Chris Stire <lifeafter@execulink.com Where Is The Christ-Like Compassion?   In 1981, I was a newly baptized JW in southern Ontario, Canada. My family had been in the Watchtower Society since I was four years old. We were somewhat amazed that our family, through my father to his mother and then her parents, had been original Bible Students under Charles Russell before 1900. My grandmother however had a five decade absence from the Watchtower though and was never baptized herself until 1972.   By 1971 my parents were baptized, and so continued our indoctrination into what I would later find out to be a heart-less, cruel and totalitarian cult. By the age of fifteen and sixteen even, I saw differences in what the Watchtower taught, and what the bible actually said, and these even, discerned from their own bible. By 1981 at age of nineteen I was questioning beliefs and doctrine, and challenged them to prove to me that I was not going to heaven. I carried a heaven burden of knowing I was not in God's true organization, becoming more and more evident with each passing year. I had only been one year baptized, in 1981 at age eighteen when family stress, tension, emotional abuse, and inherited mental depression took there toll on me physically.   Even though only eighteen, I suffered a severe nervous break down. My father had little compassion for this type of illness and he figured it did not exist in his family. I had nowhere to turn for comfort, not even the organization. On the way home form the Kingdom Hall one Sunday morning, I had left early as I was not feeling well, I blacked out behind the wheel of my car, and ended up in the ditch. Fortunately I had just entered town limits and was only going less than thirty miles and hour. I came to when a passing nurse stopped and came to my aid. Soon, one of my siblings and her husband were on the scene having been summoned from the Kingdom Hall. What happened, why, and many questions were put to me. I had no idea. All I could remember was heading for home to go back to bed, and next thing I was nose front into the ditch.   I was taken to nearby hospital, where the doctor figured I had tried to commit suicide, and ordered me to the southern Ontario psychiatric hospital for evaluation. What a scary unknown world, especially since even as recently as then, the Watchtower did not encourage support or treatment from the world of psychologists and psychiatrists. I was committed for a short time, during which I was visited by one of the elders from my home congregation. I thought, "Great. Now we can have a heart to heart talk, and really help me with my troubles and perhaps now I could get things straightened out." I thought wrong. One of my childhood JW friends came with him and she sat there during the next few moments, the events of which I could barely believe. This elder, also fleshly related to me, said the body of elders was wondering if I had actually tried to kill myself. As I had told my doctors and therapists, I told him also "No." This was the truthful answer. He then asked me what happened to which I again explained the blacking out. His concluding statement before he left was this, and which still rings out in my ears to this day, was "Well, you know that if you had tried to kill yourself you would be disfellowshiped for attempted murder on yourself" !! Good grief, had I heard that right?! Unfortunately, yes. I had given many hours of service with this same elder in landscaping a former school we had purchased for a Kingdom Hall; and when I had gone in field service it was usually with him. Now, here he was sent by the other elders, to in effect, stretch my neck on the chopping block of disfellowshipping. Never once, did he ask how I was feeling. Never once did he ask what was going on inside me. Never once had he shown the compassion Jesus Christ displayed to the downtrodden and afflicted in his time on earth. As a beaten and whipped sheep, I felt like the pen had been opened and in came the snarling and viscous wolves.   I praise God that He has rescued me from that troubled time in my life. I am glad he freed from the snags and vices of the Watchtower Society. Instead of trying to get some respite, and comfort from a bunch of misguided JW elders and people, I look now to the heavens and my prize of eternal life with GOD.     Life After Watchtower Ministries   To Contact Chris drop him a note at lifeafter@execulink.com -Encouraging Refuge And Release From The Watchtower Cult- Chris Stire, Ontario Canada   The Halifax Story! Another victim of abuse by the WT Rape A victim and explanations from the WT Speaking out Victims of WT mentality. Recent Scandels Pedophiles among us Chris Stire story Life after the WT Society