I MUST SHARE THE BLAME

IslandWoman

I was baptized at the age of sixteen and I believed Jehovah's Witnesses were God's approved people. They said what I wanted to believe. It sounded good: a worldwide brotherhood who would not go to war against each other, a strict adherence to God's word, the teaching that God could not burn people in hell because he was a loving God, a striving to be approved by God by doing good works, etc.

I believed. I read their books and read the Bible, still I believed. I went to their meetings and associated with many at the hall and still I continued to believe. I went to District Conventions and Circuit Assemblies, still everything looked good to me. I knew the stand on blood, I accepted it. I knew those disfellowshipped would be shunned, I accepted it. I accepted everything.

Therefore, I must share the blame. When I taught my kids the Watchtower line it wasn't the GB teaching them, it was me. It wasn't the GB they trusted really, it was their mother they trusted and it was their mother who taught them in turn to trust the GB.

I MUST SHARE THE BLAME!

IW

VioletAnai

Whenever I think about how my mum brought me up in the jw's...at times when I was younger...I did hate her for stifling my freedom.

But as I got older and saw the world and all the different types of people and beliefs and ways of dealing with things...I was so relieved that my mum gave me such a good moral start. There are some absolute bonuses to the bible teaching.

I'm sure you gave your kids the best start in life and did your best and what you thought was right at the time. They'll thankyou for some of the beautiful qualities you instilled in them!

Don't blame yourself, no one eva got anywhere doing that.

You've been a BAD boy, go to MY room

chezza

I know exactly how you feel i was the same age baptized and i too have children that i took along to the meetings and had bible studies with, i am d/f and no longer go but their father takes them to the meetings and witnessing and such as he sees it as right ( we are divorced by the way) i llook at it this way, we did the best that WE KNEW,now we know differnetly and our children like us will make up their own minds as to the way they want to live their lives, we just gave them choices, and they can see for themselves what is right and wrong, so dont feel bad feel glad that we cared and we tried to do what we thought was right, remember we too were blinded.

refiners fire

It sounded good: a worldwide brotherhood who would not go to war against each other, a strict adherence to God's word, the teaching that God could not burn people in hell because he was a loving God,

Blow me down. Ive been an apostate so long I forgot why I joined in the first place.
Thanks for the reminder.

IslandWoman

VioletAnai and Chezza,

Thank you so much for your response. Yes, we were led then we led our children or others. This is the reality of our JW life.

I have come to believe that it is dishonest to blame the Society or the Governing Body for everything. We are also to blame because we wanted to believe so bad and that desire blinded our eyes.

I think this recognition of responsibility is necessary to our truly leaving the Watchtower. IMO, we should recognize not only their faults but also our own need to believe them no matter what they said, then, move on and recognize that this is life. There is no guarantee, no absolute good group or people; there are only individuals who strive for good.

Take Care,
IW

IslandWoman

Refiners Fire,

Blow me down. Ive been an apostate so long I forgot why I joined in the first place.

LOL, yes we did join for what at the time seemed to us as darned good reasons!

I think that some of what we believed was just so damned good that it caused us to overlook the bad.

If only we could have kept the good and gotten rid of the bad!!!

IW

terafera

There is no guarantee, no absolute good group or people; there are only individuals who strive for good.

Island, you're one hot mamma! What a good outlook...and one I absolutely believe in. You are a wise woman..and a wonderful mother I'm sure!

How I wish to hear those words come from my mother's mouth! We were raised in the Organization and had no choice as to what we believed. I dont hold bitterness or blame against her though, I am sure she did what she thought was right. She seemed to revel in the harshness of their rules though, and I remember not getting much pity when I told her I felt different in school. I've now figured out that wasnt traits of a Witness parent, only an unloving parent.

I dont regret being brought up with Bible principles and I have a close relationship with God, which I'm not sure if I would, had I not been raised around religion at all... and given my disfunctional upbringing.

Great post!

IslandWoman

Terafera,

I am sure she did what she thought was right

It's so hard to be a Mom! We love our "little gals and guys" so much! Many times we put our own need to protect them above their need to be who they are or who they want to be. It's not easy for either side!

Thanks for your reply, it meant a lot to me.

IW

I MUST SHARE THE BLAME

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