This morning I let my emotions run away with me and challenged my 20-year-old son into defending his loyalty to the WATCHTOWER shunning doctrine. It was not good, I’m in no way proud of myself. I’m sure he and my DUB wife will likely mischaracterize it as an attack on GOD; anything said against the TOWER is always an attack on GOD.
Emotions ran high, voices were raised and I just hope I did not put my son over the edge. That is what I am worried about; my son at age 20 is an emotional cripple. As his father, it's very hard for me to say that, but it is unfortunately very true. He can’t handle stress of any kind or normal everyday disappointments like most people can. He has VERY serious mood swings among other emotional problems, and I strongly suspect he suffers from bipolar disorder. Two semesters of college phyc classes does not make me in anyway an expert on the subject, but he has all the classic signs judging from everything I have read.
Here is what precipitated the row this morning:
Last night I learned that two boys, brothers to each other and dis-fellowshipped for about a year now, boys we have been very good friends with for over 10 years, were in very serious condition after a fight. A fight which I understand transpired in a bar. I am not surprised it happened in a bar as the boys have gone downhill very fast since their dis-fellowshipping and subsequent loss of every friend they had in the world as a result of their new religious status. All their so-called friends were witnesses and everyone of them now shuns them. Now the boys hang out with a very bad crowd, lots of drug use etc.
The one boy Adam had several bones broken and multiple lacerations. That’s bad enough, but unfortunately Adam is in much better shape then his older brother Seth who among his other serious injuries that put him in critical condition includes a punctured, bleeding, and collapsed lung. Seth was stabbed, his throat slashed and like his brother, beaten with bats from what I understand. Someone attempted to murder both of them and my son has been upset over this, but yet he can’t check on them, he can’t see them in the hospital, make a call, or even offer a prayer because the two boys are dis-fellowshipped.
All the “friends” of course still shun both of them too, as everyone is obliged by WATCHTOWER dogma to shun these boys, even when they are near death’s door. Now if they were convicted child rapists but not dis-fellowshipped then the “friends” could visit them, but smoke a cigarette or break some other mad-made WATCHTOWER rule and it’s out the door you go. SICK!
The thing that really got me is that I found my son all dressed up this morning for service waiting to be picked up by yet a third brother in this family, Luke. And yes these are their real names, all very biblical don’t you think?
After realizing my son was all dressed up to go spread this propaganda with Luke to other unsuspecting people, everything welled up in me and I lost it. I just could not contain the resentment I feel for this cult and how it dehumanizes normal family relationships and so I lost it right then and there, I really lost it and let my emotionally fragile child have it with both barrels. I normally walk on eggshells with him because he is so fragile. I won't go into deatils of what was said, I more or less challenged him to put his money where his mouth was and show me the scriptural basis for shunning, and I did it in a very unkind way.
As I walked out the door hurriedly on my way to work, I taunted him that he needs to tell everyone on who’s door he knocks about the WATCHTOWER’s loving provision of shunning for people near death, and that he has all day to look up the scriptures, and he better be ready to prove his case for shunning to me from the Bible when I get home.
Of course he can’t and won’t but I just had to get that last little dig in. If my son does not emotionally meltdown, (and God I hope not) then he should have an interesting conversation with Luke about what I said as he was going to be picked up in just a few minutes. He and Luke can then both high-five each other WATCHTOWER style over the foolishness of what brother inactive (that’s me) had to say.
Someone reading this post may wonder, why the hell I would ever want to broadcast to the world this personal information about family members and myself. The answer is simple, I WANT TO SAVE OTHERS FROM THE PAIN I AM GOING THROUGH!
For anyone reading this, please investigate the WATCHTOWER, don’t join because they seem like nice people, research their organization first, then make up your mind! You have a right to ask questions!
Freeman