poor places

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Posts by poor places

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  8

  is it ok for an agnostic to pray to God?

  by poor places in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i used to say a prayer most nights before i fell asleep, and i felt real comfort.

  no matter how much anxiety i had, praying made me feel that i was ok because a higher power (one who had counted the hairs of my head and who considered me worth many sparrows!

  ) would take care of everything.. now, after my jw awakening, i'm an agnostic, and i feel less comfort than i did before, because i don't know if anyone powerful is looking after me.

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  poor places

  I used to say a prayer most nights before I fell asleep, and I felt real comfort. No matter how much anxiety I had, praying made me feel that I was ok because a higher power (one who had counted the hairs of my head and who considered me worth many sparrows!) would take care of everything.

  Now, after my JW awakening, I'm an agnostic, and I feel less comfort than I did before, because I don't know if anyone powerful is looking after me. Oddly enough, though, when I pray, I still comfort, even though I feel doubtful. I still feel as though things will turn out ok when I pray. My problem is that I feel like a wishy-washy phony when I pray to a God who I'm not even sure exists. I feel like a silly, desperate person when I pray to a power that may not exist. I feel like a person who is, as they say, "grasping at straws." But then I think to myself that it doesn't matter if I'm grasping at straws; if I feel comforted, what's the difference? But I'm often torn between these two lines of though.

  I'm sure that tons of people on this board have experienced these feelings. If you could share your views or thoughts on this type of problem, it might be very helpful for me.
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  7

  Anyone can recommend a book about 1st century christianity?

  by zakheyold in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i just finished "la vie quotidienne des premiers chretiens.

  95-197" ("early christians' daily life") by a.-g. hamman.

  it describes everyday life of 2nd century christians.

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  poor places

  Misquoting Jesus by Bart Ehrman is great. He has other good books too.
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  34

  What difference does it make if we are born in?

  by wanderlustguy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  born in, what difference does it make?.

  i was thinking about this one a lot over the last few weeks.

  what difference does it make whether you were born into a cult or were brought in as a teen or adult?

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  poor places

  Great post; I understand everything you said as a born-in. One thing that's impossible to navigate as a born-in (and that you mentioned) is friendships. Unless you live the double life, figuring out ways of dealing with kids at school is enough to drive you crazy. Should I accept Billy's invitation to go to a party? What will I tell my parents I'm doing that night if I decide to go? What will I tell Billy if I decide not to go? And so you are honest with no one, you know no one, and you're lonely as hell. And then you have to grow up.
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  41

  has anyone looked into Buddhism?

  by poor places in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i've started reading a book called the modern buddhist's bible and i'm liking a lot of things about the religion so far.

  of course i don't know much yet, but there seem to be some very good points to buddhism.

  one thing i love is the emphasis on "killing" the ego (or whatever you might want to call what buddhists try to do with their egos!).

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  poor places

  Nice points all around. Whoever made that comment about the Prius drivers, I've definitely thought of that, and how I would never want to turn into one of those hoky people who seem to wear the special clothes and talk the deep talk just to sound cool or something. Maybe it's hard to avoid that, though, as a big lazy American.

  On another note, I was initially attracted to Buddhist teachings because they seem very commonsense (so far) and tolerant of other worldviews. Now, I've looked at what some of you have said--that some teachings assume things like reincarnation that you can't accept without evidence. And that sounds fair to me. But I guess that what I'm looking for is a way of life that is different after being involved with JWs for such a long time. Even a new group of people to associate with is desirable. So for me, developing a personal belief system that is maybe more believable than what Buddhists have come up with isn't necessarily wanted. I guess it depends on your life situation.
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  41

  has anyone looked into Buddhism?

  by poor places in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i've started reading a book called the modern buddhist's bible and i'm liking a lot of things about the religion so far.

  of course i don't know much yet, but there seem to be some very good points to buddhism.

  one thing i love is the emphasis on "killing" the ego (or whatever you might want to call what buddhists try to do with their egos!).

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  poor places

  Whoops, I posted a new thread in reply to JimmyPage when I meant to reply. JimmyPage, if you look at the thread called untitled, that one is in response to what you said.

  I'm not sure if Buddhism is so much for people who "don't give a shit" as for those who try to do good works. I kind of see what you mean (in some ways, they're beliefs are kind of stoic, it seems), but I think they're out to do the best they can for people.
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  41

  has anyone looked into Buddhism?

  by poor places in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i've started reading a book called the modern buddhist's bible and i'm liking a lot of things about the religion so far.

  of course i don't know much yet, but there seem to be some very good points to buddhism.

  one thing i love is the emphasis on "killing" the ego (or whatever you might want to call what buddhists try to do with their egos!).

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  poor places

  I've started reading a book called The Modern Buddhist's Bible and I'm liking a lot of things about the religion so far. Of course I don't know much yet, but there seem to be some very good points to Buddhism. One thing I love is the emphasis on "killing" the ego (or whatever you might want to call what Buddhists try to do with their egos!). I like this idea. In my view, a lot of hatred and pain could be avoided by dialing down the ol' human ego.

  Another thing that I like and which I'm sure ex-JWs would love is the tolerant view which Buddhists seem to have toward other religions. In some of the readings from the book I've been getting into, the writers talk about the value of Christianity and Jesus' teachings in general. This is a refreshing viewpoint in comparison to the usual JW intolerance. I'm sure that there are Buddhists out there who are just as intolerant as anyone else, but the writers I've come across so far seem to be tolerant of other religions.

  My purpose in writing this is to find out if anyone on this board has seriously tried getting into Buddhism. If so, how did it go? Are you still a Buddhist? And what was/is the religion like as a practicing Buddhist? Or, if no one has seriously tried getting into Buddhism, what are your thoughts on the religion?
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  36

  The stupid "ants" at the Watchtower Society!

  by somebody in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  for those who haven't seen the video yet on youtube of ciro's ( a bethel speaker?

  ) sick talk given in, i believe, 2007, i provide the link:.

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwa9kx5wjtm.

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  poor places

  Sadly enough, this talk is not at all a joke. A fellow JW gave me a recording of this talk of couple of years ago. Even then, before I started really questioning things, I found it disgusting.
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  50

  MOST DRAMATIC MOMENT in Science Fiction History?

  by Terry in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  something old, nothing new: count zarth arn, watch out!

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  poor places

  I've been reading books by a guy named Philip K. Dick lately. His books are all about questioning reality. Pretty interesting stuff for ex-JWs or current, in my view.
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  50

  MOST DRAMATIC MOMENT in Science Fiction History?

  by Terry in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  something old, nothing new: count zarth arn, watch out!

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  poor places

  so what science fiction writers do you like?
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  23

  Brothers, did you like being asked to say a prayer?

  by sacolton in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i dreaded it!

  i've seen brothers freeze-up doing prayers with long uncomfortable silences to think of what to say.

  sometimes my mind would just go blank and i would panic at the thought if i paused.

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  poor places

  I can give public prayers pretty easily. The thing that gets me is saying the same thing over and over again. It's impossible to avoid saying things like, "Thank you, dear God, for the chance to be at this meeting. Please help us pay attention. Also bless our ministry and let your name be sanctified." Etc, etc. It's hard put any feeling into a public prayer because you can't say personal things without embarrassing yourself. So these prayers are boring and by rote.