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Former Jehovah's Witnesses are 'mentally diseased'

catsmate

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catsmate
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I have not examined the offending issue of The Watchtower myself in detail, but this article from The Independent interested me; it's an excellent example of the siege mentality of certain religious sects and their fear of difference, especially those who've gotten over their beliefs.

The official magazine for Jehovah's Witnesses has described those who leave the church as "mentally diseased", prompting an outcry from former members and insiders concerned about the shunning of those who question official doctrine.
An article published in July's edition of The Watchtower warns followers to stay clear of "false teachers" who are condemned as being "mentally diseased" apostates who should be avoided at all costs. "Suppose that a doctor told you to avoid contact with someone who is infected with a contagious, deadly disease," the article reads. "You would know what the doctor means, and you would strictly heed his warning. Well, apostates are 'mentally diseased', and they seek to infect others with their disloyal teachings."
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FYI the issue of The Watchtower in question was published ~5 months ago. The quotation in question is:

The Bible says that apostates are mentally diseased and that they use their teachings to make others think like them.
Suppose that a doctor told you to avoid contact with someone who is infected with a contagious, deadly disease. You would know what the doctor means, and you would strictly heed his warning.
with their disloyal teachings. (1 Tim. 6:3, 4) Jehovah, the Great Physician, tells us to avoid contact with them. We know what he means, but are we determined to heed his warning in all respects?
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PDF available here.

The wagons are being circled..........
 
catsmate1 said:
I have not examined the offending issue of The Watchtower myself in detail, but this article from The Independent interested me; it's an excellent example of the siege mentality of certain religious sects and their fear of difference, especially those who've gotten over their beliefs.

FYI the issue of The Watchtower in question was published ~5 months ago. The quotation in question is:

PDF available here.

The wagons are being circled..........
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Critical thinking is a disease now?
 
To the mentally unstable, those who are without affliction may seem to be the sick ones. Besides, the JWs know that ytheir particular brand of loony is pretty dang flimsy, so anything they can do to isolate their gullible masses from reality is a self preservation mechanism...
 
LarianLeQuella said:
To the mentally unstable, those who are without affliction may seem to be the sick ones. Besides, the JWs know that ytheir particular brand of loony is pretty dang flimsy, so anything they can do to isolate their gullible masses from reality is a self preservation mechanism...
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Indeed. to the rest of the world the JW looks like they are weird (euphemism for : insane).
 
One thing. The PDF link is to the watchtower in simplified English. I doubt that it varies much from the normal watchtower article, but does anyone have that for comparison?
 
It wouldn't surprise me. It's apparently common for JW:s to recruit mentally diseased people, stealing lists from mental hospitals and so on.
 
CriticalSock said:
One thing. The PDF link is to the watchtower in simplified English. I doubt that it varies much from the normal watchtower article, but does anyone have that for comparison?
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I found that via Google but didn't spend much time on it; the JW website doesn't have PDFs that old, just audio files.
 
catsmate1 said:
I found that via Google but didn't spend much time on it; the JW website doesn't have PDFs that old, just audio files.
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There'll probably be one in the pile if I go into that part of the house. I'll check it out this evening.
 
CriticalSock said:
There'll probably be one in the pile if I go into that part of the house. I'll check it out this evening.
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Here is a link to the 'Study' edition.

p16
Well, apostates are “mentally diseased,” and they seek to infect others with their disloyal teachings
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and
What is involved in avoiding false teachers? We do not receive them into our homes or greet them. We also refuse to read their literature, watch TV programs that feature them, examine their Web sites, or add our comments to their blogs
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So the deluded shouldn't expose themselves to alternate views in case they become contaminated with independent thought.:rolleyes:

There's also this, somewhat unrelated, gem on p17:
For example, the apocryphal book of Tobit (Tobias), written about the third century B.C.E. and thus extant in Paul’s day, is full of superstition and absurd tales of magic and sorcery presented as truth
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Pot%2520meet%2520kettle.gif
 
I think that what saved my SO's sanity was that his family didn't shun him when he left. What a horrible thing to force your followers to do.
 
"Suppose that a doctor told you to avoid contact with someone who is infected with a contagious, deadly disease," the article reads. "You would know what the doctor means, and you would strictly heed his warning.
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On the other hand, if a doctor suggested you need a blood transfusion, the doctor should be ignored.. ( According to JW doctrine )
 
Skeptical Greg said:
On the other hand, if a doctor suggested you need a blood transfusion, the doctor should be ignored.. ( According to JW doctrine )
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There you go again, expecting logic and consistency from those suffering from religion.
 
This is exactly like Scientology. The apostate (yes, they use that term) is a suppressive person and disconnection from that enturbulating influence is required to save your eternal soul.

Cult is cult is cult.
 
I feel that many of you are mischaracterizing the rank and file of JWs, who in my experience are friendly, compassionate and mild-tempered people.

They are not "mentally unstable", "insane" or "loony", and to my close inspection (I spent a year studying with them to gain a better understanding of the Bible) the vast majority of JWs appear sincere in their beliefs. While I am agnostic and certainly agree there is no objective evidence of God, and while I see that the Bible is full of errors and fabrications, I also perceive that the JW's beliefs comfort them, assuage their fear of death and explain the universe in a symbolic way that they can comprehend.

That their beliefs are different from yours, and may seem superstitious, illogical or even stupid to you, is no reason to deride as "insane" an entire group of fellow human beings who are genetically and psychologically identical to every other person in the world [within a range of normal variation, of course].

I'm surprised that the Watchtower calls ex-members "mentally diseased" as it seems out of character for the group that I know. If there has been a shift toward cultish tactics by the leaders of the JW organization I will certainly decry that as unfortunate. But I will stand by my assessment of the organization on the whole as reasonable, kind-hearted people not so different from the masses among whom they live and work.
 
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catsmate1 said:
Here is a link to the 'Study' edition.

p16
and
So the deluded shouldn't expose themselves to alternate views in case they become contaminated with independent thought.:rolleyes:

There's also this, somewhat unrelated, gem on p17:
[qimg]http://rationalia.com/z/Ratz%20Smilies%20Mk%203/index3_files/Pot%2520meet%2520kettle.gif[/qimg]
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Thanks Catsmate, I found a copy of the magazine last night (with the words mentally diseased neatly underlined :( ).

I also talked to my JW family about the article. Their explanation was that this was directed at people who have left the JW's and then try and convert other JW's to their way of thinking. The phrase they thought was key was: "They want to draw away the disciples after themselves."

I said "So this doesn't apply to all ex-JW's?" They said "No."

I said "What if we're having an argument, isn't my trying to convince you of my beliefs an attempt at 'drawing you away'?" They said "No, because you're not trying to make disciples for yourself."

That's a pretty narrow definition. I don't think there are many people who are ex-JW's who are setting up their own cults.

I am not sure whether this interpretation of the article by my three JW's is shared by the rest of them though. I get the feeling it might be an interpretation that's influenced by having an ex-JW in their immediate family.
 
FireGarden said:
Did you mean this seriously? If so, could you provide a link?
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Yeah, that struck me as a bit odd.

On the other hand I knew two people, one friend and one acquaintance, who win into mental hospitals while I was in the JW's. My friend wanted to tidy the whole world and the other person I knew was gay, but not allowed to be gay of course and eventually the conflict blew his mind.
 
Vortigern99 said:
I'm surprised that the Watchtower calls ex-members "mentally diseased" as it seems out of character for the group that I know.
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The way I read it was as a very poor extension of their analogy: doctors telling you to keep away from infectious people. They used scare quotes in the original, so it's not absolutely sure they meant it literally.

As for your wider point, I agree: religion is not a mental illness.

Does anyone have any actual numbers on ostracism among JWs, regarding apostates?
 
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