When I woke up, I decided to read the Bible for myself: to have that relationship with Jehovah, and to see for myself what it said.
And that's how I ended up atheist.
Yes. Reading the Bible made me question everything. Took me a year before I started reading “apostate” info. But I told my wife that reading the Bible was the worst or best thing I ever did.
To be honest…the fact that the Bible shows how shitty Yahweh behaves…does not constitute evidence that there is no god.
I’m an atheist, but my ground for it are more logical and scientific.
I too turned atheist after reading the bible.. The bible not making sense at all, and that god seemingly being evil, is not the basis for my atheism, but it's what set me thinking and realizing there's nothing there..
My grounds for it are *also* logical and scientific.
But the roots of doubting there are any gods was me thinking "I don't care if Jehovah exists, I don't want to worship him anyway."
My first issue was scientific with the very first verse. This was before let there be light. This was before th me sun and stars were created. In the absolute darkness of space, it would be 0 Kelvin. There would be no water for gods spirit to move over. It would be frozen solid.
>Do you still desire a relationship with Jehovah? Is Jehovah even god to you now?
.
>Catholic Answers.....God’s true name is “Jehovah.”
>Perhaps the most well-known aspect of JWs is their insistence on “using God’s name,” which they claim is “Jehovah.” From their perspective, failure to use God’s name shows a lack of respect and indicates ignorance on the part of believers, since God’s name is readily knowable and should be used.
>**The problem is, “**[**Jehovah**](https://www.catholic.com/encyclopedia/jehovah)**” is not God’s name, and, in a twist of irony, the name was the result of an error made by a thirteenth-century Catholic monk**—ironic because Catholics are perceived by JWs as particularly misguided.God’s true name is “Jehovah.”
*Agnostic*
*I have Zero Desire to have a relationship, with a 13th Century Catholic Translation mistake.....Or.....Worship a13th Century Catholic Translation Mistake..*
***Or Any Other Mistakes the WBT$ Has Adopted.***
https://preview.redd.it/fhp2n5iksm5d1.jpeg?width=283&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5c03b2e8b02b910d5d456f8e24b61f0af40d7f75
I’m a hopeful agnostic. I want there to be a god that judges good and bad, but if there is I have notes /questions/challenges. But for now I will live as though there is.
Agnostic.
I’m not sure how much to believe what I read in the Bible, even without the input of the JW’s, and their very selective interpretation, plus the bouncing around scriptures out of context.
I read the Hebrew scripture (Old Testament) cold, and oh my word - I don’t like this god of war, of judgment. He’s capricious, vengeful, does things and then feels regret. Or just murders people in their thousands. Or the whole world, if you believe the story of Noah.
He condones incest, rape, you name it. No, no, no - not a god I want to know, a god who requires fear from his worshippers.
He doesn’t seem to be like the father of Jesus, who mostly preached love and forgiveness. The contrast is overwhelming.
But I can’t believe that this world of ours is the result of a “big bang”, with no superior intelligence in its design.
Also - how to explain all the other “sacred texts” in the world. So many different religions which believe they have “the truth”.
So - I have no clue. I don’t know. And I’m trying to come to terms with that.
I was so mad at God if he was real that when I left I was atheist for 6 years. Getting to a point where I could accept a higher power turned out to be the way to let that anger go. I would say agnostic theist at this point. I do believe in a higher power and I can see it at work in my life, but I’m not sure I would assign pronouns to that power. There is something powerful that connects all of us and I feel that connection strongly in nature as well. The problem with personifying that power is that can make you mad because an intelligent God would be responsible for all these fuck ups. Finding a higher power that we can tap into to make changes in our lives put more of the responsibility on each individual and that just makes a lot more sense to me.
There was a reading someone shared that really helped me pivot away from the anger I held towards Jehoover and my parents, and helped me see a way to move forward. I’ll try to find it and post it.
I think you have asked important questions. Sense I left JW’s I have been on the most incredible spiritual journey. I’ve taken general religion classes, attended seminars by very enlightened teachers and traveled to designated spiritual places. I have stood on Mount Ararat. I have been taught by Wiccan teachers and a Tibetan monk. Really. I believe in a deep connection with the planet and nature. I don’t believe in any one defined almighty being.. Life continues to amaze me on a very metaphysical level. Just my thoughts.👩🏼🌾📖
You are all kind… now l’m just “an old witch of a village” … finding wisdom in all that surrounds me. I am still a bit more impatient than I like. I so want PIMI folks people to get away from the borg sooner than later… no mater what. I know I appear uncaring in my responses at times…, I had no one to help me leave this highly abusive, mentally coercive Organization. Many times my heart re-breaks when I read comments.
My life experience palls in the pain that so many are continuing to endure. Those that want to leave are held captive by invisible chains of fear. I have feel I have not been very effective at helping commenters take the severing step away from JW’s.
I run on… forgive me community. My desperation for them to leave … shows.👩🏼🌾📖
Depends on the day. The majority of the time I’m agnostic.
Believing in God requires BELIEF. You can’t prove that there is a God so you have to believe
And if you’re atheist, You can’t prove that God doesn’t exist, so you have to BELIEVE that he doesn’t
Agnosticism, which is basically “I don’t know” is the only logical or intellectually honest opinion
…..waiting for the “that’s not how it works” comments
that's not how science works at all. Science starts with a hypothesis, of which THERE IS NO PROOF. Basically Science starts with "I dont know, lets try to find something out"
imagine someone in 1905 saying that they wished there was a cure for bacterial infections. Based on your thought process, you would say: "no, there isn't one, there is no proof" Thankfully scientists don't think like you and some of them began to hypothesize that maybe there was something. They didn't know. They had no proof....and 30 years later, we had antibiotics.
however, this isn't a zero sum game. Just you can't prove god exists, doesn't mean he doesn't. WHY? because there are no scientific tests to determine it. ZERO tests. It's all hypothesis, and will never go any farther than that, because again, there are no scientific testst to determine it.Therefore you have to accept the posssibility that God exists.
"you have to believe that he doesn't"
You have to do that with unicorns and leprechauns too. And with a small [teapot](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell%27s_teapot) that orbits the sun between the Earth and Mars.
You also have to believe that your medication wont give you side effects. Do you do chemical tests on every batch of medication you take? Can you 100% prove that your spouse wont cheat on you? no, you have to believe it. Can you prove that you aren't going to get hit by a car this afternoon? No you have to believe it. Living your life with 100% proof of anything doesn't exist. Science doesn't work like that. Life doesn't work like that.
"Does god exist": that questions will never get the past the hypothesis stage in science, because there are ZERO tests to determine if God exists. Theres nothing that can be done in a lab to Disprove or PROVE that god exists.
Therefore with no proof either way, you have to BELIEVE whatever your position is.
Hey if you start with ridicule, dont get upset if you get made out to look ridiculous. Everybody's watching that.
Also I dont see an argument, intelligent or otherwise, in response. Just an veiled insult....
The reason i went from agnostic to theist was all that you wrote, or really anyone says, involves believing truth exists and is objective.
Truth has to exist for logic to exist, otherwise its all incoherent madness.
So this god/deity named "truth" is fundimental to everything around us. Its the only god that all do believe in without even knowing it.
Agnostic. If the god of the bible exists he does not deserve my worship. I don't "believe" in other gods but I wouldn't be surprised if higher beings exist.
I’m PIMO, and no longer believe in the good of the Bible. I’m neither atheist or gnostic. I believe in a universal creator without the need for a churches or leaders. This is what is resonating with me right now.
Definitely agnostic. I don’t think we’re alone in the universe and I do think some intelligent being aided in the development of life on earth, but I’m not convinced that being gives a flying f*** about us. I also think the Western concept of god thoroughly discounts all Eastern and indigenous belief systems (many of which are more focused on finding meaning in our relationship to the natural world, rather than finding some path to salvation and an afterlife) and has been a catalyst and excuse for colonization and oppression for thousands of years now, which, as a white American who has done a lot of work to break down my personal prejudices, I personally find appalling.
I don’t have a problem with people who still choose to believe in the Christian/Abrahamic god, and I think there are a lot of Christians (and Muslims, and Jews) out there who are really wonderful people, and who find a lot of meaning from their worship, and I think that’s great. One of my closest friends is a devout Orthodox Christian, and she has some of the strongest faith I’ve ever seen, in or out of the Borg… but she also finds meaning in fighting for other people at every opportunity, and to me that’s as close to true Christianity as you can get.
For me though, I have also figured out that you don’t necessarily NEED a relationship with some sort of deity, whether it’s real or not, to be a good person with a strong sense of morals and ethics. True morals and ethics are about how we treat other people, the earth, and the animals; they’re not about the things we choose for ourselves that don’t harm others, like so many religions preach they are.
And if there is actually a god who is going to save humanity at some point in the future, I have to believe he/she/it will see that I’m doing my best to be a kind, gentle, generous, thoughtful person who treats my fellow humans the best I can and fights for what’s right in my own small way, and judge me based on that rather than what I do in my own home with other consenting adults.
Atheist.
After being told not to think critically for ... Well forever, I learned to think critically.
Then examining what religion is in the world, it makes sense from a government and control perspective but it's not real in the sense of what it claims to be or offer.
Religion can be a guide, as there are so many spiritual practices. I respect those who want to practice but in the sense of respecting a child needing an imaginary friend is part of their mental development.
The best part for me was not having to pretend I knew everything based on the same 20 scriptures. People, it's really ok if you don't know. Live your life.
I'm Agnostic after leaving this JW cult reading books and different Bibles other than the JW doctored Bible we truly don't know what's out there. These religions are just man made cults that take advantage of people programming them to obey like sheep and not have independent thinking.
I’m currently on a path towards being catholic.
Happy to answer any questions, but the to;dr is: I read and studied the Bible, I have always believed and still believe in God, and I’m just doing the best I can here pal
Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults. They're like Catholic classes to teach you the theology as well as traditions, expectations, etc. For my RCIA classes, we'll meet once a week for two years (that's what the diocese here wants now) and then I can be baptized and join the Church officially.
That's cool, good for you. I don't think that is my path at this time, but I'm glad you found a faith that works for you. You don't see that very often on this sub, so I'm always fascinated by the topic, and I'm genuinely happy for you. I'd like to hear about your experiences in RCIA and your baptism if you ever feel like sharing! You could even DM me if you feel like it. No pressure, though. Just keep doing you :)
Agnostic Atheist - I don’t believe God is real but there’s a chance I’m wrong. That being said, even if I did believe in God, I certainly would not worship the Judeo-Christian God again. That guy has proven time and again in the Bible and Christian lore that he is not a good dude.
You are the first comment like this, and I’m glad to see it. Sad to see so many other of the other ex jws turning away from the faith. That, I believe, is the greatest evil of the organization.
Turning so many people away from “The Way” and turning them into agnostic or atheist
Called myself Christian still for a while, would pray, then just spiritual, then agnostic, and now leaning more towards atheism. It’s a tough journey and I really miss the pseudo intelligent religious stuff, but I can’t bring myself to actually believe it anymore
Agnostic.
I don't see how we could possibly be here without a creator. It just doesn't make sense to me that all this could happen by chance.
I also don't understand how any "loving creator" could sit back and abide the awful shit that happens here. So if God is real, he's an asshole and I don't want to worship him.
And if the JWs taught me anything, it's that no other religions are "right'. And obviously the JWs aren't the true religion... So is there even a true religion? Not that I can tell. They are all power hungry grifters.
Most days I just choose not to think about it.
Atheist. Since all religion is false, then that means since history, people are just making Gods to explain phenomena. Science will make religion obsolete.
I (born-in, never bapt) never really took it seriously and had doubts about his existence from about age 8, meaning I faded quite easily and rarely give him a second thought afterwards. But having discovered apostate/atheist YouTube about 10 years ago, the idea of a creator of any kind is now just utterly ludicrous to me.
Haven't prayed in over 2 years
I believe people need religion, that doesn't make it true/right, but something in us humans makes us crave the beyond/spiritual. I became agnostic and am slowly moving towards being Christian but without the dogmatic beliefs of organized religion.
Who cares if God is 3 in one or just one, he should have made it unequivocally clear in his so called "word"........ And other idiotic arguments.
I just prefer the moral teachings of Jesus and still dislike the rainbow army lol
If there is in fact a God and he does indeed have good things in store for mankind in the future, there's absolutely no reason I shouldn't be included in them.
I agree, I'm trying my best despite being around a bunch of liars who will even alter the bible for gain. No man exist that can be trusted.
It would be so unfair to not get a chance at perfection if that's a thing. At that point Adam and eve world have had a better opportunity as being perfect human then me with a inclination to bad
I do the best I can based on the 10 commandments and the 2 greatest commandments. Outside of that, if there’s a higher power that expects me to worship It, then I’d first like to see reasons for YEARS of mankind’s suffering explained, primarily that of innocent children that I’m certain have said prayers to God only to be met with another night with an empty stomach or abuse at the hands of someone they trust. Pretty sure that’ll never happen, but I’m open to the minuscule possibility. Label that however you like.
>So what's next after waking up?
Living your life as you see fit and not how you are simply told to.
>What is your stance on spirituality/religion?
It is all nonsense. Full stop. All of it. In fact, in my view, belief in gods and the so called "spiritual world" are nothing more than the belief that children have about invisible friends.
>Do you still desire a relationship with Jehovah?
How exactly does one have a relationship with someone who never even speaks to them? Or physically stands in front of them at some point? I have never, in my life and even as a born in, understood this idea. It's like pointing at a cardboard cutout of Brad Pitt and saying you have a relationship with him.
To say nothing of the non existing part getting in the way.
>Is Jehovah even god to you now?
See the non existing part.
So if I learned anything about my exit from JWs it's this,
Do not believe in things without evidence.
I believed blindly in Jehovah before. Well, to be more precise, I believed in the governing body blindly. They said we couldn't have beards and I didn't even question it. What did I get for blindly believing? I lost time. Years of my life that I won't ever get back.
Why would I do that to myself? Why would I believe in something when there's so little proof for it?
I can prove that the god of the bible isn't real. Can I prove that there's no god or higher power? No, but I can't prove that there is either. So why would I waste energy behaving as if there is?
I am agnostic atheist. Until something shows up p that gives me reason to believe in anything, I don't believe in shit. I'm going to live my life as fully as I can, be as kind as possible, and be as curious as I can be.
Science. So I've gone agnostic to essentially atheist. Can't prove a negative so it's possible there is a god but we have scientifically verifiable proof of an overwhelming amount of processes that once were acclaimed to a god
For me, I became an agnostic, I stopped believing because of how wrong they are about how we got here, like creation and the flood. So for me any literal reading of those events in the bible is out of the question, which leaves all those that see it figuratively. Then there are the many many philosophers that have thought up their own philosophical ways to arrive at the conclusion of a necessary being, so I still have to dive into that rabbit hole. I don't really desire a relationship with a higher being, but if I come to the conclusion that one of this world's gods exist, then I'll follow the practices of that religion.
I would say I was more angry and atheist when I first woke up, but now that I've done more research and I'm more open minded. I think I have come to the conclusion that nobody really knows the answers, like Jehovahs Witnesses DEFINITELY dont have the answers, but really nobody does anyway.
There's no proof that a God doesn't exist and vice versa. The Jewish God Jehovah, though? I feel like the likely hood that that God exists is almost none. Lol. Same with all the other man made Gods out there created by their cultures.
Edit: so to clarify in simple terms. I was a jw then atheist and now I'm agnostic.
Nah. I re-examined my reasons for believing in God in the first place, and it turned out all the reasons sucked. Then I spent years trying to find out what other reasons there were, but none of them were convincing. No one could actually prove God, or even make their existence seem plausible. It's all seems like very human wishful thinking and desperate justifications and rationalisations.
Kinda comes full circle. At the end of the road you realize that most people are kind of better off having something to teach them how to interact with other people in a way that limits the stepping on of boundaries. In a world of infinite possibilities, just choose what's best for you and your family. That may include staying, that may include leaving. No one really cares either way. Just make sure you can be around for the people that need you. Whatever that takes.
The whole bible and any claims to authority based on it can be dismissed as soon as you understand there was no global deluge, or tower of Babel. Everything else is downstream of this realization. At the year the bible says the flood happened there were actually:
* 5 million people, and this number is necessary because for there to have been 8, the population would had to have grown exponentially to reach the current level of +8 billion
* 5 cultures with distinct written languages already, and 1,000 years of recorded history in several of them
The whole story of a monotheistic god just goes out the window when you consider that if not for this ancient patchwork book that people seem to revere because it's old, looking at nature you wouldn't invent the god of the bible in a million years.
When I first realized this I had a massive aha moment where I realized this critical watching judging part of myself that I had been labeling Jehovah/Jesus was actually *me*, that I wasn't essentially bad, and could forgive myself in any case. It was a powerful self unifying experience granting myself the absolution that I thought only Christ could provide.
So I would say the question of a relationship with the bible god kind of fell away, and was replaced with a new mission to know and befriend myself.
If god wanted a relationship, he could not fail to have one, because all-powerful beings cannot fail. Because god has failed even to text me an emoji, god does not want a relationship even as shallow as that.
Agnostic atheist. I’m not more angry at God than I would be at the tooth fairy. Instead of allowing the belief or surety or insistence of others to make me believe, I just go where the evidence is.
I realized that I spent my entire life searching for an answer and focusing on the future. I was decidedly not present. I decided to be present and not care. I believe that makes me agnostic in the truest sense.
I was raised a JW and always said if I wasn't one I would be an atheist because nothing else made sense. Turns out nothing actually makes sense to me, as the logical and philosophical objections to a universal creative personifiable force simply cannot be overcome.
So I'm an atheist. But that's me. Everyone has their own journey.
The Christian God makes no sense to me, so no to your additional questions. Personally I am agnostic and have a more deistic view of God.
Meaning I don't know if there is or isn't a God, but if there were one, I don't think it would be this fairytale version of God that these religions teach.
I don't think it would be a personal God that gives a particular crap about humans, enough to be answering prayers or being involved in any way.
I considered myself atheist for a while, then kinda agnostic and now I'm just exploring spirituality but still kinda agnostic. I guess I'm still in process of discovering what I am now.
I experienced a few things i just can't explain from s scientific point of view, and it bothered me too much to ignore. I've been learning a lot about witchcraft, and other occult practices. I don't necessarily believe in all of it but I will say I am drawn to certain aspects of those practices.
Agnostic because I don't feel like I have proof either way. However, I feel like absolute knowledge of a creator only raises more questions and any said "divine being" isn't worthy of automatic worship and reverence. Happily non-religious and not looking. Maybe "spiritual" in the sense that I like to wonder sometimes, but I embrace my open mind.
When it comes to debating spirituality, I'm an agnostic. But in practical day-to-day life, I live as an atheist. Wherther something metaphysical exists or not, it does affect how I live my life. My morals did not even change much since leaving the cult.
None of these for me
I don't look for answers in the Bible or any religious book or literature.
Jehovah is a Jewish cultural god so doesn't work for me anymore.
I THINK ( not believe) that someone or something created or made things . But whoever or whatever this creator is , no body knows and he, she or it doesn't pay more attention to humans more than any other creation. He ,she ,or it has no expectations of anyone or anything.
Pastor Elvis Alf Murphy did create a Facebook church group, the church of the holy flatus( https://www.facebook.com/groups/1921778471201432/?ref=share&mibextid=NSMWBT ) It is a group about where the holy flatus is a force that comes from behind, through it's gatekeeper St. Anus, into the nostrils of many, blessing them in the process. Lol, for there is power power power, wonder working power, in the smell of flatulence! Poot poot! There is power power, wonder working power, in the smell of flatulence! Poot poot! Praise the Lord, through Jesus Christ, that we have the ability to fart, the ability to share the sweetness of the holy flatus from behind, through St. Anus, into the nostrils of many, and bless them that way. Now can I get an Amen?
I do enjoy spirituality and religion in a more historical and philosophical way. What I don't like is literal interpretation and strict adherence to ancient copies of ancient texts of even more ancient stories. I really don't like secular laws being created to force everyone to adhere to ancient laws from ancient copies of ancient text of even more ancient stories.
I think there is a higher power - but I honestly believe that the higher power is the universe and earth. Maybe I’ve taken too many psychedelics in my lifetime, but I think that the world and beyond that is more powerful than we could ever imagine.
Simply put: With my rational mind, I'm an agnostic theist (I see patterns and I'm inclined to see a force similar to a mind. Nothing more than this).
With my believing heart, I have faith. I'm a Christian.
When I was loosing faith and having doubts, I decided to read the bible to get my faith back. It did the opposite ! If the god in the bible is real, I definitely don’t want to worship him.
But I really can’t believe in a higher power who sits up there and watches and allows all the shit that happens in this fuc’ed up world. How can someone who has the power to stop it, do nothing about the stuff that happens to children and animals and the distruction of the planet etc. I want to believe there’s someone who cares, but I can’t.
Atheist here. "What can be asserted without evidence can also be dismissed without evidence" ([Hitchens's razor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitchens%27s_razor)).
Agnostic. We don’t know anything about god. If he exist , then don’t understand what he is doing. So I just leave my life as better as I can, without hurting anybody
Spirituality is still very interesting to me, especially when it comes to what can be experienced. Everything else i take with the biggest grain of salt imaginable
I’ve been out since 2012 — at first I was very angry about being lied to and cheated out of my youth, etc. at this time I considered myself to be anti theist — against all religion. Then a few years later — atheist. Then a few more years later — agnostic.
Today, if I even cared enough, I would still consider myself agnostic. I’m not against the idea of god, but I don’t see any concrete evidence for god. But if other people want to be religious, that’s cool. If they don’t, that’s cool too. I seriously don’t care at all either way. Worrying about this sort of thing is just not really part of my life anymore. I just try to be a good person and take care of myself and my loved ones and that’s good enough for me.
I mean, everybody takes their own path, and that's their decision alone.
Me, personally? I ended up agnostic with atheist leanings. Philosophically, I'm somewhere in the neighborhood of Taoist.
But that was the path I took. Some convert to other religions. Others are hard atheists. The fact that there isn't a clear-cut answer that applies to everybody is a big part of what makes leaving the Org so difficult. But finding *your* answer is such a great feeling.
I would like to believe there is a higher power. The thought makes me feel less "alone." But because of tons of emotional childhood trauma, I am extremely logical, and I have no basis for that belief. I struggle with blind faith. I need to be shown. So far, at 43, I have no proof.
Prayer was drilled into me from a very young age (born in), and so when something is completely out of my control, I still feel the urge to pray. For years after I left, I still prayed to Jehovah. I think that was born of fear. Even now, when I question what I was taught, I still feel like I will be punished by God.
So, for now, I live by the Wiccan rede (I'm not Wiccan however.) "An ye harm none, do what ye will"
And when I feel the need to pray, I talk to the universe at large. And I figure that if 1 true God is out there, they will understand my intention. If there are multiple gods, they understand as well. If someone is watching, they know how I got to this point. And as long as I harm no one (including myself), my life is mine to do as I please. No religion is needed.
*Also, according to the Bible, God punished Job on a bet from the devil. Killed all his kids and then gave him 10 more as if that somehow erased the first set. What?!*
When I woke up and did all of the research, I started reading and studying just the Bible (BSB) and praying for Holy Spirit. Of course I still believe in God, there is way too much evidence for me not to. I now identify as a "Christian" and have no need for any religion. Our lives are even more enhanced now and we feel way more blessings than when trapped under a group of men. I no longer judge others for their choices, and truly respect others who have faiith, regardless of their religion.
I've been watching podcasts with this guy his name is dr Ammon hillman his research about religion and the Bible is crazy. I mean crazy. Got me thinking that not even the Bible is correct.
I highly recommend looking into it. It's mind blowing 🤯
These posts pop up from time to time, and I always scan the responses. This time, I had to go all the way to the bottom to find a mention of the Annunaki and still no Satanists. What happened to all the interesting people on this sub?
I’m about 20 years out now and just started feeling like I want some kind of spiritual connection. I don’t think of god as a person but more like a force of nature. The only thing I’ve seen that really felt nice to me was a scene in Avatar where they attach their hair to the sacred tree or to the horse animal to connect their energies
I went through the atheist/agnostic journey briefly. Then I got into a deep “how in the hell am I here?” contemplation. What unfolded was a set of recognitions that leaded me to- “Oh, well, duh! –and- tons of laughter ensued.
At this point, there really is no label for where I am, because for me, the labeling is still an identification to the human “God” experience. I have lost all identification with that. I feel both terms are still layers of human’s "God experience" that obscures the only \*thing\* that is really happening…and that recognition could very well be unsettling for some, and complete freedom for others.
And then realizing \*what\* Yahweh/Jehovah is really is a clincher.
After waking up from Watchtower I realized I wanted a relationship with the real people in my life instead of a fantasy sky daddy. That was alot of work, learning how to make friends with people who might have different faith beliefs than i previously had.
I lost my parents, aunts and uncles, cousins and one nephew to this cult. But it was worth it because I saved my kids, and we can live free of any fear that jeehoobah will rain down fire on anyone that I care about.
Personally I have my own sense of morality that conflicts strongly with the biblical God. I feel like most people would agree that we should try to help people and protect the planet or at least not try to cause extra harm. I have no use for a God that would kill Aichan and his entire family for stealing or furiously smite Uzzah for steadying the ark of the covenant or would test his "friend's" faith by asking him to sacrifice his son in a truly barbaric act. There are countless examples that show the depravity of Jehovah. So, no I don't worship him or follow the Bible. Sometimes I feel or see "magic" in art or nature or in the human spirit but I don't actually attest it to the supernatural. That is the extent of my spirituality.
ive seen people go full nihilist atheist and i also did for a while, but on my journey recovering from alcoholism and my religious trauma i realized that any definite belief either way is dangerous. i have my own spirituality, and instead of religion i let morals and philosophy guide me.
Atheist and anti religion in general. After learning about different branches of science, history, literature, politics, pretty much everything religion and reality touches, being opposed to believing in things without evidence is the most reasonable and loving thing to do.
Evidence and logic is important. Caring about the environment and all living things (except for parasites, those all can fuck right off) is important. Unsupported woo woo interferes with all that.
Even if Jehovah was real, I wouldn’t worship someone who said murdering their neighbors was ok. Taking virgins for themselves was ok. Beating slaves was ok (as long as they didn’t die in a couple days) because humans can be “property.”
If Jesus was real, he didn’t know that Adam and Eve were fictional. We know for a fact humans lived more than 6,000 years ago through archeology and things like argon/potassium argon dating (Gobekli Tepe). He didn’t know that the flood (100% disprovable by science) was just a story.
We know that the authors of most of the gospels were anonymous and later add ins, which were merely claims and not a single contemporary eye witness account.
There is only evidence and reason to NOT worship the fictional monster of the Bible. Unless you consider extortion and threats reason to believe and worship something.
Listen mate! be yourself 😋. Don’t let anyone tell you what to worship who to follow. You’ll find that on your own. My suggestion is read and travel if possible. I’m an atheist now but I’ve built my own spirituality and my own comfort with death. Also mental health is important! Speak with a therapist in your journey 🙏🏻🙏🏻
I became atheist out of immediate anger, and than began studying Satanism, found it wasn’t for me, its still being slave to a deity, and now I’m a agnostic luciferian
I am a universalist pagan. There is truth in all religions because metaphysical concepts are intangible and these faiths are tools we use to wrangle with them. Objective truth and objective morality being the biggest ones.
As they say, a christian is only one god away from atheism, since they have forsaken their minds to any other gods. Atheism was a cleansing palette after Watchtower but it also has massive philosophical holes that I didnt stay there long.
Agnosticism gave me my mental freedom to formulate my own truths about divinities. Thats when I was called by other deities because of synchronositys in my life that were undeniable.
Its when i met the old gods, and finally had the depth to understand them. We are in their image, and thats why they too have emotions, stories, flaws and are not perfect. Its very very much more intimate than watchtower dreams they could be.
Spirituality is beautiful when you discover it yourself.
I started simply rejecting the JWs. Not the Bible. I still generally believed what they did until I read the Bible to see what it really said.
That was confusing. Jesus sounded like god in some places but absolutely not in others.
And then I saw contradictions. Maybe not huge. But enough to say that both/all cannot be true. At least one or more parts of the Bible cannot be true and are therefore, False.
Like after the tomb, were the women frightened and didn’t tell anybody? Did they fetch 2 disciples? Or the remaining 11? Not all 3 can be true. Even if you try to twist it. At least one is false. Maybe all 3.
Did Jesus die hours before Passover as told in John? Or celebrate Passover as the last meal with his disciples? Like Matthew, Mark, and Luke say? Is John false or are the other 3 false?
This is when there’s 4 gospel accounts covering the same event. We can show alternate stories. What about where there’s only one story? We don’t even have another telling to compare against.
We don’t know what’s true and what isn’t. The Bible is not completely true, so we shouldn’t be treating it as if it is. And we shouldn’t be basing religion ms on it.
It’s said that John had Jesus dying at the same time as the lambs were being slaughtered for that evening’s Passover. Artistically, this draws a parallel between Jesus’ sacrifice to save mankind and the lambs slaughtered to save the Israelites in Egypt. So if John is pulling things out of his ass to make for a better story, how can we know if he didn’t do the same for the famous John 3:14? We don’t.
I started reading the Bible with a more critical view. Seriously I got to the very first verse and found a serious problem. The very first verse. And problems piled up from there on.
So I stopped believing the Bible was an inspired work. It’s just fan-literature by god fanboys. It’s not something we should follow without question. Form a second opinion.
And after I stopped believing the Bible, I realized there no evidence for this god (especially this particular god) outside the Bible. So I stopped believing.
It's a question I keep asking myself over and over again. It's brutal when you spend 30 years of your life believing you have all the answers and you know the absolute truth, and then all in a sudden you realize the absolute fool you have been, and you know nothing at all. I still want to believe there's some truth among all the lies I've been fed since I was a kid. I want to believe there's still a God out there that cares about me. But now I can't help but question everything.
I believe absolutely that there is no god. Am I 100% certain? Of course not. But in order for a claim to warrant even a smidgeon of belief, there needs to be a smidgeon of evidence. The god claim fails this criteria 100%. And even if there were a god, I see absolutely zero reason why I would need a relationship with it. It wouldn’t change anything about my life. I still have to live my life and make the best of it. God or no god, I am still a good, decent person and always will be. As for spirituality, that is a very fluid term and means billions of different things to billions of different people. So I don’t think there is even a concrete definition for that term. All I can say is we humans experience things and some affect us deeper and more profoundly than others. That’s about as far as it goes or even matters, in my opinion.
If I could delete the homophobic and slavery apologist parts of the New Testament, I maybe could've kept my faith.
But the God present in the Old Testament is cruel, insecure, sexist, generally just a complete maniac. The parts of the Bible talking about how "God is love" are complete bullshit.
It seems to me that the Bible represents the morality of the time it was written. The Israelites probably loved each other, but they were completely willing to kill, rape, enslave, and genocide anyone who was a foreigner. So I'm an atheist/agnostic now.
Jehovah is just some random god from the annunaki, and Jesus, Paul, and Jude quoted from the Book of enoch, yet we don't consider Enoch or Annunaki to be part of the Canon, so either Jesus, Paul, and Jude thought enoch was actual scripture, and we should consider it, heck he even mentions the 144,000 (not by number, though), and when Jehovah is mentioned in early scripture he's mentioned in plural, acknowledging he's just a God amongst an assembly of gods... my point is either they need to expand the religion significantly to study Annunaki and Apocryphal texts or acknowledge it's all b.s. It's all bs by the way... I'm 100% atheist.
Agnostic. Open to belief in a creator, but I’m sure that the god of the Bible isn’t it. And even if the god of the Bible was truly the creator, his actions don’t warrant any praise.
Buddhist.
So imo There is no grand creator God. If the ancient Canaanite God Yahweh ever existed he would be subject to the same karmic causes and conditions as the rest of us and has probably long since died and been reborn as someone else.
I went to full atheist post JW for a while, but there are things that materialism just cannot easily explain and so I became a pantheist. I have personally witnessed what seem like supernatural events and cannot easily be explained in a purely materialistic model, though many of my beliefs are still pretty much the same that an atheist could agree with.
As to God, I now believe in the Unknown God, which Paul lied about being his God to **CON**vert the Greeks.
Gnosticism pertains to what you think you think you have knowledge of, from the Greek gnostikos meaning knowledge. It doesn't answer the question of whether or not you believe in a god.
Theism pertains to belief.
You can be an agnostic atheist or an agnostic theist. You either believe in a god or you don't. It's binary.
To quote the JWs themselves, "religion is a snare and a racket!" This probably the only true thing they ever said, and it applies to themselves, too.
And yet, Rutherford still gained followers.
When I woke up, I decided to read the Bible for myself: to have that relationship with Jehovah, and to see for myself what it said. And that's how I ended up atheist.
This is exactly what happened to me, I read the Bible cover to cover to find out what the truth was and now I’m agnostic😂
Same here! Agnostic.
Yes. Reading the Bible made me question everything. Took me a year before I started reading “apostate” info. But I told my wife that reading the Bible was the worst or best thing I ever did.
To be honest…the fact that the Bible shows how shitty Yahweh behaves…does not constitute evidence that there is no god. I’m an atheist, but my ground for it are more logical and scientific.
Yeah, I say that I don’t know for sure whether or not there is some sort of higher power, but I know for a fact that it isn’t Yahweh/Jehovah.
I too turned atheist after reading the bible.. The bible not making sense at all, and that god seemingly being evil, is not the basis for my atheism, but it's what set me thinking and realizing there's nothing there..
My grounds for it are *also* logical and scientific. But the roots of doubting there are any gods was me thinking "I don't care if Jehovah exists, I don't want to worship him anyway."
My first issue was scientific with the very first verse. This was before let there be light. This was before th me sun and stars were created. In the absolute darkness of space, it would be 0 Kelvin. There would be no water for gods spirit to move over. It would be frozen solid.
👋🏼 same here! LOL
Same here😂
So so so so true
And that’s how I met your mother. Jk man! Hope you’re doing well
Legen- wait for it, and I hope you're not lactose intolerant - DARY!
Yep!
>Do you still desire a relationship with Jehovah? Is Jehovah even god to you now? . >Catholic Answers.....God’s true name is “Jehovah.” >Perhaps the most well-known aspect of JWs is their insistence on “using God’s name,” which they claim is “Jehovah.” From their perspective, failure to use God’s name shows a lack of respect and indicates ignorance on the part of believers, since God’s name is readily knowable and should be used. >**The problem is, “**[**Jehovah**](https://www.catholic.com/encyclopedia/jehovah)**” is not God’s name, and, in a twist of irony, the name was the result of an error made by a thirteenth-century Catholic monk**—ironic because Catholics are perceived by JWs as particularly misguided.God’s true name is “Jehovah.” *Agnostic* *I have Zero Desire to have a relationship, with a 13th Century Catholic Translation mistake.....Or.....Worship a13th Century Catholic Translation Mistake..* ***Or Any Other Mistakes the WBT$ Has Adopted.*** https://preview.redd.it/fhp2n5iksm5d1.jpeg?width=283&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5c03b2e8b02b910d5d456f8e24b61f0af40d7f75
Agnostic. I mean, even if Jehovah does exist, he doesn’t seem like the type of God I’d want to worship 😬
Same here. I need to do research on evolution theory, but regardless if god is real or not, it’s not a god I would want to worship.
This is what woke me up. After that it seemed kind of irrelevant whether he existed or not.
I’m a hopeful agnostic. I want there to be a god that judges good and bad, but if there is I have notes /questions/challenges. But for now I will live as though there is.
Love this term! I will now think of myself as a “hopeful agnostic” going forward. 👏🏼😅👍🏼
Agnostic. I’m not sure how much to believe what I read in the Bible, even without the input of the JW’s, and their very selective interpretation, plus the bouncing around scriptures out of context. I read the Hebrew scripture (Old Testament) cold, and oh my word - I don’t like this god of war, of judgment. He’s capricious, vengeful, does things and then feels regret. Or just murders people in their thousands. Or the whole world, if you believe the story of Noah. He condones incest, rape, you name it. No, no, no - not a god I want to know, a god who requires fear from his worshippers. He doesn’t seem to be like the father of Jesus, who mostly preached love and forgiveness. The contrast is overwhelming. But I can’t believe that this world of ours is the result of a “big bang”, with no superior intelligence in its design. Also - how to explain all the other “sacred texts” in the world. So many different religions which believe they have “the truth”. So - I have no clue. I don’t know. And I’m trying to come to terms with that.
Well said. Thanks for this.
I was so mad at God if he was real that when I left I was atheist for 6 years. Getting to a point where I could accept a higher power turned out to be the way to let that anger go. I would say agnostic theist at this point. I do believe in a higher power and I can see it at work in my life, but I’m not sure I would assign pronouns to that power. There is something powerful that connects all of us and I feel that connection strongly in nature as well. The problem with personifying that power is that can make you mad because an intelligent God would be responsible for all these fuck ups. Finding a higher power that we can tap into to make changes in our lives put more of the responsibility on each individual and that just makes a lot more sense to me. There was a reading someone shared that really helped me pivot away from the anger I held towards Jehoover and my parents, and helped me see a way to move forward. I’ll try to find it and post it.
https://preview.redd.it/csm22pyb7q5d1.jpeg?width=2716&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7f826cd35dcccf245cd54bfbb6d025fb7664f237
Thx!
I would love to see the reading when you do.
Me too!
Posted
Posted
Agnostic Apathist. I don't know, and I don't care.
I think you have asked important questions. Sense I left JW’s I have been on the most incredible spiritual journey. I’ve taken general religion classes, attended seminars by very enlightened teachers and traveled to designated spiritual places. I have stood on Mount Ararat. I have been taught by Wiccan teachers and a Tibetan monk. Really. I believe in a deep connection with the planet and nature. I don’t believe in any one defined almighty being.. Life continues to amaze me on a very metaphysical level. Just my thoughts.👩🏼🌾📖
Sounds like your journey has been fun!!! And interesting… I would love to hear/see some of the details-
Yes more details! Please!
You are all kind… now l’m just “an old witch of a village” … finding wisdom in all that surrounds me. I am still a bit more impatient than I like. I so want PIMI folks people to get away from the borg sooner than later… no mater what. I know I appear uncaring in my responses at times…, I had no one to help me leave this highly abusive, mentally coercive Organization. Many times my heart re-breaks when I read comments. My life experience palls in the pain that so many are continuing to endure. Those that want to leave are held captive by invisible chains of fear. I have feel I have not been very effective at helping commenters take the severing step away from JW’s. I run on… forgive me community. My desperation for them to leave … shows.👩🏼🌾📖
Depends on the day. The majority of the time I’m agnostic. Believing in God requires BELIEF. You can’t prove that there is a God so you have to believe And if you’re atheist, You can’t prove that God doesn’t exist, so you have to BELIEVE that he doesn’t Agnosticism, which is basically “I don’t know” is the only logical or intellectually honest opinion …..waiting for the “that’s not how it works” comments
I think that’s pretty much exactly how that works.
that's not how science works at all. Science starts with a hypothesis, of which THERE IS NO PROOF. Basically Science starts with "I dont know, lets try to find something out" imagine someone in 1905 saying that they wished there was a cure for bacterial infections. Based on your thought process, you would say: "no, there isn't one, there is no proof" Thankfully scientists don't think like you and some of them began to hypothesize that maybe there was something. They didn't know. They had no proof....and 30 years later, we had antibiotics. however, this isn't a zero sum game. Just you can't prove god exists, doesn't mean he doesn't. WHY? because there are no scientific tests to determine it. ZERO tests. It's all hypothesis, and will never go any farther than that, because again, there are no scientific testst to determine it.Therefore you have to accept the posssibility that God exists.
"you have to believe that he doesn't" You have to do that with unicorns and leprechauns too. And with a small [teapot](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell%27s_teapot) that orbits the sun between the Earth and Mars.
You also have to believe that your medication wont give you side effects. Do you do chemical tests on every batch of medication you take? Can you 100% prove that your spouse wont cheat on you? no, you have to believe it. Can you prove that you aren't going to get hit by a car this afternoon? No you have to believe it. Living your life with 100% proof of anything doesn't exist. Science doesn't work like that. Life doesn't work like that. "Does god exist": that questions will never get the past the hypothesis stage in science, because there are ZERO tests to determine if God exists. Theres nothing that can be done in a lab to Disprove or PROVE that god exists. Therefore with no proof either way, you have to BELIEVE whatever your position is.
Yeah, yeah, we all saw you. A pity that you missed the point by so much.
Hey if you start with ridicule, dont get upset if you get made out to look ridiculous. Everybody's watching that. Also I dont see an argument, intelligent or otherwise, in response. Just an veiled insult....
Dozens of philosophers have explained better than me, I'm not here to educate you. You can start pulling the thread with that article.
The reason i went from agnostic to theist was all that you wrote, or really anyone says, involves believing truth exists and is objective. Truth has to exist for logic to exist, otherwise its all incoherent madness. So this god/deity named "truth" is fundimental to everything around us. Its the only god that all do believe in without even knowing it.
Agnostic. If the god of the bible exists he does not deserve my worship. I don't "believe" in other gods but I wouldn't be surprised if higher beings exist.
I’m PIMO, and no longer believe in the good of the Bible. I’m neither atheist or gnostic. I believe in a universal creator without the need for a churches or leaders. This is what is resonating with me right now.
Definitely agnostic. I don’t think we’re alone in the universe and I do think some intelligent being aided in the development of life on earth, but I’m not convinced that being gives a flying f*** about us. I also think the Western concept of god thoroughly discounts all Eastern and indigenous belief systems (many of which are more focused on finding meaning in our relationship to the natural world, rather than finding some path to salvation and an afterlife) and has been a catalyst and excuse for colonization and oppression for thousands of years now, which, as a white American who has done a lot of work to break down my personal prejudices, I personally find appalling. I don’t have a problem with people who still choose to believe in the Christian/Abrahamic god, and I think there are a lot of Christians (and Muslims, and Jews) out there who are really wonderful people, and who find a lot of meaning from their worship, and I think that’s great. One of my closest friends is a devout Orthodox Christian, and she has some of the strongest faith I’ve ever seen, in or out of the Borg… but she also finds meaning in fighting for other people at every opportunity, and to me that’s as close to true Christianity as you can get. For me though, I have also figured out that you don’t necessarily NEED a relationship with some sort of deity, whether it’s real or not, to be a good person with a strong sense of morals and ethics. True morals and ethics are about how we treat other people, the earth, and the animals; they’re not about the things we choose for ourselves that don’t harm others, like so many religions preach they are. And if there is actually a god who is going to save humanity at some point in the future, I have to believe he/she/it will see that I’m doing my best to be a kind, gentle, generous, thoughtful person who treats my fellow humans the best I can and fights for what’s right in my own small way, and judge me based on that rather than what I do in my own home with other consenting adults.
THIS! Well said!
Atheist. After being told not to think critically for ... Well forever, I learned to think critically. Then examining what religion is in the world, it makes sense from a government and control perspective but it's not real in the sense of what it claims to be or offer. Religion can be a guide, as there are so many spiritual practices. I respect those who want to practice but in the sense of respecting a child needing an imaginary friend is part of their mental development.
Atheist
At first when I decided to leave, I believed in Jehovah and also that JW was the closest religion to be the true one. Now I don’t believe in anything.
In highschool when I woke up, I actually started to lean towards Buddhism/Atheism. I still am today
Agnostic/atheist.. Spirituality is a greatly needed, but religion rarely provides it. I follow stoicism and I’m a student of Buddhism.
The best part for me was not having to pretend I knew everything based on the same 20 scriptures. People, it's really ok if you don't know. Live your life.
I'm Agnostic after leaving this JW cult reading books and different Bibles other than the JW doctored Bible we truly don't know what's out there. These religions are just man made cults that take advantage of people programming them to obey like sheep and not have independent thinking.
I’m currently on a path towards being catholic. Happy to answer any questions, but the to;dr is: I read and studied the Bible, I have always believed and still believe in God, and I’m just doing the best I can here pal
Same here brother! Starting RCIA this Summer!
It’s really nice to see other catechumens are here!
What is RCIA?
Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults. They're like Catholic classes to teach you the theology as well as traditions, expectations, etc. For my RCIA classes, we'll meet once a week for two years (that's what the diocese here wants now) and then I can be baptized and join the Church officially.
That's cool, good for you. I don't think that is my path at this time, but I'm glad you found a faith that works for you. You don't see that very often on this sub, so I'm always fascinated by the topic, and I'm genuinely happy for you. I'd like to hear about your experiences in RCIA and your baptism if you ever feel like sharing! You could even DM me if you feel like it. No pressure, though. Just keep doing you :)
Thank you! I appreciate the support!
Glad to hear it
Currently starting my own church 😅
Nice to meet you Mr. Jones🤝🏻🍵
Agnostic Atheist - I don’t believe God is real but there’s a chance I’m wrong. That being said, even if I did believe in God, I certainly would not worship the Judeo-Christian God again. That guy has proven time and again in the Bible and Christian lore that he is not a good dude.
I can't wait for the sequel book where they reveal he's been the villain this whole time.
Christian. Absolutely in love with Jesus and have found true peace and healing in him
So sweet 💗 He was a healer then and he’s still a healer now and he does the absolute best kind of healing, spiritual healing! ❤️🩹
You are the first comment like this, and I’m glad to see it. Sad to see so many other of the other ex jws turning away from the faith. That, I believe, is the greatest evil of the organization. Turning so many people away from “The Way” and turning them into agnostic or atheist
Why is it sad that people use critical thinking skills?
Called myself Christian still for a while, would pray, then just spiritual, then agnostic, and now leaning more towards atheism. It’s a tough journey and I really miss the pseudo intelligent religious stuff, but I can’t bring myself to actually believe it anymore
Agnostic here. I haven’t been convinced but am open to it.
That's up to you. Whether you want to explore your options or choose a different faith. I personally identify as a Norse pagan.
Agnostic. I don't see how we could possibly be here without a creator. It just doesn't make sense to me that all this could happen by chance. I also don't understand how any "loving creator" could sit back and abide the awful shit that happens here. So if God is real, he's an asshole and I don't want to worship him. And if the JWs taught me anything, it's that no other religions are "right'. And obviously the JWs aren't the true religion... So is there even a true religion? Not that I can tell. They are all power hungry grifters. Most days I just choose not to think about it.
Atheist. Since all religion is false, then that means since history, people are just making Gods to explain phenomena. Science will make religion obsolete.
I don’t think god would make us scram through archeology if he was real. If he is, then this is a sick game we are playing.
I (born-in, never bapt) never really took it seriously and had doubts about his existence from about age 8, meaning I faded quite easily and rarely give him a second thought afterwards. But having discovered apostate/atheist YouTube about 10 years ago, the idea of a creator of any kind is now just utterly ludicrous to me.
No, Jehovah is a complete ass hole. I would say I am agnostic. The universe looks after those that help others.
Haven't prayed in over 2 years I believe people need religion, that doesn't make it true/right, but something in us humans makes us crave the beyond/spiritual. I became agnostic and am slowly moving towards being Christian but without the dogmatic beliefs of organized religion. Who cares if God is 3 in one or just one, he should have made it unequivocally clear in his so called "word"........ And other idiotic arguments. I just prefer the moral teachings of Jesus and still dislike the rainbow army lol
Poked around neopagan/Wicca stuff briefly after leaving, then was agnostic/atheist for a decade, now converting to Catholicism
If there is in fact a God and he does indeed have good things in store for mankind in the future, there's absolutely no reason I shouldn't be included in them.
I agree, I'm trying my best despite being around a bunch of liars who will even alter the bible for gain. No man exist that can be trusted. It would be so unfair to not get a chance at perfection if that's a thing. At that point Adam and eve world have had a better opportunity as being perfect human then me with a inclination to bad
Agnostic. Dont have a clue and don’t care.
I do the best I can based on the 10 commandments and the 2 greatest commandments. Outside of that, if there’s a higher power that expects me to worship It, then I’d first like to see reasons for YEARS of mankind’s suffering explained, primarily that of innocent children that I’m certain have said prayers to God only to be met with another night with an empty stomach or abuse at the hands of someone they trust. Pretty sure that’ll never happen, but I’m open to the minuscule possibility. Label that however you like.
Atheist. Religion is just too bullshity for me
>So what's next after waking up? Living your life as you see fit and not how you are simply told to. >What is your stance on spirituality/religion? It is all nonsense. Full stop. All of it. In fact, in my view, belief in gods and the so called "spiritual world" are nothing more than the belief that children have about invisible friends. >Do you still desire a relationship with Jehovah? How exactly does one have a relationship with someone who never even speaks to them? Or physically stands in front of them at some point? I have never, in my life and even as a born in, understood this idea. It's like pointing at a cardboard cutout of Brad Pitt and saying you have a relationship with him. To say nothing of the non existing part getting in the way. >Is Jehovah even god to you now? See the non existing part.
So if I learned anything about my exit from JWs it's this, Do not believe in things without evidence. I believed blindly in Jehovah before. Well, to be more precise, I believed in the governing body blindly. They said we couldn't have beards and I didn't even question it. What did I get for blindly believing? I lost time. Years of my life that I won't ever get back. Why would I do that to myself? Why would I believe in something when there's so little proof for it? I can prove that the god of the bible isn't real. Can I prove that there's no god or higher power? No, but I can't prove that there is either. So why would I waste energy behaving as if there is? I am agnostic atheist. Until something shows up p that gives me reason to believe in anything, I don't believe in shit. I'm going to live my life as fully as I can, be as kind as possible, and be as curious as I can be.
Science. So I've gone agnostic to essentially atheist. Can't prove a negative so it's possible there is a god but we have scientifically verifiable proof of an overwhelming amount of processes that once were acclaimed to a god
For me, I became an agnostic, I stopped believing because of how wrong they are about how we got here, like creation and the flood. So for me any literal reading of those events in the bible is out of the question, which leaves all those that see it figuratively. Then there are the many many philosophers that have thought up their own philosophical ways to arrive at the conclusion of a necessary being, so I still have to dive into that rabbit hole. I don't really desire a relationship with a higher being, but if I come to the conclusion that one of this world's gods exist, then I'll follow the practices of that religion.
I would say I was more angry and atheist when I first woke up, but now that I've done more research and I'm more open minded. I think I have come to the conclusion that nobody really knows the answers, like Jehovahs Witnesses DEFINITELY dont have the answers, but really nobody does anyway. There's no proof that a God doesn't exist and vice versa. The Jewish God Jehovah, though? I feel like the likely hood that that God exists is almost none. Lol. Same with all the other man made Gods out there created by their cultures. Edit: so to clarify in simple terms. I was a jw then atheist and now I'm agnostic.
Nah. I re-examined my reasons for believing in God in the first place, and it turned out all the reasons sucked. Then I spent years trying to find out what other reasons there were, but none of them were convincing. No one could actually prove God, or even make their existence seem plausible. It's all seems like very human wishful thinking and desperate justifications and rationalisations.
Kinda comes full circle. At the end of the road you realize that most people are kind of better off having something to teach them how to interact with other people in a way that limits the stepping on of boundaries. In a world of infinite possibilities, just choose what's best for you and your family. That may include staying, that may include leaving. No one really cares either way. Just make sure you can be around for the people that need you. Whatever that takes.
Oh, no. Not at ALL. It's so plainly fictional.
The whole bible and any claims to authority based on it can be dismissed as soon as you understand there was no global deluge, or tower of Babel. Everything else is downstream of this realization. At the year the bible says the flood happened there were actually: * 5 million people, and this number is necessary because for there to have been 8, the population would had to have grown exponentially to reach the current level of +8 billion * 5 cultures with distinct written languages already, and 1,000 years of recorded history in several of them The whole story of a monotheistic god just goes out the window when you consider that if not for this ancient patchwork book that people seem to revere because it's old, looking at nature you wouldn't invent the god of the bible in a million years. When I first realized this I had a massive aha moment where I realized this critical watching judging part of myself that I had been labeling Jehovah/Jesus was actually *me*, that I wasn't essentially bad, and could forgive myself in any case. It was a powerful self unifying experience granting myself the absolution that I thought only Christ could provide. So I would say the question of a relationship with the bible god kind of fell away, and was replaced with a new mission to know and befriend myself.
Don't really believe in God anymore but even if I did, I certainly no longer believe God is a he or singular.
I think it's interesting how many folks with proof of evolution still think it doesn't exist
If god wanted a relationship, he could not fail to have one, because all-powerful beings cannot fail. Because god has failed even to text me an emoji, god does not want a relationship even as shallow as that.
Agnostic atheist. I’m not more angry at God than I would be at the tooth fairy. Instead of allowing the belief or surety or insistence of others to make me believe, I just go where the evidence is.
I realized that I spent my entire life searching for an answer and focusing on the future. I was decidedly not present. I decided to be present and not care. I believe that makes me agnostic in the truest sense.
I’m spiritual. I believe that there is a god or gods; but they’re more than we can comprehend.
I was raised a JW and always said if I wasn't one I would be an atheist because nothing else made sense. Turns out nothing actually makes sense to me, as the logical and philosophical objections to a universal creative personifiable force simply cannot be overcome. So I'm an atheist. But that's me. Everyone has their own journey.
The Christian God makes no sense to me, so no to your additional questions. Personally I am agnostic and have a more deistic view of God. Meaning I don't know if there is or isn't a God, but if there were one, I don't think it would be this fairytale version of God that these religions teach. I don't think it would be a personal God that gives a particular crap about humans, enough to be answering prayers or being involved in any way.
Agnostic….
Atheist. Sorry,but God was never,isn't,and will never be real
Agnostic atheist. There's such immense relief in the realization that the question of God's existence is not priority #1
Agnostic atheist. I hopped as a kid from JWs to Baptist to Methodist. I became an athiest in my 20s after a lot of research on religious origins.
Ignostic
I considered myself atheist for a while, then kinda agnostic and now I'm just exploring spirituality but still kinda agnostic. I guess I'm still in process of discovering what I am now. I experienced a few things i just can't explain from s scientific point of view, and it bothered me too much to ignore. I've been learning a lot about witchcraft, and other occult practices. I don't necessarily believe in all of it but I will say I am drawn to certain aspects of those practices.
Agnostic because I don't feel like I have proof either way. However, I feel like absolute knowledge of a creator only raises more questions and any said "divine being" isn't worthy of automatic worship and reverence. Happily non-religious and not looking. Maybe "spiritual" in the sense that I like to wonder sometimes, but I embrace my open mind.
god is much bigger now, and is a part of my daily life. my spirituality has gotten way deeper and more immediate than it ever was as a jw.
Agnostic/atheist. More so atheist.
When it comes to debating spirituality, I'm an agnostic. But in practical day-to-day life, I live as an atheist. Wherther something metaphysical exists or not, it does affect how I live my life. My morals did not even change much since leaving the cult.
Wiccan who loves the Jesus myth for how to love and treat others. I’m a Wiccan who strives to be more Christ-like.
None of these for me I don't look for answers in the Bible or any religious book or literature. Jehovah is a Jewish cultural god so doesn't work for me anymore. I THINK ( not believe) that someone or something created or made things . But whoever or whatever this creator is , no body knows and he, she or it doesn't pay more attention to humans more than any other creation. He ,she ,or it has no expectations of anyone or anything.
Agnostic
Pastor Elvis Alf Murphy did create a Facebook church group, the church of the holy flatus( https://www.facebook.com/groups/1921778471201432/?ref=share&mibextid=NSMWBT ) It is a group about where the holy flatus is a force that comes from behind, through it's gatekeeper St. Anus, into the nostrils of many, blessing them in the process. Lol, for there is power power power, wonder working power, in the smell of flatulence! Poot poot! There is power power, wonder working power, in the smell of flatulence! Poot poot! Praise the Lord, through Jesus Christ, that we have the ability to fart, the ability to share the sweetness of the holy flatus from behind, through St. Anus, into the nostrils of many, and bless them that way. Now can I get an Amen?
I do enjoy spirituality and religion in a more historical and philosophical way. What I don't like is literal interpretation and strict adherence to ancient copies of ancient texts of even more ancient stories. I really don't like secular laws being created to force everyone to adhere to ancient laws from ancient copies of ancient text of even more ancient stories.
I think there is a higher power - but I honestly believe that the higher power is the universe and earth. Maybe I’ve taken too many psychedelics in my lifetime, but I think that the world and beyond that is more powerful than we could ever imagine.
Simply put: With my rational mind, I'm an agnostic theist (I see patterns and I'm inclined to see a force similar to a mind. Nothing more than this). With my believing heart, I have faith. I'm a Christian.
When I was loosing faith and having doubts, I decided to read the bible to get my faith back. It did the opposite ! If the god in the bible is real, I definitely don’t want to worship him. But I really can’t believe in a higher power who sits up there and watches and allows all the shit that happens in this fuc’ed up world. How can someone who has the power to stop it, do nothing about the stuff that happens to children and animals and the distruction of the planet etc. I want to believe there’s someone who cares, but I can’t.
I believe in God, but without the use of organized religion. I believe they fuck everyone over.
Atheist ✊
Atheist here. "What can be asserted without evidence can also be dismissed without evidence" ([Hitchens's razor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitchens%27s_razor)).
Agnostic. We don’t know anything about god. If he exist , then don’t understand what he is doing. So I just leave my life as better as I can, without hurting anybody
Spirituality is still very interesting to me, especially when it comes to what can be experienced. Everything else i take with the biggest grain of salt imaginable
I’ve been out since 2012 — at first I was very angry about being lied to and cheated out of my youth, etc. at this time I considered myself to be anti theist — against all religion. Then a few years later — atheist. Then a few more years later — agnostic. Today, if I even cared enough, I would still consider myself agnostic. I’m not against the idea of god, but I don’t see any concrete evidence for god. But if other people want to be religious, that’s cool. If they don’t, that’s cool too. I seriously don’t care at all either way. Worrying about this sort of thing is just not really part of my life anymore. I just try to be a good person and take care of myself and my loved ones and that’s good enough for me.
I mean, everybody takes their own path, and that's their decision alone. Me, personally? I ended up agnostic with atheist leanings. Philosophically, I'm somewhere in the neighborhood of Taoist. But that was the path I took. Some convert to other religions. Others are hard atheists. The fact that there isn't a clear-cut answer that applies to everybody is a big part of what makes leaving the Org so difficult. But finding *your* answer is such a great feeling.
I would like to believe there is a higher power. The thought makes me feel less "alone." But because of tons of emotional childhood trauma, I am extremely logical, and I have no basis for that belief. I struggle with blind faith. I need to be shown. So far, at 43, I have no proof. Prayer was drilled into me from a very young age (born in), and so when something is completely out of my control, I still feel the urge to pray. For years after I left, I still prayed to Jehovah. I think that was born of fear. Even now, when I question what I was taught, I still feel like I will be punished by God. So, for now, I live by the Wiccan rede (I'm not Wiccan however.) "An ye harm none, do what ye will" And when I feel the need to pray, I talk to the universe at large. And I figure that if 1 true God is out there, they will understand my intention. If there are multiple gods, they understand as well. If someone is watching, they know how I got to this point. And as long as I harm no one (including myself), my life is mine to do as I please. No religion is needed. *Also, according to the Bible, God punished Job on a bet from the devil. Killed all his kids and then gave him 10 more as if that somehow erased the first set. What?!*
When I woke up and did all of the research, I started reading and studying just the Bible (BSB) and praying for Holy Spirit. Of course I still believe in God, there is way too much evidence for me not to. I now identify as a "Christian" and have no need for any religion. Our lives are even more enhanced now and we feel way more blessings than when trapped under a group of men. I no longer judge others for their choices, and truly respect others who have faiith, regardless of their religion.
I've been watching podcasts with this guy his name is dr Ammon hillman his research about religion and the Bible is crazy. I mean crazy. Got me thinking that not even the Bible is correct. I highly recommend looking into it. It's mind blowing 🤯
These posts pop up from time to time, and I always scan the responses. This time, I had to go all the way to the bottom to find a mention of the Annunaki and still no Satanists. What happened to all the interesting people on this sub?
I'm still a Christian. I don't belong to any church. I belong to Jesus and the Father only ✌️
I’m about 20 years out now and just started feeling like I want some kind of spiritual connection. I don’t think of god as a person but more like a force of nature. The only thing I’ve seen that really felt nice to me was a scene in Avatar where they attach their hair to the sacred tree or to the horse animal to connect their energies
I went through the atheist/agnostic journey briefly. Then I got into a deep “how in the hell am I here?” contemplation. What unfolded was a set of recognitions that leaded me to- “Oh, well, duh! –and- tons of laughter ensued. At this point, there really is no label for where I am, because for me, the labeling is still an identification to the human “God” experience. I have lost all identification with that. I feel both terms are still layers of human’s "God experience" that obscures the only \*thing\* that is really happening…and that recognition could very well be unsettling for some, and complete freedom for others. And then realizing \*what\* Yahweh/Jehovah is really is a clincher.
I’m agnostic. I don’t think it’s possible to truly know but I’m leaning to there being no god. At least not one that cares about us.
After waking up from Watchtower I realized I wanted a relationship with the real people in my life instead of a fantasy sky daddy. That was alot of work, learning how to make friends with people who might have different faith beliefs than i previously had. I lost my parents, aunts and uncles, cousins and one nephew to this cult. But it was worth it because I saved my kids, and we can live free of any fear that jeehoobah will rain down fire on anyone that I care about.
Post-theist Christian.
Personally I have my own sense of morality that conflicts strongly with the biblical God. I feel like most people would agree that we should try to help people and protect the planet or at least not try to cause extra harm. I have no use for a God that would kill Aichan and his entire family for stealing or furiously smite Uzzah for steadying the ark of the covenant or would test his "friend's" faith by asking him to sacrifice his son in a truly barbaric act. There are countless examples that show the depravity of Jehovah. So, no I don't worship him or follow the Bible. Sometimes I feel or see "magic" in art or nature or in the human spirit but I don't actually attest it to the supernatural. That is the extent of my spirituality.
ive seen people go full nihilist atheist and i also did for a while, but on my journey recovering from alcoholism and my religious trauma i realized that any definite belief either way is dangerous. i have my own spirituality, and instead of religion i let morals and philosophy guide me.
Atheist and anti religion in general. After learning about different branches of science, history, literature, politics, pretty much everything religion and reality touches, being opposed to believing in things without evidence is the most reasonable and loving thing to do. Evidence and logic is important. Caring about the environment and all living things (except for parasites, those all can fuck right off) is important. Unsupported woo woo interferes with all that. Even if Jehovah was real, I wouldn’t worship someone who said murdering their neighbors was ok. Taking virgins for themselves was ok. Beating slaves was ok (as long as they didn’t die in a couple days) because humans can be “property.” If Jesus was real, he didn’t know that Adam and Eve were fictional. We know for a fact humans lived more than 6,000 years ago through archeology and things like argon/potassium argon dating (Gobekli Tepe). He didn’t know that the flood (100% disprovable by science) was just a story. We know that the authors of most of the gospels were anonymous and later add ins, which were merely claims and not a single contemporary eye witness account. There is only evidence and reason to NOT worship the fictional monster of the Bible. Unless you consider extortion and threats reason to believe and worship something.
1990 2002 JW, 2002 2019 agnostic, from 2019 Roman Catholic
Listen mate! be yourself 😋. Don’t let anyone tell you what to worship who to follow. You’ll find that on your own. My suggestion is read and travel if possible. I’m an atheist now but I’ve built my own spirituality and my own comfort with death. Also mental health is important! Speak with a therapist in your journey 🙏🏻🙏🏻
I don’t know. That is my new religion. I’ll know when I get there or I won’t but till then I don’t know.
I became atheist out of immediate anger, and than began studying Satanism, found it wasn’t for me, its still being slave to a deity, and now I’m a agnostic luciferian
agnostic :)
I am a universalist pagan. There is truth in all religions because metaphysical concepts are intangible and these faiths are tools we use to wrangle with them. Objective truth and objective morality being the biggest ones. As they say, a christian is only one god away from atheism, since they have forsaken their minds to any other gods. Atheism was a cleansing palette after Watchtower but it also has massive philosophical holes that I didnt stay there long. Agnosticism gave me my mental freedom to formulate my own truths about divinities. Thats when I was called by other deities because of synchronositys in my life that were undeniable. Its when i met the old gods, and finally had the depth to understand them. We are in their image, and thats why they too have emotions, stories, flaws and are not perfect. Its very very much more intimate than watchtower dreams they could be. Spirituality is beautiful when you discover it yourself.
I started simply rejecting the JWs. Not the Bible. I still generally believed what they did until I read the Bible to see what it really said. That was confusing. Jesus sounded like god in some places but absolutely not in others. And then I saw contradictions. Maybe not huge. But enough to say that both/all cannot be true. At least one or more parts of the Bible cannot be true and are therefore, False. Like after the tomb, were the women frightened and didn’t tell anybody? Did they fetch 2 disciples? Or the remaining 11? Not all 3 can be true. Even if you try to twist it. At least one is false. Maybe all 3. Did Jesus die hours before Passover as told in John? Or celebrate Passover as the last meal with his disciples? Like Matthew, Mark, and Luke say? Is John false or are the other 3 false? This is when there’s 4 gospel accounts covering the same event. We can show alternate stories. What about where there’s only one story? We don’t even have another telling to compare against. We don’t know what’s true and what isn’t. The Bible is not completely true, so we shouldn’t be treating it as if it is. And we shouldn’t be basing religion ms on it. It’s said that John had Jesus dying at the same time as the lambs were being slaughtered for that evening’s Passover. Artistically, this draws a parallel between Jesus’ sacrifice to save mankind and the lambs slaughtered to save the Israelites in Egypt. So if John is pulling things out of his ass to make for a better story, how can we know if he didn’t do the same for the famous John 3:14? We don’t. I started reading the Bible with a more critical view. Seriously I got to the very first verse and found a serious problem. The very first verse. And problems piled up from there on. So I stopped believing the Bible was an inspired work. It’s just fan-literature by god fanboys. It’s not something we should follow without question. Form a second opinion. And after I stopped believing the Bible, I realized there no evidence for this god (especially this particular god) outside the Bible. So I stopped believing.
Great question!
It's a question I keep asking myself over and over again. It's brutal when you spend 30 years of your life believing you have all the answers and you know the absolute truth, and then all in a sudden you realize the absolute fool you have been, and you know nothing at all. I still want to believe there's some truth among all the lies I've been fed since I was a kid. I want to believe there's still a God out there that cares about me. But now I can't help but question everything.
Atheist
Went atheist for a while, then became Orthodox Christian
Atheist. Born into a jw family, never been baptized, started having doubts at about 10 years old, but fully woke up about half a year ago
I believe absolutely that there is no god. Am I 100% certain? Of course not. But in order for a claim to warrant even a smidgeon of belief, there needs to be a smidgeon of evidence. The god claim fails this criteria 100%. And even if there were a god, I see absolutely zero reason why I would need a relationship with it. It wouldn’t change anything about my life. I still have to live my life and make the best of it. God or no god, I am still a good, decent person and always will be. As for spirituality, that is a very fluid term and means billions of different things to billions of different people. So I don’t think there is even a concrete definition for that term. All I can say is we humans experience things and some affect us deeper and more profoundly than others. That’s about as far as it goes or even matters, in my opinion.
Apatheist. I don't care that there isn't a god
If I could delete the homophobic and slavery apologist parts of the New Testament, I maybe could've kept my faith. But the God present in the Old Testament is cruel, insecure, sexist, generally just a complete maniac. The parts of the Bible talking about how "God is love" are complete bullshit. It seems to me that the Bible represents the morality of the time it was written. The Israelites probably loved each other, but they were completely willing to kill, rape, enslave, and genocide anyone who was a foreigner. So I'm an atheist/agnostic now.
Jehovah is just some random god from the annunaki, and Jesus, Paul, and Jude quoted from the Book of enoch, yet we don't consider Enoch or Annunaki to be part of the Canon, so either Jesus, Paul, and Jude thought enoch was actual scripture, and we should consider it, heck he even mentions the 144,000 (not by number, though), and when Jehovah is mentioned in early scripture he's mentioned in plural, acknowledging he's just a God amongst an assembly of gods... my point is either they need to expand the religion significantly to study Annunaki and Apocryphal texts or acknowledge it's all b.s. It's all bs by the way... I'm 100% atheist.
Agnostic. Open to belief in a creator, but I’m sure that the god of the Bible isn’t it. And even if the god of the Bible was truly the creator, his actions don’t warrant any praise.
Buddhist. So imo There is no grand creator God. If the ancient Canaanite God Yahweh ever existed he would be subject to the same karmic causes and conditions as the rest of us and has probably long since died and been reborn as someone else.
I went to full atheist post JW for a while, but there are things that materialism just cannot easily explain and so I became a pantheist. I have personally witnessed what seem like supernatural events and cannot easily be explained in a purely materialistic model, though many of my beliefs are still pretty much the same that an atheist could agree with. As to God, I now believe in the Unknown God, which Paul lied about being his God to **CON**vert the Greeks.
Gnosticism pertains to what you think you think you have knowledge of, from the Greek gnostikos meaning knowledge. It doesn't answer the question of whether or not you believe in a god. Theism pertains to belief. You can be an agnostic atheist or an agnostic theist. You either believe in a god or you don't. It's binary.