I wonder how many of these witlesses that go around shooting people and killing babies can persist before people realize that the religion does not produce a "new personality" that is any better than the old personality.
Discovery Channel shooter link to JW's?
by tenyearsafter 33 Replies latest jw friends
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tenyearsafter
The common thread that seems to run through so many of these "events" seems to be the attitude by JW's that this behavior happened as a direct result of the lack of faith or "not staying close to the Organization" by the offender. It seems almost impossible for the rank and file JW to accept that a person could have a mental illness requiring some form of treatment other than prayer and additional study. If I were to ask my JW mother what she thought about this incident, she would immediately respond that the person had allowed Satan to take over their heart and mind causing them to commit an evil act. It would never cross her mind that the person needs treatment for an illness rather than an exorcism! Unfortunately, as these attitudes continue to be condoned in the Organization, I fear that this won't be the last time we read about this type of behavior on the part of a current or ex-JW.
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ssn587
It is so true of the dubs, for mental problems, pray, come to more meetings, go out in Field service more, in other words, to solve those mental problems, just DOOOOOOOOOOOO MMMMMMMMMMMOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEE. As i have pointed out to my spouse a number of ties they have more than the normal number of deviants mentally in the borg.
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Hadit
There is no doubt that this organization causes repression, suppression, depression, etc. If someone has cancer, severe hemorrhoids or any other physical problem do they accept anyone telling them to pray more, study more, do more for the truth? Or do they go to the appropriate doctor to get it looked at? How is the brain - which the last time I checked was a part of the body, any different? If you have a problem with depression or what have you then you go see a psychologist, therapist, etc. and get help. How utterly ridiculous to label someone as demonized or spiritually sick when they have those issues. They are being told that they caused their problem and better do more for an organization and they will get better or they are told to wait till the new system!
It's no wonder people are so mentally and emotionally distressed. How sad that it comes to people hurting others because no one bothered to help them in the proper way. How loving.
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seawolf
This thread is worth a bump.
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Pistoff
Of course, nothing in the JW teachings would encourage this behavior; he obviously was unhinged.
I can't see any way to connect the 2 things from this article, yes he may have been a JW, but how did that push him to this?
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tenyearsafter
Pistoff...
Nothing in the teachings may be directly tied to encouraging this behavior, but I would argue that the organizational high control exerted on JW's lends itself to depression and other types of psychological issues. Was that the case with Mr. Lee...who knows, but the high incidence of "psychological issues" in every congregation that I was associated with would, at the very least, make me question why it was so prevalent among those congregations. I had several JW friends who committed suicide, had severe depression, etc.
Mr. Lee obviously suffered from some sort of mental illness...I can't say, yes it was tied to his JW years...but you certainly can't say there is no relationship to his JW time.
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flipper
The same mentality in Jehovah's Witnesses which claims that people do these things due to Satan's influence or the ever present " human imperfection " - is the same mentality that looks at child abusers in Jehovah's Witnesses as " imperfect sinners " instead of them being someone who has committed a felony criminal act condemned by normal society. It's ridiculous.
Even more ridiculous is they think personal study of WT literature will help these people more than professional psychological counseling. WT society is a tool. An unuseful one
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gubberningbody
"In his 2003 three-page letter to U.S. District Judge Barry Ted Moskowitz, ?Lee wrote he was estranged from his family and stayed away from them for his own “sanity.”
“After 36 years of my life,” he wrote, “I have nothing to show for it.”
But his younger brother, Aaron Lee, did write a brief letter to Moskowitz.
He said James Lee was loved by his family, was nonviolent and did not smoke, drink or do drugs. Aaron Lee said his brother had been “a devoted Jehovah Witness for a decade.”
I think some people are really damaged by the JW's even more than others. The key words he used ...."for my own sanity" and “After 36 years of my life,” he wrote, “I have nothing to show for it.” echo a lot of feelings disappointed JW's feel when they realize how the New World as advertised by JW's will never ever happen.
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Palimpsest
He was definitely not an active JW. He listed his religion as "Atheist" on his MySpace profile (now taken down) and his personal website contains many lines about how religion is the root of all evil, evolution must be taught, mankind should be permanently wiped out, etc. (See here for a few excerpts.) He also had been arrested multiple times in previous years and was a well-known political activist in his community, both of which would have gotten him kicked out had he still been in.
Only two media sources have mentioned anything about any possible JW ties, and those were both small, local outlets far removed from the area -- and one of them has completely pulled the story where they reported that. If he had any connection to the JWs, major sources have either found it not notable enough to be covered or completely unverifiable. (For what it's worth, I do believe that he was probably raised as a JW or something similar. But he wasn't an active one.)
I think that some ex-JW websites are taking this and running with it without any verification, which just looks bad for the ex-JWs in my view. It's hard to extrapolate an entire "The Dubs Made Him Do It" theory from one line in a news article that has not been verified and is based on hearsay. And even if he had past ties, to call him a JW is just plain wrong based on his own statements.