Another Introduction :)

[Kent856]

Hello everyone! Not sure how many Jehovahs Witnesses are on here but now you have one more. Hope thats okay

So, a bit of backround info. I'm fairly young at 21, so I grew up at the age when evolution was widely taught as fact in schools. At the same time however, I was also given a fine christian upbringing by my mother. I'm fairly academically minded and deeply interested in the sciences. This caused many of my friends and teachers alike to be genuinely confused as to how I could believe in a fairy tale such as God.

I label myself as a realist, not being optimistic or pessimistic. I apply this to my belief also. I am aware of the unavoidable bias that I am subject to because of my upbringing. However, bias in either direction is unavoidable for anyone. I simply try to be aware of it when making decisions about my beliefs.

If anyone asks me, "Do you know for sure God exists?", then I will say No. I believe God exists because of a myriad of reasons and subtle decisions I have made for myself throughout the years.

Anyways, now you know a bit about me I joined this forum because I love discussing faiths and beliefs of all kinds! I love testing my own beliefs for leaks to make sure they're sound and right. If not, I'll change, simple as that.

I look forward to talking with you.

P.s questions are encouraged and welcome

 

[Sundance]

Peace and blessings to you, Kent!

 

[Jumi]

Welcome to RF! I hope you like it here

 

[Kent856]

Peace and blessings to you, Kent!

DJ, thank you for the warm welcome I've never heard of your faith before. Do you believe that all religions lead to the true God?

 

[LuisDantas]

Welcome to RF, @Kent856 ! I hope you enjoy the premises.

 

[Onyx]

Feel free to partake in the welcome cake.

 

[Skwim]

Welcome, Kent856

Curious. Is evolution troubling for you? If so, there's a specific forum for discussing it. It's called Evolution Vs. Creationism, and is in the Religious Debates section.


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[Sundance]

DJ, thank you for the warm welcome I've never heard of your faith before. Do you believe that all religions lead to the true God?

Good question, Kent! Bahá’u’lláh teaches that:

#1) All religions, except a few which are the outcome of human perversity, are reflections of God's Will and Purpose for humankind.

#2) All people, of whatever race or religion, derive their Inspiration from the same Heavenly Source.

#3) The major religions, especially, are considered by Bahá’ís to be Revealed from God.

 

[Windwalker]

so I grew up at the age when evolution was widely taught as fact in schools.

To be correct, it has never been taught as "fact". It has always been taught as accepted science. There is no acceptable science that rivals it. There are no "controversies" in science about it. It is still taught as science in school, because it is science.

At the same time however, I was also given a fine christian upbringing by my mother. I'm fairly academically minded and deeply interested in the sciences. This caused many of my friends and teachers alike to be genuinely confused as to how I could believe in a fairy tale such as God.

There is no contradiction between belief in God and accepting evolution. I'm not sure why anyone would question that. I could see them questioning someone who is interested in science rejecting the vast, overwhelming majority of all scientists in practically every single field of science who accept evolution as if they are the ones believing in a fairytale. Now that is what's more of an oddity. Hopefully one you could straighten out for us.

Anyway, welcome to the site! Hope you enjoy the community here.

 

[Kent856]

Curious. Is evolution troubling for you? If so, there's a specific forum for discussing it.

I wouldn't say it troubles me, no. I believe in adaptation by natural selection. I avoid using the term evolution there because of what it implies. I accept that the species within a particular family can change, sometimes vastly. Also, if someone were to convince me of evolution, it wouldn't sway many of my other core beliefs because of it.

Good question, Kent! Bahá’u’lláh teaches that:

#1) All religions, except a few which are the outcome of human perversity, are reflections of God's Will and Purpose for humankind.

#2) All people, of whatever race or religion, derive their Inspiration from the same Heavenly Source.

#3) The major religions, especially, are considered by Bahá’ís to be Revealed from God.

Thanks for your answers I hope to learn more about your beliefs soon.

To be correct, it has never been taught as "fact". It has always been taught as accepted science. There is no acceptable science that rivals it. There are no "controversies" in science about it. It is still taught as science in school, because it is science.

Sorry for my terminology I am aware there is no such thing as a fact in scientific terms. The difference between accepted scientific theory and legitimate fact was never distinguished while I was at school. As a result, many of my classmates and many other children in the world learn these theories as facts.

There is contradiction between belief in God and accepting legitimate science. I'm not sure why anyone would question that. I could see them questioning someone who is interested in science rejecting the vast overwhelming voices of all scientists who accept evolution as if they are the ones believing in a fairytale. Now that is what's more of an oddity.

I understand your opinion completely, as I hear it voiced regularly. I can also understand why you would come to that conclusion. However, I assure you that science does not conflict with my beliefs in any way and vice versa. Also, in social experiments a majority vote can be seen to possess a great chance of being correct, it is not quite so in the scientific community. I don't want to make it seem trivial, but there are always "trends" at one particular time or another. I agree many scientists do their best to come to appropriate conclusions with limited information. But limited information is the problem.

 

[Knight of Albion]

A very warm welcome to the forum, dear soul

 

[savagewind]

Hello everyone! Not sure how many Jehovahs Witnesses are on here but now you have one more. Hope thats okay

So, a bit of backround info. I'm fairly young at 21, so I grew up at the age when evolution was widely taught as fact in schools. At the same time however, I was also given a fine christian upbringing by my mother. I'm fairly academically minded and deeply interested in the sciences. This caused many of my friends and teachers alike to be genuinely confused as to how I could believe in a fairy tale such as God.

I label myself as a realist, not being optimistic or pessimistic. I apply this to my belief also. I am aware of the unavoidable bias that I am subject to because of my upbringing. However, bias in either direction is unavoidable for anyone. I simply try to be aware of it when making decisions about my beliefs.

If anyone asks me, "Do you know for sure God exists?", then I will say No. I believe God exists because of a myriad of reasons and subtle decisions I have made for myself throughout the years.

Anyways, now you know a bit about me I joined this forum because I love discussing faiths and beliefs of all kinds! I love testing my own beliefs for leaks to make sure they're sound and right. If not, I'll change, simple as that.

I look forward to talking with you.

P.s questions are encouraged and welcome

Hello and welcome. We have one very prominent Jehovah's Witness on the forum. Her user name is @Deeje. In case you do not know, you can use the @ sign to signal a person that you have mentioned him or her.

Deeje and I are nemeses. The reason why is because I was a Jehovah's Witness for about twenty years, but I suspect that the governing body has wrongly taken the place of Jesus Christ. The Watchtower has taught that a person who leaves the Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses leaves Jehovah. This is simply not true. I still believe in Jehovah and I obey Jesus Christ for my salvation. I have not taken up the trinity to believe in it. I do not believe that dead people suffer in hell. I have many scriptural questions that I have aimed at the JWs on line here. They refuse to discuss them though.

 

[Windwalker]

I understand your opinion completely, as I hear it voiced regularly. I can also understand why you would come to that conclusion.

Holy Bananas! I must have skipped typing the word "no" in my sentence! What I actually said is completely the opposite of what I typed. What I meant to say is this, "There is NO contradiction between belief in God and accepting legitimate science." I'll go edit my post, and go read the hole paragraph again with that as the first sentence. I think your response doesn't fit what I actually think, which is the opposite of what I typed.

 

[Kent856]

Holy Bananas! I must have skipped typing the word "no" in my sentence!

Hahaha it all makes perfect sense now thanks for clarifying! As for the evolution thing, I'll get my thoughts together and give you a proper reply some time soon.

@savagewind Thanks for the tip i am super mega interested in your story! Its not often I get to speak to an ex Jw. Not to say I agree but I can see your reasoning for sure. I don't like to use labels much and im a firm believer that anyone can serve God as long as they follow the core principles in the Bible no labels or names or organisations necessary. I look forward to chatting more in future.
P.s feel free to pose me any difficult questions you might have

 

[Revoltingest]

Greetings!

Both of my JW friends (who also migrated here from another forum with me) have all fled RF.
I hope they're doing OK.

Anyway, join us for a celebratory feast....

If you're not a fan of haggis, then drink more of the scotch.

 

[Kent856]

@Revoltingest Thanks I love anything strong but partial to drinking Rum at home.

 

[Revoltingest]

@Revoltingest Thanks I love anything strong but partial to drinking Rum at home.

Take your pick!

 

[savagewind]

Hahaha it all makes perfect sense now thanks for clarifying! As for the evolution thing, I'll get my thoughts together and give you a proper reply some time soon.

@savagewind Thanks for the tip i am super mega interested in your story! Its not often I get to speak to an ex Jw. Not to say I agree but I can see your reasoning for sure. I don't like to use labels much and im a firm believer that anyone can serve God as long as they follow the core principles in the Bible no labels or names or organisations necessary. I look forward to chatting more in future.
P.s feel free to pose me any difficult questions you might have

Thank you. I do not think the questions are difficult, but I think that to answer some of them you must deviate from governing body teaching.
For instance, I think that to make a disciple for Jesus is not humanly possible, but it is written that Jesus has commanded it. I say that he did not command it and that the implication was added by the Catholic Church many years ago. If you look up the Greek, you can see that the word make has been added. I think Jesus plainly says, disciple the nations. How does a person obey that? To stay by Jesus, be taught by him (Matthew 18:20 Matthew 28:20), exhibit godly qualities, teach (if it be God's will) and baptize those who are favorably inclined. THEY will argue that it is the same as making a disciple. I think that is a critical mistake. It is changing the word of God imo. People think that I want to change it. I don't. I think people have changed it and that it should be restored to its original. How? Holy Spirit. How else?

 

[Kent856]

@savagewind Thanks for the question I'll give you a proper answer tomorrow as it's very late for me now.

Just to clarify, are you saying that Jesus did not mean for us to make disciples of people of all the nations?

I assume you are thinking of Matt 28:19 - "Go, therefore, and make disciples of people of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy spirit". - Nwt

By the looks of things even if 'make' was removed the part about baptising people is still valid and a clear command.

Sorry if I'm misunderstanding

 

[savagewind]

@savagewind Thanks for the question I'll give you a proper answer tomorrow as it's very late for me now.

Just to clarify, are you saying that Jesus did not mean for us to make disciples of people of all the nations?

I assume you are thinking of Matt 28:19 - "Go, therefore, and make disciples of people of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy spirit". - Nwt

By the looks of things even if 'make' was removed the part about baptising people is still valid and a clear command.

Sorry if I'm misunderstanding

Actually, I think that to make another person believe in God and obey God is not minding your own business. Do you? 1 Thessalonians 4:11
As you answer, please watch yourself defend the tradition of Babylon the Great and the Watchtower.

@Kent856 Baptism is not for making a disciple. It is for the forgiveness of sins.