by flipper 68 Replies latest jw friends
I appreciate your remarks in particular, nugget.
This heavy handed attempt reveals the selfishness and greediness of the Governing Body. They lust to gain control over young people, in the same way that dictators like Kim Jung Ill tries to kill people fleeing his "paradise".
As you said, forget the maturity and spirituality, just get them to meetings and force them to sign on the dotted line.
metatron
So many of the generation of my child's age (mid-20s) have left the jws. Nearly all of that age from the congregation we associated with have left. The WTS is obviously desperatly trying to hold on to younger people by convincing parents to do the WTS's work of manipulation and intimidation in getting these kids baptized. It's a shame. But in any case, baptized or not, the next young generation will be making its exodus too.
Boy, the Organization is pushing hard to keep the membership locked in! They must know by now that they are losing the youth, and losing the youth badly.
Parents Can't Be Chief Determinor of Child's Maturity for Baptism?
What a control freak organization that this is. The parents are not allowed to hold back their own child's baptism until they think he is mature enough to make the decision? Don't the parents know the child the best! Yet, the Watch Tower wants the child baptised, against the parents' wishes?
This Organization wants the children. They want the children to die on the blood issue. And, they want the children to get baptised.
Parents Reluctant and Stages of Maturity (Interspection) of Late Adolescents
And, why wouldn't a parent want a child baptized? Becuase the child hasn't gone through the self-interspection stage of mid-to-late teens where they begin (and I mean barely begin) to formulate a true sense of self! Think back on you in middle school, verses the 12th grade. In middle school, I was extremely afraid of being different. I took what people told me as true. I was easily lead (and mislead) by anyone I viewed as a person in authority. If people around me were "cool", I wanted to be cool. I had to have the right jeans, right backpack, etc. I needed acceptance from my group, whatever that group was.
Inside the Kingdom Hall, we parrotted for acceptance. If someone said, "Let's go out in service." I just went. I didn't "figure out" that I could not go or express any displeasure of it. Now, by the time the 12th grade came around....yes, I still wanted fashionable clothes and hair. But, I was much more of an individual. Richway was the new (cheap) cool. I went to the 2nd hand stores, and was not ashamed either. By this time, I thought vintage clothes were cool. I was the only one wearing them. I had a beautiful, old, black wool sweater.
And, my schooling was teaching me that there were both sides of an argument. We studied communism, from both sides.
When people asked me to do things at the Kingdom Hall, I could feel that I didn't want to do it AND I could articulate it. I was no longer "under the impression" that I had to be a child that listened. I was no longer a child, but was almost an adult. An adult who had developed own thoughts and opinions. They may not have been always right, but they were mine.
College - the Cat that escaped from the Bag
The Watch Tower must have a growing problem with college-aged young adults. Remember in the 1990's, the Watch Tower allowed college as a positive. Kids born/raised then would have been raised by JW parents who now thought positively of college. These parents may have geared the children "What do you want to be when you grow up?" towards college careers. Hell, they may have even saved for it. The cat is out of the bag, and these parents and children want to go to college. So, they started going. Add to that all of the "generation" teaching changes & reversals that began to happen in the mid-1990s, and the parents are not convinced the Watch Tower is absolutely right on Armeghedoon's timing. Now, the Watch Tower is afraid that college is going to reverse the brainwashing. If their brainwashing was good, it wouldn't. See, the Mormons use alot of the same brainwashing techniques, and the Mormon kids survive college in tact. (Of course, they go to Mormon colleges).
Governing Body's Ego
As a parent, I have my hobbies. I would love to see my children doing my hobby. I think my hobbies are the greatest. Do you know what I figured out? My children have their own interest. They may not like my hobbies. But it woudl be very comforting to me to see my kids absolutely love and excel at what I believed to be the best hobby. It would "prove" to me that I was right.
Remember, the Governing Body is a group of very old men who direly need to believe they will not die. They were in the Truth with this belief was implanted in thier brains. It is psychologically comforting (the word comforting isn't strong enough) to them to see all the children and youth following their words. And, by not going to college, the youth will not leave the Organization and will complete the preaching work faster. That way, Jehovah can bring a quick end to this system. The quicker the End, then they will not die. So, the Governing Body is the old cast that didn't believe in college. During the 1990s, somehow they "slipped up" and temporarily allowed college....and they are eating thier words on it now. They want to put the cat back into the bag.
This should not be allowed. Children should not be allowed to make a commitment before they can comprehend all the information and requirements--something that is not going to happen at age 6.
The witlesses are supposed to indoctrinate the children, taking all their free time and resources. They are supposed to give up fun for field circus every weekend and school vacation, even pio-sneering when they are off from school. They are supposed to waste Family Waste the Evening night on practice field circus and singing Kingdumb maladies. They are supposed to adhere to all the rules, which basically reduce human existence to a dreary drudgery. And, if they mess up, they are going to lose everything.
To compare, what if a child that age were sent into a coin store with enough money to buy a silver coin. This child only has to tie up the amount of money the coin costs, and is free to sell it at will. No other rules apply--the coin does not impose lasting commitments of all one's time and resources. Will that child be able to buy that coin without a parent's permission? Remember, the extent of the commitment is the buying price of that coin; yet, most coin stores will not allow a 6 year old to buy a silver or gold coin without the parent's consent. So, why should the religion, when so much is demanded and it is not possible to reverse the position without a stiff penalty?
The guilt and fear resulting from "studying" these types of articles your whole childhood is astonishing. I still have to deal with bouts of guilt and fear even though I have thoroughly debunked everything in my mind. Knowledge doesn't matter because emotions are what counts to the WTS.
-Sab
When I read that crap Flipper I'm amazed that more kids raised as JWs aren't lock up in mental institutions by the time they are 20. Child abuse for sure.
I hope to see more of them finding there way to websites like Freemind and this one where they can express themselves and get help.
Hey Flipper, thanks for starting another thread on this, it really needs to be exposed. If you missed it, I started one on it a while back which shows some of the pictures from the magazine
http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/bible/207436/1/June-15th-WT-Trap-Your-Kids-in-the-Cult
The thing that pisses me off so much about this mag is the age of the kid they show. There is no way that he is older than 12, and he is door knocking, praying, giving comments, oh and of course getting baptized. So when does this kid get to act his own age? I guess never, he just gets to be a mini-JW because of the religion he was born into. Oh, and his life turns to hell if he decides to leave once he becomes an adult.
When I left the WT, I gave the leaders of the GB the benefit of the doubt, thinking they were "captives of a concept." Between this WT and the disgusting 7/15 edition I think I have moved into the camp of those that think they are just an evil cult.
Hopefully all our children will realize the lies & wasted time. If the majority of them leave that leaves just our generation in & they, as all others before them will die out. This apostate religion needs to die out with them.
Wow! With comments like , JW's engage in mind control, accusing JW's of child abuse because they encourage their children to worship God leave me gasping in disbelief. I have to ask: Do you people believe in the Bible? Do you believe in God? Everything you are throwing at the JW's is what God asked of the Israelites.
Therefore, why stop with these accusations at the JW's? Why don't you direct these accusations at God himself who asked his followers to inculcate those values and teachings you condemn in their children?
Welcome to the forum Elorm. Are you a JW?
There are all kinds on here, many do not believe that the bible is the word of God. Many do not believe in God at all.
The problem most of us have with JWs is their twisting of their scriptures to fit their own agenda, and the pain and suffering they cause on people.
