Greetings,
I have been reading on here for about a year and a half, joined some time ago, and have posted on rare occasions. Since I have become a little more comfortable in this forum lately, I thought I would give you some insight into who I am and why I am here. I am a Christian in the sense that I follow Christ and no man-made organization. I do believe in God because I have experienced first-hand His blessings, His comfort, and miraculous things that can only be attributed to Him. I have never been a JW although I have an entire side of my family who are, and I love them dearly. They still talk with me, although we have an agreement not to delve into religion, just to keep things amiable.
I became fascinated with the JW's about two years ago when I finally decided to take a step back from my own indoctrination and examine scriptures for myself. It was very interesting to me how a group of people could take the same 66 books of the Bible and come up with a completely different understanding. So my search has been to examine why I believe what I believe. I have a long way to go, but it is a marathon rather than a sprint. As I have learned more and more about the JW's, I have developed a real concern for those who are asleep within the organization for the same reasons as many of you. The vast majority of the people in it are no different than me, just sitting there and accepting the indoctrination that comes their way. Whether or not they ever agree with me doctrinally is of no concern to me. Whether or not they suffer at the hands of a cult matters a great deal to me.
My purpose here is in no way to convert or challenge anyone's belief system. I may occasionally offer explanations regarding beliefs of mainstream Christianity, but it is never for the sake of argument. I truly appreciate the wealth of knowledge within the members of this forum and the variety of backgrounds here. Many of you have challenged me to ponder many things, and for that I thank you. Please keep it up.