Sorry Wanderer, but I'm afraid I can't support your belief about JWD atheists either. The WTS did not destroy my faith in God, though it seems like that's the first conclusion many people jump to when they hear my story. There are more than 1500 denominations of Christianity in the U.S. alone, not to mention other religions. I could have converted to any one that I wanted. Like someone else said, my brain bears the responsibility for my atheism. I don't mean that I'm smarter than anyone else, only that I thought about it and atheism remains my ultimate conclusion.
Everything I know says that the only sort of God that makes much sense (to me at least) is a deistic, "hands off" kind of God. I have no reason to believe in such a being, but it seems to be the least inconsistent with the evidence as I understand it. The Christian God, along with all the others I've heard of, doesn't jive with the evidence from my point of view. I'm not even talking about scientific evidence yet. When I heap that on top of my philosophical/observational doubts, there's just no contest. For me, secularism wins.
Note that I'm just explaining the gist of views here. I don't mean to pick on those who do believe.
I honestly have no idea how the Society could destroy someone's faith in the manner you describe. As you said, they are hardly the best of examples, nor are they the only example. All ex-Witnesses should be aware of these points, so letting the Society destroy their faith doesn't make a lot of sense. I can see how someone might feel that they've had their fill of religion immediately after they've left the Society, but that's not atheism. I can even see how they'd blame God if they chose to hold him accountable for their mistreatments. But blaming God isn't the same as doubting his existence. It's quite the opposite in fact. I can't lay blame on something I don't believe exists in the first place.
If you wish to understand more about our real reasons, you might want to do some research. There's plenty of stuff available online. I like Austin Cline's site at About.com as it seems to be the most thorough. His articles can get very in-depth, though. You may not feel like spending that much time on it. But checking out something like that could dispell any myths you might have about atheists or atheism. Most people seem to get it wrong and leap to all the wrong conclusions without trying to find out more, or they try and then don't believe what we tell them any way.
Oh well. What ya gonna do?
Best wishes,
IsaacJ
