Upon reading the intro to this site, I got the impression that some would be believers, not strictly witnesses, but perhaps had other views. I'm not disregarding apostates, I simply know where they are coming from for the most part, and we don't have similar trajectory or experiences, so it wouldn't make sense to talk with one. I used to debate Atheists and trinitarians before I studied with witnesses so much of their ideology I'm familiar with and I don't see the point in rehashing things that I've moved beyond. From watching various youtube videos, I've realized that many are personally hurt, emotionally scarred, or disgruntled with the organization for either personal or doctrinal reasons. That's their life, and they can do with it what they please. I'm actually looking for a Christian organization to become a part of, so maybe I came to the wrong place, which is fine, but I've done years of personal research and its come to the point where I have to decide which direction I should take. There's no such thing as a perfect organization, and in my estimation, I can't be truly happy living according to the whims and desires of my heart and mind, without falling on my face because of my lack of wisdom. I consider myself a spiritual person, so of course spiritual things, conversations, and people are what I enjoy the most.
To answer TD's question. Things aren't that cut and dry, i'm actually called "The Borean" in my congregation because I dabble a bit in ancient Hebrew, and I own a strong's concordance and various extra-biblical/historical resources. It's true that for things like running the microphone or becoming an attendant you have to be baptized in good standing, and of course the elders in my congregation expect me to be both, based on my answers, conduct, and effort in the ministry. However, as I suggested, I was told by an elder that if I wanted privileges (future was the key word there) as a baptized brother, I'd have to shave...that was basically his message. I do understand JW doctrine, and that's where the problem lies. In my opinion they have many things right, but they have a few things wrong, and some of these few things could possible be disastrous, but I have to explore the implications of these things with someone other than myself because as anyone knows who does diligent study, we can have tunnel vision or biases that we aren't fully aware of.
Again, I don't know if this is the right site, but I'd be open to talking with anyone with an objective and spiritual mind.
