Some lessons and observations from having been a Jehovah's Witness

[Kraut]

Posted by mariposafe (here)
Thanks for this Kraut, (I'm struggling with addressing you as "Kraut" but never mind ...)

I had a spell with the witnesses when I was about 15 - part of a spiritual yearning which in no way could have been satisfied by the Church of England or the Catholics. Initially I liked their apparent honesty and unorthodoxness, but could never agree to the idea of knocking on doors to spread the word. Eventually I (and my mother) saw through the layers of fake sincerity to the underlying hypocrisy of yet another male dominated religion. This was all before 1975, and around 1980, I met up with a boy from school who was brought up as a witness, and I saw what the non-events of 1975 had done to the movement.

I have a friend who is a witness, 41 years old and still a virgin, waiting for Mr Right to turn up. It makes me so sad, because she is one of the nicest people I know, and she has given her life to what is essentially a big con. Despite this, she's still full of love and hope - amazing.

The irony is how Witnesses like to rant about Catholics but they have become exactly like the Catholic Church. You get used to the knocking on doors, I never liked it but you see it as a... let's say "necessary evil". There are indeed layers of fake sincerity, I will illustrate that in another post. There's enough to get people hooked and then for many it's too late, they reach that moment where they turn off their thinking skills and just buy into everything. I am very glad that I could prevent a friend of mine from doing that. I had been "studying the bible" with him, which is how Witnesses call educating people to recruit them. But after my awakening I told him all about it.

Due to my age I had only heard of 1975, it was before my time. It was rarely mentioned, so when I looked into it for the first time I was very surprised. Most younger Witnesses and those who joined in the 80s have no idea what a debacle that was. The worst is that the leaders never even apologized for it all, they blamed the eagerness of the Witnesses, and it took them five years to even make that statement. When I started looking into the real history of the religion it quickly became apparent that it has a long history of failed predictions. And still they are all waiting for the end to come... it could be any day... My Grandmother used to say all that time that "we are at the threshold of the new Order" (scary wording as I can see now). She died a few years ago and never saw any of her hopes fulfilled. Sadly my Mother is heading for the same outcome.

Hopefully your friend will still wake up. Many believe that they can marry in Paradise, after the world has ended and everything will be fine. Since they expect to live forever then they'll have plenty of time to marry and have children. A big con it is.

[The Truth Is In There]

imo people's brains are like computers. certain programs don't work if others are still running. if you try to install a program that is based on facts on a system that is running on make-believe and lies you'll get an error message.

first you have to dismantle the current operating system by pointing out the obvious flaws, and only after the person running the system realizes these flaws for what they are you'll be able to start implementing the new fact-based software.

of course, this can be done the other way round, too. known facts can be replaced with lies and propaganda. this is the basic system running in the world today. if repeated often enough and ideally from very early childhood it will (re)program the brain and ultimately create a person that defends the lies their existence is based on against all common sense.

the problem we're facing today is that the majority of people is incapable of using common sense because their operating systems don't allow it. once programmed, usually in (early) childhood, the program keeps running until the host dies.

these programs are based on herd-mentality, not unlike a hive mind. the host bodies allow for change if the herd program changes because they feel safe and secure in the herd. they can't operate outside of the herd, on their own.

that's why the few are always able to control the many if they know how to do it. they don't waste time (re)programming individuals (those who are able to use common sense and resist flawed or disadvantageous programming), they only program and thus control the herd, and by controlling the herd they effectively control the uncontrollable individuals too, because if they stand up they'll simply be taken out by the herd.

this works with religion as well as politics and anything else, and the means to (re)program the herds are all in the hands of the same group of people/beings.

[Another1]

This thread has brought back a flood of memories. Thank you for the sparks.

One thing seems to stand out this time as I review ... when first meeting them I had things on the ball ... had whittled my Christian based view into something personal to me, pretty much as simple as calling it 'dad' ~ I just knew there was something bigger than me and certainly bigger than that angry god they taught me about in church and there was visible fruit in my life that this was working out okay.

This was the main thing the first JW preacher harped on me about. He insisted that I did not deserve any of my fruit and it was in truth just trickery from some devil making me think I was okay with god. As luck would have it, this preacher was a co-worker that no one else on the crew would work with. I was the new guy so I got him. He was adament that if I wasn't groveling before this angry, jealous god and begging for mercy, then I was serving the devil.

I think left over superstition from previous programming is what allowed this guy to troll me for so long.

Perhaps 2 years later, 1,000 miles away, I again had a JW Pioneer as a co-worker. He pushed the same things pretty much. If I wasn't groveling before this god and telling it how great it is, then I was serving the devil and taking my wife and children to hell.

It's probably fortunate that I did not know about the Goddess back then. It might have popped their lil brains.

[Prodigal Son]

Yes it is true that most of the JW's are basically good people who love the earth and want a better world, that is what drew me into it after all. But after years of indoctrination, and false Armageddon predictions, and frustration that builds up from the "disappointments", you begin to regard your neighbors as worthless fodder because they refuse to accept "The Truth" (TM) and you cannot possibly love them as you love yourself because according to your own beliefs, any day now they are going to become bird food (according to a horrid scripture in Revelation that says Armageddon will be followed by God's feast for the birds on their flesh)... and you long for the day that the earth is covered in blood up to the horses' bridles (another gem from Revelation) because the world is just so wicked and everyone that willingly participates in it is equally as wicked. You begin to hate your life because fun is not allowed, and you resent everyone else who won't join you in your misery. You can't understand why nobody cares about the Bible and Jehovah and all his promises and purposes for the earth. You misinterpret the scripture where Jesus says "take the narrow road" as talking about the Watchtower.

I have a feeling that IF the NWO finally happens, and to tell you the truth I think it must happen, only to show its utter failure and to be soon destroyed according to prophecy, they will introduce a One-World Religion where "Jesus" sits on the throne in Jerusalem and claims to be sent from Jehovah. Man oh man, the Witnesses will go for that hook line and sinker.

At this point I need to say, that I know that I am very harsh on the Bible, but I do believe it has many Divine Truths in it. But when corrupted with black magic it becomes a very effective tool for mind control, which is really what its all about. For example. according to Helena Blavatsky, the books that would be chosen for the New Testament were selected by leaving them in a catacomb under a table overnight, and in the morning the books we ended up with found themselves to the top of the table.

As for the Old Testament, I trash it because of the power it has had over people, but the fact is that it tells the truth right from the beginning, it does not hide who and what Jehovah is at any point. Right in the Garden of Eden we see who the tyrant and the liar is, and it's not the Serpent. Its just that people are deceived by the preconceived notion that Jehovah is the True God. The Gnostics were right, he is the Demiurge that enslaved us. However the even deeper truth is that Jehovah is the Divine Monad within you according to Gnostic Kabbalah but they gave the name to their Satanic God!

Controlling the mind is what keeps the elite in power, and its always been that way. Revelation is a great prophecy, but it was never intended to apply to the world at large, it is an esoteric treatise on the SELF. All of it symbolizes the internal awakening known as Gnosis. In fact the entire Bible was originally intended to do the same thing. Reading it literally, however, as they have compiled it, guarantees eternal sleep.

I chose the name Prodigal Son because when I tried to go back to the JW's in 1997 after being "inactive" for 15 years, I was not exactly received with open arms. It was after I learned that this religion was not "The Truth" (TM) that I really began to understand what the Prodigal Son was all about. There is no judgment, only karma, and everyone will eventually reach the Promised Land where our True Father in Heaven will receive us into his bosom.

I have also learned that Jesus summed up the entire Bible in that one parable.

[Kraut]

Posted by Another1 (here)
This thread has brought back a flood of memories. Thank you for the sparks.

One thing seems to stand out this time as I review ... when first meeting them I had things on the ball ... had whittled my Christian based view into something personal to me, pretty much as simple as calling it 'dad' ~ I just knew there was something bigger than me and certainly bigger than that angry god they taught me about in church and there was visible fruit in my life that this was working out okay.

That is what the problem is, we can all intuitively find our niche, that we can in time improve. But most people try to invade that niche and think they need to save us and convert us. Regardless of whether what we have already is enriching our life. You figured out something that many haven't. I think calling it "Dad" was brilliant. It keeps puzzling me how many Christians are absolutely okay with believing in hell and eternal torment. Even some exJWs who remain Christian start believing that. They talk about God being love all the time but sure like buying into all the "you'll burn in hell..." preaching.

This was the main thing the first JW preacher harped on me about. He insisted that I did not deserve any of my fruit and it was in truth just trickery from some devil making me think I was okay with god. As luck would have it, this preacher was a co-worker that no one else on the crew would work with. I was the new guy so I got him. He was adament that if I wasn't groveling before this angry, jealous god and begging for mercy, then I was serving the devil.

To my shame I was completely blind to the fact that many people in "the world" are actually better than a lot of JWs, including many Christians, who practice a more pure and compassionate form of Christianity. To me they had to be wrong because they were not in "the truth". So they would have to be taken out by the little angry and jealous God.

What's even worse and what outsiders don't know is that many Witnesses will even look at each other critically, questioning if someone else is going to make it or not. They like making distinctions and calling some "weak", which is the opposite of what Jesus taught and lived. In the last years of my being a believer I became so disillusioned with God that I was sure I'd be biting the dust when "the end" came, I was basically waiting to die because the way I saw it you just couldn't please God. Realizing that my religion and beliefs were a lie was a great relief, to say the least. It took a while to get rid of the worst of that being undeserving programming.

It's probably fortunate that I did not know about the Goddess back then. It might have popped their lil brains.

That would have been... messy. Or not, if the brains were little?

Posted by Prodigal Son (here)
Yes it is true that most of the JW's are basically good people who love the earth and want a better world, that is what drew me into it after all. But after years of indoctrination, and false Armageddon predictions, and frustration that builds up from the "disappointments", you begin to regard your neighbors as worthless fodder because they refuse to accept "The Truth" (TM) and you cannot possibly love them as you love yourself because according to your own beliefs, any day now they are going to become bird food (according to a horrid scripture in Revelation that says Armageddon will be followed by God's feast for the birds on their flesh)... and you long for the day that the earth is covered in blood up to the horses' bridles (another gem from Revelation) because the world is just so wicked and everyone that willingly participates in it is equally as wicked. You begin to hate your life because fun is not allowed, and you resent everyone else who won't join you in your misery. You can't understand why nobody cares about the Bible and Jehovah and all his promises and purposes for the earth. You misinterpret the scripture where Jesus says "take the narrow road" as talking about the Watchtower.

Sorry, I know it's not funny, but I had to laugh. Sometimes religion is so bizarrely funny you just have to laugh about it. You forgot some of the nice OT prophecies. What made me hate the JW life was not really that I couldn't have fun, but that every week was controlled with all this nonsense activity, especially the weekends. You are not allowed to have a life. And then when the "new system" is there you'll have to spend who knows how many years cleaning up earth, getting rid of corpses and all the ruins. And then you still have to prove yourself in the thousand year reign while the "anointed" are sipping higher dimensional wine with Jesus and his buddies in heaven, having a good time ruling over all the folks on earth. Yeah, really great, thanks.

I remember reading a story that an exJW wrote about this idea of Paradise. It was about an Armageddon survivor and the madness afterwards, the control and power that Elders still had. He got so tired of it that he committed suicide. Then he woke up again and was surprised. He was told he was in heaven and that where he had been before was hell.
Not sure if you've read it: http://www.1timothy4-13.com/files/bible/diary.html

I have a feeling that IF the NWO finally happens, and to tell you the truth I think it must happen, only to show its utter failure and to be soon destroyed according to prophecy, they will introduce a One-World Religion where "Jesus" sits on the throne in Jerusalem and claims to be sent from Jehovah. Man oh man, the Witnesses will go for that hook line and sinker.

Hopefully it won't come to that.

At this point I need to say, that I know that I am very harsh on the Bible, but I do believe it has many Divine Truths in it. But when corrupted with black magic it becomes a very effective tool for mind control, which is really what its all about. For example. according to Helena Blavatsky, the books that would be chosen for the New Testament were selected by leaving them in a catacomb under a table overnight, and in the morning the books we ended up with found themselves to the top of the table.

As for the Old Testament, I trash it because of the power it has had over people, but the fact is that it tells the truth right from the beginning, it does not hide who and what Jehovah is at any point. Right in the Garden of Eden we see who the tyrant and the liar is, and it's not the Serpent. Its just that people are deceived by the preconceived notion that Jehovah is the True God. The Gnostics were right, he is the Demiurge that enslaved us. However the even deeper truth is that Jehovah is the Divine Monad within you according to Gnostic Kabbalah but they gave the name to their Satanic God!

In retrospect it is sad but not surprising how much of the JW doctrine is based on the OT, also many rules and procedures. No wonder they have a hard time calling themselves "christian". According to the NT they should be Christ's witnesses, but no one seems to notice that.

Controlling the mind is what keeps the elite in power, and its always been that way. Revelation is a great prophecy, but it was never intended to apply to the world at large, it is an esoteric treatise on the SELF. All of it symbolizes the internal awakening known as Gnosis. In fact the entire Bible was originally intended to do the same thing. Reading it literally, however, as they have compiled it, guarantees eternal sleep.

I chose the name Prodigal Son because when I tried to go back to the JW's in 1997 after being "inactive" for 15 years, I was not exactly received with open arms. It was after I learned that this religion was not "The Truth" (TM) that I really began to understand what the Prodigal Son was all about. There is no judgment, only karma, and everyone will eventually reach the Promised Land where our True Father in Heaven will receive us into his bosom.

I have also learned that Jesus summed up the entire Bible in that one parable.

It makes me sick to think about how often I read the parable and studied it at meetings, all the while not caring about the destructive policies in regards to disfellowshipping and shunning. Offspring of vipers...

Much love and healing to all of you.

[jagman]

A question, To a former brother or sister or anyone who
studied with the witnesses. Have you at anytime felt
Jehovah being an active force in your life? I'm not talking
about the religion.

[Kraut]

Jagman, that's a really good question, thanks for bringing it up. There were moments when I felt a benevolent active force in my life, helping me cope with problems or worries. Now I think it's unlikely that was Jehovah. I'm sure we have benevolent beings watching out for us at all times and we may blindly conclude that their help and guidance comes from whichever God we may worship at that time in our life. Besides that I do think there is at least some positive "spirit" or active force in most religions, which is why people don't see the perverted aspects of religions they believe in, the good aspects make them blind.

I'll have to think about your question some more.

[whiterose]

yes I would totally agree with Kraut, I regularly felt that I had prayers answered, and of course attributed those answers to Jehovah, but I realise now its more about the Universe providing what we really need, manifesting our desires, and intentions, which is why most people who believe in a higher power all seem to get their prayers answered. I felt very strongly that meeting my husband was an answer to prayers, but of course the elders in the congregation were adamant that was impossible as Jehovah wouldn't answer that prayer with someone that wasn't a witness. I always found it strange that witnesses had answers to prayers, but anyone else who thought that were deluded, either it was Satan fooling them or it was co-incidence.

[rgray222]

I think the greatest lesson people can take from your post (there are many) is to trust your instincts, use that "feeling" like you would use feel, taste, smell etc. Everyone has this ability and only a few people trust that it is really there. Even fewer yet fine tune this ability. I honestly believe this is the mechanism that will wake people up, put them on the right path and provide them with a fulfilling life.

[Another1]

Jagman,the influence of the one they call Jehovah knocked me clean off my cloud. As a young man just venturing out into the world, I was okay with 'God' - my very life at the time was a testament to this belief system working for me ... At the ripe age of only 20 I had traveled cross country, got a dream job living in the Rockie Mountains no less, was very active in local politics and a volunteer fireman. Anyone who knocked on my door wanting to talk about Jesus was welcome to sit, which led to some fun with the local Mormons briefly also.

These people got 5+ years of love, acceptance and intent to live in peace from me. Their god would not allow it. The physical divorce from the spouse they rescued from me coincided with loss of career by 7 days and then some smug bugger asserting that their god was chastising me. Destroying me for my own good. I could have my life back if I submit.

So the answer is yes. I have felt its influence and still do through much of the mainstream new age material on sale out here.

As with most organized religions, I honor the people trapped within them and know that if they believe something right down to their toenails, it becomes real and can work for them.

The miracle to me, the proof that something else is real that is bigger and more wonderful than what the religions offer us, can be found in the posts above. Something leads these people out of these groups.

[Kraut]

In case someone wants to listen to two minutes of madness:

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=mIcQ4IqRKlM

It's from a talk that one of the current Watchtower "leaders" held. It gives you insight into the strange mindset they have and how they use fear to manipulate Witnesses to do more and give more.

[Warlock]

I was a Witness for over 20 years, and while I had some complaints about certain things, and did voice them over the internet in a couple of other places, my experience was more positive than negative.

I quit drinking.
I quit using illegal drugs.
I quit carrying a gun under my car seat.
I quit bring hateful.
I was stopped from becoming the predator, and you, the prey, so my conversion saved more than just myself. It saved some of the general public.

Warlock

[Kraut]

Warlock,
thanks for your post. What made you move on from the Org?

-Kraut

[Chris Gilbert]

Great post Kraut! I was raised as a JW as well. I agree about how all consuming conditioning was among the JWs, much of their lingo and norms were really elaborate methods of avoiding cognitive dissonance if examined closely enough.

I also agree as well about how when coming out into the "world" I started noticing too how conditioning is everywhere, even among those who make an effort to point it out. They may see part of the conditioning in others, but not their own. Part of my goal is to help root out false conditioning (which most thoughts are infact) so people can have a more direct connection with their own Soul and Wisdom.

[Chris Gilbert]

One thing that I did take away however from the JWs was a sense of not truly "belonging" to any specific nation in the world. Most of what's called patriotism still strikes me as being just as silly as it did when I was young.

Purportedly, despite criticizing the UN, the JWs mother organization has actually been granted NGO status. Kinda makes me wonder if they've received back-door bankster funding to help spread memes associated with a new, more unified world (though one firmly under bankster rule with associated religious controls, as opposed to a freer democracy).

[Kraut]

Posted by Enishi (here)
One thing that I did take away however from the JWs was a sense of not truly "belonging" to any specific nation in the world. Most of what's called patriotism still strikes me as being just as silly as it did when I was young.

Purportedly, despite criticizing the UN, the JWs mother organization has actually been granted NGO status. Kinda makes me wonder if they've received back-door bankster funding to help spread memes associated with a new, more unified world (though one firmly under bankster rule with associated religious controls, as opposed to a freer democracy).

Hi Enishi,
thanks for your posts. What you say about not having a sense of nationalism is something I can fully relate to, it is one of the good aspects. Finding out about the UN NGO status was quite a surprise to me, but I noticed how easily some Witnesses rationalize it away.

I am very surprised how many here have JW connections.

[Chris Gilbert]

During prayer when I was young I found myself connecting to a source of light and peace that lightened my sense of anxiety and abandonment, which always baffled me, as it contrasted so sharply with the "God" of the JWs books and lectures that I was increasingly coming to distrust and despise.

[Prodigal Son]

Posted by Enishi (here)
One thing that I did take away however from the JWs was a sense of not truly "belonging" to any specific nation in the world. Most of what's called patriotism still strikes me as being just as silly as it did when I was young.

Purportedly, despite criticizing the UN, the JWs mother organization has actually been granted NGO status. Kinda makes me wonder if they've received back-door bankster funding to help spread memes associated with a new, more unified world (though one firmly under bankster rule with associated religious controls, as opposed to a freer democracy).

That is undoubtedly the case as far as I can see. Despite relentlessly teaching that the UN was the "scarlet-colored wild beast" in the book of Revelation, being driven and controlled by the Harlot, Babylon the Great (Christendom), for ten years there were literally hundreds of articles appearing in the Awake! magazine extolling the virtues of the UN and its many daughter harlots like UNESCO etc. They would invariably end such supportive articles with a statement like "but of course, only Jehovah's Kingdom can bring about real and everlasting changes to end mankind's suffering... blah blah blah". Then all of a sudden a few articles came out that never even did that...they just supported the causes right to the end with no disclaimer. Rest assured that the Watchtower received $$$$ for this.... paid advertising by the same groups that funded the Watchtower at its inception.

When the NGO scandal was exposed, Watchtower Corp. said they only did it for the UN Library Card to have access to their extensive collection of information. But the truth is that you do not have to be an NGO to get such a card. They got away with it for so long because very few of the Witnesses actually read the Awake! magazine. They spend too much time on the indoctrination in the Watchtower magazine where they have a question and answer session every Sunday. They read a paragraph and then several people comment on it by basically reading the paragraph 3 more times. It is mind-bending torture and after 45 minutes of this you can literally see people squirming and sneaking peeks at the clock praying for it to move along faster.

Joseph Rutherford, a boozing womanizer and flim flam artist took courses in psychology and imposed a mind-control system on the meetings where the Watchtower Study conductor stands in the middle or off to one side and the paragraph reader sits on the other side, and this repeated left-to-right eye movement reinforces in the observers' minds that what is being said is unquestionable and undeniable fact. He was also a channeling Satanist and most likely played a big part in the 1916 Halloween Satanic ritual murder of Charles Taze Russell, who was buried under a large pyramid north of Pittsburgh in a toga.

The entire Watchtower doctrine is built upon a fairy tale. Russell was a pyramidologist, completely obsessed with Giza like most Masons are. He saw in the timeline that 1914 would be a special year, because it marked the entrance into the King's Chamber. This of course meant a return wave of Christ Consciousness, but the Cabal he was connected to had long before developed a plan to counteract that: Get the Fed Reserve in place in order to fund WWI and pummel the awakening with war and propaganda. Russell knew about this and accurately predicted 1914 as a year of great change, the only prediction he ever got right in his life. Other than that he was a pedophile and a con man, selling things like "Miracle Wheat" which was supposed to cure all sorts of diseases and restore youth but was nothing more than plain wheat.

The Watchtower to this day is built upon the false foundation that Christ took over in the heavens "invisibly" in 1914 and is patiently waiting for Jehovah to put all his enemies before him as a stool for his feet. But what the Watchtower has done instead is to make Jesus responsible for allowing all the wars and turmoil since then to take place under his "presence". In other words, Jehovah sanctioned Stalin and Hitler, among others.... which is ironically the truth.

More to come....

[72MAV27]

Hey what's up Kraut?

Well I too was raised as a JW. fortunately for me I got rather lucky. My parents stopped going when I was about 15. So I spent half of my life in the religion. I agree with pretty much everything you said. I always say you can't tell anybody anything untill they're ready to hear it.

With that being said I spent a lot of time over the years trying to inform witnesses about the true nature of the religion. Especially about the founder. Mostly to no avail. My last girlfriend was a witness that I grew up with. She was disfellowshipped when we started dating but she has been reinstated now. We dated for 2 years and I used to try to force things about the religion on her. Very bad move on my part

I was very bitter towards the religion for a long time. Truthfully I have just gotten over this bitterness within the last 2 years or so. There are many negative and tragic aspects to the religion however I will list a few positives that I took from it

1. Discipline. As a child being a witness and having to sit quietly through all those meetings definitely gives discipline
2. Public speaking. Having to prepare and then stand up in front of an audience and deliver those "talks" I think is something positive to learn to do
3. Knowledge of the bible. Even tho in my opinion religion is bs the bible does have some good knowledge in there if you know how to read it

[Kraut]

Posted by 72MAV27 (here)
Hey what's up Kraut?

Well I too was raised as a JW. fortunately for me I got rather lucky. My parents stopped going when I was about 15. So I spent half of my life in the religion. I agree with pretty much everything you said. I always say you can't tell anybody anything untill they're ready to hear it.

With that being said I spent a lot of time over the years trying to inform witnesses about the true nature of the religion. Especially about the founder. Mostly to no avail. My last girlfriend was a witness that I grew up with. She was disfellowshipped when we started dating but she has been reinstated now. We dated for 2 years and I used to try to force things about the religion on her. Very bad move on my part

I was very bitter towards the religion for a long time. Truthfully I have just gotten over this bitterness within the last 2 years or so. There are many negative and tragic aspects to the religion however I will list a few positives that I took from it

1. Discipline. As a child being a witness and having to sit quietly through all those meetings definitely gives discipline
2. Public speaking. Having to prepare and then stand up in front of an audience and deliver those "talks" I think is something positive to learn to do
3. Knowledge of the bible. Even tho in my opinion religion is bs the bible does have some good knowledge in there if you know how to read it

Hi 72MAV27,
thanks for your post. It really is hard to inform Witnesses about the true history and backgrounds of the Organization. I remember having a conversation with my Mother's husband last year, I was trying to explain to him why the "only 144.000 people go to heaven" doctrine was wrong. At that point I had thoroughly looked into that and read lots of scriptures, looked into the meanings of the original Greek and researched. He wasn't interested in my findings, what he said was that it would take years to look into such matters until you can reach a conclusion. They prefer their pre-chewed "solid food". I left it at that. What my Mother threw at me were the typical phrases such as I was getting "wise in my own eyes" and becoming arrogant and all that. It's strange how you become the bad guy just for thinking on your own and for yourself, just for seeking truth. As long as Witnesses are emotionally connected to the religion you can't really help them. Many who are disfellowshipped or have left are still emotionally connected and controlled.

Fortunately I was never too bitter, it helped me to realize that the control is everywhere, not limited to the Watchtower Society. I'm glad you were able to get over the bitterness. Eventually everyone will wake up. It's such an irony that they have the "awake!" magazine but are fast asleep.

Thanks for listing some positive aspects. One thing I learned is to look after others and to care from the heart. It is an aspect of the true Christian message, that always stuck with me. Knowledge of the bible is also one positive aspect, I've been able to help some Christians to have a better understanding and could point them to some more positive views.