All I can say is, 'Thank god for the Internt'! I have no idea how I could have ever came to this point of my life, athiest, secular humanist, without the treasure trove of information on the Internet. The Internet was kind of my way of exploring other churches, if you will, while not yet attending. I find the parallel interesting between my style of journey and that of those who attended other churches. Let me explain.
Thanks, as well, to the organization, who spent a large portion of thier time and effort in pointing out the flaws of ' Babylon the Great', I was able, once I left the 'truth', to save my time from having to search out and try out different religions. I knew of the ridiculousness of religion in general, and what voids they try to fill in people's lives, though still found wanting. No desire was found within me to search out religions, with the goal in my mind of finding some sort of 'true' religion, or religion which is divinely inspired. I viewed it as a futile pursuit. But rather, I spent my time on the Internet, occasionally in libraries, but mostly the Internet, researching about other things that some might find to be a waste. For example, one of the many fields on the internet that i spent my time researching, were the completely obscure videos on YouTube made by unonomous posters who conjure up the most rediculous facts out of thin air to support thier wackjob conspiracy theories. The amount of very intriguing, seemingly enlightening documentaries is simply amazing. 'The end is coming this date. It was an inside job. No, he's not dead, he just wants everyone one earth to think that he's dead so he can reap the financial benefits.' All typical themes that allow yourself to feel temporarily enlightened. Finally, after taking in more false information than a person would want, I slowly started to realize how to really sift through the bullshit and find the correct, verifiable facts that help to make wise decisions. But it was after sifting, and sifting, and sifting for long periods of time to reach the point that I am at now where I feel confident in how to tell if something is right or wrong. If something is valuable or worthless. And if something is true or false. The parallel between my version of searching and the version of all those who have gone the route of religious organizations is this: We all spent time in seemingly futile pursuits even after our JW years, but they helped us to learn and appreciate truth when we find it. Going to a synagogue once or becoming an evangelical for 7 years or watching televangelists every sunday morning was not a waste of time. It has helped us to be more carefull in what we believe because we see how easy it can be to be deceived.
We didn't waste a moment, a thought, nor a word. Every moment we spent in thought or digesting of information, gets us closer to understanding.