Posts by sweetgrass

61

Did others experience this on the ministry or among JWs generally?

by slimboyfat in

sometimes it's hard to know if our own experience of jws was typical and what features were peculiar to our own area or the individual jws we knew personally.

i was wondering if others experienced this among jws:.

a few times on the ministry, when we were working wealthy areas with large houses, some brothers and sisters would make the comment that they look forward to taking ownership of one of these big houses after armageddon, when the worldly people have vacated them.

sweetgrass

I think because being in the Borg was so soul destroying the thought of a huge reward in the future kept you going from door to door.

Mind you we have just moved to Wales with a huge JW following and I cannot grasp how many are living in expensive houses. I would have thought they would be glad to sell them for the 'kingdom interests'. I found out the house we bought belonged to a JW family for 100 years. Not investigated the loft yet, who knows what we will find? Lol....the seller told us how they had found their dads brewing kit in the old shed, they did not know our JW status!

25

Why do people need religion in this century?

by sweetgrass in

i think people need religion because of fear.

fear of death and what will happen at death if they have been good or bad.

people say it gives them hope but is this not born too out of fear of not seeing dead loved ones again, or having a better life in the afterlife?

sweetgrass

Slimboyfat,

"When men choose not to believe in God, they do not thereafter believe in nothing, they then become capable of believing in anything.”

That makes a lot of sense to me.

50

Sometimes I feel like I Should Believe something...

by freemamaof3 in

has anyone else felt like they should believe something after leaving wt?

i am an agnostic atheist and its so so hard for me to believe in a god or higher power.

it just doesn't make sense.

sweetgrass

I don't feel I need to believe in something as I used to but I like to be open to others viewpoints as the more informed I am the better choices I make.

My first boyfriend was Catholic, after attending church I felt 'not for me'. My dad, a Jew put me off Judaism. My mother a 'Born Again' was a no, no. JW I bought hook line and sinker but now would not touch it with a barge pole. I was a mentor for a Muslim man, it was very interesting but a big no, no.

25

Why do people need religion in this century?

by sweetgrass in

i think people need religion because of fear.

fear of death and what will happen at death if they have been good or bad.

people say it gives them hope but is this not born too out of fear of not seeing dead loved ones again, or having a better life in the afterlife?

sweetgrass

Slimboyfat......religion more popular than ever? I wonder why? It does not make sense but if the statistics are correct I am suprised.

25

Why do people need religion in this century?

by sweetgrass in

i think people need religion because of fear.

fear of death and what will happen at death if they have been good or bad.

people say it gives them hope but is this not born too out of fear of not seeing dead loved ones again, or having a better life in the afterlife?

sweetgrass

Good article Believer, I have never heared of the Nones. So as I don't prescribe to any religion but am open to the idea of creation by a powerfull force, would that class as being one of the nones? Although I can't accept the 'loving' bit of a powerfull creating force. The bible does not shout 'loving creator' for me in any way.

25

Why do people need religion in this century?

by sweetgrass in

i think people need religion because of fear.

fear of death and what will happen at death if they have been good or bad.

people say it gives them hope but is this not born too out of fear of not seeing dead loved ones again, or having a better life in the afterlife?

sweetgrass

Thanks for all your interesting and thought provoking posts. I thought the point about religion evolving is interesting too. I agree people should be able to make their own choices if it give them the 'opiate' feeling. :)

45

Do JW beliefs deserve respect?

by azor in

what say you?

.

sweetgrass

I am not sure which religion deserves any respect.... Buddhism?

25

Why do people need religion in this century?

by sweetgrass in

i think people need religion because of fear.

fear of death and what will happen at death if they have been good or bad.

people say it gives them hope but is this not born too out of fear of not seeing dead loved ones again, or having a better life in the afterlife?

sweetgrass

I think people need religion because of fear. Fear of death and what will happen at death if they have been good or bad. People say it gives them hope but is this not born too out of fear of not seeing dead loved ones again, or having a better life in the afterlife? If they don't accept religion they fear they might miss out?

240

Introduction - Any Believers?

by Believer in

i’ve been reading it for a few of years off and on, but have been a little too ... maybe ... timid to join.

i left the watchtower organization almost 20 years ago but never abandoned my faith and belief in god.

i knew the gb/organization didn’t represent god, so when i lost my faith in them, i managed to keep my faith in an all wise benevolent creator.

sweetgrass

Lol....I watched a program last night about what scientists believe came before the big bang. Horizon program I think. New theories dismiss the big bang ever happening.

Anyway by the time it finished I found that I agreed and believed each theory in turn only to be replaced by the next one viewed.

I believe in something but its fluid and always changing.

133

Why Are You Here?

by Believer in

i'm wondering why believers remain members of this forum which is clearly hostile to believers.

as one member said, nonbelievers pounce on any semblance of belief like piranhas on prey.

as former jws we should have had our fill of judgmental know-it-alls, but here we are.

sweetgrass

It reminds me of the saying 'never talk about politics and religion'. Many wars are based on differences in religious belief.

I find it irritating when people want to 'pray' for me or insist dogmatically that there is a god etc, etc. I bet my non belief in any religion must make believers feel 'how could you' etc.

Is it a good thing to talk about the specifics about what and why we believe in or not about religion? I don't know, on both parts may it incite arguements?

I imagine the nitty gritty about many topics are not and should not be explicity disccussed. I remember on JWR a person describing explicitly childhood sexual abuse and it was very uncomfortable reading and unwarranted for many reasons.

Maybe I am wrong?