Governing body member has Nervous breakdown due to Bethel pressure!!! Sad.

by Witness 007 12 Replies latest watchtower bible

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  Witness 007

  Watchtower life story of Karl Klien Governing body was very sad. Clearly shows the pressure to do more. Baptized at 12 years old he became a teenage Elder. At Bethel during the 1930's he recalls: "(President) Rutherford repeatedly had to repremand me for breaking some rule. One time he gave me some blunt reproof. Next time I saw him he gave me a cheery hello. Being still hurt I muttered a greeting. He said "Watch out Karl...the devil is after you..." In 1950 (President) Nathan Knorr invited me to join the writting comittee. When I told him it did not matter where I served HE REPREMANDED ME...my atitude was due to my poor health...due to my own weakness I had a nervous breakdown....Knorr was older then me..he would express impatients to his younger brothers shortcomings...1974 I was invited to join the Governing body...I NEEDED ENCOURAGEMENT TO ACCEPT by Fredrick Franz...."

  So much pressure to do more even thought he was emotionally weak and not well. Very sad lifestory.
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  AFRIKANMAN

  JFR's words were true ! He was the devil he-self !
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  SadElder

  Nathan Knorr was a pompous horses butt. He was the one that had the devil in him. Poor Karl, a meek man who fell to the trappings of Beth-hell.
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  Beth Sarim

  I wonder if most JW's would wonder if the pressure to do so ''much more'' causing mental health issues, that perhaps maybe it wasn't the ''truth''??????
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  sparky1

  'Nervous Breakdowns' at Bethel?! It happens more than the average 'rank and file' witness realizes.
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  steve2

  Notice the way in which the individual is made to blame himself for the pressure the organization places on him.

  If we could step back and consider Karl Klein's disposition, we could guess he was likely a very sensitive man who tried his best to fit in even though he found the brothers at Bethel on the efficient, impatient and detached side.

  His story suggests that when others "reprimanded" him, he was hurt and upset but did not have a legitimate venue for expressing his feelings.

  Like a lot of people, inside and outside religious organizations, he would learn it was not safe to express feelings of upset and hurt so he would suppress them, turning them inward. One defintion of depression is, "Anger turned inwards". He was a brave man to disclose his "nervous breakdown" (to use the terminology of the day).

  His is but one story of numberless stories of people beaten down by the collective and made to 'shape up or ship out.'

  From the vantage of our current more enlightened approach to human relationships, it is staggering that an organization that so loudly claims to have the fruitage of love seems to practice it the least - and the cost to human wellbeing and safety is tragic. His story reminds me of those suffering within the organization who see no way out other than descending into a lifetime of depresision - or worse, suicidal behavior.
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  Finkelstein

  It isn't the first time someone who was deeply ingrained in the JW cult has had a nervous break down, some even commit suicide or kill their own family members.

  Many of these suicides strangely occur at Kingdom Halls or close by, which kind of leaves the question why did these people do that.

  Perhaps as a showing of guilt toward the men/elders or others in those Kingdom Halls. ???
  
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  Beth Sarim

  The over righteous ones will always point the blame on the one who has breakdown or commits suicide. Along the lines of ''maybe he/she was harbouring some doubt or past sin!!'', or ''oh no, Jehovah's organization is never wrong!! They must have been doing something!!'' The extreme lack of love is disgusting.
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  Witness 007

  I don't know HOW this lifestory got past the Watchtower censors. It basically tells us all 3 of our leaders Rutherford Knorr and Franz were pushy insensitive bully bastards. It was too brutally honest and truthful. They would otherwise "white wash" the bad parts.
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  ToesUp

  "It basically tells us all 3 of our leaders Rutherford Franz and Knorr were pushy insensitive bully bastards."

  Nothing new and nothing has changed. They are all bullies. The majority of the Co's and Elders are bullies. They learned from THE BEST. The brothers who have some compassion are fewer and fewer. It is sad!

  One of the MANY reasons we are GONE FOR GOOD! LACK OF LOVE IS FRONT AND CENTER!