Hi LtCmd.Lore!
Zelda Rocks! IMO if I own the ROM (cartridge) then I don't feel bad about using the software ROM and emulator (Project 64).
I think you're lucky. Imagine spending another 20 years in the Org. before finding out it was all B.S. like I did. At least you've got a lot of good years ahead of you! A word of caution, though. Since it seems that you have been a bit overprotected in your life, when you do get to go out on your own as an adult, be careful. Don't go off the deep end, so to speak. Enjoy yourself, but plan for the future as well. I wish you luck!
Dave
Questions for those born or raised in the truth
by The wanderer 44 Replies latest jw friends
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PrimateDave
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katiekitten
I think the worst thing was not being allowed to mix with other kids. I feel like its really set me back socially for the rest of my life. You tend to make the closest and strongest friends in childhood and at school / college / uny.
It wasnt much fun watching all the other kids in the neighbourhood playing out on the street while I had to stop inside all my childhood. It wasnt much fun thinking 'all these people are going to be killed at armageddon'. It kind of cauterises your emotions at a very early age.
Very sad.
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OUTLAW
Raised from an infant..No social interaction with kids at school or the neighbourhood..Teased at school for being a JW..Punished at home for not being a good enough JW..Disagree with any WBTS teachings,the right answer would soon be beaten out of you......Life as a DubKid.....HELL!!!..My parents would tell you my life was wonderful..No matter how many times I told them different..Assh*les!!...OUTLAW
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144001
Raised in the organization
For those of you who were raised in the organization could
you provide some insight as to what the life of one of
Jehovah's Witnesses was like having been born into it?What was it like not participating in sports, holidays and
school activities in general?Finding out it was not real
Having been taught that the religion was the truth
since birth, what was your reaction on finding out
that it was not the "truth."As all the foregoing posts indicate, growing up as a Witness is like growing up with a disease. The JW lifestyle is extremely detrimental in many respects, including without limitation, social development, intellectual creativity, will to live, ambitiion, and overall emotional well-being. Neither my siblings nor I remained as JWs. I was the first one out (age 15 or so), and my siblings were baptized and out by their early 20s (one DF'd, the other via voluntary disassociation). Based on my own experience, the sooner a person leaves this group, the better that person's chances for survival in the world that all of us, including the dubs, must live in.
I greatly resent the Watchtower's effect on my childhood and that of my siblings. My siblings have not done as well, socially or professionally, as I have, and I believe that their Witness upbringing is a substantial factor in their current problems. I feel like a survivor, although I also have my battle wounds, including a loathing for the Watchtower that has at times threatened to ruin any semblance of happiness that I could ever enjoy.
It sucked going to meetings, it sucked not being allowed to play sports, it sucked having my parents show up to school to tell the teacher I couldn't salute the flag or participate in holiday events, it sucked being regularly subjected to physical punishment, for acts as trivial as not being able to sit still and quiet for long periods of time while the drones spewed the "kingdom message" from the platform like effluent from a broken sewer pipe. Of course, this list is not exhaustive; there were so many detrimental aspects of life as a Witness child that it would take too long to list out here. Accordingly,. I'll summarize: I hated much of my childhood thanks in very large part to the Watchtower.
As for "when I realized it wasn't the truth," that happened rather early for me. I hated this lifestyle so much that I didn't care whether they had the truth or not. By my mid-teens, my doubts about this organization had progressed to the point where I no longer cared about the consequences of not being a Witness, as well as certain conduct I was engaging in.
Now, as an old man, I've learned to let my hatred for this organization go. Yes, there are times it returns, but I've come to the conclusion that allowing myself to be angry over my childhood is not only useless, but also detrimental to my current mental well-being. So I've let this go and I'm finally starting to enjoy what's left of my life.
In light of the damage done to many children throughout the world, there is no hell hot enough for "Pastor" Russell or "Judge" Rutherford.
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daystar
Some excellent responses! Our experiences and reactions to them are so very similar.
I have only one thing to add... I wonder, now, why, if I really believed all the "worldlies" were going to die at Armageddon, I didn't try desperately to convert as many as I could...
I mean, WTF!? Was I lacking compassion? Or was it because of the WTS' demonization of all non-Witnesses that I just didn't really care if they survived or not?
Sometimes I think that perhaps it was a survival mechanism. I mean, everyone I knew outside the "Truth" was going to die horribly... egads! How could I possibly function generally if I was trying to save everyone?
I don't know... something I think about sometimes. Maybe I just didn't really believe after all... I hope that's it... (wish in one hand...)
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mrsjones5
Hated it. Oh there were some good moments but for the most part I hated it. I'm so glad I'm out and I'm raising my kids outside the madness.
Josie
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undercover
I feel like its really set me back socially for the rest of my life. You tend to make the closest and strongest friends in childhood and at school / college / uny.
It wasnt much fun watching all the other kids in the neighbourhood playing out on the street while I had to stop inside all my childhood. It wasnt much fun thinking 'all these people are going to be killed at armageddon'. It kind of cauterises your emotions at a very early age.
Someone said in another thread (Garybuss, I think) and I thought it very insightful:
Parents are supposed to prepare children for life but JW parents prepare their children for death.
Think about it. Our entire childhood was spent preparing us for the death and destruction of millions of people around us and maybe our own death if we don't adhere to what is taught at the Kingdom Hall.
I wonder, now, why, if I really believed all the "worldlies" were going to die at Armageddon, I didn't try desperately to convert as many as I could...
I mean, WTF!? Was I lacking compassion? Or was it because of the WTS' demonization of all non-Witnesses that I just didn't really care if they survived or not?
Again, I think this ties in to how we were raised. It goes back to the fear and guilt used to control the dubs into obedience and subsequently the children raised in that atmosphere. JWs obey, by and large, not because they want to serve God, they obey because they (or their parents) were afraid to die.
If we wanted to serve God out of a desire to please him and help others come to know about him, we would have been more concerned about trying to help others see that the world was doomed, but we weren't really concerned about them. We were trying to save our own necks. That was our main concern and it shows in the numbers recruited through the door to door work.
We made a big show about going out and getting the hours and we fooled ourselves into thinking that we were fulfilling prophecy and spreading the Kingdom News, but it was a cop out. We wanted to just squeeze by with a few hours knocking on doors, who cared if anyone answered? We fulfilled our obligation, God, now save us.
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BluesBrother
Yes I was another J W dub kid who grew up painfully shy, with hardly any contact with girls . The lack of social skills has, I suppose made me what I am . It has taken until well into adult life to get over some of the hang ups.
As a kid I did not mind missing Christmas and birthdays, I thought they were all "Wrong" anyway. I think such an upbringing gives you a belief that you are different , special, with knowlege that the others dont have - self important really .
The worst part was realizing at age around 50 that you are not going to live forever, in fact you have just the proverbial "three score years and ten", so life is three quarters over and you have wasted it - Doh!!
WELCOME LtCmd.Lore! - we know where you are coming from..
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skeeter1
I was told at an early age that my parents would never lie to me....therefore, they told me the truth about Santa, Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy, etc from the time I can remember. When my school friends figured out that Santa, Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy, etc. were not true....I felt like I was above them becuase my parents always told me the truth.
When I started to see the Watchtower's BIG LIES (UN, Blood, Military Cards, New Light, Generation of 1914), I began to see how brainwashed my parents were & how much of childhood fantasies, wonder, and imagination I was not allowed to have.
Skeeter
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wonderwoman
It was very hard.
There was no playing with the neighbor kids or friends from school. No after school classes or activities. (All I wanted was to play drums and soccer. Dad said no. Worldly association.) No birthdays or holidays or sport related school things like the football games or dances even if during school hours. We (my sisters and I) went to school with a handful of other jws which made it easier to sit in the counselor's office while everyone else cheered on our team. But then again those jw kids ended up being backstabbing holier than thou hypocritical brats.
Other kids either felt bad for us or thought we were weird. I had a couple friends that always gave me a little X-mas or birthday present.
Having a boy as a friend was as frowned upon as dating. We were tomboys so most friends were boys and we constantly got counseled on that.
They assumed (the elders) that every boy was a soon-to-be-lover.
I read a post about finding work while still in school. That was difficult because of availability. And I had to drop yet another night because of family study which always seemed to be on masturbation. My father had issues.
When I got into highschool I wanted so badly to be an artist. But of course as we all know, it's foolish to consider going to school. I was never encouraged to follow my dreams or pursue a passion. My parents told me that if I married a bethalite possibly I could get myself into the art department for the WBTS. Oh yeah!! Really??? This was the worst part of being raised a jw. No support or parental back-up to BE SOMEBODY. Follow your heart. It was always get married, pioneer.
I never really found out that it was all a lie. I always questioned it in my heart. After I left for personal reasons, it became easier and easier for me to see the lies and deception. I only found JWD a couple months ago and I'll say it again and again, I love it. I never knew YOU people were out there!!
I am so relieved that I am out and my kids will never have to experience that life.
WW