I have been floating on these boards for close to a week now. Kudos to all you peeps who actively search out the real truth and make it apparent to EVERYONE. I posted my personal story earlier, hopefully those that read it will understand my dilemma now...
Do I try to convert my brother out of the organization?
Heh.. in chat when i asked this question.. I was compared to Tarqaemada. After asking who the hell Tarqaemada was.. I had to laugh. The Spanish inquisition was.. convert or be killed. mmmm actually JW's seem to be a little more up this alley. Convert or GOD will kill you.
I have always been very content with my life as an exJW.. and actually somewhat proud of my brother for his extreme faith and commitment. Now things have changed.. I had my problems with the WTS and JW's.. actually I had problems with most world religions. There is not a religion out there that does not have hypocrisy, anti-semitism,changed doctrine, or even a very murderous and bloody history.
To me, at first, this answer seemed a clear YES. GET him out now! Those lying hypocritical SOB's!
But these are reasons why I hate the WTS, not my brother's.
So my next thought was.. well, is this potentially threatening to his mental or physical well being?
Reviewing the past has helped me.. but it still seems I am to ignorant of many facts before I decide to try and change my brothers life.
A little background on my brother:
If you read my story then you know my mother's history of abuse. She was a very neglecting mother and sadly my brother almost paid with his life.. more than once. Once she fed him powder milk in a drunken stupor..Dry milk contains a very large amount of potassium. In an infant it will cause a toxic reaction. He turned green ( yes he literally turned green) overnight and wasn't expected to live through the night. The second time, she decided to leave him alone, on a bed, on the top floor of an A-frame cabin.. next to an OPEN window, so she could head to a nearby party. Needless to say, he fell three stories. Again he wasn't expected to survive the night. But he did.
The reason for the above long stories is.. my brother never fully recovered from those accidents. He has always had learning disabilities and his eyes do not function properly. But mostly, the trauma left him emotionally scared. He rarely had a shred of confidence growing up and was teased and beat in school constantly. He never had a chance to make very many friends.
When he was around 15 he started to become very active at the KH's. He started to make friends within the congregation. He started to grow confidence of which I had never seen in him before. I saw a happiness in my brother i was actually jealous of.
He has been living at Bethel for 7 years now. In that time he has learned skills we, outside of the WTS, would have to pay thousands of dollars for. He's in the best physical shape I have ever seen him in. He LOVES what he does. How many of us can truly say that?
What harm has the WTS actually done?
To return to an ealrier question: Is this potentially threatening to his mental or physical well being?
Mentally.. he is happier than he has ever been. He has confidence in himself and pride in what he does.
The only true concern i have is their blood policy. Doing construction he is at a higher risk of injury. Will I get a call telling me my brother is dead because he "served Jehovah" and obeyed "his wishes"?
Circumstantial and rhetorical, I understand, but it is a concern.
I can gather all this info.. I can put together the best portfolio of facts and figures to show him.. but what will it do to him?
I could actually do more harm than good. I could potentially shatter a world he has known and trusted and loved for over 15 years.
So.. if you could.. please fill me in on any other potential dangers to him. If not, then I'm not sure I should show him any of this at all.
Thanks again all and sorry for such a long winded post..
Peace,
Stash
