I've been an atheist since I was thirteen. I'm sixteen now. But nonetheless I will have to pretend to be a Jehovah's Witness until I'm eighteen. Then my mother won't be able to force religion down my throat. I look forward to when this hellish nightmare comes to a halt. :)
Welcome! My advice, in case your sprung checking this site; Change the title of this site in your favorites to something less offensive to believers than atheist forums. Change it to porn something or other, it'll cause you less grief!
if you are more efficient using the tool(s) of your opponent then you win. Knowing your bible better than they do is the first key in winning the first argument that you haven't spent the time learning about "their" god.
Memorize all the issues of "Watchtower"? That is the JW bible ;-)
Welcome, I have known other JW folk who have found it difficult to separate, because of shunning.
Will your family shun you if you out yourself as an atheist?
Quote from: Baruch on October 31, 2015, 10:05:49 AM
Welcome, I have known other JW folk who have found it difficult to separate, because of shunning.
My fondest memories are of a 17 yr old JW female who was determined to entice me into the clan using sex. The delightful gal gave it her all for 4 months until she decided I was just along for the "ride". To put an even more demented plot into the game, her twin brother would often drive and drop her off at the secluded place she had decided to embrace me. Ahhhh......memories.....so is that a narrative? hmmm.....
Quote from: Mermaid on October 31, 2015, 10:21:07 AM
Will your family shun you if you out yourself as an atheist?
Only my mother is a JW. My father is not.
Well, that's good. At least you won't have that stress. I feel for you.
Evening Enlightenment911, welcome to the madhouse...
Welcome. If you want like minded people to commiserate with, r/jehovahs witness on Reddit:
https://www.reddit.com/r/exjw/
Welcome, young man.
When I was your age, I had just gone from agnostic, to believer (almost got taken in by the Watchtower at one point). It took me 15 years before schizophrenia caused me to question again. I'm an atheist now. I can't imagine sitting through a Church-service anymore. I would have to speak-up. I couldn't pretend.
That being said, I still find nuggets of wisdom in the Bible. I consider them just human sayings, articulating our mutual, evolved sense of social responsibility, which I still value. Things like the Golden Rule, and other parts of the Sermon on the Mount, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. It's a part of my heritage, and part of my growth, as a socially mature human. None of it is divine, or absolute to me anymore, but taken as a rule of thumb, there are some good points about judging people, and forgiveness, and such. But it's mixed with a lot of superstition, fear and jealousy, that you have to discount.