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BARF ALERT! Men of Faith, Charles T Russell....
by crazyblondeb 5 Replies latest jw friends
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crazyblondeb
hell i can't figure out how to edit my post....
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crazyblondeb
ok, here's another one, a mental health study on jw's...
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purplesofa
We've Taken Over
- From: Nomen Nescio <nobody@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 22 Oct 2005 09:50:19 +0200 (CEST)
This is a reminder to all our good friends. This newsgroup now
belongs to the Jehovah's Witnesses. If you don't want to learn
how to become one of Jehovah's people you should leave now. If
you want to gain accurate knowledge of Jehovah's word you can
follow along. Or call your nearest Kingdom Hall for a bible
study in your own home free of charge. You will learn to be
without blemish before Jehovah. You will become like myself and
Antonio L. Santana of alt.religion.jehovahs-witn.
Why Jehovah's Witnesses Have Mental Problems; part 1
Jerry Bergman, Ph.D
ABSTRACT
A scientific literature review found that the rate of mental
illness among Jehovah's Witnesses is considerably above average.
The specific level found in the research varies partly because
the extant research was on different populations and time
periods. The major factors identified as either helpful or
harmful to Witness mental health were discussed. Although
persons with emotional problems tended to join the Witnesses,
the Watchtower teachings and its subculture clearly adversely
affected the mental health of those involved. The official
Watchtower attitude on mental illness was also examined as were
the common beliefs about the problem among Witnesses.
The History Of The Watchtower Reveals the Sources of Mental
Problems
Jehovah's Witnesses were organized in the late 1800's by Charles
Taze Russell, a second Adventist disappointed in the failed
prophecies of his fellow religionists. He soon reinterpreted
these prophesies and set his own new dates. He first taught the
time of the end started in 1798 (latter changed to 1799), that
Christ had returned invisibly in 1878 (latter changed to 1874),
and that a new world wherein the righteous would dwell forever
on a paradise Earth would begin in 1914.[1] With his father's
fortune, Russell preached tirelessly, yet when he died only a
small band of followers existed as a result of all his efforts.
The second president, a lawyer named Rutherford, used his law
background to create one confrontation after another with the
state and almost everyone else including business, medicine and
even religion. Soon Jehovah's Witnesses became infamous
throughout the world for their legal clashes which often
involved violence.[2] A fighter with no small legal skills,
Rutherford recruited several other attorneys and the Watchtower
soon had themselves positioned as martyrs. The small band of
devoted--some would say fanatical--followers, they achieved
something that no amount of money could buy: name recognition,
and, at least in the legal profession, an admiration for their
legal success and tenacity.
The third president, N.H. Knorr, ruled from the 1950s to the
1970s. He toned down their behavior and worked tirelessly to
modify their public image from fanatics to quiet, determined
Christians fearlessly going about their work preaching the good
news of the Watchtower's kingdom. Pushing numerical growth to
the exclusion of almost everything else including the health of
individual Witnesses, his policies paid off. Except for the 1975
fiasco, growth has usually been steady. 1975 was their third
recent major prediction for Armageddon, the other two were 1914
and 1925 which caused upward of one million people to eventually
leave the sect.[3] They have carefully cultivated a public image
of a God fearing devoted people, determined to ferret out God's
truth from the scriptures and live their lives fully according
to them. Behind this facade lies a nightmare which resulted in a
rash of mental illness and social problems considerably higher
than that found in virtually every American religion. The
reasons for the Watchtower tragedy are complex and can only
briefly be explored in this short review.
The Scientific Research
Especially since the 1975 date (which was predicted to usher in
God's kingdom on earth) failed, the numerous problems in the
Watchtower congregations have received much mass media and
scholarly attention. Most intensively studied problems include
disfellowshipping, doctrinal disputes, and their recurring
prophetic speculation failures. [4] Witness mental health issues
have also been examined by many investigators.[5]
The writer, as a former Witness for over twenty years, was
extensively involved in various administrative levels of the
organization. This gave him first hand access to information
relating to most social and bureaucratic aspects of the
Watchtower. He has also used his decade of extensive clinical
experience with Witnesses and an extensive literature review as
a basis for his evaluation. Outsiders have limited access to
inside information, and for this reason are forced to rely on
official publications, all of which are viewed by Witnesses as
quasi-inspired.[6] The literature reveals eight academic studies
which explored the problem of Witness mental illness. These will
be briefly reviewed by year, the oldest first.
The Rylander Study
Swedish psychiatrist Dr. Rylander investigated a sample of
conscientious objectors imprisoned in Sweden. Of the 135
randomly selected cases, fully 126 were Witnesses. Of these 126,
Rylander diagnosed 51 as neurotic, 42 psychotic, 32 as mentally
retarded, and 5 as brain-damaged (some overlap exists because
some cases were in two or more categories).[7] Diagnosis was
made solely on the basis of behavior that was clearly
pathological, such as irrational paranoia or severe long term
depression, and not behavior that resulted from following
Watchtower doctrine as non-social involvement with the non-
Witnesses. Rylander also concluded from the subjects' medical
records and his interviews that their pathological state was not
uncommonly evident before conversion, but that the Watchtower's'
influence was often detrimental to mental health, sometimes
severely so.
About four percent of the eligible armed service Swedish
population were judged psychologically "unfit" for military
services. The corresponding figure for Witnesses was twenty-one
percent, or a rate five times greater. This was very close to
the same ratio found by Spencer [8] whose diagnosis of
"psychotic" or "neurotic" was made on the basis of mental
hospital admission screening. Few of the cases in Rylander's
study were marginal Witnesses, and most were actively involved
in the Watchtower. Rylander concluded that many of those he
studied lacked an education, job skills, emotional stability,
and quality social relations. Unsatisfactory employment records
often existed because of psychological deficiencies, lack of
ability or immaturity. Rylander found that Witnesses committed
"...a relatively large number of small crimes and other
misdemeanors which generally resulted only in a fine...three
[Witnesses] have been imprisoned for stealing or harboring of
stolen property, and 36 have been fined for various offenses
(traffic violations, drunkenness, unlawful selling of alcohol,
poaching, unlawful entering, etc.)" [9]
Neurotic symptoms commonly found in his sample included
"feelings of discomfort, general anxiety, poor sleep habits,
times of brooding over what they see as the meaninglessness of
life, the wrongs they have suffered and the mistakes they have
made." [10] Rylander noted that the Watchtower doctrine helped
some adherents to explain "all of their problems in life, and
has given them a satisfaction and calmness which has brought a
measure of stability to their lives." [11]
He also concluded that individual Witnesses tended to be
burdened with a variety of serious concerns and often joined the
sect in an effort to solve their many problems. Although the
results of this study are not fully applicable to today's
situation, many of his conclusions are still largely true. [12]
A major difference between his sample and today is that the
Witnesses are now more middle-class and less socially rejected.
Many Witnesses, though, especially those living in developing
nations, still experience many of the same problems that
Rylander reported. -
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Wordly Andre
Last month I ebay'd his book Enemies, oh gosh if you really want to find out what a nut job this guy was read it, it's right up there with Mein Kampf