Those of you who remained religious after leaving JWs:

Awakened07

I was just curious how that transition was?

Did you simply start attending some other church right away? If so, how did you choose which church to attend? And what religion, for that matter?

Did any of you first have a period where you were an agnostic or atheist, and then after a while 'got religion' again? If so, how did you choose what to believe in, or what church etc. to go to?

Did you first attend some other church, but after a while "slided" into a personal faith with no distinct religion?

Lots of choices here, I guess. Just interested in hearing other people's stories.

reneeisorym

Did you simply start attending some other church right away? If so, how did you choose which church to attend? And what religion, for that matter?

I started attending church 9 months after I left. I went with a friend from work. I enjoyed her church but i was about to move and didn't want to get settled into anything only to move. I had to move to get away from seeing JWs all of the time. I choose the religion by deciding what I believed first and then found a church that believed the same. I ended up becoming Baptist but then my beliefs changed as I learned and now I am attending a Baptist church and I believe like a Presbyterian. They aren't that much different for it to really matter and I hate to leave my friends so I haven't moved.

Did any of you first have a period where you were an agnostic or atheist, and then after a while 'got religion' again? If so, how did you choose what to believe in, or what church etc. to go to?

I did have an agnostic period. I choose what to believe in by reading a lot of books and spending hours researching. I made my choice based not on feelings but what the evidence said was truth.

Did you first attend some other church, but after a while "slided" into a personal faith with no distinct religion?

I don't think I am real worried about what religion I am. I go to church for fellowship and only go to Bible studies that come strait from scripture and are not a "book study". I think a church SHOULD be a collective group of people with a personal faith.

Awakened07

Thanks. When I formed the questions, I was thinking people would have different stories and every person would have one of these, but I guess - as you show - it is possible to have had several of them as things progressed.

By the way, this will most likely be a thread that I don't really participate much in; I'll mostly just sit back and see what your stories are.

Junction-Guy

Well I was born and raised a JW, I never liked it at all, but still believed it was the truth, or the closest thing to it. I doubted everything I was taught, yet still thought this was possibly the true religion. I hated all of the prohibitions this religion had, and was always looking for a way out.

I had family in Kentucky that were church-goers, Baptists and Church of Christ. They are the kindest, most loving family around, and they treated their children with respect, this always made a good impression on me.

Once I left the JW's or was at least comfortable enough to attend a church, I started going to church in Kentucky, and I have enjoyed it ever since. No regrets whatsoever. I was saved in 1999, and my walk with the Lord has been rocky (no doubt due to my JW upbringing) But I am happy to be a Christian and I feel completely at home in church in Kentucky----which is a rarity for me as I have always felt out of place in this world.

Narkissos

I started attending a moderate Evangelical church just a few weeks after I was df'd for "apostasy".

Over the next decade, I drifted to the more "liberal" end of Protestantism and then out of church altogether.

I don't regret any of it. It was my own path, at my own pace, I suppose.

Gordy

I've always said I left a man-made organisation not God.

After leaving I tried a couple of small "churches" who met in halls they hired.

At one of these I accepted Christ into my life and became a Christian.

Then I was led to go to a Pentecostal church. Strangely it was one I always wanted to know more about when I was a JW.

The Pastor has always said that relgion has done the most damage to the Christian faith.

You are there to worship Christ not some church or organisation.

oldflame

You are there to worship Christ not some church or organisation.

This is where I am at now. I tried several different churches after coming out but found that to many had legalism in their doctrine that was not scriptural. So today I keep my faith to myself and do not attend church. If I were to find a church that was not judgemental and did not create rules unscriptural I would probably go but that is a chore in itself.

Awakened07

Thanks for the replies. I'm not sure where I was going with this - I just wanted to hear how people came to a different conclusion than I did, I guess.

Vinny

I have been turned off by organized religion overall after being a dedicated JW for over 15 years and recently leaving due to seeing the real JW picture. But I believe I am much closer to God, and more spiritual today than when I was a JW. Many JW's seem to lean more on, and put more faith in the organization than on the creator. Not the case any longer for me.

journey-on

It was like a personal evolution for me. I was busy with kids and a busy business when I left the JWs.

I quit thinking much about God or religion. I know this is going to sound cliche', but after some

time, I started getting more spiritual rather than religious. I ditched the fear of looking into other things, realized

the demons weren't going to possess me or something, and began looking at a lot of Eastern philosphies

and metaphysical disciplines. I read, studied, researched, and came to the realization that God is so much

more than a spirit creature that you have to answer to.

Now I'm in a phase where I'm reconciling Science and God and finding more and more that they blend in a

perfect union. They don't have to be mutually exclusive and science is actually explaining a lot of the reasons

to believe in a Omni-present Creator to me. There's more, but I'll leave it there for now. Thanks for asking.

Those of you who remained religious after leaving JWs:

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