It is interesting to read the comments of so many who are no longer "in the truth". I have not associated for 18 years but as my parents are still very much "in the truth". I never disassociated myself as I feel to do so is to acknowledge some form of official status over me. They have no authority over me.
Currently one of my parents is about to undergo surgery for cancer so for my parents there is an intense need to believe. However due to their belief it appears that they have missed many oportunites to enjoy the present, and maybe it's too late.
I have no strong objections to people who are Jehovahs Witnesses, on average they are well meaning and try hard to lead good lives.
However I disagree with many of their beliefs; and as I have found to seek to raise such "doubts" AKA rational questions, is to invite accustations of appostacy, and near histeria from ones parents, let alone elders. I find it ironic that they challenge people to question their belief if they are of another faith and ahve a bible study, but once a witness you are not permitted to question anything. The so called "book study" and "watch tower" study where you repeat what is written in the text in resposne to prepared questions, with children and new converts reading ansers and the older more lnger term convicts [oops] putting it into their own words - such intellectual challenge! And if you no longer beleive where do you go - if you can no longer beleive in a trinity, and cannot accept hell - then you better be strong enough in yourself to not need a formal religion any more.
There is no soul: They don't seem to have thought this one through, what good is a resurection if there is no soul? They seem to think that a clone / with your thoughts and memory is "you", personally this is just too creepy to contemplate - pod people anyone?
Birthdays are Unscriptual: There is no scriptual basis for this stand - other than sheer bloody mindedness. I can remember my parents proudly declaring how they could give gifts at any time of the year and thinking "if only". Now I have my own kids I celebrate their birth with all the joy I can.
That they have the only truth, and at armagedon all not JW's will die; Since leaving I have encounted many good people with true faith [as in belief without evidence]. My answer to this is a scenario that goes like this; A highschool, the principal puts the final exam notice up in a crytic code. There is much debate and he refuses to give any sign he is in the office. Some kids turn up on when they thought the exam would be, but there was no exam, some eother kids turn up and they are lucky, sit and pass their exams, the kids from the 1st group and all the kids who thought it was tomorrow have just failed. As imperfect human beings would we accept this? That principals arse would be toast - right? Yet we are expected to beleive that Jehovah puts critical information pertinant to our very survivial in cryptic bible passages, gives no sign that he favours any one of thousands of faiths, yet will kill you forever for not figuring it out, [AKA trusting the Watch Tower Bible and Tract society to get it right]. If this is indeed true then this would be a god I could not respect let alone love. I will NOT love someone just because to do otherwise measn they will kill me - it's insane.
That there was a worldwide flood; So the Kanagaros exited the Ark and thought "strewth mate - I'm outa here" and hoped off to Australia. Of course early Kangaroos were bigger and could hop over ocenas in a single hop, or could hop so fast they hoped on water. The Koala bear went along for the ride as did the wombat. Kiwis [a flightless bird - and a whole lot of flightless birds come to think of it] thought "middle earth" AKA New Zealand would be a great place to hang out and "teleported" or otherwise magically gott themselves off the ark to the southern hemisphere. You can add you own local touch to this [I'm from New Zealand] but it just doesn't stack up in light of the physical evidence.
That there is no evolution; How come you can take blind cave fish with no eyes, and raise some in light and within a few generations the offspring have eyes? Seems to be some very advanced enviromental feedback at work - and I'm prepared to give God credit, but to deny eveloution is once agian to have ones head in the sand.
That they are guided by "holy spirit". When I was about 20 I was as "in to it" as I ever got and spent almost every Saturday with my brother and best friend [none of whom are now JW's] witnessing in remote rural areas where others were reluctant to go as it involved driving up to 300km's in a single day. On Sundays we landscpaed the grounds of the newly built kingdom hall. The circut overseer came and went and one of our friends [secretly drinking, hooning around in his car, listening to ACDC] was made a "ministerial servant" - he was putting on an act to secure the attentions of a young "sister", although ironically he's now still "in the truth" and an elder. As I have since found out from my dad [who was one of the leders] It turned out the elders "suspected" we were just mucking arround on the Saturdays so we were passed over [thanks for the support!]. It shook our faith so to prove that holy spirit" has nothing to do with this we embarked on a deliberate campaign to test the system. We stopped the rural witnessing, stopped landscaping the hall, dropped out level of particiaption at meetings, then we witnessing for a couple of hours on a Saturady, on Sunday afternoons, and shortly before the circuit overseer returned massively upped our levels of participation at the meetings - and now we were appointed "ministerial servants" by the seemily blind "holy spirit". Why blind? well just as for our friend the "Holy Spirit" either didn't see or apparently didn't mind our going to night clubs dancing to "worldly" music, or drinking, or speeding in our cars. It was being seen to conform by the elders that mattered, nothing else, it wasn't anything to do with gog, it was politics. From this point on I only kept going for a few years more to avoid hurting my parents.
In the end they seemed to be saying if you were a witness for the wrong reasons [i.e. any reason other than loving Jehovah, such as to please someone else, to avoid death at armagedon] then god would know and you would die anyway. So I stopped. And since I have been told it's better to doit for the worong reasons than not do it at all, or so my children will be saved. When I was serrously injured in a motorcyle accident my mothers comment was there would have been an up side if I had been killed - I would have gotten a resurection. Did I mention "INSANE".
Anyway I need to finish, my wife ias complaining that I am writing a novel. I guess it's just some kind of release to be able to say these things in a forum where I won't be the bad guy. I should have sought this site out long ago. I guess I'm wrong - they do have some form of hold on me as now 18 years later it still afects my life and my relationship with my parents.
The saddest thing is that my father consideres himself a failure; why? because his two sons, both happily married, with childern, no afairs, not one arrest, sucessful in business, respected in their fields, are no longer Jehovahs Witnesses. It is INSANE.