What kind of atheist are you?

[CapnAwesome]

My family is Jewish. However my mother converted to Catholicism later in life. Imagine having a Jewish mother who is a practicing Catholic! I grew up feeling more guilt than any human being alive.

[Tonus]

Raised a Jehovah's Witness, bought into it for a good long while, finally came to my senses.

[Whateverist]

Raised a Jehovah's Witness, bought into it for a good long while, finally came to my senses.

Such a level headed guy for someone who broke out of a cult. Can you tell me something about the JW's? I heard that when a group of them go around door to door with that little magazine thingy some of them are checking out your house for after the rapture. Is that true? I mean, what I heard is that JWs believe the rapture will suck out all the bad eggs leaving only the chosen here on earth. So heaven comes to us?

[The Grand Nudger]

It'll suck out some "good eggs" too, a very small number of them. They get to go to an even better place than post-rapture earth.

[Whateverist]

It'll suck out some "good eggs" too, a very small number of them. They get to go to an even better place than post-rapture earth.

Still I sometimes wonder if I shouldn't booby trap my place just in case.

[Psykhronic]

My background is uninteresting. Raised as non-strict, very generic Christian. My parents were raised Catholics and hated it, they also think baptism is stupid as fuck and none of us kids were baptized. But they decided to teach us about Jesus because Jesus or something. After a while I grew out of their version of Christianity and into non-belief. In any case, they're not even Christian-like anymore, with my dad not caring at all about religion and my mom considers the universe her "God".

[Tonus]

Such a level headed guy for someone who broke out of a cult.

Hah, I appreciate it. There are a number of reasons that the indoctrination didn't "take" over the long term. One reason, I think, is that the JWs do prompt the membership to "test all things" with the Bible. They don't really mean that; they expect you to come to the same conclusions that they do, and you risk expulsion if you don't. But hey, if you ask people to sincerely check your math, some of them are going to prefer expulsion when they realize that it doesn't add up.

Can you tell me something about the JW's? I heard that when a group of them go around door to door with that little magazine thingy some of them are checking out your house for after the rapture. Is that true? I mean, what I heard is that JWs believe the rapture will suck out all the bad eggs leaving only the chosen here on earth. So heaven comes to us?

Jehovah's Witnesses believe that god's original plan for mankind was that we would fill the Earth and live forever upon it, and he has not abandoned that plan. He made arrangements for 144,000 faithful to be called to heaven as angels, but everyone else will live forever on Earth after god forcibly wipes all wickedness from it and restores it to its intended status as Paradise.

(And by wickedness, they pretty much mean anyone who isn't a JW. You can be a "good person" with all that it entails, but if you aren't doing it the JW way, you die with the rest of the rabble.)

As for scouting out houses, I've heard of it happening but never saw it first hand. Which isn't surprising, I grew up in poor and shitty areas of the Bronx, and most of the abodes were not the sort of place you'd want to move into once the planet had been god-ified. So I don't know if it was a serious thing or if it was just a way to keep from dozing off while being turned down by every person you met as you went from one home to the next.

[The Grand Nudger]

It'll suck out some "good eggs" too, a very small number of them. They get to go to an even better place than post-rapture earth.

Still I sometimes wonder if I shouldn't booby trap my place just in case.

Especially underwear drawers and shit. Can't trust those sick fuckers not to rummage once they know we're not around anymore. I mean, we've all seen how pushy they are the the threshhold, they're practically trying to fall into our houses already.

[My imaginary friend is GOD]

I never was religious, but I was raised 1/2 Episcopalian and 1/2 Worldwide Church of God.

[Norfolk And Chance]

Was never baptised, god was never talked about except at school, never really believed that it was ever anything but a bunch of bullshit.

I now spend my life getting overly wound up by cars with fish stickers and rosary beads - first thought that pops up into my head is "I'm following a fucking idiot".

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Raised a Jehovah's Witness, bought into it for a good long while, finally came to my senses.

Don't JW's shun you if you leave the religion or shack up with a non JW?