Dan, I can respect your decision to leave if the arguments on here drain your happiness. Some threads get to me as well. It seems a little odd that you'd choose to drop off altogether but to each his own. Wouldn't presume to judge you for it.
I should apologize for the belligerent tone I take sometimes, although I am not sorry for sharing my views. While my goal is never to offend, it was a long road to freedom so I'll be damned if I'm gonna suppress my views on god after coming out of a group that tried to keep me from thinking for myself. What we have here is an outlet, a place to vent, a place to discuss our views freely... the antithesis of a kingdom hall. No, it isn't always positive. But it isn't always negative either.
My goal, like others, is to encourage exJWs to think freely and identify old presupposition that might cloud their view. Right or wrong, since I feel like I've gone to the trouble to release my own and, in turn, have a better perspective, I'm compelled to share that new viewpoint with others. Sometimes that might come out as sarcasm but it's certainly not anger.
I tell my daughter not to spoil other kids' Christmas by telling them the truth about Santa Claus. Why? Because they are kids and their faith in Santa isn't hurting anyone as far as I can see. But I don't believe in Yahweh or a divine Jesus. So when I see adult fundamentalists try to drive a wedge between education and evolution, or try to influence a government ban on issue that is influenced by faith in the bible, I see fit to expose the the bible as false as the other holy books. Not that you do those things personally, but to me faith in the supernatural equals superstition and that isn't harmless. Perhaps faith helps some people in some respects but I think superstitious faith slows progress for the human race in general.
These are not personal attacks anymore than your attempt to reason with a JW is a personal attack on them. Is it wrong to expose what we believe are flaws in logic? When we all sit around and take jabs at JW faith, it seems to be okay. But many believers seem to take folks like me literally. I don't mean that I actually believe Yahweh is a hateful god. Those are just examples that show the bible to be self-refuting and the god described therein does not exist. We're just trying to reason on some of the violent, unloving, and unjust accounts we've read. Again, I don't wish to offend you or any other Christians but it's hard to state my conflicting view without doing so.
Anyway, while we've disagreed on some things, I've really enjoyed our conversations nonetheless. Take care of yourself and I truly hope you're able to save your beautiful family from the WT's clutches.
Tim/SBC
