I'm the same as Ruby, although its not Christendom. Secular humanism.
cobweb
JoinedPosts by cobweb
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123
Why do some Jehovah's Witnesses choose to be atheist or agnostic?
by Cassaruby in"traumatic as the initial transition may be, it can lead to the development of a truly personal relationship with these two greatest friends [the father and the son] .
.. "whatever sense of 'belonging' that membership in some religious system may create, it can never compare with the power and beauty and strengthening benefit of the intimate personal relationship the scripture presents .
from reading joseph campbell i've come to understand that there are functions to religion or mythology.
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123
Why do some Jehovah's Witnesses choose to be atheist or agnostic?
by Cassaruby in"traumatic as the initial transition may be, it can lead to the development of a truly personal relationship with these two greatest friends [the father and the son] .
.. "whatever sense of 'belonging' that membership in some religious system may create, it can never compare with the power and beauty and strengthening benefit of the intimate personal relationship the scripture presents .
from reading joseph campbell i've come to understand that there are functions to religion or mythology.
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cobweb
I think that there is a certain anount of speaking at cross purposes. What i get now from the OP when he refers to choosing belief is that it is belief in the abstract rather than anything absolute or specific.
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123
Why do some Jehovah's Witnesses choose to be atheist or agnostic?
by Cassaruby in"traumatic as the initial transition may be, it can lead to the development of a truly personal relationship with these two greatest friends [the father and the son] .
.. "whatever sense of 'belonging' that membership in some religious system may create, it can never compare with the power and beauty and strengthening benefit of the intimate personal relationship the scripture presents .
from reading joseph campbell i've come to understand that there are functions to religion or mythology.
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cobweb
Cassaruby
As I think you fathomed, Jws do not see the bible as you do - they believe things very literally. Its not poetry to them. It was supposed to be literal truth. So after coming to realize that the literalism that the JW's teaches is not true, it often causing them to be very passionate about discovering the literal truth of reality, wherever this leads.
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123
Why do some Jehovah's Witnesses choose to be atheist or agnostic?
by Cassaruby in"traumatic as the initial transition may be, it can lead to the development of a truly personal relationship with these two greatest friends [the father and the son] .
.. "whatever sense of 'belonging' that membership in some religious system may create, it can never compare with the power and beauty and strengthening benefit of the intimate personal relationship the scripture presents .
from reading joseph campbell i've come to understand that there are functions to religion or mythology.
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cobweb
No it doesn't matter to me whether those things actually happened. Not that I disregard that they could of happened tho. I don't really know what exactly unfolded because I wasn't there. Metaphorically it all still works.
Thanks, that is an illuminating comment and I think I understand where you are coming from now. You have a poetic soul and I think you enjoy the deep meaning of the stories, no matter the origin. You are interpreting the bible in a unique way. I have no problem with that. You would find beauty and meaning in other religious texts and mythology too I suppose.
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123
Why do some Jehovah's Witnesses choose to be atheist or agnostic?
by Cassaruby in"traumatic as the initial transition may be, it can lead to the development of a truly personal relationship with these two greatest friends [the father and the son] .
.. "whatever sense of 'belonging' that membership in some religious system may create, it can never compare with the power and beauty and strengthening benefit of the intimate personal relationship the scripture presents .
from reading joseph campbell i've come to understand that there are functions to religion or mythology.
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cobweb
I mean the emotion deep in my consciousness that creates a sense of awe in the universe that can only be expressed poetically.
I recognise that feeling. That emotional sense of awe does not require belief in a God. Atheists feel it too when they look at the night sky or are in nature. The Universe is amazing for sure.
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123
Why do some Jehovah's Witnesses choose to be atheist or agnostic?
by Cassaruby in"traumatic as the initial transition may be, it can lead to the development of a truly personal relationship with these two greatest friends [the father and the son] .
.. "whatever sense of 'belonging' that membership in some religious system may create, it can never compare with the power and beauty and strengthening benefit of the intimate personal relationship the scripture presents .
from reading joseph campbell i've come to understand that there are functions to religion or mythology.
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cobweb
I define faith as an emotional belief in the mystery that is involved in experiencing life.
On that basis, does it matter to you whether something in the bible actually happened or not? Does it matter if Jesus said the things he did or as Saename said, whether a particular book is a forgery or not? If it is so reliant on emotion then the emotion could just as easily come about whether these things happened or not. Just like a novel can make a strong emotional impact and resonate and seem very true to us.
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123
Why do some Jehovah's Witnesses choose to be atheist or agnostic?
by Cassaruby in"traumatic as the initial transition may be, it can lead to the development of a truly personal relationship with these two greatest friends [the father and the son] .
.. "whatever sense of 'belonging' that membership in some religious system may create, it can never compare with the power and beauty and strengthening benefit of the intimate personal relationship the scripture presents .
from reading joseph campbell i've come to understand that there are functions to religion or mythology.
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cobweb
I was talking to my cousin about the state of the world and how I thought it was taking a very dark turn. This cousin thinks as you do, and tried to tell me that if it upset me to believe this about the state of the world, then I should simply think differently about it and I would not feel upset. She was trying to be comforting but she was encouraging me into a delusion.
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123
Why do some Jehovah's Witnesses choose to be atheist or agnostic?
by Cassaruby in"traumatic as the initial transition may be, it can lead to the development of a truly personal relationship with these two greatest friends [the father and the son] .
.. "whatever sense of 'belonging' that membership in some religious system may create, it can never compare with the power and beauty and strengthening benefit of the intimate personal relationship the scripture presents .
from reading joseph campbell i've come to understand that there are functions to religion or mythology.
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cobweb
I choose not to believe in fairies, except for metaphorical fairies. Like grimms fairy tales is a book I like.
So belief is just a matter of choice to you? Just a whim of feeling? It requires no underpinnings of evidence whatsoever. You could just so easily believe in Santa Claus as not or believe in elves and pixies or not.
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123
Why do some Jehovah's Witnesses choose to be atheist or agnostic?
by Cassaruby in"traumatic as the initial transition may be, it can lead to the development of a truly personal relationship with these two greatest friends [the father and the son] .
.. "whatever sense of 'belonging' that membership in some religious system may create, it can never compare with the power and beauty and strengthening benefit of the intimate personal relationship the scripture presents .
from reading joseph campbell i've come to understand that there are functions to religion or mythology.
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cobweb
Does it even matter if something is true or false when as humans we can't stop making meaning either way?
On that basis we might as well believe in fairies. But you have said that you do not and I do not. Any particular reason you have no faith in fairies?
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To "A Believer" and other JW's that lurk or participate.
by goingthruthemotions inyou think that coming to this site or other anti-jw sites and showing you support for the org is noble.
knowing how brainwashed you are makes me cringe and disgustes me and i am sure others here on the forum.
becasue your in a cult and can't see it.
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cobweb
You call this an anti JW board but it started out with many believing JWs. With discussion, open questioning, access to accurate information, patience and time, those who have a mind to listen, will naturally see the Watchtower teachings for lies. That is what happened naturally here, so that it has become an overwhelmingly ex-JW board. It would be a real shame if an aggressive attitude amongst the overwhelmingly ex-JWs community were to put off people coming here who are still at the tender stages in their journey - who are current believers right now, who are prickly, but are on this board which probably means that on a subconscious level, they know something is wrong, no matter what they say.
We should welcome current believing JWs and encourage them to discuss their beliefs in freedom and without personal attacks. They may come over as trollish, but allowances ought to be made - they have many misconceptions, biases etc, and come here with armor on and shield raised. I am sure that having a board full of apostates must intimidating. Being hostile to them is counterproductive. Venting at them for all of the hurt that the JW org has caused you is not fair or helpful. We were and are all victims to some extent - believing JWs just don't necessarily know it yet.
I have seen in the past, that people can start out here on this board a zealot with a defiant JW attitude, putting peoples backs up. But then, months later, after sticking around making judgmental posts etc, at some point, a change has occurred, and they start to recognize that they have been misguided. With that last post from A Believer, I think I see something similar happening to him. Such people ought to be made to feel welcome and encouraged to explore their beliefs and not driven away.