Without knowing why, I went through a bout of unexplained anxiety attacks after I turned 40. (very unpleasant and debilitating) Looking back now, I realize that this was my subconscious coming to grips with the reality that I wasn't actually going to live forever like I had been told I would since childhood. Instead of realizing that fact gradually over a lifetime, I had to do it in a relatively short time period. I realized that I never even would have expected to live forever had this notion not been planted in my head by others and this made me angry. I also realized that while I beleived in everlasting life, at the same time I didn't beleive it would really happen. What I really beleived is that I SHOULD beleive in everlasting life and I SHOULD want to live forever. What a releif it was to finally get rid of that notion along with the notion that for life to be enjoyable, it needed to have some grand purpose. Even with a grand purpose, why did God need to create someone to worship him...how would that make my life seem more meaningful? I don't want to die in a violent way but I also can't imagine being trapped into eternal life just because I was the winner, among thousands of sperm cells that were competing to fertalize an egg in my mothers body 40 some years ago, that I should expect to continue to exist for all eternity. My existence is too random to have such a high expectation. After all, had my parents gone to bed 5 minutes sooner or later, I wouldn't even exist....someone else would. I am glad that I'm here and I'm glad that I came to be in a time when there are so many ways to releive suffering. I am open to the possibility that there is more to the "big picture" than we can even imagine and I have a sense that growing old might look worse than it really is. Afterall, if 25 years ago, I woke up at my present age, I'd would have been horrified. But getting to this age gradually hasn't been a problem. I think wanting to live forever or being afraid of death is something that seems to be more of a problem for the young. Maybe as you grow old, it makes more sense. Being at peace with the idea that none of us is getting out of this alive, makes me feel less singled out by death. No one that has ever lived on this planet has cheated death...why should I ? It makes my current life more precious to know it is limited. Simply by not having to have an answer for all of lifes questions and not feeling as if I was born into an age old responsibility of having to warning people about some impending catastrophe or having to show them the error of their ways, has been a big relief and a freeing experience. With the constant emphasis on THE END, attending meetings was like attending a funeral 3 times a week and took most of the shine off my youth. Thankfully they werent able to vanquish entirely all of my inborn hopeful outlook. On occasion, in the wee hours of the night, those old flutterings of anxiety do arise. As the years pass, I find that I am able to dismiss them more and more easily. I have become comfortable with the idea that a certain amount of denial or the turning of a blind is perfectly acceptable for those of us who plan to be in it for the long haul.
exwhyzee
JoinedPosts by exwhyzee
-
26
The prognosis is 'terminal'
by AK - Jeff init always has been.
we are all going to die.. .
how did it affect you though, when that reality set in after leaving the lies of religion?.
-
-
-
-
-
exwhyzee
Why can one readily believe that an earth made of rock and its inhabitiants couldn't have gotten here without an actual creator while simultaneously believing that God has always existed....had no beginning, will have no end; especially when this belief is based on a book that is supposedly inspired by him yet is woefully unclear and even contradictory in so many ways?
-
-
-
exwhyzee
It happened a long time ago. We weren't there to see it.
Just like the rest of the Bible.
-
13
In this modern information age, don't JWs browse the Internet for information at all?
by DilemmaGF ini am just curious, there are tonnes of information about the wt and the stories of its hypocrisies in the internet.
are they aware of all these?
or they just obediently go to the www.watchtower.org only, and never feel curious enough to click on other link that mentions about jw, wt etc.....
-
-
exwhyzee
Many Witnesses are technologically-challenged, as well, so they wouldn't even know how to use the internet.
Oh I wouldn't go as far as to say that...but I would say they would willingly believe anything they saw on the internet that was flattering to JW's but anything else they'd dismiss as apostate. They'd beleive the negative things they might read about other religions but anything that might be said to point out their own flaws would simply be viewed as Satan inspired.
It's the same mindset that enables the Watchtower Society to condemn Political, Religious and Scientific authorities but quote them in their publications whenever they say something that backs up one of their own views.
-
-
-
exwhyzee
Imagine the damage 363 inches of pounding down rain per hour would do to the roof of a wooden ark....not to mention the deafening noise....and the frightened animals .
-
-
-
exwhyzee
Hey wait a minute...isn't that the same head scarf thingy I saw on a drawing of Ruth or Naomi ?
I'll bet the person who approved the drawing of this cross eyed Christian was the same one who approved the lyrics to the "beating off molested bees" song in the old song book.
-
20
Watchtower declares war... on the "Good Old Days" ?!?!?
by NoRegrets inif any of you go to jw.org and look at magazine pdfs for a laugh or a shiver, you should have seen this gem in the march 15, 2012 study edition!
to long for the good old days.
the old days better than these days?
-
-
exwhyzee
In 1902 people were probably saying "Things were so much better back in 1860...everythings gone to hell in a handbasket", especially the founding fathers of the Watchtower who were only too delighted to see the future fraught with nothing but woe that would fulfill their predictions.
To the ones looking back overly fondly on the past, it seems true. Sometimes we remember the past through rose colored glasses especially as we get older. One remembers the past as being better than today because one was younger and lets face it, things usually look a little brighter for a 20 year old than a 70 year old....in this world it's better to be young than to be old.
I get the sense that they are trying to remind people to be content with the present rather than cause oneself discontent by looking back and mistakenly thinking things were a lot better than they really were. Today is the yesterday you will look back fondly on in the future. The trouble is, each book and magazine they print is loaded with one sided information, pointing out all the problems with the present and all the woe that is to come.
-
45
OK, What is this summer's District Convention Theme?
by Quarterback ingot the news this week as to where we are going to be, but, the elder making the announcement couldn't tell us what the da's theme was.. is this now a secret?
.
-
-
exwhyzee
They are in the process of deciding that as we speak. A few possibilities are.....
"2012 PROMISE KEEPERS DISTRICT CONVENTION OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES"
"MAINTAINING OUR CREDIBILTY IN AN INCREASINGLY ENLIGHTENED WORLD"
" PREPARING FOR THE NEXT CALAMITY, DISTRICT CONVENTION OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES "
"2012 FAREWELL TO BROOKLYN TOUR"
"CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE CONVENTION KIND"
"THE 2012, IT'S SO CLOSE YOU CAN TASTE IT DISTRICT CONVENTION"
"LET'S WATCH WHAT WE PREACH DISTRICT CONVENTION"
" THE THOUSAND YEAR PURPLE REIGN DISTRICT ASSEMBLY" ( just in case Prince is still a Witness)
"I'M GONNA' WASH "THE TRUTH" RIGHT OUTTA MY HAIR AND SEND IT ON IT'S WAY
-
28
Did God know Adam and Eve will Sin? - JW perspective
by bioflex ini read about this topic sometime ago in one awake mag (cant rememer which one).
and from the jw perspective, he didnt know which means it took him by suprise or which makes it seem god is not as almighty as we would believe.
this is their reasoning.. http://www.watchtower.org/e/20110101a/article_01.htm.
-
-
exwhyzee
Jehovah wisely uses his ability of foreknowledge selectively.
How the Hell do they know what Jehovah does or doesn't do with his foreknowledge or anything esle for that matter ??
Who do they think they are, to make such statemets and do so with such authority??
Even If he does use his foreknowledge selectively, it seems like finding out whether or not he'd eventually have to condemn the entire human race, would have been a good use of that particular ability.
-
238
Active JW understands flaws in WTS doctrine but believes in the Bible
by flamegrilled inperhaps this is a common topic for newbies on the site, but i have browsed for a while and not seen this exactly answered.. as an active jw who understands the flaws in wts doctrine, but believes in the bible, how do i identify a form of worship that meets all the criterea:.
1) by this all will know you are my disciples if you have love among yourselves (john 13:35).
sure i know that not all jws do this, and that people from other religions or non-religious people do this also, but as an official doctrine jws will not kill one another in war, and in general there is a genuine effort to exercise "agape" love not widely found in the world at large.. 2) preach the good news.
-
-
exwhyzee
Hi Flamegrilled: I like the tone of your post and your straight to the point questions. Many have given good answers and they have given me a lot to think about too. However I don't think they are really quite answering the questions you have asked. I'm not sure I could do any better but I do have a few questions for you that when answered , may lead us to a way of answering your original questions better.
Do you think that it is pleasing to God that 2012 years after his Son's death, people are still reading the Bible, calling themselves Christians and looking to him as a means for salvation? Since we can't be perfect isnt it enough that people are trying?
Do you think Jesus might have meant his followers or Christians would have love among themselves associated with a single group or toward all those who claimed to be Christian no matter what group they are in ?
Do you think it is loving when JW's leave literature at peoples houses that bash and condemn them to destruction for being part of a non JW Congregation of Christians they hold dear ?
Do all the details of the doctrine really matter all that much after all these years especially when there are so many ways for it to be interpreted , so long as they have the big chunks in place ? God the creator, Jesus sacrafice, obey Bible teachings as best as you are able to understand them.
If the details are critically improtant, what about all the doctrinal changes that were made by the Watchtower Society after claiming they had The Truth and all others were condemned by God?
Do you think it is possible that God looks at the individuals in each group of Christians and approves of them by their personal behavior rather than because of the group they are associated with ?
Do you think there is ever a justification for Military action ? In Biblical times, God often had reasons for sending his people to war. He doesn't deal with mankind directly anymore but in your mind, could there ever be a reason for a Christian to take up arms that God might approve of ? I'm thinking of what the world would be like right now had Hitler (for one) not been stopped.
Why do you suppose JW's spend so much time pointing out the faults and wrongdoings of other religious groups, the people of the world and other non Witness institutions and barely acknowledge, discuss or explain their own failings, rather than simply sticking to the business of teaching interested ones"their" understanding of the Bible and leave it at that ?