i miss you.
you were supposed to be a hope in bad times.
when i was in my darkest hour you weren't there.
The idea, found in the gospel of John, that God is a father and we are his children, waiting to be one day reunited with God in heavens, where eternal life with Christ and our brethren awaits, is just very appealing. The notion of a caring father who is looking after us all the time, and yet respects our free will and our choices is comforting... too bad it ain't real. What a disappointment. What a freedom.
Eden
if you were a jw and are now an atheist or agnostic, what was the tipping point that made you turn to it?.
the reason i ask is i have noticed that many who leave the jw's seem to turn to atheism, versus still having some form of a faith.
have many of you given up on god first or have you had atheistic views first and then found atheism to be true.
Finding out that the 'historical Jesus' was a very different character than that portrayed in the Bible; that Christianity isn't about what the real Jesus taught, but rather, an invention by the apostle Paul; consequently, that Jesus wasn't the 'son of God' as we construct it, no was his death redeeming in any way; that his prophecies concerned the immediate future on the 1st century, and they failed. Consequently, besides the moral compass, I stopped seeing reason to pursuit a faith-based Christian world view. Although I respect the historical value of Christianity in the formation of modern ethics as we have them today, I consider myself agnostic and apatheist.
Eden
according to a pew research survey ... and it has evolved little since 2007.. eden.
According to an article decades ago in The Watchtower, the Jehovah's Witness must not only 'hate what is bad', but they must also hate the people with whom 'bad is inextricably linked'. There's your free pass to hate people.
Eden
according to a pew research survey ... and it has evolved little since 2007.. eden.
According to a Pew Research Survey ... and it has evolved little since 2007.
Eden
if you've never come across the above title before, it's considered to be the shortest novel possible.
a story, possibly a moving one, in just 6 words attributed to earnest hemingway.. it started a genre called "flash fiction" which is a memoir in six-words.. what would yours be?.
indoctrinated child found freedom, love, family.
Used wife out, new boyfriend in.
Eden
http://www.commentarypress.com/copyright/.
.
https://youtu.be/fdzzl453drq.
Interesting reading, thank you for the link. Sheds light on a number of things I have wondered about.
Eden
i was wondering if someone here has a personal story, or witnessed one in first hand, when someone refused to take a blood transfusion and what role the threat of disfellowshipment and shunning played in it (versus a more genuine fear of displeasing jehovah).
.
if you do, i would like to know about it.. eden.
Azor, did the threat of shunning play a role in your decision then to refuse blood for your child? Or was it strictly a faith-based decision (because God would be sad)?
Eden
i read crisis on the conscience and i am about to start, "who wrote the bible?
" does anyone have a list or great books to read for anyone searching for the real truth?
i've only ever seen the world through a jw lens and i am excited to see what other view points are out there!
I recommend "Paul and Jesus - How the apostle transformed christianity" by James D. Tabor and "Jesus, Interrupted", by Bart Ehrman.
It will establish firmly that what we know as "christianity" today wasn't the message of Jesus, but essentially a Pauline creation. Jesus was a radical apocalyptic prophet / Jewish rabbi with no intention to establish a new religion and with a very specific concern with his time, not the distant future. Which raises the question: If Jesus wasn't what the Bible tells us he was, did and said, why bother with things like the Heavenly Kingdom of God, the Armageddon, The Paradise on Earth, the Original Sin, the Ransom, Resurrection and Eternal Life. It made me re-think my whole take on christianity itself.
Eden
i was wondering if someone here has a personal story, or witnessed one in first hand, when someone refused to take a blood transfusion and what role the threat of disfellowshipment and shunning played in it (versus a more genuine fear of displeasing jehovah).
.
if you do, i would like to know about it.. eden.
Thanks, Marvin.
I located the article that was in the references. I will use that quote.
Eden
i was wondering if someone here has a personal story, or witnessed one in first hand, when someone refused to take a blood transfusion and what role the threat of disfellowshipment and shunning played in it (versus a more genuine fear of displeasing jehovah).
.
if you do, i would like to know about it.. eden.
I was wondering if someone here has a personal story, or witnessed one in first hand, when someone refused to take a blood transfusion and what role the threat of disfellowshipment and shunning played in it (versus a more genuine fear of displeasing Jehovah).
If you do, I would like to know about it.
Eden
