I haven't forgotten you....just been really busy.
There's no reason for you to be in the dark about anything. This is the information age! Google Jehovah's Witnesses and child molesting, or Gilbert Simental, Candace Conti, silentlambs.org, or watchtowerdocuments.com . Is the Watch Tower the only religion with molestation cover ups? No, but why would you want to be part of any organization that is guilty of such widespread abuse? Check out the news reports. They're not just in the US. Canada, the UK, and Australia have all done programs about it.
when it comes to the actual JW doctrine, spiritually-speaking (which is what matters to me), when did you stop believing in it? Do any of you still believe in it? or anything?
I was a believer even after being df'd. But as the years went by, I could see holes in the Watch Tower doctrine. Take, for example, the blood issue. It was explained to me as a jw that when a person is too sick to eat, they are nourished through IVs and so getting a blood transfusion is eating blood. But then it dawned on me that a person would starve to death if only receiving blood through an IV. Other restrictions against the holidays aren't scriptural and are inconsistent.
Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. Col 2:16 English Standard Version
All of the Watch Tower's restrictions are based on Paganism, but many things have a Pagan origin that jws are permitted to use such as wedding rituals, pinatas, names of the days of the weeks and months, neckties, etc. Did you know that the original lipstick was made from prostitutes rubbing berries on their lips to let customers know that they were willing to perform oral sex? Think of all the righteous sisters you know who attend meetings and go door to door while wearing lipstick. Just as they're not advertising oral sex services, celebrating holidays today is not worshipping Pagan gods.
I lost all faith in the Bible when I learned tht the miracles of Jesus, (everything from the virgin birth to rising from the dead were all attribted to other gods even before Jesus's time. Then I found out that there are other books such as the Gospel of Mary Magdelane and Thomas that weren't included in the Bible. And, who, pray tell decided what books were to be includd in the Bible? It was the early Catholic Church....yes, the demon spawned religion according to the Watch Tower.
I'm agnostic, but I believe that the human spirit is ripe with love and kindness. I think most people are basically good but have the capacity for evil. And I believe that a few people are evil with a capacity for good. It is very freeing to do right by people simply for the pleasure of doing so and not with an expectation of a reward. It's also very comforting, as a greatly flawed human being to see other greatly flawed human beings rise up in goodness and kindness. Also it is fascinating to keep up with scientific discoveries that help to explain life and the world around us.