After reading You Know's response to the Dateline expose' I was reminded of my own brain washing years ago while being raised as a JW. It seems so funny to me now but I too used to believe that we JWs were completely normal and that anyone who said otherwise was misinformed. When I finally removed myself from the Watchtower Society's influence reality slowly crept into my consciousness and the objective fact that JWs are "oddball crackpots" became clear and indisputable.
As a JW I believed in a whole host of absolutely ridiculous and illogical idiocy. Some examples of these "crackpot" beliefs include thinking that powerful spirit beings like Satan and his demons would waste their time and energies on inhabiting old furniture, clothes, books, artwork, and toys on the off chance that they could then "demonize" someone who came across them. First off, why would spirit beings need to be inside an old toy or shawl? Couldn't they just demonize people on their own if such a thing were possible? Secondly, there is no evidence what-so-ever that demons exist at all. I've lived over 22 years now "without Jehovah's protection" and in that time I've seen 100s of horror films, slept next to a Ouija board, read all kinds of "demonic" books, listened to "Satanic" music, read the works of Satan worshipers, visited the homes of witches, practiced rituals in Pagan temples, tried Yoga and Martial Arts, and have visited many Catholic churches complete with idols but have yet to see or feel one strange thing that could even come close to being a demonic presence. NOT ONCE in 22 years have I seen any evidence that such beings exist. Belief in demons is an "oddball crackpot" thing. Modern rational people do not believe in demons nor do they plan their lives around their fears of old furniture and clothes. This belief alone is enough to prove that JWs are crackpots.
Other wackey oddball things JWs believe include thinking that Jesus returned invisibly to rule in 1914. Why do they believe it, since it is all invisible and therefore without evidence? Well,because some guys said so and that's good enough for them. By the way, this nonevent proves that Armageddon will come in the life time of people who could understand the importance of the invisible and silent takeover by Jesus in 1914 so it could happen any day now even though it's been 88 years since it happened and even 10 year olds then would be 98 years old by now. Armageddon must be close because some guys said so, even though they've been wrong several times before, JWs believe them and make their live's plans around these important proven timescales. Oh, by the way, these guys might be wrong about which generation Jesus ment when he came to rule invisibly so it now means any generation that can't see Jesus ruling invisibly so the big "A" is still imminant. A Dateline show on TV about child molestation proves that the end must be near because it is persecution. So why again are JWs seen as oddball crackpots?
JWs believe in a literal World Flood which occurred a few thousand years ago even though all evidence from all fields of science prove that such a thing was never possible. They really believe that culture and language diversity came about because God got mad at some folks for building a mud brick tower so He confused their language and scattered them around the world just a few thousand years ago even though common sense,logic, and anthropology all dispute this claim. Oh, I forgot that JWs also believe that angels lusted after human women and turned themselves into men so they could have sex with them and produce giant super beings as children. This must be true because Pagan stories confirm that this is possible. I wonder why worldly people think JWs are crackpots? I could go on but it would take several more pages to describe why JWs are considered oddballs as well as crackpots.