Welcome! I hope you have a good journey out of the Watchtower and into control of your own life, thoughts and decisions.
You've been here a lot longer than I am :-)
I'm here since about 2 years. After reading a sentence that triggered me regarding why I believed in God in the first place (Heb 3:4), I set out to prove to myself that
- God exists
- direct creation is true (and evolution is not)
- the Bible cannot merely be the product of human wit but is unlike any other book ever written and divinely inspired
- and evidence shows JW are the one true religion, while no such evidence exists for other religion's claims.
Well after thorough research I was forced to conclude none of it could be supported by evidence except the opposite of what I believed. Thus I exited JW. Of course, your mileage may vary ;-)
watching evolution v creation debates (and haven't decided which side I'm on)
Be aware that debates aren't exactly suited for presenting the overwhelming amount of evidence that exists in support of both the fact of evolution and the scientific theories that explain those facts.
And in many debates tricks are used to win the debate regardless of whose position is better supported by evidence.
Many scientists simply refuse to debate creationists because of that.
You be better informed if you simply started reading on the subject.
Pick up a book that does a good job explaining what evolution is, how it is understood to work, and what evidence exists to support it. You can only evaluate what you understand and know.
Then review the arguments and counter-arguments presented by each side. See what (physical) evidence exists in support of each argument. Evidence is more compelling than conjecture and empty claims.
Check sources and quotes! I have noticed that most creationists (including Watchtower!) quote scientists completely out of context. One can only wonder why they would need to resort to such dishonesty if their position is strongly supported by evidence?
Ah well, just 2 cents on my pet peeve :-p
I'm still unpleasantly surprised by how dishonest Watchtower is when discussing their views on this subject.