Could you go to another religion? (page 7)

Narkissos

If I dont like it, I can always leave again!

Sure.

But I think that everyone's heartbreak capacity is limited.

Leaving next week is one thing. Leaving when you have made new friendships is another. You know the cost.

Perhaps you can afford it emotionally... just beware.

Not when I was unsuccessfully fading. After being witnessed to on several occasions before and after I DA'd from the cult I accepted Christ. It still took about 3-4 weeks before I went to church because I wasn't praying about it. When I started praying a lot about it a friend invited me to his church. The huge cross above the Worship Center was scary at first until I read 1 Corinthians 1:18. I can see and feel God's presence (parousia for all you JW apologists out there). The church has an active door-to-door ministry with a lot of emphasis on extensive training so as not to offend people. The door-to-door ministry makes JW field service look so pathetic and ineffectual. The bible is the final authority, not some elusive Governing Body who address doctrinal issues by labeling them 'apostate' or 'independent thinking'.

Perry

John 1 RSV

1:12: But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God,

1:13: who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.

1:14: And the Word became flesh and lived among us....full of grace and truth.

I never had a desire to "go to another religion" after learning the truth about the troof. I also learned that Christians must be saved from their Christian activities lest they become little more than rituals seeking cessation from pain and sorrow. Real Christian life & service is the unconscious result from the answer to Jesus' prayer that they may all be one just as we are one. Religion can only bring temporary satisfaction and can never bring the state of JOY; only through relationship can we experience this state.

John 15 NRSV

15:11: I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.

Once I understood that religion was the servant ot the relationship(s) and not the other way around, I found that I could go to a church that I was comfortable with and be pretty much OK with it. However, I live in a state of organic distrust with the structure of religion while at the same time enjoying the relationships that religion helps foster.

"Religion" itself can only offer a maladaptive relationship or piety because it isn't alive. Maybe this is why the term "Christ in you" or "In Christ" appears well over 200 times in the New Testament and is the only legitimately authorized object of affection. All else is a reflection of that reality.

findingmyway

I definetly plan on being more spiritual than religious. If I ever step foot in a religous place it will be non-denominational.

StillAWitness, I feel the same way. I found a non-denominational church that basically teaches using the bible only. I have yet to hear anyone give personal opinions about how you should wear your hair or the way someone should dress. The sermons stick strictly with book, chapter, verse.

blondie

Could I go to another religion?

Rather let me answer these questions.

Could I attend the services of another religion?

I have attended the services of other religions.

Could I join another religion?

No.

Blondie

delilah

So far, I've not been interested in attending any other church. Mostly, because I really don't think I have THAT great, a spiritual need. I mean, I believe in God, but I really do not want to belong to any other organized religion. I don't believe in hellfire, I don't believe in the rapture. I cannot go along with the pomp and circumstance of the Anglicans( with whom I was baptised as an infant, pre-JW days), and the Catholics. No other religion has anything to offer me. Maybe because of the JW training??? I dunno.

Delilah

stillajwexelder

No I do not think I could ever again -- onc bitten - twice shy

Utopian Reformist

If the question posed means whether or not I would become a visiting/active member of another religion (denomination of an established religion, cult, sect, faction, schism, offshoot, etc)then, the answer is obviously NO.

However, I would share conversation with people who appreciated the benefits of practicing good towards others simply because it is positive and causes reciprocation, like "paying it forward". Goodness and kindness practiced towards other humans without pretense, without agenda, without supposition, only for the sake of spreading more good and positive energy and behavior which the planet always needs more and more these days.

I could not participate in a religion ever again or ascribe to a set of teachings/dogma that was created by other humans and that required accepting some authority figure or deity/divine being as an object/person of worship. I just want to try as hard as I can and as often as I can to pay it forward to my fellow humans, without prejudice or requisites.

Joel Wideman

I agree with much Buddhist philosophy. This does not make me a Buddhist.

Could you go to another religion?