by EndofMysteries 49 Replies latest jw friends
I would NEVER want to destroy something that my grandparents spent a life time investing into and have great faith in. NO WAY!
That is precisely why I'm in hiding right now. Once my other grandparent passes, I'm out of the apostacloset.
I think it's an evil and unloving thing to do to ones very old loved ones.
If it is in their hearts to know God as he is and you know that God is kind, then it is well to pray for them.
My own parents are Catholics who have struggled with their Catholic faith since childhood. They are 83 and 85 years old. They are having the first genuine conversations we have everhad about God and church now in the last 5 months since dad had a major heart surgery. It sure helps that I am not a Witness anymore.
Pray for them, God loves our parents more than we do. If they are not afraid then let God lead them to himself. Gently.
No, not at this point. My parents were both raised in this religion and to them, it's the only hope they have of seeing their children again, so I don't disuade them. It could do more harm than good to an elderly person and could literally give them a heart attack.
I didn't push it when my mom was dying of cancer. If she brought the subject up I'd discuss it, but within limits. I didn't want to cause her any unnecessary stress. Dying is bad enough without having one's faith shattered on top of it.
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I dunno? When I was working, there was this girl that was a previous drug abuser/alcoholic. She talked about Jesus and God all the time. She kept trying to get people to come to her point of view and belief. One day, I just couldn't take her preaching anymore; so I went off half-cocked and told her my beliefs. I'm agnostic. It, definitely, rocked her world. During the shift, she became nervous looking; it looked like she wanted a drink/drug all night (I worked nights.).
I felt so bad. I couldn't take it back. I took away the glue that was holding her together. I hope that she didn't go back to drugs/drinking.
You just never know.
I KNOW if I showed all, it would destroy their faith.
Rubbish. Doing that just IDs you as an opposer and they wouldn't listen anyway.
Just your saying that you would 'show all' is a pretty good indication that you don't yet understand the psychology required to get your message through to them.
In my parent's case, they have damaged a lot of lives by speading the tentacles of this cult and they deserve to know what they have done before they go to their death beds.
BlackSheep - I think I would understand the psychology, despite getting some of the worst treatment for years, and even reading 'apostate' material but still able to reason it out as long as not going against the bible, but in the end the only thing that got me out, was the bible itself. After seeing in the bible itself, then other things helped as confirmation.
As for your case, from last statement sounds like lots of anger towards your parents and wanting revenge. I won't say you don't have a good reason for it though, I've heard some real bad stories. Just know, sounds like your only looking for revenge.
When my mom was dying she called it all bullshit. She knew how the cong did not rally around her or her unbelieving husband. When she died my father was offended by all the meals offered and people coming around to say how sorry they were. He would ask, "Where were they when she was dying?" My lack of faith in a ressurection has lead to an answer of "I don't know" when he asks if there will be one. I tell him I have no way of knowing. I'm sure that where ever she is, we'll be going to the same place. I wouldn't worry about it. It's time to live your life well and honor her by not forgetting and never deny her place in our minds and hearts. So far he has peace.
bookmarking this thread -
good points for dealing with older ones regarding when to speak and when to just shut the hell up.
I have had the opportunity to sabotage the belief in the JW cult by older, entrenched JW family. I will never know if my efforts would have born fruit or not because I never really engaged in any serious deprograming efforts.
It is a choice that can reveal a lot about one's character. Not that I have such sterling character, but I cannot find the motivation to throw a stick into the spokes of a good person who's entire life is built around the JW cult.
Many seem to be happy and coping. They can get excited over a few earthquakes, enjoy a nice "jack 'em up, shoot 'em out" District Assembly rally and then seque back into the comfy doldroms of everyday JW la de da routine. I have a quite elderly aunt and uncle who have been staunch JWs since birth. They are now 69 and 88 respectively with children and grandchildren in the Org.. I am content that I can visit with them by phone and the net as often as I want.
If I started to work the JW angle it would be a waste of time It would destroy my ability to have contact with them and the worst case scenario would be if I actually put doubts in their minds and put them in the position of doubting their core beliefs in the twilight of their life.
