...i think tigerman has us all beat...
Things That Youths Hate About Being A JW:
by Englishman 47 Replies latest jw friends
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nicolaou
Being eleven and going to my nine year old sister's funeral because she wasn't allowed a blood transfusion.
Shit. So sorry man.
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Tigerman
To clarify, I want all to know that what I said happened to someone I knew long ago; I just said it as they would say it.
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Englishman
To clarify, I want all to know that what I said happened to someone I knew long ago; I just said it as they would say it.
It would have been easy to let that one slide. Well done in your clarification. Englishman.
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trevor
Children of the Witnesses are forbidden access to many of the self-esteem enhancing activities that are open to other children. They are brought up to believe that they are different and separate from the world. They do not fully integrate with their schoolmates or teachers, due to their resistance to being fully involved with the education process, and their training to avoid forming friendships with worldly people.
More so than other children, their main security comes from winning the approval of their parents. They find that to win this approval they must do whatever the Society and their parents tell them will win Jehovah God?s approval. I was told, by my own parents that if I ever left the religion they would never talk to me again. If I were to ever marry outside the religion the same penalty would apply. Although these threats are not always carried out, the Witness child grows up believing that the continuation of their whole world depends upon gaining their parents approval.
In addition to this pressure to conform, is the threat that God himself will kill the child, if he or she should go against their parent?s wishes. The child is also puzzled by the parent?s willingness to lose them in this way and often concludes that the parents do not love him or her. How can they threaten a child they love in this way, or say that the God they love may kill their child? As a child I concluded that I meant very little to my parents. Not all Witness parents act in this way. Those that do, say that they are practising a form of principled love for the child. Unfortunately children do not interpret threats of his kind as love. Nor as far as I know do most adults.
Taken from the book 'Opening the Door to Jehovah's Witnesses' ISBN0-9540182-0-6 (Available From Amazon.co.uk)
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Englishman
Trevor posted:
Children of the Witnesses are forbidden access to many of the self-esteem enhancing activities that are open to other children. They are brought up to believe that they are different and separate from the world. They do not fully integrate with their schoolmates or teachers, due to their resistance to being fully involved with the education process, and their training to avoid forming friendships with worldly people. More so than other children, their main security comes from winning the approval of their parents. They find that to win this approval they must do whatever the Society and their parents tell them will win Jehovah God’s approval. I was told, by my own parents that if I ever left the religion they would never talk to me again. If I were to ever marry outside the religion the same penalty would apply. Although these threats are not always carried out, the Witness child grows up believing that the continuation of their whole world depends upon gaining their parents approval. In addition to this pressure to conform, is the threat that God himself will kill the child, if he or she should go against their parent’s wishes. The child is also puzzled by the parent’s willingness to lose them in this way and often concludes that the parents do not love him or her. How can they threaten a child they love in this way, or say that the God they love may kill their child? As a child I concluded that I meant very little to my parents. Not all Witness parents act in this way. Those that do, say that they are practising a form of principled love for the child. Unfortunately children do not interpret threats of his kind as love. Nor as far as I know do most adults. Taken from the book 'Opening the Door to Jehovah's Witnesses' ISBN0-9540182-0-6 (Available From Amazon.co.uk)
Hell Trevor, even now at age 58 that really hit home. Thanks for posting that. It made me go quite shivvery.
Englishman.
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Dawn
Being embarassed because I always had to be the outsider at holidays, school assemblies, no extra curricular school activities, etc. I just wanted to be normal and live a normal life.
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Honesty
Not being allowed to use the internet for research purposes
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paws
On behalf of my two adult children who I dragged to the meetings as teenagers......
Having been encouraged to expect the cong to warmly welcome them into their new family, having to understand the reality which was quite different.
As children of someone who was not related to an elder, without a father, maybe simply don't have the right face...to be included in any teen social events was extremely unlikely. How hard it was for them to listen to a group who had been together fo some fun when they had not been included AND had actually given up their genuine 'wordly' friends for such a lonely existence.
love to you all
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Elsewhere
Being forced to stand on stage and tell everyone that you want to be a pioneer and go to bethel. Again... and again... and again...