Excellent essay, Metatron. thank you. I wish I could discuss some of these topics with my Father. I've danced around some of what you say in the past, but not since my exit from the WT.
The Watchtower In Crisis: Why They Can't Raise Good Kids
by metatron 19 Replies latest jw friends
-
-
Spook
Too true. And it goes straight to the top as self-fulfilling.
Generations of young anti-educated zealous youths grow up isolated from reality, then assume positions of leadership. Eventually, you find the current situation of the Governing Body being very old men, poorly or uneducated, with no experience in the real world, living in isolation, and desperate to be right about everything since their lives are in the twilight years and all of their past has been invested in the story.
-
Tigerman
" Where love rules there is no will to power; where power predominates, there love is lacking." Carl Jung ( 1875-1961 )
-
wednesday
Met,
Often people who survive or deal with ongoing abuse are very ill people. Stress breaks down the bodies immune system and even cancer is seen more frequently. People who have survived incest, physical abuse and other abuses often are very ill people, not just emotionally.That is why therapy is so important for recovering form abuse. So many JWS fit into this category. Women living with abusive husbands and enduring to "not bring reproach on Jehovah's name" etc. people who have legitimate mental illness but are stigmatized as possibly demonized or just simply marked as bad association just b/c people are fearful of things they don't understand.
Of course JWS are not the only people who are survivors of abuse. or the only people dealing with stress. But they do encourage unhealthy ways of dealing with the scars that abuse leaves.They often further victimize the victim and increase the person's suffering. They have much to answer for before God and man.
weds
-
ezekiel3
Ex-Witness kid may end up worse than his 'worldly' peers because all of his parents advice is tainted by the organization's extremism.
YES YES YES. The programming that goes into JW child minds makes the "STD, unwanted-preg" mantra a sulf fullfilling prophecy. Instead of parents realistically expecting their children to experiment sexually, they keep them in the bubble until it pops (both the bubble and the child).
Does anyone notice the plethora of child articles in the last 3 years. Everyo other W&A has a feature article on it. Proff of JW new territory??
-
Whiskeyjack
More like a last ditch, over-compensation in a losing battle. It is unnatural to expect a kid to act like a Nazareen (I think I got that right) and the 1950's were over long ago! Why were we expected to get that big a "head start" on Jesus?
I can't imgagine how they (FDS/GB) think today's kids (in the org.) with the resources at their disposalthese days will "swallow" any of their dusted off family advice given the challenges facing them today. Easier than taking a good hard honest look at reality though.
Any comments among the younger folk?
-
r51785
The Tyranny of the Childless Men.
How can we expect advice and guidance in raising our children from WT leadership when nearly 100% of the leadership from Circut Overseer up through Bethel have never had any children?
-
adrift
Excellent Metatron, It is all so true! I especially liked this phrase, a cold religious extremism that bears a name usually associated with a prison camp: "Watchtower" I have never heard it put this way before. I will have to work it into a conversation with my Witness apologist father.....Thank you
-
drawcad_1
We have had a public needs talk just recently on why the kids should stay in the Borg. In a Nutshell, stay where it is safe and you might live forever or go into the world with drugs and evil where you will die.
-
stopthepain
Metatron,I enjoy everypost you make.Thank you for this one.It explained it perfectly.As a witnees child brought up in the glory days of JWism{1979-1995,IMO},you have validated all my feelings.If only my parents could read this post.Thank you.