Great post Gary,
You really said it all in a nutshell. Most of us ex-JWs suffer the most because of the very things you pointed out. We were never prepared for the realities of life by our parents due to their main moral authority, the Watch Tower Society, therefore, we are crippled and left playing catch up our whole lives.
Logansrun,
Science has been my comfort since leaving the Watch Tower cult. Whenever I feel the old irrational fears instilled in me by this destructive cult I recall the realities that science teaches us. 99% of all species that have ever lived on this planet are now extinct. Extinction is the rule and not the exception. It is remarkable that human beings still exist at all, let alone in the vast numbers we now represent. Despite what the secular post modern environmental extremists and the religious fanatics preach we are not at the thresh hold of anhilation but rather we are in a great position to survive and thrive because of our advances in understanding the natural Universe around us.
Natural forces have been the cause of ALL extinctions before the evolution of human beings( the majority of the Earth's history) so, despite what the dooms sayers preach, we have NOT been responsable for most of the destruction seen on this planet. The chances of humans being the cause of the Earth's ultimate demise are infintisimly small. The combined force of all human weapons can not destroy the Earth because it is so massive and many lifeforms would survive even the worst damage humans can inflict. If we spread our great numbers out into space and inhabit other planets our chances for survival are greatly increased. Instead of religion's imaginary hopes and fears which have proven to be bogus I have hope, based on tangable facts, that our own inteligence will allow us to survive far into the future. Our destruction is not inevitable, we have already beaten the odds. Even if we do become extinct however, keep in mind that God will have nothing to do with it since the majority of living things no longer exists by nature's own laws. Armaggedon is imaginary with about as much power as the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy.