First, the JW lifestyle/religion is restrictive comparable to any strict moral upbringing of many other faiths.
Being raised with strict morals is completely different than being raised in a brainwashing, mind-altering cult.
a kid/person should begin making their own choices and forming their own belief system. I see that you are 24 years old and some months, so you should be well on your way to forming your own belief-system.
All you have to do is take Psychology 101 at your local community college, and you will know that it takes years of reprogramming your brain to know what is truely your own belief-system and not that of what has been fed to you through the years. Hence, the paradigm shift.
Take Elizabeth Smart for instance, she was raised in what seems a normal loving family. Brian Mitchell brainwashed her so much that she was living right behind her parents home and never yelled for help. Now... if someone could be brainwashed to that extent, then what about someone from the moment they were born. You can't blame people for making bad decisions in life when they were taught the only right decision to make is to stay in this cult. This cult demands something from you which is impossible to give- perfection. Guilt can be so overwhelming because you think that you won't have an afterlife just because you did something so unbelievably petty.
My sister was raped by two elders boys. No one believed her and my parents said not to worry that God will punish them. She was told by the elders that she needed to wear shirts that weren't so revealing. She was very modest, but it's hard to hide C cups at 13 years old. After that, she couldn't stomach going back to the hall anymore and my parents would beat her for not getting herself dressed to go. So she ran away from home, to get away from their warped view of the world, at 13 years old with no money and she couldn't work till age 16 legally. So she began to do "favors" to get money and shelter. At first it was just her friends and then it was with strangers. She had such a tremendous guilt on her for doing what Jehovah hated that she took drugs to numb her feelings. After years of drugs, her mind is now fried and her children are taken away from her. The thing is- she was more spiritual than I was and she had an intense love for God and loved studing for the kingdom hall, before the rape happened. Those two boys ended up raping someone else- another elders daughter. Finally, they were disfellowshipped, but not imprisoned. You can say well- you are free to make your own decisions as an adult. But one thing leads to another and then another and before you know it, you end up being someone you never thought you would. That's what happens, you don't just wake up one morning and say I think I'm going to decide to really mess my life up because I was raised with " strict morals " or because " I couldn't celebrate holidays when all the other kids are allowed to". No- that's not how it happens. Sorry so long- just needed to vent. My sister called up crying tonight saying she wanted to kill herself. Why- my dad said that she was nothing to him because she didn't go to the memorial. I said everything I could, but you never know what she's thinking. I hope she's alright.
