I know where you are coming from, I come from a complete family of JW's and I was the first to get out.
Most important point about the JW religion (and most others but, not all) is they prey on guilt feelings and fear (my mom is the # 1 example). They make you so scared to live (don't go to parties, no worldly association etc etc etc) and so afraid to die. When I told my family, If I die I die, they were appalled. You have 70-80 years on this planet, you can enjoy them, AND be a great person in society without the JW religion.
I heard the education crap back in the 70's and 80's (and so has everybody else on this site, GUARANTEED), and was the Watchtower right ?????? NO .
The fact that you are on this site, shows you are seeing the true colors of the congregations and the Watchtower in general. Hang out here long enough, and really think about some of the questions that come up and form YOUR own opinion, because in the end it is the only one that matters.
-they make a BILLION dollars a year (yet charge kingdom halls interest and rent for assembly halls)(how do you charge rent for something you already own, that is like charging your family for coming over for supper.) (let's see mom and dad you had two steaks, potatoes, veggies, that $45.00 and then we have to wash the dishes so that's another $10.00.) like where is the logic
-scare you with family shunning
-make you feel full of guilt for no reason
-constantly changing their doctrine (blood issue, 1914,working in war)
-the whole time in the JW religion, as much as I hated it and questioned it, I REALLY believed the saying "that the generation that saw these things would by no means pass away", well guess what, after years and years or saying we are in the last days (and predicting in the 70's watchtower that it is unlikely we will see the year 2000)(check out for yourself), they decided in 2000 that the word generation was misinterpeted. Why did they say this because most of the people have died from 1914, how many 90-year old people do you know ???????
What sent me packing was Jesus said "the end is coming like a thief in the night, and no one knows the day nor the hour.", yet the Watchtower in their 125 year history has made prediction after prediction. 1874,1914,1925,1935,1974,1975,1995 (new light),2000.
What did they not understand "no one knows the day nor the hour", could Jesus make it any clearer !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The other one was, I had been a bartender and they thought this was not an approiate job for me to have. Yet regularly the brothers who worked at General Motors, missed meetings because they were on shift work, but that was OK, I made the meetings but that wasn't good enough.
Finally I let an elder have it (all readers use this line, it works great), I said " if you are so sure of yourself and everything the organization stands for, then quit your job, sell your house, sell your car and go into the full-time ministry, God looked after Job, he will look after you, do you have faith in God ???
I feel for you, if it was just you and your wife, it might not be so hard, but with children as well, it is not easy. I would never tell someone what to do. So the best thing you can do is : investigate ALL the information from (1879 - 2003), find contradictions (keep a file on your computer), ask questions (see if the elders say you are being disruptive, and YOU should not question God's organization). And after that talk to your wife and family, ask them questions, ask them what they are so afraid of on this planet. You know the world may not be perfect, but we all have to live here.
It's late and my brain is dying, So GOOD LUCK, feel for ya !!!!!!!!!!!
