I was thinking of forbidding my wife from taking the kids out in service (page 4)

Spook

I was about 9 when my mother converted and started teaching me. I feel that my father's opposition created an atmosphere of religious conflict and aided my decision to get baptised. I would recommend that you not feed into the JW notion of "oppressed." Create an atmosphere of humor, acceptance, and toleration. Make sure your children make plenty of friends outside of the religion. That was another one that got me. My mother made sure I always had plenty of JW associates. Since my father was busy at work, he didn't have the time to do the same. We lived in a rural area, so that controlled my peer group.

If your children are raised in an atmosphere of open toleration and opportunity they will not chose to limit themselves. If you create an atmosphere of opposition then that brings the cultic pressure of fear/desire into their lives. Be mindful of your wife's possible effort to instill judgemental attitudes (you must LIVE that the world is a great place), fear (the future IS bright in your family) and desire for love (your acceptance must be complete, and never hinged on what they do. This is the only way to be superior to the distorted conditional cult love).

Be active. Please I beg you. I'm 23, and I still have time to start a new life. I regret how my youth was spent. Keep in mind, your children are NOT capable of the level of though it requires to refute JW teachings. The simplistic doctrinal issues and dizzying prophetic claims are highly persuasive. Your children can not be put into a choose A or choose B dilemma from a doctrinal issue. I believe it would be unfair to even put minors in such a situation.

a friend in need

Let's look at this from the children's perspective.

1. I can be with my mother who spends time teaching me from the bible.

2. I can spend time with my mother who takes me to meetings.

3. I can spend time with my mother who takes me out in service to witness.

4. I can spend time with my mother who is there for me and doesn't pawn me off on relatives so she can go to Christian gatherings.

or

1. I can get dumped at my uncles house to keep my father happy.

144001

"Keep in mind, your children are NOT capable of the level of though it requires to refute JW teachings. The simplistic doctrinal issues and dizzying prophetic claims are highly persuasive. Your children can not be put into a choose A or choose B dilemma from a doctrinal issue. I believe it would be unfair to even put minors in such a situation."

Bullshit. I was born and raised JW by very zealous JW parents, and my father was a well-educated elder who was and is very persuasive. Nevertheless, I knew the JW message was nothing but bullshit, and I knew it before I finished elementary school. To assume that children are incapable of understanding that JW teachings are BS is rather naive. Don't underestimate the intelligence of children.

I would recommend keeping the lines of communication on religious issues extremely open with your kids. Make sure they understand that you do not buy into the message of the cult your wife has chosen over her family. Make them feel free to come to you with their JW issues, of which there will be plenty. Gaining the confidence of your kids in this regard will also give you more leverage over your brainwashed wife.

144001

"Let's look at this from the children's perspective."

"3. I can spend time with my mother who takes me out in service to witness."

I can spend time with my mother who assists a book publishing/cult corporation in exploiting my childhood and using me as an unpaid marketing representative of that cult.

"4. I can spend time with my mother who is there for me and doesn't pawn me off on relatives so she can go to Christian gatherings.

or

1. I can get dumped at my uncles house to keep my father happy."

a friend in need

... 144 ... cry me a river.

RichieRich

144001, I just realized your avatar ISN'T Regis Philbin. You have now earned my respect.

CYP, disregard a that fool "friend in need", He must have drinking when he ate his spiritual food.

SO go with the majority here, man. Don't forbid. Spend time with the kids. sHow unconditional love. Buy them guns. (j/k)

It will be much easier... take it from me...

a friend in need

How does one show unconditional love and spend time with the kids dumped at their uncle's house???

kls

I let my kids decide what they wanted to but if i felt they were getting to involved i would have them stay home and find things for them to do. I would ask them all the time if they wanted to stop the meetings and door crap and they would say no but when they were ready they let me know and they have been cult free since . You have to be the judge and see how much JWcrap they are taking in and if you feel to much ,stop it .

144001

A friend of no one,

You and the rest of the Witness apologists have no concept of "unconditional love," so your question should simply be, "how does one show unconditional love to anyone?"

outoftheorg

AFIN, you really shot yourself in the foot this time.

I don't know any kid including me when I was a kid, who wouldn't go for the UNCLE any day rather than to be bored to death with the j dumbs.

Oh how I wish I had that option as a child.

Outoftheorg

I was thinking of forbidding my wife from taking the kids out in service

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