NOT FORMER:
You said it and it cannot be stressed enough that the Witness religion is a “contrarian group that has issues with mainstream churches and government”.
They differ for the sake of being different, IMHO. They use excuses of ‘pagan’ when most other things in society are pagan.
In my case, I was raised Roman Catholic and in the beginning the JWs tried to isolate me from my non-JW friends and family.. I had my lightbulb moment one Thanksgiving weekend in the later years when I was all alone looking at four walls.. No JWs to be seen or heard (probably celebrating in secret). Meanwhile I was all alone like some fool. Even though this was one weekend in the year, it was indicative of how I was treated.. These Witnesses didn’t give a sh#t about me and I was already soft-shunned like Typhoid Mary over my full-time job.. So, what the hell was I doing?
So, I thought to myself that I could be having a great meal with my family who really cared about me... Instead, I was left feeling like I was fighting somebody’s private war like some nut in the mountains. I took stock of a lot of things… From that moment forward I privately marginalized the JW religion in my mind because I knew I had to get out of there.. I started to send out Holiday greeting cards to estranged family members.
Then the 1995 Generation teaching happened and it was truly over. I reconnected with my family (that those idiots tried to separate me from) before it was too late and I celebrate the Holidays even more appreciative than when I was a child.
Merry Christmas everyone!🎄