1. Life after Jehovah's Witnesses: website offers help to followers who lose their faith

Comment #175791 by artqvo on May 6, 2008 at 3:30 am

I'm an ex-JW, I was born into it. I left when I was around 25. Now I'm 30.

I had doubts about JW validity since I was 17 maybe even earlier, these doubts increased geometrically until I started to investigate about eveything (science, philosophy, bible archeology, JW history, and also the forbidden books written by ex-JWs etc, yes, and some of Richard Dawkins' books) when I was 24.

I gradually changed my beliefs, from JW to just Christian to just Atheist in that year. The concept of God now seems to me absurd although I can understand why people "need" it.

"Sects" for me are just social groups with a different culture from the mainstream. All typical social behaviours, in a general sense, are present both in "sects" and in society en general.

I think that this distinction it's important, especially for those that treasure their personal freedom, because you can find damaging groups everywhere - even bigger ones, like religions and whole nations - in politics, business, science, etc.

Internet for me was a very important source of information, and support. I'm lucky because I have two "worldly" atheist intelligent friends since childhood that helped me to reintegrate myself into mainstream society.