HS,
I’ve enjoyed these posts and I’ll even admit that one or two of your comments have shown errors in my arguments. However, for the majority of your post, I doubt we will ever see eye to eye. Maybe this is a result of me being “ill informed”, or just not having the skill or time to convey the whole picture.
One thing that annoyed me was your criticism of my observation of the elders in my congregation. You may have visited or attended more congregations than I, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you are better informed. I could submit a post outlining the racist, physically abusive, sexually abusive men that lead our congregation. Who knows, maybe one day I will post my experiences on this board. I could outline the conversations the son of one of these elders had with me, describing the physical and barbaric treatment he and his sisters went through. Showing me the scars of years of beatings. Watching this young man wet himself in fear when his father turned up to collect him from my house. I could describe the events leading up, and causing one of the few friends I had in the hall walking into one of these elders houses, covering herself in petrol, and setting herself alight. I could describe the wife battery of another elder, whose wife would attend meetings with black eyes and broken limbs. The treatment my poor brother-in-law endured when his mother married an elder would not have been out of place in a 19 th century prison. I could mention an elders “taste” in only the very young black sisters in out hall. I could go on and on. Knowledge of these events and many more where common knowledge in our hall, and yet the congregation would clap like seals when one of these monsters gave a public talk. Maybe I was just unlucky to be in such a warped congregation, maybe it was the norm. I don’t know. You mentioned that my views were possibly biased. Maybe so, but I can only comment what I have seen and heard. If that makes my experience limited, then so be it. I’m not saying that all elders are bad men, and I’m sure that even the elders in my congregation had good points. Even so, I’m sure most people would agree that sometimes the good points become insignificant when overshadowed by such extreme bad.
Sheesh! I’d had forgotten most of this shit until now. Lets hope it doesn’t take another 10 years for me to forget it all again.
Apologies if this post sounds like I'm ranting. ; )
All the best HS,
Yxl