My mother gave me a copy of the Bible Stories book for my first daughter. I didn't think much of it at the time (thought it was innocent enough) but re-reading it over again and the pictures just made me really think, do I really want my child exposed to this? Its just a bible story book. Or was this my mother taking an opportunity to "plant a seed" and witness to my child? In the end I threw the book away...
My Book of Bible Stories
by Taylor S. 70 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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Momof4
I remember starting to read this book to my son when he was about 3 yrs old, and he became frightened at one of the pictures in the beginning of the book. I remember thinking this is too graphic for little children, and I put the book away. One of the first things I purchased on my way out of the org was a secular bible story book. BIG difference. Most are age-appropriate with sweet little pictures and speak of God's love for them.
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GetBusyLiving
:Its just a bible story book. Or was this my mother taking an opportunity to "plant a seed" and witness to my child?
Mostly every one of the stories had a moral that basically was, 'if you do what we tell you to do God won't kill you. If you don't you are as good as dead'. Just setting kids up to fall in line as fellow cultist of the WTBTS. That book is just trash.
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Crumpet
Did anyone used to do bible charades when you had friends round to end the evening? Well Dinah and Jezebel were my favourites - I always used to nab their roles and then I'd take whatever visiting brothers we had behind the sofa and start kissing them until the adults figured out what was going on - I must have been about 7! I also remember when I decided we should do mimes of breaking the 10 commadments and throwing my sister to the floor and "lying down" with her in the living room, rolling around on the floor so my parents and guests could guess which ten commandment I was demonstrating the breaking of! I can just see how shocked their faces were - but what do you expect when you are teaching babies about fonrication and adultery before they even understand the first thing about healthy relationships!
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AlmostAtheist
I thought I remembered there being some interesting Hitler quotes about the need to indoctrinate the children. I can't find any right now, but this was interesting:
I will have no intellectual training. Knowledge is ruin to my young men.
Attributed to Hitler
Another quote from a book about Nazi's:
Every child says 'Heil Hitler!' from 50 to 150 times a day, immeasurably more often than the old neutral greetings.
"Repetiton for emphasis", anyone?
(these are from this link: http://www.facing.org/facing/FHAOV2SB.nsf/0/5a375e7f8ddd67e685256832007fc741?OpenDocument)
Dave
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GetBusyLiving
You know I thought our indoctrination with the BS book was bad but having a look at some of the old pictures from before that book was published are even worse. The armageddon depictions are some of the craziest ass shit I've ever seen.
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Dragonlady76
For the record, I was never afraid of the pictures in the book, It was the only kids book I had so I enjoyed looking at the pictures and the stories, I now know that at the time I did not understand the stories, they seemed to be like fairy tales...what parent would kill their only son because god told him to do it? It just did not seem like reality to me. I never took it seriously. Now as an adult I would never show it to my kids, because I understand the point the org wants to get across to the kids.
Dragonlady76
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Odrade
You know I thought our indoctrination with the BS book was bad but having a look at some of the old pictures from before that book was published are even worse.
Yeh, but this was the first book they printed geared almost exclusively toward small children. I was about 8 when the BS book was released, so I was already well familiar with all of the stories from family study, Paradise book, bible reading, etc. I guess I never really noticed how subtle but heinous the book was.
But think about all the little kids barely old enough to hold a bottle, sitting in their little carseats, while mom turns the pages of the story book to keep them quiet at meeting. Think of all the toddlers hauling around their well worn yellow book, instead of a stuffed doggy or bear, because their overzealous parents hand them this book everytime they want a toy. I knew lots of little kids who dragged the book around like a security blanket. Some security.
Then one day I was talking to a friend, also a good JW, and she mentioned that some of the pictures would make her little boy cry hysterically. I started looking at the book and realized MOST of the pictures would at least make a small child stare in morbid fascination, if not be downright frightened. I started to be less inclined to suggest the BS book at the doors, or to feel amused when I saw some 2 year old sitting quietly looking at the picture of the Israelites being bitten by snakes...
All my life, growing up, I was told "look at the Catholics, they are governed by fear of Hell, not love of God, the only reason they stay Catholic is they are afraid of burning in torment forever. WE serve JEHOVAH because we LOVE him, not out of FEAR. WE are not AFRAID." Well, one objective look at My Book of Bible Stories would show otherwise.
Odrade
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GetBusyLiving
Odrade: awesome points. That BS book is a real sore spot for me.
:MOST of the pictures would at least make a small child stare in morbid fascination
That was me, lol. It made me think differently about my friends at school.. the whole thing really changed my entire outlook on life itself.
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New Worldly Translation
Did anyone used to do bible charades when you had friends round to end the evening?
LOL @ your story crumpet!
Yeah we used to do the dressing up thing and acting bible stories out too. All the little boys wore tea towels and dressing gowns and had mascara beards painted on. The little girls used to put on my mums bangles and sequin headscarfs and makeup for a gypsy/harlot type combo look. It was fun at the time but in retrospect pretty weird.
I'd never thought of the Bible Stories book in a sinister way before but after all that's been mentioned I can see exactly what you mean. I'm gonna have to have another peek at it and I'm sure I'll see it with different eyes.