Child preachers - I find this very disturbing

by freetosee 25 Replies latest jw friends

  • ziddina
    ziddina
    "I remember a young child of new jw parents, he could read at 4 and had memorized many scriptures. The elders used him like a performing monkey. He gave good talks but had to stand to the side of the podium. It was predicted he would be a CO. But the expectations of the elders on the father were unrealistic and the family was constantly "corrected." Eventually the son was ten and just like all ten year olds...no longer seen as precocious. The whole family left after one more occasion of gossip and rumours...a large ethnic family of brothers and sisters, all gone. ..." Blondie

    Yay!!! An entire FAMILY escaped!!! GOOD for them!!!

    "We had a young teen in our KH who tested in the top 3% in the country on his SAT and IQ, he was offered a full scholarship to Harvard while in High School. The Elders went to do a 'shepherding' visit to discourage the mother from accepting, not only did she turn them down flat she immediately sent in a resignation letter. ..." Designs

    And ANOTHER ONE jumps off the [cult] bus!!!

  • ziddina
    ziddina

    Heh, Jambon1.... What about the JW pedophile escorting your child around in service - unsupervised???

  • freetosee
    freetosee

    I agree, it is child abuse!!!
    Some of them are so professional and adult it is scary.
    Wonder how it will effect their future lives.

    Being nowhere near as talented as these kids are, I doubt they preform to that quality without strong parental pressure guidance.
    I'll never forget the beatings I got, because of not reading certain words correctly for my bible reading.

  • freetosee
    freetosee
  • yknot
    yknot

    now now.....

    on some levels children adore emulating adults.....

    I loved every second I was on stage at the hall as a child......no regrets what so ever! LOVED IT

    _________________________________

    on the other hand going door to door giving presentations and being 'encouraged' to give a good witness at school......NAH PASS ON THAT

    I remember reading Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farms and saying to myself......'grrr we (dubbiekids) were 'soap children'

    D2D past the age of 5 is nothing but soap children (prior to 5 we having fun playing grown up!)

  • freetosee
    freetosee

    I wouldn't mind to be wrong. Maybe I'm just reflecting on my own experience. In front of the congregation we were the "happy family" (we were actually called that). As soon as we stepped into the car it was a very different story.

  • WTWizard
    WTWizard

    To me, that is a waste of a childhood. Let them play while they are little. Let them take a break from God until they are about 7 years old. Start teaching them about God and Jesus, and the rubbish that we all deserve destruction or hellfire because of 2 people that spoiled it for us, that Jesus' dying somehow makes it right, that his sacrifice was "perfect, complete, to which nothing ever need be added" yet we are still supposed to be self-sacrificing, when they reach 7 or 8 years old. Then watch and see how many paper airplanes are flown, notes are passed in class, gum is chewed, and people are so noisy that the heads have to go down.

    At that rate, even if anyone wants to believe that rubbish we call Christianity, they would need to be at least 10-12 before they can even think of teaching others. If they actually want to teach this rubbish at that age, it would be about like taking part in a spelling bee or other academic challenge. But training someone to recite this rubbish before age 7 is outright abuse--usually taking time away from anything else that is fun. I remember when I was that age--church was mandatory for a while, but I didn't really want to attend. For me, it was a complete waste of a Sunday morning.

  • Ding
    Ding

    Reminds me of a very young boy I saw on his way to a WT assembly.

    He was no taller than his dad's kneecap but he was dressed in a business suit and toting a book bag.

    No time for him to be a little boy...

  • tenyearsafter
    tenyearsafter

    I remember a movie from the early 70's called Marjoe. It chronicles the life of Marjoe Gortner who started off as a child tent preacher and shows how he changes as he grows up. It then follows him as an adult (and self admitted scam artist) as he goes on a "preaching tour" to expose the business of fake evangelism. Much of his adult anger and cynicism stem from his use as a child preacher. It is a good watch...you can get it on Netflix, etc.

  • Ding
    Ding

    I wonder what percentage of born-in or raised-in JWs resent being forced to be little cogs in the organizational wheel so much that they become totally soured on religion because of it -- exactly the opposite of what the WTS is trying to accomplish...

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