What a big load of horse shit this all is....the hypocrisy is just staggering.....
Freeandclear
JoinedPosts by Freeandclear
-
39
Mega-Church buys JW Assembly Hall property in Indianapolis
by OrphanCrow inand yet another sale of watchtower property.... http://www.ibj.com/articles/59973-suburban-mega-church-expanding-into-downtown-with-big-purchase.
suburban megachurch expanding into downtown with big purchasea historic church building at the corner of 12th and delaware streets has been purchased by a large congregation expanding into the downtown area.. traders point christian church in whitestown is spending $2 million to renovate the 35,300-square-foot structure and should have it ready for worship early next year, rev.
james stanley said.. the neoclassical, limestone building has been used as a place of worship since it was built in 1912 and had been owned by the jehovah’s witnesses since 1978.. the location at 1201 n. delaware st., across from the benjamin harrison presidential site, will be the third for traders point.
-
-
-
21
Describe your witness self, then describe yourself now.
by The Rebel inmy witness self :-very hollow, slightly lofty, characteristically judgemental, overwhelmingly convincing.. my non-witness self:- and in my imperfect way no longer taking the passive attitude to reality, and most importantly no longer feeling an outsider with my " true" friends..
-
-
Freeandclear
I was trying to think how to put the before and after versions of myself but Londo111 just above me said it perfectly. I wasn't high anxiety though, but def full of guilt, gloom and doom and repressed.
All of that is gone. I've made peace with my existential angst that I went through briefly and have no problem with the fact that I will one day die. I live each day to the fullest. And yes, I'm much much happier now.
-
24
Perfect Example of JW Dumbing Down
by thedepressedsoul injust take a look at this video.
i think arguing or debating scriptures is the most pointless thing ever.
everything at their meetings are so basic with no explanation.
-
-
Freeandclear
I can't believe I was ever a part of this...... Watching this makes my skin crawl. It's all so absurd. All of it. The Bible, arguing with people at the doors and being so passionate about it.... It's just insanity to waste what little time we have here doing this shit. And that guy knew his way around his bible and his beliefs way more than those two "sisters". Shame. As you said, so dumbed down now.....
-
47
Is the Bible God's word? Help please.....
by Freeandclear inso real quick, i know this comes up now and then and i've looked over some of the posts from the past but here's the thing.. when i was a jw i drank all the cool aid, i was 100% and so i have all my own arguments (from the jw's) for why the bible is inspired.
i no longer believe this but i'd really like to read something that is pretty much 100% academic on this subject.
i want to read what scholars have to say about the authenticity of the bible and it's claim at being the inspired word of god.
-
-
Freeandclear
Hello everyone. So real quick, I know this comes up now and then and I've looked over some of the posts from the past but here's the thing.
When I was a JW I drank all the cool aid, I was 100% and so I have all my own arguments (from the JW's) for why the Bible is inspired. I no longer believe this but I'd really like to read something that is pretty much 100% academic on this subject. I want to read what scholars have to say about the authenticity of the Bible and it's claim at being the inspired word of God.
Do you have any suggestions for good books dealing conclusively with this subject? Or if you want maybe you can just put a list in your comments of why the Bible can not possibly be God's word.
Thank you so very much. This has really been on my mind lately.
-
32
God does not desire any to be destroyed?
by stuckinarut2 inso if the idea is promoted that god doesn't want anyone to be destroyed, why does he make it so confusing for people to learn about him?.
why are there thousands of differing religions?.
why has "his only true organisation" even taught so many varying doctrines?.
-
-
Freeandclear
Religion is a scam and a racket. He got it right the first time all those years ago. ALL religion. If God wanted us to know the real truth he would make sure we all know. Simple as that. It's not Isalm, it's not Christianity, it's not Judaism or any other ism. It's all bunk. God might exist but he/she/it doesn't give a hoot what we believe or he would make us know. How can anyone really think anything otherwise? Puh-leeze.......
-
32
God does not desire any to be destroyed?
by stuckinarut2 inso if the idea is promoted that god doesn't want anyone to be destroyed, why does he make it so confusing for people to learn about him?.
why are there thousands of differing religions?.
why has "his only true organisation" even taught so many varying doctrines?.
-
-
Freeandclear
There is NO way, if there is a God, that he wrote or had written the Bible for our enlightenment. NO FUCKING way. It's far to confusing far to duplicitous. Too many interpretations all of it makes no sense whatsoever. It's a book written by man. God is a great concept, one that I do believe in to some degree, but I know that there are NO religions on this Earth that have it all right. In fact to my mind the only religion we really need is our conscience. Follow that, most people would agree that causing pain to another (human or animal) intentionally is wrong. So avoid that and love each other, do good and try very hard to do no harm. Live your life. There is most likely something more after this, something so wonderful we can not even comprehend it. If God really wanted us to know what this 'something' was we would know. If HE really wanted us to worship him in a certain fashion we WOULD fucking know. Period. The Bible is a joke, ALL religion is a joke, a very bad man-made joke. Follow your heart and your conscience and enjoy your damn life.
-
8
In a really good place right now.....
by Freeandclear ini'm in a great place mentally and spiritually in my life right now.
i just wanted to share.
because i know many of you are new and have just left the borg and well there are some tough times ahead but i want to assure you you can get through this and come out the other side much happier and more at peace.. i'm 44. got baptized at 18. was a convert not a born in.
-
-
Freeandclear
Heartsafire. Honestly, I'm not sure. I have always from a very young age believed in God. When I woke up my whole life was turned upside down and I got to a point where I was very angry with god then to a point where I didn't even think he existed. Or if he did he didn't care about us at all.... It was a very dark place to be.
Then the other night I realized I needed god. Not that he needed me, or that some religion was telling me I needed him or that I needed saving. I don't believe in any of that. I just knew I personally needed him in my life, or at least the idea of him. I don't believe the Bible is god's word. I just don't think it can be. No way an almighty being would write that book. I'm not saying it doesn't have some good things in it or something's worth reading but it's definitely not from God imo.
I simply came to realize that whatever I chose to believe the end result is the exact same. I will die. Period. We all will. And 2, no one has the answers. So I could chose to be miserable thinking God doesn't exist and that our existence is pointless or I could chose to believe that god does exist and there is some reason we are here. We may not know the answers but at least my mind is open to the idea of god and a higher purpose, and for me that was all I needed. No more hopelessness, no more despair or depression of my existential crisis. It just simply vanished. Quite amazing really.
So where did it come from? I don't know. Just my own brain realizing that the better of two evils was to believe in something rather than nothing.
-
8
In a really good place right now.....
by Freeandclear ini'm in a great place mentally and spiritually in my life right now.
i just wanted to share.
because i know many of you are new and have just left the borg and well there are some tough times ahead but i want to assure you you can get through this and come out the other side much happier and more at peace.. i'm 44. got baptized at 18. was a convert not a born in.
-
-
Freeandclear
I'm in a great place mentally and spiritually in my life right now. I just wanted to share. Why? Because I know many of you are new and have just left the bOrg and well there are some tough times ahead but I want to assure you you can get through this and come out the other side much happier and more at peace.
I'm 44. Got baptized at 18. Was a convert not a born in. Struggled with guilt and depression and pent up sexual urges the entire time I was in. Left at 21 for 7 years (got married to a "worldly" girl) then right after my divorce I got back in. The guilt and depression were soon to catch back up with me....so I was floating in and out of meetings for the next 10 years or so... Got reproved once and then finally April of 2015 I got disfellowshipped because I was still in love with a girl (worldly) and unrepentant.
After my df'ing I started to really dig into this religion. For some reason I no longer felt afraid of "Apostate" websites and such since I was df'd anyway. Found jwfacts.com and wow, what an eye opener. I had read CoC by Franz a couple of years before my df'ing and while enlightening it didn't really open my eyes to TTATT at that time. I would say I've been fully awake for about a year now.
The hardest part for me wasn't losing those that I called my friends, and I had no family in the Troof so that wasn't really an issue for me, the hard part was losing all the answers. I always felt like I had it all figured out. Knew all the big answers to life's questions. Nothing phased me as a J-dub. Now that was all gone! No more answers. I missed that feeling of knowing it all and having a hope for something better....that killed me inside and I proceeded to have an existential crisis. You can read more about that in the other threads I started if you like....
My crisis got so bad for a while that I seriously considered suicide. It just sucked to feel like there was no point to living. You see, after my awakening I started to seriously doubt the existence of God, and thus for ME with no God this equaled no purpose, no hope, no point to any of this. I got to a very very dark place. I was drinking a lot and things were just not good at all.
Then I had a realization. I could live this life feeling hopeless and like there was no point to it or I could find some way to deal with it. Either way the end result is the same. I'm going to die. That's just a part of life. We were conditioned as JW's to see death as something UN-natural and something to be hated, something that wasn't supposed to happen. But finally I saw the truth of the situation. Death IS a natural part of life. Death is normal. Everything dies. Plants, animals and yes humans. It's part of the cycle of life.
So what made me finally okay with all of this terrible reality? This one idea: Perhaps there is a god and perhaps we're just not meant to know all the answers right now. This one thought brought me so much peace. The depression and hopelessness of my situation instantly disappeared upon this realization. We don't have to know all the answers. We (all of us; ie. every human who's ever lived) don't know what's next. We don't know why we are here and what the purpose of this life is. But that does not mean there isn't one! Yes, this idea really helped me. I came to realize that perhaps there is something much more going on here that we can even comprehend at this point. Again, either way the end result is the same. We die. Some day I, you, and all that have ever and will ever live will stop breathing and will cease to exist as humans. But that does not necessarily mean that is the end. I'm not saying it is or it isn't, what I'm saying is the way we choose to PERCEIVE this idea is what can make all the difference.
If I think, okay I'm just going to die and be forgotten and that's it, then I'm miserable (I was anyway....I'm sure some can be perfectly fine with this idea but I could not) or I could think, okay I'm going to die, everyone is but that doesn't mean it's the end. There could be a million different things that happen after, and a million different reasons why we are here and why we are humans with this short life. This idea really brought me peace and put things in perspective for me.
I don't have the answers, and now I'm okay with that. I'm not mad at god anymore. I'm just a human with this life to live. I can chose to waste my time trying to figure out the unknowable (all the big answers) and be miserable (after all no one has ever figured it out; if they did we'd all know about it!), or I can appreciate each day and enjoy it and have a hope that something else does happen and that at some future time all the answers will be revealed to us all.
Either way the end result is the same. We die. One of two possibilities exist after death: 1. it's the end and that's that, eternal non-existence or 2. something else happens. In the first case I will not know anything anyway so why stress about it now? In the second case: GREAT! Something else!
The difference for me is NOW. How I chose to believe or open my mind to the possibilities of something else. This has brought me peace and I'm am very very thankful.
I prayed the other night for the first time in a very long time. It wasn't to Jehovah, it was just to god. I told him I was done being mad at him and that I needed the idea of him in my life. I expressed my thoughts to him and perhaps I was merely talking to myself in my head, it really doesn't matter in the end, because for me it helped. It helped me NOW. It's helping me to live each day and enjoy each day to the full just having the idea that possibly there is a god and something else after this life.
I know this won't work for everyone. But it's working for me, and I just wanted to share in case anyone else is going through something similar. My only thought for you is keep your mind open to the possibilities. We don't know anything. It's isn't for us apparently to know, because, if it were I think God would have made things crystal clear and he hasn't therefore perhaps were just here for a short time to enjoy this life and what it has to offer. We just don't know, but that doesn't mean nothing happens.
Hope this made some semblance of sense to someone.
-
20
UPDATE: My existential crisis comes to a close
by Freeandclear inin case you read my other thread regarding my existential crisis and how it was making my life miserable and left me feeling hopeless, purposeless and joyless i though i'd share what's recently happened to me and my way of thinking and have i've for the time being resolved my existential crisis.
i write every day in a journal.
i've been doing this for years.
-
-
Freeandclear
Hello again all of you. In case you read my other thread regarding my existential crisis and how it was making my life miserable and left me feeling hopeless, purposeless and joyless I though I'd share what's recently happened to me and my way of thinking and how I've for the time being resolved my existential crisis.
I write every day in a journal. I've been doing this for years. I'm an introspective type and I'd rather write my thoughts down to get them out than to try and discuss all this stuff with another person..... So what follows is a direct quote from my journal from a few days ago, hope you enjoy it and I sincerely hope it helps someone else. Also, thanks to all of you who gave me advice in the other thread.
And now...... existential crisis resolved.
So the other night -- "I went to bed and I did something I haven't done in a long time. I prayed. I basically said that I need god. I'm tired of being mad at him or blaming him. And it's true, I do need God in my life. Not in the JW way or any other religion's way but in my own way. And honestly I really feel that in order for me to continue on with life I have to find a way to include the idea of god. Why? Because to my mind without something greater than myself there is no hope, no point to any of this. The best I can think of for now is this: I don't have all the big answers, no one does, they are in fact unknowable, thus those answers must not be meant for us at this time. In other words, it doesn't belong to me to know the answers. All I can do is look around me and enjoy the beauty that life has to offer and go on day by day trusting that something greater exists and that someday I will have the answers. I mean when I die either that's it and it's over and I won't even know it anyway (and if I exclude the idea of God then I miss out on the wonder and beauty of this one life) or something does happen and then I will know at least that one answer: what happens after I die? Also, it felt very good to pray. I cried. I felt comforted. I felt heard. I don't know if any of that is just a figment of my imagination or a process unique to the human mind or what but it's something. I got some peace from my existential crisis and some small amount of hope. I can't focus on THEN, if I do that I'm simply doing the same thing I was conditioned to do as a JW, I must live for the now, and appreciate the time I have here now. Life is short and it's flying by, it will all be over before I know it, so why not enjoy the ride. Take pleasure in the simple things. A warm beautiful day, walking and talking with someone I care about or find interesting, being kind to others, petting an animal, seeing the fish in the ocean, watching the sunset, breathing in the sea air, etc.... there are a million things to enjoy and to love and take pleasure in all without hurting anyone else. And if I include the idea of God then I also have someone to talk to and to thank and to rely upon and to give me hope for something after, something better, greater, or at least something. So that's what I'VE decided to believe. To exclude him would be suicide for me. I know this. It's too much a part of who I am as a human. Maybe it's all bunk, but the alternative is worse, much much worse....no hope, despair and misery. So therefore He's in. :) And I'm happier for it. I will keep my eye out for his answers and his voice and I will try and let him lead me, even if it is just my own mind or consciousness influencing the universe and electrons around me, whatever it is it FEELS real thus for me it is real. End of story really. Glad that is taken care of to be honest. I have been dying inside over this quandary and I'm now okay and much more at peace with everything. Just like that."
-
28
Need some help: Existential crisis in full swing
by Freeandclear inso is anyone else having an existential crisis after becoming fully awake?
let me explain.
about 2 years ago i read coc, still believed and tried to get back in da troof.
-
-
Freeandclear
Thanks everyone for your replies, much appreciated.
It's been a few days since this post started and I wanted to update some.
I decided to quit drinking. I have pain in my right side for a while now which is not a good sign, most likely fatty liver or inflammed liver due to heavy sustained alcohol consumption. Hopefully it will subside in a few weeks.
On another note, I get what most of you are saying. I've been doing a lot of reading on absurdism, nihilism and existentialism and all of these basically say the same things that most of you are saying: we exist, there are no rules, make your own rules and purpose to life, do no harm, etc.....
My problem with all of this is simply this: what does any of it matter in the end? One day we will all be gone. No one will remember any thing about us, given enough time. If I hurt someone today yes it hurts them for now, maybe even for the rest of their short life but in the end what does it matter at all? It simply does not.
Think about this; humanity in general. We are just an animal that happens to have self-awareness. We know we exist and we know that we will die. All we do as humans is "distract" ourselves. We grow up, we seek a career, we fall in love, we get hobbies, we raise our children, etc.... all of these distract us from the big looming reality over us all that one day we will no longer exist and that nothing we did/said/though will be remembered or matter.
How many humans that have ever existed do we still remember today? Sure there are a few, but a very very few, and given enough time even the memory of those few will be snuffed out. So what? Even if we remember the words of Aristotle or whomever else forever what does it matter to the dead Aristotle? It doesn't because he no longer exists. And further more, even if it did, he was one many among billions.
I'll be honest, I'm not handling this very well at all. I find no joy in anything right now, I see no point in going on and no end in sight. The only end is the one end I'm stressing over right now and IDK it's all just so pointless. I'm making myself sick even talking about all of it, but it's there underneath all my thoughts every day. I see no joy in life and even if I did, deep down there is still death coming.