Do I owe my life to the org?

by Serg 20 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  Serg

  The only reason I'm here and I exist is because of the JW org., my parents met in a hall. Is this your situation?

  If it weren't for that missionary couple out in Dominican Republic in the 50's that called on my grandma and if it weren't for the brother in the early 70's who called on my dad, my parents would have never met and I wouldn't be sitting here writing this post.

  I just realized all of these years I thought I owed my life to god and his organization what I actually owed my life to was an organization that claimed to be God's channel. The organization itself. These are some wierd feelings to have to cope with, feeling like you owe something to an org. of this nature. I hate to say it but its almost as bad as being the result of a rape, except I was a result of 2 people being indoctrinated and duped into J-dubism and "last days" mentality. Now I am married and have a child of my own, this is the only reason I am still even attending meetings.

  Has anyone here ever had to deal with these types of weird feelings? I don't want to call it guilt because I'm not guilty of anything.
• 

  Scully

  Do people who are born into poverty in third-world countries "owe their lives" to their country of birth? Can they not rise above the circumstances into which they were born and better themselves? Are people born into crime families destined to a life of crime themselves, or can they choose another alternative to what they have been taught?

  I think what you are describing is a false sense of loyalty and duty to an organization that could not care less if you existed or not.

  You do have the ability to "rise above your raising". Neither myself or Mr Scully were born into the JWs. My family converted when I was a young child, and he joined as an adult like two of his siblings did. Were it not for the JWs, our paths would never have crossed and our children would not exist. But neither of us feel any false sense of loyalty to the organization that wants to keeps us perpetually enslaved to falsehoods. We've found much more satisfaction in life in being true to ourselves and our personal integrity.
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  eclipse

  Would you say that if they had been mormons or jewish or islamic or buddist or hindu or if they just met randomly?
• 

  sir82

  Not me personally, but my wife.

  She was 17, heavily into the drugs & club scene, a child of an alcoholic father headed into the same self-destructive spiral, unimpressed by her Catholic upbringing.

  JWs came to her, showed her something "better" (or just plain better, without the ironic quote marks), and she had the character strength to reform her life and make something of herself.

  Now, many years later, she knows my feelings toward the org. and does not disagree with me. But she feels a conflict, the feeling that abandoning the org. would be being disloyal to the group that showed her a better life was possible.

  So, for the time being, she is stuck at the "where else could we go" hurdle. I still don't know how to overcome that, given her unique circumstances.
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  mentalclearness

  my parents met in Gilead..yey!!! I don't feel I owe anything to the Jw's. Just a circumstance like any other.
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  momzcrazy

  My kids are here because I their dad and I went to the same hall. We've been married 15 years. He left the org 8 years ago and the rest of us left last month. I have never looked at it the way you are saying. I focus on the silly things about it, like he wouldn't speak to me at first, he thought I was stuck up. Or he sang Garth Brooks from the stage before our wedding. Or that my parents got married in a hospital room because the only JP in town was having surgery the next day. I'm sure there are funny things about the way your parents met or even the way your Grandparents met. Things that could have happened if they were Baptists or Pentacostal. Now that you have a family I'm sure you have your own silly stories to tell.

  The aspect of "owing" anybody for your life is from JWland. If you still believe it, we really all owe our lives to Jesus, no matter what our religion. Or you owe your parents respect and honor as they are your parents. Look at the good aspects of your family's beginnings. Focus on being glad that you are all here, no matter how it started.

  momzcrazy

  PS You live and exist because your parents fell in love, and showed that love and made you. Period.
• 

  OnTheWayOut

  Really just adding to Scully and momzcrazy't thoughts, you cannot owe your life to a thing that
  caused your birth or a circumstance.

  Do many folks owe their life to the backseat of a Chevy? Do many owe their life to the prom or to
  the High School? Many of us would not exist if any one little event out of a whole list were changed.

  I owe my life to a poor understanding of the Catholic rythm method, I suppose. Or to my older siblings
  for behaving long enough for Mom and Dad to finish procreating. Yours could actually just be a case
  of being out of birth control devices.

  Not trying to be funny, but any suggestion that one "owes their life" would lean toward support of
  slavery.
• 

  flipper

  SERG- Welcome to the board ! Good post ,i'm sure that you agonize over these thoughts at times. But think about it a minute, your mom and dad were attracted to each other, that is why they met! If either of your parents were in the same kingdom hall , and one of them did not think the other was that interseting, they would not have gone up to meet them ! And you still might not be here ! Think about it ! Anybodies prospective mom and dad could have met anywhere! We as humans just would have been born to other parents and looked differently !

  The point I'm making is the elders or governing body was not in the bedroom when you were conceived , it had more to do with mom and dad's physical, and emotional attraction ! Having been in that religion we give it way too much credit for causing things to happen in our lives ! For instance , it's the same thinking as we get a new job, it must be a provision from Jehovah , not us. But we had to get out of bed to go for the interview to get the job, and have the work skills to keep it! You get my drift? Anyway , stick around on the board and I'm sure many more of our posters will drop more pearls of wisdom on you ! LOL! Don't mean to fry your brain with these concepts , but also educate yourself about the child molestation scandals by the watchtower society ! Especially since you have children, protect them please ! Peace out, just speaking my heart, Mr. Flipper
• 

  Serg

  Yea, I agree guys. Thats a very reasonable way to look at it.

  I guess we all had to come to exist some how.
• 

  Burger Time

  I owe my life to my parents, but it's definitely a situation where if it weren't for the JW's my parents would not have met. It was just a small part of larger coincidences. My take on it, is that it can't be undone, while I am thankful for my parents meeting each other that is it. I owe no more to the JW org then a child born from a random hook up at a bar one drunken night. Know what I mean?