Hey, I'm really new on here (as of tonight) but it's so good to hear people who sound exactly like me! Yes, i feel very simialar to you; my dad is so intelligent and wise and etc.. and he loves this religion more than life itself. He's not the kind of JW that seems brain-washed and is constantly trying to be 'PERFECT' despite the Bible telling us that we're imperfect! He's very grounded and down to earth, yet he believes it's the truth, through and through. So i understand how you feel. People react in similar ways to me, when i say i was brought up as a JW, my boyfriend is constantly telling me he feels i was deprived which really pisses me off! I dont feel i missed out on birthdays and christmas, infact im happy i was never part of what has become a comercial feast for large corporations all over the world. I know that christmas is very important to a lot of people, and i dont mean any offence. But not being raised in it, i dont feel i missed out, and i see how it wouldn't mean anything genuine to me if i started to celebrate it now, but going along with the 'norm'. Also, as a child my parents had other times that they would take me on shopping spree's and buy me presents, and THAT was exciting.
I still feel extremely defensive over JWs but never in a million years would i go back there. I can get so angry about it myself, having had the experience of growing up as a JW but if anybody else dares to insult JWs i get really defensive. Yeah, i think a lot of it has to do with habit. Lately im feeling that, its only as you get older that you realise how important your childhood is, and if the majority of it was spent in this religion (mine was) then its going to be a sore point. Also, having family still connected to it, you feel you need to defend it to defend them. Basically, if im not wording this well, i understand all the points made on this board. And if anybody would like to talk further they can email me on [email protected] I know it seems weird to put an email address on, but i dont always come on message boards much, but would like to chat to people!
