Well, my brother and his wife came over to my parent's house to visit today while I was home.
To make a long story short, while my brother and his wife were chatting with my mother in the living room, my 1 and a half year old nephew Reilly walked into the kitchen where I was making a caesar salad.
He walked over towards me and was smiling, how can any normal adult resist the innocent smile of a child who is your relative? I picked him up and gave him a huge hug, and told him I loved him.
As I was holding my nephew in my arms, my brother walked into the room. He was smack dab in the middle of an in-depth conversation about Jehovah with my mother and his wife, and I admit I was rolling my eyes listening to him spew about the "Truth" and "the only means for salvation in the last days of this wicked system" even though when I confronted him with info on the UN, blood, Russell gravesite, rape changes, exclusivity, etc, he had no response for me because he was dumbfounded and lost for words.
Nevertheless, it seemed as though he was waiting for me to even glance at my nephew and was eavesdropping in the kitchen for me to display any type of affection for my nephew. So much for loving Christians eh?
When he walked in and saw me holding my nephew, my brother looked me dead in the eyes and said:
"I dont allow my son to associate with wicked people. Because you have turned your back on Jehovah's Organization you are an Apostate. I will not allow my son to be influenced by your false snares and ideas. Put him down, and dont plan on picking him up again."
It almost sounded like he planned that out. Like he had been programmed or waiting to say it.
My heart sank in my chest, and it took every ounce of strength and decency I possess to not do something terribly violent to him.. but I thought about my nephew and did not want to give my brother justification in proclaiming that I am wicked by literally kicking his ass all over the kitchen floor.
I calmly sat my nephew down, looked my brother in the face for what was only about 30 seconds but seemed like an eternity, bit my tongue really hard from saying something harsh, and walked out.
He is beyond warped. Jehovah's Witnesses are beyond warped. For a long time my heart ached at the loss of family and his naivety.. and subsequently I wanted to help him.
Now I see he is beyond redemption.
It is not religious persecution for an informed person to expose publicly a certain religion as being false, thus allowing persons to see the difference between false religion and true religion.
WT 11/15/1963 page 688 paragraph 3