This is a very interesting question. I can't help but think how it was when my mother found "the truth", and told us that she knew with all her heart that this was what she'd been searching for her whole life. So, back then, we were asking that very question, why were were "selected" to know this beautiful "truth". We were only kids; we didn't know any better but to follow our mother.
Ahh, and truth is so relative. What truth is to one, is also a lie to another. That is the paradox. And, isn't it odd how the "bible" is used for much of the basis for those "truths"? How can that be?
Who can say what causes one to be able to "see" the great hoax, and another to spend their whole life in servatude to a falsehood? It's an individual choice. We do things at different times during our span of life, according to our own experiences and needs. What happens is that one persons "answer" is then pushed upon someone else, perhaps a loving mate, or children. Later on, those persons grow from their own experiences, and realize, "hey, this is not my truth", and they move on.
The problem being with JW's, is that the price of moving on is so extremely high, that it affects so many people within the family unit. And rather than bringing love and acceptance in, they cause division, shunning and rejection. This is why the JW dogma is unhealthy.
However, some folks need to be told exactly how to live their lives. They need what the WTBTS gives them, total rule, total domination, total control. They don't have to think for themselves, for the society has rules and regulations about every single thing they might come across. So, they kinda stop "living", and begin existing, day by day, without even thinking about what it is "they" want or need. They actually loose themselves in the process. This is my 78 yr old mother. She found "her truth", and never veered, even after shunning most of her children. Now we all suffer because of "her truth". We can see the imbalance of it all; she cannot. Very sad. But, it is her life to live.
For those of us, whose reality would be different, we do what it takes to move ourselves out of that hold and control. It's a very painful process, but well worth the journey. To be free to make our own choices, according to our own conscience is a good thing. Then, we are off on our own journey to find our own "truths". That's life.
Edited by - Sentinel on 21 December 2002 10:30:5