Fun family study? Tolerable?

by Gopher 41 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

  • Sassy
    Sassy

    family studies are not good memories.. growing up my mother had them although not real often. Mostly because I think she found it a struggle to do. Dad wasn't a witness. She tried though. She'd take us to a deserted beach and let us look for agates.. walk the beach, play in the sand for a while.. then we'd go in the car and she'd try to study with us. My brother would end up yawning, denoting his boredom and in the end my mom would end up crying because no one was really paying attention..

    then after I married my first husband, he had a short fuse and as soon as the kids got fidgety.. which kids are apt to do.. especially the youngest who was ADD... bad.. well before long my ex would be swearing and screaming at the kids.. and next thing, throwing his bible across the room at them...

  • aSphereisnotaCircle
    aSphereisnotaCircle
    Stepdad saw anything and everything as a "bad attitude".
    pretty much the same and probably like you, it wasnt just bible study time either...mine used to push me around and hit me.

    KW, I just realized that basically our parents treated us, the way the society treated them, like crap.

    Just the trickle down effect I guess.

  • nsrn
    nsrn

    I can remember anxiously hoping my folks would forget the study this week...I'd get more anxious as Saturday progressed, and then boom! Mom or Dad would say, "Get your magazine and Bible, and turn off that TV!" If we were pressed for time, or if I begged hard enough, sometimes we could read the paragraphs silently and get though it in record time. I also discovered that I could volunteer to go in the kitchen and get some fruit punch for everyone, and spike mine! That made the study much less anxiety-producing!

  • aSphereisnotaCircle
    aSphereisnotaCircle

    ya, I remember annoying the living shit out of my dad when it was my turn to read, pausing about 3-5 seconds between each word...

    and 1-2-3-4-5 Johober 1-2-3-4-5 killed 1-2-3-4-5 some 1-2-3-4-5 more 1-2-3-4-5 bad 1-2-3-4-5 peoples 1-2-3-4-5 cuz 1-2-3-4-5 they 1-2-3-4-5 pissed 1-2-3-4-5 him 1-2-3-4-5 off...

    he'd turn beat red with anger...

    I love it!

    I would avoid whippings at all costs, but my big sister would do the sort of thing that you described. Stepdad would go into a rage and beat the living daylights out of her, but to her, it was worth it.

    It got to where the study would only last about ten minutes, before big sister would have stepdad in a rage and pulling out the belt. Mom would go crying into her room, and that would be the end of the study.

    Sis won in the end because stepdad just finally gave up, saying that sis must be "doing drugs". Which was ludicrous, because sis was probably the most loyal witness in the family, pioneering every month, studying constantly, getting rides to the KH when the rest of the family was not going, and only about 13 at the time.

  • LearningToFly
    LearningToFly

    Family studies were just another time to control and frighten.. most family studies happened on the way home from a meeting, continuing into the evening or day. It was inevitable that someone would get beat for not remembering quite enough.

    Now in my little family, my daughter and I read together all the time.. and still do.. all kinds of books.. books on life.. growing, ect ect. It is a lovely time that promotes thought, discussion, personal opinions and sharing.

  • ex-nj-jw
    ex-nj-jw

    It was horrible, boring and we were made to participate. We'd sit there until dad started threatening us, then we just read whatever we thought the answer was the he wanted. Nothing lively at all.

    When did the family life book come out? I don't even remember that book.

    nj

  • ex-nj-jw
    ex-nj-jw
    Then the leather belt would come off, and he would fold it in half with some slack and then quickly pull it taunt so that the two haves would make a slapping sound as they came together. He would be standing there going snap snap snap with the belt while he told us to bend over.

    My dad did the same thing!! Somebody always ended up get'n a beating. Family study time meant boring, crying, yelling, threatening and beating. Then if it was Sunday we'd have to get dressed and go to the damn meeting with our arses stinging and red swollen eyes!

    My childhood SUCKED

    nj

  • Gopher
    Gopher

    Ex-nj-jw:

    "Making Your Family Life Happy" came out in 1978

    Its replacement "The Secret of Family Happiness" came out in 1996

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Watchtower_publications

    Will Smith's movie "The Pursuit of Happyness" came out in 2006, and was much more entertaining

  • Stealth453
    Stealth453

    Endless hours of hell, with my father demanding in-depth answers to stupid questions, and my mother hitting us with an umberella when we got it wrong.

  • Gopher
    Gopher

    An umbrella? WTF?

    I knew JW families were dysfunctional, but I had no idea how abusive family studies were for so many. I am so sorry to hear about this crap.

    The Bible says a rotten tree produces rotten fruit. The Watchtower is hypocritical and rotten to the core.

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