I've lately been thinking about the pernicious nature of the belief by the JW's that they are the one and only true religion. How this belief allows for an egotistical world view and allows them to shun and denegrate those that do not share their opinions.
Please pardon my round about thinking process as I've been mulling this rant for some time. While my father's side of the family has been entrenched with the JW's for two generations before him, my mother was a new convert. In retrospect, I really don't think she was as gung-ho as my dad. Growing up, I can remember some of the arguments they had. These were not literally knock-down drag out fights, but pretty close. So much for the fruitage of the spirit. They would fight and scream at each other into the wee hours.
Mostly, they fought about family. My mom resented the fact that any vacation time my father spent was with his family. Of course, this included literal vacation, but also three assemblies per year. Back in the day these were (two) three day Circuit Assy's and a four or five day District or Int'l Assy. Needless to say, my mom felt like she and her side of the family were neglected. To add fuel to the fire, my paternal grandmother and great-grandmother could be VERY controlling and demanding. Even demeaning. Again, so much for the fruitage of the spirit.
As I look back, the effect of this division of families was emotionally devastating to my mom. The underlying and unspoken thought was that her side of the family were less than. Pagans destiined to die at god's hands for their disbelief. The irony lies in the fact that my matenal grandparents didn't have a mean bone in their body. They were universally loved and I looked forward to spending time with them.
I can recall quite vivdly a statement made by my brother. He wondered aloud why we should spend any time at all with my mom's side of the family because they were unbelievers. He further went on to say that he had no love for them at all. At the time I didn't really apprecaiate the magnitude of those words. How with one swift statement, an entire heritage could be wiped away.
Today, I have literally nothing to do with my siblings. Partly because we live in opposite corners of the country. But I suspect that it has more to do with the fact that we were taught that it's proper to write off family because you don't agree. I've never come out to them about my fade, but I think they suspect that I no longer believe. That makes it easier to lose touch. And to be honest, I really don't want to be in touch with people whose lives are filled with ignorance and hate.
Mostly though, I have a feeling of loss. I lost the time I could have spent with my Mom's family, uncles, aunts and cousins. I've lost the relationships I could have had with my siblings had they not become egocentric thought controlled cult victims. I do however count my blessings. I've been able to free my wife and children from such a destructive belief system.
To anyone out there making the mistake of thinking that this is just another religion, I say think again. It's divided families and crushed souls for generations.