think it possible to find it in this life time, or necessary. Growing and learning is what I think is important. What is most true to me at the moment is that any religion that condemns to destruction anyone that does not follow their way is based on manipulation and not truth.
You say that the truth is out there, do you feel you have you found it? There are millions of concepts of what this truth is. Does this mean truth is different for each individual?
Trinity?!?!
by Lynne Y 31 Replies latest jw experiences
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Etude
Thank you for your last insightful questions. They have made me think. Before responding, let me say that I agree with you about the manipulation religions perform in order to make us their captives. "Condemning someone to death" if one does not believe what one is told, is mainly an inclusion tactic designed to appeal to our sense of "belonging" and acceptance through fear. That should be a very loud alarm for most people that they're going down the wrong path. Unfortunately, like little children, we have to trip and fall often before we learn to walk. I don't see that it should be so when it comes to intellectual and spiritual journeys, but it is often the case . I wish we were better prepared to be skeptical and have reasoning tools at our disposal from an early age.
That's what I've tried to acquire, skepticism and logic. So, in order to answer your question: No. I don't have any answers and I don't know what the truth is. Fortunately, I've discovered a way to live with some degree of satisfaction and relative confidence about what I think and what surrounds me. I've learned not to be certain or absolute about anything. The conviction I felt while I was a JW and the subsequent deception, has taught me that. One may not be able to trust one's senses, but you can trust your ability to reason if you have a proven method. After I became more analytical and attempted to ascertain "truths" about the universe and the nature of things, I realized that we can't be certain about that either. At one point, we thought that Einstein was right (Quantum Mechanics, the relativity of time, gravity) and now we need to adjust his theories. That's not to say that all his work goes out the window. But, now we find that there are no atoms, no quarks or wavicles but one-dimensional strings that vibrate and make the universe what it is. ("The Elegant Universe" by Brian Green) A few other physicists have propose that time is an affectation we have created in order to make sense of events and they have shown how you can take it out completely from Einstein's equations. ("The End of Time" by Julian Barbour)
Forgive me for going so far out on a limb, almost to the point of breaking it. However, I needed to show how it was that I arrived at some sort of peace. I now feel that I'm in a unique position to accept a lot while doubting it all (from the nature of the universe to TV commercials). As I have said before, it's OK to say: "I don't know." However, I only accept that answer when I have reasonably exhausted my options. I've also learned to determine what's important to know (the big questions) and what doesn't make that much of a difference (the penny-annie shit). All of this should indicate to you that the quest for the truth is a very individual one. While scientific experiments yield to truth if they are repeatable and theories become facts if they are proven experimentally, this does not appear to be the case with Bible issues. And so, I've settle for seeking more general and universal truths while recognizing my sense and need for spirituality (regarding which there have been some new scientific discoveries).
If you care to have a discussion about such things, we can take it off-line or start another topic thread. You pick. While I have found a way to continually challenge my own ideas and conclusions, I have given myself room to fail, as scientists often do, but not because of someone else's manipulation or misinformation. I can say that I wish you to have the peace that I feel now about being uncertain.
Etude.