Could some of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, and Jehovah’s Witnesses “Governing Body” be suffering from Schizophrenia?

by Balaamsass 23 Replies latest watchtower scandals

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  00DAD

  Not schizophrenic. The technical term is "Fucked up!"
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  glenster

  Lying to feign exclusiveness to make money, as in the case of Peter Popoff and
  the radio receiver in his ear, is no indication of schizophrenia or delusions of
  grandeur, which might be excuses offered by a lawyer to deny culpability.

  Likewise, I don't think von Daniken really thinks he has proof of alien
  visits, Farrakhan is an actual bigot, Uri Geller really thinks he has paranormal
  powers, etc. I think of them as like JWs leaders who branched out to hit dif-
  ferent marketing groups.
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  Band on the Run

  Schizoprhenia is a complex set of diseases. There is not one schizoprhenia but many schizoprhenias stuck under the label schizoprhenia. Altho the delusions, hallucinations are a hallmark of the disease, the criteria is incomplete. Schizophrenia is so serious b/c very few are able to function normally, even with medication. The negative symptoms are more troublesome than the positive ones.

  The Soviets attributed mental illness to dissidents. The WTBTS has many repressive, totalitarian regimes from which to poach ideas. I would state that the GB's main problem is that they are human. Evil people can do terrible things without any mental illness. One of the perplexing things for me is how functional the Witnesses are. They are not winners in a worldly sense but they aren't hospitalized.

  Sociopaths, control freaks, extreme isolationists are more likely terms. Some recently stated their misquotes of scientists and Bible scholars. I was very impressed b/c I thought they lack so much education that perhaps they just had more reading comprehension problems. This poster did not summarize the misquote or the scientist's denial. Rather, they quoted the miscontrued text ina comparison chart.. My illusions were shattered. Miscomprehension was not happening. It was clear fraud to commit blatant lies.

  Absolute power corrupts humans absolutely. I feel that we apostates are little dogs snapping at their heels. So many are unquestioning. Also, people with schizophrenia have no choice. Schizophrenia has very strong genetic components. Clear brain disorder exists. The GB has a choice. Their fault is not genetic, but moral. The comparison is very hurtful to schizoprhenics. R.D. Laing and other scientific dissenters aside, the Western medical model shows a disorder, a disease. The GB has clarity of thought. They are so harmful precisely b/c they are able to think.
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  Joey Jo-Jo

  Is it not true that leaders of all belief systems think they are right and everyone else is wrong? Books written by R. Franz give a good account why they believed what they believed, and when something bad happens their moral obligation is passed to the company (WB&TS). I believe that many up the hierarchy, to continue in the position that they need to be suffer from many cognitive biases and distortions, but schizophrenic is maybe pushing it, who knows maybe there really is a link between extreme anxiety and schizophrenia. Look at flippers link at the posts above.

  Why do you think Raymond Franz left? Because he was forced to actually study the bible when looking up material for a new book, saw discrepencies and failed to see holy spirit where there should be most of, he even tried to change the GB way of thinking only to disappoint himself, eventually he left. A man of many many years devote to JW's yet broke free from a small action that started all that cognitive dissonance eventually became too unbearable that he finally reached a "crisis of conscience". If he had never been a gb member or never became aware of what the bible actually says he most likely had passed away as a jw.
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  solomon

  Delusions of grandeur definately
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  ssn587

  what do you mean if?
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  Scott77

  marked for later
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  OldGenerationDude

  There is an actual term for this type of block to reasoning. It's called "ambiguity intolerance."

  While one may often hear and use the term when speaking about the learning capacity of students in an academic program, it is also used in reference to the personality type that often finds groups like the Jehovah’s Witnesses attractive.

  Some groups offer their members an ideology, philosophy, and yes, even religion that appeals, caters to, and even encourages a personal need to compartmentalize all in the universe to simple pro and con, good and evil status. The “we have the definitive answers to all the important questions” offer made by these groups, whether peddling religion or even science, tells the ambiguity intolerant that their "black-and-white" approach is reasonable, ideal, and in no way restrictive. While not everyone who joins such a group falls under this category (many of us did not, which is why we are here discussing things), many who are dismissed from these groups or leave on their own will continue to approach life on the outside of their former group in the same manner as before.

  From the outside we can see how the Governing Body is just grasping at straws in order to keep its 144,000 and 1914 doctrines alive, doing so by making the present somehow fit their “cherished” but obviously uncorrectable beliefs. But this is to be expected. Persons with ambiguity intolerance rigidly adhere to preconceived ideas even to the point of rejecting evidence to the contrary. In fact, due to the rise of conflict such evidence to the contrary might present, the person with this type of personality can actually be incapable of processing the new information or evidence without a great handicap to their psychological and emotional well-being.

  Some, but not all—and I stress “not all”—of the “atheist vs. religion” debates on this very message board are actually struggles between persons who have left the Watchtower behind but not their ambiguity intolerance. Whether religious or atheistic in approach now, there is that need to be in the right that is held in common by some of those on either side of the argument. They "deify" their ideology, whether science or theology, making it the "last word" in all the can be labled "truth."

  Only recently has this type of personality and the problematic compartmentalization it causes been studied in connection with groups like the Watchtower, religious and non-religious. Whether this constitutes an actual mental health problem has yet to be uncovered, but there is reason to believe it can lead to such when, as mentioned above, the ambiguous intolerant is left alone to process life without the influence of such a group.
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  NewChapter

  I find it incredibly distasteful, and offensive to come to an ex JW board, go to many threads, and accuse members of still being like JW's. You are apparently on a mission though. Does it make you feel superior to come along and categorize people you do not know as having certain personality traits that carry over from being in a cult? Do you feel you are educating the ex cult members?
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  Joey Jo-Jo

  ^^^ is this about me?????