do you feel more inner peace now or when you were serving as a jw?.
no matter if the teachings were wrong, or not exact, i had more inner peace when i was "in".. i remember when i got operated for a hernia, and had to be put asleep, while i was a jw in good standings.
i knew that god would resurrect me if ever something went wrong, and i didn't wake up from the operation.. today if i had to undergo an other similar operation, i'm not sure i'd have the same inner peace.. i think that no matter what religion you practise, no matter if it's false or not as false, you develop this inner peace, that may only be an illusion..
The inner peace I used to think I had as a JW wasn't real. To be always trying to do better but never doing enough as well as being fearful did not give me anything like inner peace.
I am much more at peace now as I have the freedom to explore my own spirituality at my own pace, and I don't feel that God is going to destroy me because I am not doing what the WT tell me to do.
Maddie
dear maturing friends,.
one day, not so many years back, i read that guys like me were "aging young men.
" i laughed and went on with the day's affairs; however, i do recall that i was drawn a little more often to the looking glass, semiconsciously mouthing those immortal words:.
I don't know what aging gracefully means! My body is going south but in my head I still think, act and like doing "young" things. I think I will fight the aging process till I draw my last breath.
Maddie
sadly, i did not notice it until tonight.
she has an exceptionally long beautiful tail.
it is held high except the last 4 inches which droops like a rag.
My little pussykins has a rib deformity. You can't see it through her fur but can feel it. It doesn't bother her at all and the vet said there is nothing wrong, she was just born with it.
Maddie
while i was an elder (in 2 congregations), over the years, i saw most witnesses that suffered from s o m e t h i n g.. either a witness had chronic depression, mysterious ailments that were never clearly diagnosed by a doctor, or were in fear.
afraid to offend another brother's conscience.,afraid to upset the elders.
afraid to grieve the holy spirit.
Yes depressed and afraid of not being good enough.
Maddie
may make the dreaded announcement to my super righteous, super loyal parents next week that i'm not going anymore.. problem is, as you all know, they "really" believe that it's tantamount to my killing their grandchildren.
.
pretty tough decision because i think they kind of get the vibe already!
Its one of the hardest situations to be in and the most difficult decision to face. My thoughts are with you and hopefully it will go better than you fear
Maddie
i've had this idea for a few days, just mulling how to flesh it out if you will.
it may not be a new idea, but i'll try to get it out coherently.. lets say there is a guy, he's a jw but has been surfing the net and knows now that the wts is bogus.
he can't just leave, he has family-wife and young children who are in the borg.
Its well worth a try, if you can stand doing it.
Maddie
the christian science monitor reported today that 20% of the population in guatemala is converting to pentecostalism.
with a population near 13,000,000,that would mean a membership of 2.6 million people.. how do pentecostals convert so many people?
what are their preaching methods?.
Funny this thread should come up now as I have recently got to know some Pentecostal Christians. Their meetings are all about singing praises to God, asking Him to come into their hearts and lives. They seem to be very sincere and there isn't any indoctrination process going on as far as I can make out. They are very much about the love of God and it is based on their emotional response. They have Alpha Courses from time to time, which teach the basics of the Christian faith. I believe their understanding is in keeping with the scripture : "You search the scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that testify on my behalf. Yet you refuse to come to me to have life."
Maddie
courthouse.
3:30. thought i'd tell my "family" here.
thanks for being the friends you are.
Congratulations and best wishes for your happiness together
Maddie
....anything at all??
?
No
Maddie
that would really rock my world as i know it.
after i initially left the jws' i did question the whole "is there a god"" especially when you look around and see all the atrocities - the sick sick things happening in your own back yard.then i put it out of my mind and carried on believing in a god.. right now i choose to believe in a god, whether that god be jesus, jehovah, buddha, allah, shiva, it doesn't matter - i'm happy with the idea that there is a spiritual & powerful someone running things.however lately i've been questioning again - so many posters on here that are atheists really make good arguments & i can't reason my way out of it.. why does god keep so quiet?
why not just let us know - tadaaaa i'm here.
I have had and still do sometimes, the same thoughts and emotions as that you are having. None of it makes any sense to me if there isn't a God with a purpose for mankind. I know that in itself doesn't mean there has to be a God so for me its all about faith which is what Jesus said it would be anyway. The JW's think they have all the answers, got everything right and know everything there is to know about God. They put God in a box and I think that is why when we find out they haven't got the truth it is very difficult to just "walk by faith". Just my opinion but that's how I feel.
Maddie
