I was raised in the evil cult known as Jehovah's Witnesses. I can't say Jehovah's Witnesses without saying evil cult in the same sentence. The proof is in the pudding. After spending close to four decades in the cult, I can tell you a little bit about it. And I see where I have gone and how I have prospered in the >15 years since I left, and I can see where the people I left behind have gone, which is nowhere.
But I don't want to drag you down with negativity and puke all over you with a "bad experience." I have tried to look objectively at my experience and have moved on with my life. Dwelling on being a victim is not how I want to live my life. But my experience has given me a different perspective on how I view the world and I have tried to understand how I can use that perspective to my advantage.
While working as a night manager at a towing company several years ago, a young man about 20 years old worked as a dispatcher. There were some busy times but there was also slow times where we could talk about everything. He was a very bright guy and had some interesting insights.
He recommended a book which I read called, "Losing Faith In Faith." The author had lived his early life as a pentacostal, had preached in the park as a teenager, and finally ended up writing over 100 spiritual songs and traveled the world spreading his music. He claimed that he had more copyrights on christian songs than anybody else in the world. But things changed and he eventually became an atheist, started an atheist organization, and even appeared on Oprah.
We had a similar experience in that we were misled by other men's thoughts, believed what we were told by these men, and then acted according to our beliefs. We subsequently found out that what we were told and believed in was not true and not a successful, fulfilling way to live.
His story was fascinating, but he made a point that I have never heard from anyone else in my 55 years on the planet. Once heard, the point seems so basic that I have wondered why it isn't common knowledge. It has affected how I look at the world and how I make decisions. The point is this:
BELIEVING is different than KNOWING. You BELIEVE what cannot be proven. If you KNOW something, BELIEF is not necessary.
For instance, I don't have to BELIEVE that the sun will rise in the eastern sky tomorrow. (OK, the earth is actually turning to eventually expose the sun. Cut me some slack here). I KNOW the sun will rise based on physics and my minimal understanding of the cosmos. I don't have to BELIEVE that if I jump off the roof of my house that I will fall to the patio. I KNOW it, and if you don't you have a problem with physics and reality.
The reason that this is important is because people routinely confuse BELIEVING with KNOWING. Religion can't exist without BELIEVING. You have to have FAITH because you cannot prove what you BELIEVE. FAITH is not necessary if you KNOW. But people act as if their BELIEF is actually a fact that they KNOW to be true.
For instance, BELIEVING in a god is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Millions of people also BELIEVE in extraterrestrials, astrology, water witching, fate, flat-earth theories, chupacabras, spilling salt, bad luck, black cats, walking under a ladder, broken mirrors, stepping on cracks, Friday the 13th, women on ships being bad luck...the list is endless. They BELIEVE that somehow we can run debts in the trillions of dollars and politicians will find a way out, that we will "innovate" and still have a sound economy, while having zero knowledge about money and how economies work. But that is another blog.
Since the BELIEF is elevated to the status of KNOWING, people who are Jehovah's Witnesses sacrifice their entire life to march door to door selling pamphlets and trying to save the world. I would estimate that the high school drop out rate in that religion is 90% based on what I saw over several decades. Why get a high school diploma if Armageddon is coming next week? While the cult officially says you should stay in at least long enough to get a diploma, dropping out is not looked down upon or condemned and is generally even considered a positive step because now you can spend more time saving people. Oh yeah, and don't forget to take a good stack of Watchtowers with you while you are saving them.
After reading this book, I have basically assumed the attitude that I don't BELIEVE in anything. I will get arguments about this statement because there is more than one definition to the word BELIEVE. I do have convictions, and you must have some trust that the other person will stop their car at the red light, but what I mean is I see no gain or logic in BELIEVING in anything, a religion, or in other words, what another man tells me is true, philosophy, or whatever. I might even think something is likely, but I realize the important fact that I do not KNOW it to be a fact. Odds are one thing, physics is another.
An example is the argument between evolution and creation. In my mind, both are theories and require faith since neither are provable. Therefore, I choose not to believe either theory. I don't have enough information. Maybe there is a third theory! I really don't have to KNOW the answer to live a happy and prosperous life so I don't worry about it. If I have to BELIEVE something, then pardon me, where is the exit? If you choose to BELIEVE then I say, right on! BELIEVE to your heart's content. I sincerely hope it works out well for you. Just don't be puzzled at my lack of BELIEF. My decision is based on logic. Your decision is based on FAITH because it is not provable. (To quote one of my favorite musicians, Warren Zevon, in Desperados Under The Eaves, "And if California slides into the ocean, Like the mystics and statistics say it will, I predict this motel will be standing, Until I pay my bill.")
So I thought I would share this simple yet powerful observation with you today. If you look at the differences between BELIEVING and KNOWING in your life experience, I'm sure you can see examples where people have made bad decisions, possibly even yourself. Or maybe I am all wet! If my position is not logical, leave me a comment. I remain open to all suggestions to improve my life. I only know that my life is orders of magnitude better since I stopped BELIEVING. The proof is in the pudding, no? For some reason the pudding has all the answers.
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