RE: JW looking clarity followup
April 17, 2015 at 7:18 pm
(This post was last modified: April 17, 2015 at 7:24 pm by Simon Moon.)
(April 17, 2015 at 6:56 pm)nicanica123 Wrote: For starters, when I said that I'm not looking to debate, I was referring to people like Goon that doesn't even know what Jehovah's Witnesses believe. I have doubts in god and I'm putting my thoughts out there for discussion. I do find it interesting that most people here say they would not serve god of the bible even if he proved his existence. The only way that I can quickly describe why I believe god allows suffering today, is that its like if someone crappy gets voted president. Generally, you'll have to wait 4 years before anything can change. God did not create robots. He created beings with free will. They chose to not vote for him but in themselves. Satan promised Adam and Eve that they would not die. Almost every religion in the world says that you continue live even after you die. Jehovah's Witnesses teach that you are dead. Really, the bible teaches that. God consistently demanded that there be no images used in worship of him. He always forbade idols. Why wouldn't humans have an idol for their masses to worship, knowing how much easier that is as a human? Those are some thoughts that come up as to why its hard to just have a black or white feelings on this. I accept that I will never know everything. If god exists, there are always questions that I can have from just not knowing what happened thousands or millions of years ago. If god does not, then I'll never know why there is something rather than nothing among other things.
And one last thing about JW's, I know they can be annoying but just try engaging with them once when they stop. Don't try to prove your point. Just let them express themselves and then express yourself
It is great that you are questioning your indoctrinated, faith based beliefs.
The following may help:
First you have to decide if you really care if your beliefs are true, or at least likely to be true, and to eliminate as many false beliefs as possible.
If you really care, you have to decide what it the best, most reliable method to figure this out. Is it best to base beliefs on demonstrable evidence and valid/sound logic? Or is faith the most reliable method?
It is the contention of the vast majority of atheists, that basing ones beliefs on evidence and sound/valid logic is the single most reliable path to truth. And in situations where those things may be lacking, the best answer then becomes "I don't know, lets find out", not "lets quote some ancient text, or make stuff up".
This method has lead to every single advancement in human history.
You'd believe if you just opened your heart" is a terrible argument for religion. It's basically saying, "If you bias yourself enough, you can convince yourself that this is true." If religion were true, people wouldn't need faith to believe it -- it would be supported by good evidence.
