Fear Factor used to control JW children.it is nothing short of child abuse (page 2)

UnDisfellowshipped

LyinEyes said: [quote]I still wonder if God is the way I was taught and that I will be destoryed by him. I am not even afraid to not have life,,,,,,,, or the pain of dying, but I do fear displeasing God, even being angry at Him,,,,,,, makes me feel guilty and scared.[/quote] I feel for you and I definitely understand those feelings. I had those same feelings while I was a JW. But ever since I was saved by the Lord Jesus Christ -- I no longer have hardly any of those feelings. If God truly is the way that the Watchtower Society teaches, then I would rather be destroyed in a slow, painful death at Armageddon than to live forever under his rule. I am so very happy to know that the True God (The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit) is loving, merciful, kind, and forgiving. Would you actually want to live under the rule of the Watchtower "god"? He is a "god" who punishes children for warning other people about a pedophile or turning a pedophile in to the Police.

UnDisfellowshipped

Waiting said:

Actually, it's not just cults who use the fear factor on their followers.

The Catholic Church has been warning of hellfire since it's inception.....over a 1000 years ago.

I agree -- the Catholic Church certainly does threaten Hell Fire / Purgatory. However, the Catholic Church is definitely a cult -- it is the biggest "Super-Cult" in history.

And the Catholic Church is not teaching true Christianity. Other established protestant churches use hellfire and/or not being saved as the incentative to obey. The Roman & British world powers didn't rule without severe laws & punishments.

Well, Churches should not threaten anyone.

God doesn't want people to worship or serve Him out of morbid dread -- He wants people to worship and serve Him because they love Him.

The Bible does teach that people who reject Jesus Christ will get their wish and will be sent to Hell, which is eternal separation from Jesus (whether it is literal fire or not I do not know).

However, once a person puts their faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior -- you will NEVER go to Hell -- it is simply not possible. So, any "Christian" Churches who threaten people who believe in Jesus with Hellfire SHOULD NOT be doing that. Lol.......our jails are full because people break laws (usually) and are punished for it.

I fear to think what this Country would be like with no Laws. Although the U.S. Government is probably going to start making some Hitler-like Laws in the near future. Positive conditioning or re-inforcement works better, but seems harder for humans to grasp. Perhaps we're still prone to violence, negativity & punishment?

What do you suggest that the Government should do with murderers, molesters, and rapists? Not punish them? Not lock them up?

roybatty

Five meetings a week JW children are subjected to hearing in graphic detail of how the birds will eat the eyeballs out of those who die in Armeggedon. Then they are told they better keep on the cramped and narrow path or they will end up the same.

I couldn't agree more. It bugs me to no end that my kids sit at that Hall and are taught that I'll be destroyed by God. How abusive is that??!! Jeez!

Regarding Wildturkey's comments about the Catholic Church. Every Catholic that I've talked to says basically the same thing, that only the extremely evil people (i.e. Hitler, Dahmer, Saddam, etc.) will be spending time there. Whereas, we all know how JWs feel about the final resting place for anyone who is not a JW.

christopherceo

My ex-wife told my 6 year old daughter a few days ago that she was having nightmares because of demons. Can you imagine what that does to a child? I guess so since most of you were inside and you know the fear tactics. Glad I'm gone.

ThiChi

In balance, should there not be some fear involved in a child’s life? I like the word "accountability" better. It seems this world is missing that important factor related to how one conducts his/her life......

moreisbetter

How so very true! And after what happened to me today, I'm going to try to have a very open discussion with my oldest children, 25 & 26 regarding how they feel about what we taught them up until they were young teens. I had my 90 day med check with my psychiatrist today and told her about my recent discovery of XJW boards. She asked me about how I felt, what it did for me etc. I told her I was relating to experiences & remembering feelings that I had long forgotten, and it was helping. To briefly explain what JWs teach, I described to her somewhat graphically what JW children were taught about Armegeddon. If you were bad, you didn't love god and you will be one of the dead bodies that would litter the busy street below her window. If you were good, and you could never be too sure you were, you had the "priveledge" of cleaning up those dead bodies. I think it scared the crap out of her! She's sending me to a Post Tramatic Stress Disorder assessment. She thinks it's the root cause of my anxiety.

No, my children will NOT go through this! NEVER!

waiting

I'm so glad that y'all were raised by enlightened Catholics. I, however, was not. Just like jw's, Catholics differ too.

I lived in fear of Hellfire - brought to visual life to me by Franciscan nuns. I remember well one nun telling us to put up our finger, then imagine holding a flame to it..........forever. Then, we were to imagine our whole bodies in flames, burning, forever. And then she said "This is what hell is. Burning forever." First or second grade - and very effective.

For years in grade school, I walked every day to early Mass so the priest could hear my confession of having "dirty thoughts" so that I wouldn't burn before I could get back to confession the next morning.

Of course, by the time I was a teenager.......I was pretty convinced I was going to hell anyway, so why not have a good time. And then the JW's found me. Want to know why I listened to them? Because they said they could prove from the Bible there was no hellfire.

Worked for me. And I know that Catholics - in general - have widened their viewpoints. It could be hoped that jw's will do so within the next couple of generations too.

waiting

continuing the Catholic saga.........

There were sooooooooo many ways to burn in hell. From eating meat on Friday to french kissing to killing someone.

Now.........a teenager probably wouldn't fall for it, let alone an adult. But a kid? You bet it worked. And the pictures! Lord, Satan at his finest in living color. Pictures of all those writhing souls burning among the flames, horrible pictures.

Children earnestly giving money & prayers at Mass so that they could buy some poor forgetten soul out of Purgatory. You see, he couldn't get himself out.....someone had to pray & pay for him.

When my father died, my Catholic aunt sent a card saying that 5 Masses had been paid for him.

Lol - we think jw's are strange. They are.....but they aren't unique in their strange gothic fear. Really, quite common.

waiting

chester

Hi Waiting,

I also was raised as a Catholic. I remember only too well that I was told that I would burn in hell for eating meat on Friday when I was just a young kid..

waiting

Hey Chester,

Yeah, I guess a lot of kids - from different backgrounds - have those fear-inspiring memories. Just insert the proper Fear Factor, eh?

We were quite low income - and never got fast food burgers. One Friday (non-Catholic) brought us home a treat -- White Castles! Lord.....they smelled so good - a whole big bag full. My sister and I dutifully refused to even touch them.

We didn't want to burn in hell forever. My parents & dog ate them.

waiting

Fear Factor used to control JW children.it is nothing short of child abuse

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