Name: (First name only please) The.
Oh what the heck...I'll give you my last name too: Oracle.
Gender: (Male, Female) Male
Age: just over 40
Start of the Questions:
How were you introduced to Jehovah's Witnesses: (Born in, Parents converted at early age, converted early in life, converted in your 20's, converted in your 30's, converted later in life)
BORN IN
How did you leave the religion: (Disfellowshipped, Disassociated, Faded Away, Left Outright)
STOPPED GOING BECAUSE IT WAS NOT THE TRUTH
What Age did you leave?:
Just over 40
Were you Baptized: (Yes, No)
YES
What General reason did you leave the religion: (Fornicated, Drugs, Wanted more Freedom, Didn't Believe it was Truth, Depressed, Felt overwhelmed with all the things you needed to do, Other *Please Explain*)
DISCOVERED IT WASN'T THE TRUTH. DISCOVERED THAT IT CAUSES MORE HARM THAN GOOD.
How did you feel about the doctrine before leaving: (Believed whole-heartedly, Believed for the most part, didn't think about it, had doubts, felt it had alot of wrongs, felt it was completely wrong)
BELIEVED IT. BECAME AN EXPERT AT RATIONALIZING THE ABSURD.
Did your feelings about the doctrine effect the way you left?: (Yes, No)
YES.
If you were disfellowshipped for sin, did your feelings on the doctrine effect you sinning in the first place? (Yes, No)
N/A
Did you research the religion's teachings after leaving? (Yes, No)
BEFORE LEAVING
What are your feelings on the doctrine of the religion since leaving? (It is still truth, There are some problems, There are alot of problems, They are totally wrong)
THE DOCTRINE IS A COMDEDY OF ERRORS AND FALSE TEACHINGS MIXED IN WITH SOME WELL MEANING CONCEPTS.
How do you feel about the organization since leaving?: (They're God's channel, They're a good organization overall, They have some problems, There are alot of problems, They are Totally wrong, They are evil)
THE ORGANIZATION IS INADVERTENTLY EVIL IN THAT IT CAUSES PAIN AND SUFFERING BOTH EMOTIONALLY AND PHYSICALLY. IT LEADS TO THE PRODUCTION OF UNEDUCATED PEOPLE WHICH WEAKEN OUR SOCIETY AND PUT UNECESSARY STRAIN ON THE PRODUCTIVE MEMBERS OF SOCIETY.
How do you feel about the people since leaving?: (They're God's chosen people, They're great people, They have a few problems, They have alot of problems, They're hypocrites, They're completely blind, They're misguided but great people, They're evil people)
I LOVE MANY OF THE PEOPLE. I ONLY FEEL SORROW FOR THE ONES I CARE ABOUT. THEY ARE BLIND AND SOME OF THEM ARE GREAT PEOPLE. OTHERS ARE NOT SO GREAT. THEIR PERSONALITIES HAVE BEEN ADVERSELY AFFECTED BY THE OVERPOWERING TEACHINGS. MANY HAVE BECOME OVERBEARING, UNCARING, AND DISCOMPASSIONATE DISGUISED BY A HYPOCRITCAL FACADE OF CARING. MANY OTHERS ARE SIMPLY UNINTELLIGENT AND UNABLE TO SEE THROUGH THE ABSURDITIES THAT ARE TAUGHT. I DON'T DISLIKE UNINTELLIGENT PEOPLE, BUT VERY GENERALLY SPEAKING THEY AREN'T MY FIRST CHOICE AS CLOSE ASSOCIATES. SOME ARE EVIL PEOPLE, BUT I WOULD CERTAINLY SAY THAT THE MAJORITY HAVE SIMPLY BEEN DUPED.
How do you feel about discussing your time as a Jehovah's Witness?: (I Hate talking about my time as a Jehovah's Witness, I dislike talking about my upbringing but will if prompted, It's part of me I'll discuss it if it comes up, I bring it up occasionally, I bring it up frequently, I talk about it constantly)
I NEVER (AT LEAST VERY RARELY) DISCUSS IT WITH THE NORMAL POPULATION. I AM EMBARASSED BY THE FACT I WAS FOOLED FOR SO LONG. I DON'T MIND TALKING ABOUT IT WITH OTHER EX-JWS TO A POINT, BUT BEYOND THE OCCASSIONAL APPEARANCE ON THIS FORUM I DON'T DISCUSS IT MUCH. I AM OPEN TO DISCUSSING MY REASONS FOR LEAVING WITH ACTIVE JWS ALTHOUGH I PICK MY SPOTS CAREFUL AS I CAN'T GET DF'D FOR FAMILY REASONS, AND DO TAKE SOME TIME OUT ON A SOMEWHAT REGULAR BASIS TO TRY AND REACH OUT ANONYMOUSLY TO CURRENT JWS WHOM I BELIEVE ARE IN DANGER WHILE STILL IN THE CULT.
Alrighty folks, if you could add some answers in there or if you have some questions that you think should be included or that you feel would be really interesting to know. When I'm finished with what the survey is, I'll post it here so everyone can fill it out and send it to me. I'll leave an e-mail address you can send it to, It could be sent to my youtube, my facebook, my myspace, I'm also debating whether I just want to put the whole thing on a website to fill out. I think I'd rather get actual filled out surveys because it would create a much better database of answers and hard data that could be looked at.
I'm hoping to get a thousand or more to fill this out so it's a broad sample. Any help as always is greatly appreciated
THE ORACLE
