by ABibleStudent 21 Replies latest watchtower child-abuse
Yes. The constant admonition from the stage of not "sparing the rod" was considered "heavenly direction" for beatings. I still have ridges on my scull from the impacts. The front porch of the Hall was some sort of Puritan whipping post in the 50s &60s for kids who squirmed during meetings.
Love was "conditional" based on OBEDIANCE to the cult. Destruction by sword, earthquake, bears, and stoning was brought up by mom constantly.
Dad was not a JW, but was convinced Hugging made kids gay.
No. I had a good child hood with loving parents. They are brain washed. But still loving parents. If you take a very loose understanding of abuse then any child raised in any religion could be considered abused. Catholics are told they will go to hell if they are bad. Some witness kids were definitely abused. But I most assuredly was not!
Born in...Abused? Yes, absolutely.
Physically,
Psychologically,
And I suspect, sexually, though this had nothing to do with the JW upbringing.
And when I think about it, I can get mad...but then, I had friends who suffered more grievous abuses than I did, and they were not JWs...
Catholics are told they will go to hell if they are bad.
It's one thing to tell children that there's an unseen place called Hell that they might go to someday if they're really bad, but it's another thing to tell them that without a doubt, the very world they live in and see around them and the people they see everyday (including their unbeleiving fathers, uncles cousins etc) are going to turn on them and hand them over to the authorities to be tortured and will themselves later will be killed by God.
It's easier for kids to mentally block an imaginary place like Hell if they need to, but it's another to block out daily feedings that the world they live in will soon be destroyed but only after there's been a horrible time period where the will likely be tortured and if they don't survive it they might be resurrected but they will never marry or have a family of their own.
There are worse forms of child abuse out there but putting the burden on children of saving the public from pending destruction, making them go from door to door selling books and magazines with untrue information and pressuring them to give up things they are interested in so that they can save others from a cataclysmic event that will be happening any day, is definitely not healthy and would never be recommended by anyone who has studied child psychology.
Stickinarut2
My heart goes out to you. I know the pain of getting old and not having children. I am not sure of your age but I am in my late 60s and it absolutely stinks. And I blame the J W completely. Had I know how it would be now I would have left my J W wife 25 years ago. Sorry to run on with the oh poor me blues.
Being lied to for 32 years is bad. When you find out there is no daddy in the sky and no eternal life it's bad... that was abuse...LIES
I get it...... 'im stuck in'.
Having kids was a sign of not trusting in god...blah blah...im 41 now...
Its a tragic thing when some of our major life decsions were made (or prevented) by the undertones of an organization...that now distances itself from its past directives!
We have something in common Balaamsass2. I have a scar on my head behind one of my ears where my mother beat the 'hell' out of me me with her 'low heeled' dress shoe. Many of the 'born ins' that I knew have been victims of mental, emotional, physical, sexual and spiritual violence. It seems to me that being a Jehovahs Witness brings out the worst in some parents rather than their 'better nature'. Being the youngest child I didn't get the most physical abuse from my mother (and I certainly got my share) but I believe that I got the most psychological abuse. Pete Zahut 'hit the nail on the head' with his comment 'the people they see every day are going to turn on them and hand them over to the authoritites to be tortured and will themselves later will be killed by God.' Like constantly dripping water, many young witness children are reminded over and over again that Jehovah will destroy them for even the smallest of infractions and that they will never see their family and friends again. I cannot EVER recall my mother telling me that she loved me or my siblings. Once I asked her about this and why she never said 'I love you' to us. Her answer was 'of course I love you '. So I asked her to say 'I love you' to me. Her reaction was to say to me 'You know I love you' and walk away. My heart goes out to anyone posting here that was raised by mentally, emotionally and spiritually unbalanced Jehovahs Witness parents.
The religion seems to attract those who are mentally unstable. Then,the organization seemed to promote physical punishment,especially in the 70's,80's,and kind of gave the go ahead to full-fledged abuse in a lot of cases. I don't think I attended a meeting in the 80's where some kid wasn't screaming in the back being beaten.
I don't consider myself to be a victim of abuse. And I can't blame being raised a Witness for all my problems. But,it's not normal to be in fear of demons,and Armageddon in elementary school. Then,being told not to worry about having a career in "this system of things."
Sometimes,I just want to move on and forget this stupid religion. But,then,at times like this,reflectng on this brings hurt and a lot of anger. I really feel bad for all those that were abused like this. I can't imagine a mother beating her kid on the head with her shoe,ugh.
EmptyInside, the head beating experience was fairly traumatic for me. I was around 11 or 12 years old when this happened and I was acting up on the way to the meeting. My mother drew blood and I have a scar to this day. No visit to the doctor either. Not to downplay my experiences but my mother used to whip 2 of my sisters on their legs with an electrical extension cord. Once I saw her BREAK a dinner plate over my oldest sisters head and knock her out cold. Years later my sister told me that my mother did this to her TWICE. RELIGION makes some people WORSE not BETTER.
