I get that comment all the time. The conversation goes something like this:
Me "I was raised in a cult"
Them "Really! Which one?"
Jehovah's Witnesses
They are not a cult, are they?
Well yes. They are fairly main stream, since there are 7 million on them, but they still exhibit all the qualities of a cult. The teachings are quite crazy. I was bought up being told I would never die. God will kill billions on people at Armageddon, but I was supposed to live forever. Can you imagine how difficult it was when I started to realise that the teachings were not true, and that I will die one day?
Wow, thats crazy
The worst thing about being a JW is that if you realise it is not the truth and you leave, you can be disfellowshipped. Then none of your friends or family are to ever speak to you again, except in an emergency. Almost 100,000 are disfellowshipped every year. That is particularly tough, since growing up you are not supposed to have friends that are not JWs; worldly people. So when I was disfellowshipped at the age of 35, I lost everyone. Virtually all my friends, and all my friends refused to have anything to do with me from that day forward.
That is shocking. I never realised what a terrible religion it is. Damn, if they ever come to my door I will let them know what I think about them. Oh my God, tell me more.