Think about this, Jesus had a great deal of compassion for the people who were misled in his day, and a great deal of contempt for the religious leaders. He never blamed the sheep...he felt pity for them. This is where my entire hope is for my son, and his mother. I leave the matter in Gods hands.
Thank you all for sharing your experiences and comments. Comments like the one above give me the encouragement and perspective I have been looking for and hope for my father.
Also, you could ask them "what would it take (or what would the WTS have to do) for you to leave?" I always wanted to ask that question but never did. What do you think jws?
I honestly don't think he will let his mind go to "what if". For him, this is a matter of faith. He believes in the truth of his religion, no matter what. And after roughly 50 years in it, he's witnessed enough changes to know that what he believes today as "the truth" may be "old light" tomorrow. So doctrinal changes won't convince him. I tried to show him right from the Bible where the whole 607 story doesn't jive with what they say, he wont look it up. That's from the Bible. The BIBLE - and he won't look it up. To him it's just some mixed up "apostate logic" and there's some explanation why that verse seems to say what it does. I know. I used to think that way too.
Oh sure, there could be reasons. The WTS could go mainstream Christian and put up crosses and other ikons or start teaching heaven and hell. That might make him step back. But all of that is unlikely. The WTS moves in small steps. I can't forsee them doing anything radical in the near future that could possibly scare him away if he's gone through the last 50 years lock-step.
Of course, she also wanted to take me out on my birthday last week, so that shows you how "mellow" she's become!
My dad comes with quite a JW "career" behind him. Minesterial Servant, elder, city overseer, pioneer. In the past, he was quite stern with us for JW things. Yet with all this devotion, he does seem to look the other way sometimes. He still talks to me and my brother, though we have both left (without DA/DF). He still talks occasionally to my one sister's daughter, but I don't think he knows she has DAed herself. My other sister's son moved his fiance into the house. My sister and her husband are JWs and I still find that hard to fathom. He was never baptised, so he falls into that legally safe category (can't be DFed). My brother was baptised, but lived with his girlfriend before getting married. My dad chose to look the other way.
Reports I hear from my niece (the DAed one). She's moved back home, even after the KM last year about how to handle DA people speaks against it. Technically, I believe my sister is in violation of the line the KM drew, but she's telling people the decision was made before the KM came out and it's none of their business anyway. My sister also helps make Halloween costumes for her granddaughter. Last time I saw my sister, we were both in Orlando in late October and went to Disney together. She was looking for costume items for a princess costume for a costume party her granddaughter was going to. In late October? Just what kind of a costume party would that be??? I even hear my sister even gives X-mas gifts.
Back in my days in the JWs, these sort of things would not have been tolerated. They all would have taken a hard line. My niece would have been kicked out for having an illegitimate child, or for celebrating birthdays, X-mas, Halloween. My brother would have been reported and DFed for living with his fiance. My sister would never have allowed her son's fiance to move in. They've all seemed to mellow, as has your mom. I wonder if this is a JW trend these days or just my family.