The Problem with Organized Religion



My dad's parents' wedding day!
April 21, 1955

Many times I have said that I do not attend church and that my father has a problem with organized religion. Just like I had said in my previous posts, my dad's dad's side of the family disowned this side of the family because my grandmother became a Jehovah's Witness rather than staying a Catholic. She only did this for my grandfather and the religion was not helping her on her path towards God. And like I have also said, my grandparents separated but did not divorce. Now, the disownment is not the actual reason my father has a problem with organized religion, and I feel the need to let it be known.

As my grandparents were going through their separation, either a Catholic or a Jehovah's Witness pastor had called my father and his three brothers into his office so that they can talk. Dad says that the pastor had tried to get the four of them to say bad things about my grandmother so that the four siblings (Uncle Daniel, my father, Uncle David, and Uncle Eric in that order of birth) can be with my grandfather. Uncle David and Uncle Eric did what the pastor told them to do and bad-mouthed their own mother. My father had always looked up to his older brother, Uncle Daniel. When he saw that Uncle Daniel just sat there, not saying a word, he did the same thing. A pastor had told them to lie about my grandmother! Can you believe that?! And that is the major reason why my father has a problem with organized religion. And it gets worse.

As the years passed, my grandmother's mental and physical state of health decreased. For the last several years, my aunt was willing to give up her personal life to take care of her mother, my grandmother. Well, the Jehovah's Witness had someone to be my grandmother's power of attorney. The Witnesses were basically like, "Well, she can't be here because of her problems so let's dump her on somebody's doorstep! Yippee!" The Witness fought my aunt every which way. He sent my grandmother to nursing homes where they had physically abused her (beat her, broke bones...). He told my grandmother that they would try to make her take pills (which were for her mentality) and that she should not take them. If I recall, it had something to do with Satan or something. Unfortunately, he had her brainwashed.

And fortunately/unfortunately, this past July, my grandmother passed away. When we were in her hospital room (we reached the hospital after she died), my great-aunt had told my aunt, my father, my mother, and us kids that the Jehovah's Witness that was my grandmother's power of attorney did good things for my grandmother such as buy her a new pair of glasses. So, he had also brainwashed her into thinking he was so nice while my aunt had first-hand experience of how evil he was and she always told her brothers.

This "Witness" had even had the hospital staff convinced my own family was evil. That is, until Uncle David told them the truth of what has actually been happening in which the staff replied that what Uncle David was saying made much more sense.

So, as you can see, we have a whole family history of problems with organized religion.