Ok, so you know about my parents' and my email exchange. Mom said come to meetings, I was genuine with her and told her why I don't, mom replies with denial of what she just read (like I am a confused baby), then I replied with an email that ABSOLUTELY takes care of everything. From evolution vs creation, to the Bible, to Jehovah, and the WTS. I really drove it home, that I am not accepting this crap anymore.
It worked, she has not replied to my email. She read it, and there's been no more "I can see how you are confused, the WTS compact disk will answer it all".
But this thread is for a completely different matter. This morning, my husband called me from work. He got a phone call from my father. He sounded a bit strange, and it made my man nervous. Dad wants to sit down and have a talk with him, one on one, when he gets off of work. Not thinking (distracted because he works in emergency healthcare and actually WAS running an emergency), he said yes to the meeting!!
This is a big problem:
1) My dad sounds unstable
2) My dad is the size of Hulk Hogan
3) My husband is the size of Edward Norton
4) Dad has been a JW for 50 years, my husband has never been one and isn't able to combat the little twisty-twirly mindgame magic.
People, my man has NEVER been baptized. He studied for a little while, had a falling out with the elder he was studying with, they fought (verbally), and we have kept to ourselves ever since. Not because of the fallout, but mainly because I was ready to stop being a JW by then and it seemed like a good time to disappear.
My husband is shy and doesn't know enough about their beliefs to protect himself.
Several months ago, after we'd decided not to believe in their caca anymore, we were over at their house (they wanted us there for one of these "father and son-in-law one on ones"). My dad pulled my husband into another room and worked his magic. We were in the car on our way home after that, and he was already considering that JWs were right about everything. All it took was 10 minutes of games to get him to change his mind!!! This isn't a fair fight! Twisting logic and smoothing over all of the hard-to-swallow doctrines is not a fair deal.
I told him, "you know, my dad worked his JW magic on you and it worked", and just then, he snapped out of it and said, "oh my god, you are right! I fell for it again!" Yeah, like a fricking spell.
Today, my man is sounding quite nervous about it. He knows he can't defend himself from the JW indoctrinating magic tricks. My dad is pulling him aside, away from me, because he KNOWS that he will get more garbage packed into his head without me there to protect him.
I guess he read my last email and figured....."well, if I can't talk some sense into her, maybe I can convince her husband to come to the meetings. Then, she might follow him". Either that, or, "he is worldly and he is the reason my daughter believes in evolution, so I have a bone to pick with him". He thinks my dad meant it in the latter way. I am thinking he wants this meeting for the former.
I specifically said, in my final email: "No phone calls, no visits. Let's keep this in email because it is calmer and easier for each side to pull its thoughts together before saying anything rash". And here we are, 2 days later, a phone call and an invite for a "chit chat". Men only....wouldn't want the waspy daughter there to stomp out any little Jehovah flames!
My husband is working a 24 hour shift on an ambulance. He is under-slept, he is stressed out over several things having to do with work, he is stressed out over college. This has come at a bad time for him, and now that he has AGREED to this meeting, and is regretting it, he wants me to find a way out of it for him. So here I am, racking my brain for ways to get him out of this trap he's allowed himself to be pulled into, and I am asking for your ideas and opinions.
Remember, I am not invited and he is not conditioned to argue with their nonsense, yet in a moment of not thinking....he agrees to a conference!
Geez. Are they sure Adam wasn't the one fooled in Genesis? LOL Or maybe the smooth-talking snake was a Witness? Oh wait, I forgot! That story isn't real...