Dan, going back to your reply to me, I can pretty much guarantee about a dozen such experiences at this years convention, about the healing power of "The Truth". But, I have to admit, that many people at their lowest ebb have found a huge amount of comfort in "The Truth", as another thread has clearly pointed out – it’s certainly not the dim-witted that take to it particularly – it’s more the emotionally vulnerable people who do. What they don’t realize is that the religion is like a powerful drug – it is a genuine source of comfort, but generally causes more problems than it solves – this thread is a testament to this.
I've just come back to this thread after a day, and the experiences I have read here have been absolutely heart-rending. While I was growing up I could have done with some professional help - if I did, I wouldn’t be so messed up as I am now!! I used to bottle it all up - I still do to a certain extent. When I finally turn my back on the JWs I will tell my full story here - no holds barred! But, to summarise my childhood, I can say this - when I was a child, about 12/13, I was very depressed and very lonely and confused - I think most kids of that age are to a certain extent, but I was really rock-bottom. I used to be terrified of my dad, who was very aggressive, and quite often dangerous - but, guess what, a model Christian at the hall - of course. My dad's real persona has always kept a guilty secret from the congregation.
I was terrified of the bullies at school - I was beaten up a lot - I went to a tough school in the inner city. I used to skip school a lot and wander the streets on my own. I used to get in trouble with the school and the local social services because of it. I still remember how much I used to cry. My parents were deemed by the social services as incompetent - but my mum and dad always blamed it on them – of course they were prejudiced against witness parents. The paradox is that I still love my parents, I always will - but they didn't seem to care about my welfare at all while I was growing up, they seem to think that it was OK for me to have an unhappy life - we shouldn't expect "this world" to be wonderful - we are all looking forward to the "new system". I still feel scarred. The "new system", the "hope" is a cure-all for everything, isn’t it? It transfers blame, allows witnesses to shrug their shoulders and it prevents serious problems from being resolved. Oh, we don’t have to sort the problem out now, we can cope – we have our new life after Armageddon as our reward.
