Long term effects of Armageddon images

by Lady Lee 53 Replies latest watchtower medical

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  Lady Lee

  truthlover At least he is taking about it. I wonder how many sit with these fears and never figure out why they have a fatalistic view of life

  steve

  You are correct. The worst images are in the earlier publications. But I'm sitting here with a bunch of images on my computer that are pretty graphic from the 70s to well the last one i have is 2003. My kids grew up with these images. There is one where people are climbing over the bodies of dead people.

  But it isn't about how many but rather the ability for those images to instill fear into people. And children are almost always the most vulnerable of any group.

  To the best of my knowledge, in my local community, none of my JW peers from the 50s and 60s were traumatized by exposure to images in the JW literature. On the other hand, other aspects of the JW environment were traumatizing for many: Shunning, spoken warnings about the consequences of "sins of the flesh", etc. On reflection, none of this kind of negative baggage was unique to the JWs -which is not to say that it was Okay!

  Ask them. Ask your friends if the images bothered them at all.

  When I made the post I had an idea of what kind of responses I would get. But I wasn't sure. I had a theory and people posted.

  Chalam

  You are absolutely right. The WTS uses the threat of Armageddon to control people. The Bible doesn't make as much a deal of it as the WTS does.

  Cults very frequently teach opposing beliefs and expect people to accept both. It works and it is an effective tool to control people
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  steve2

  Ask them. Ask your friends if the images bothered them at all.

  Yes, it's good to ask and not just assume. Pretty much all of my JW peers have since left the religion or remained on the periphery. Over the years, we often talked about the publications and the general feedback was, since leaving the religion, we could see how manipulative and ridiculous many of the warnings, including images were.

  I realise I may be moving away from your main point about the effects of images, but I do think it's also good to normalise the fact that there are lots of things that developmentally are genuinely frightening to children that, in later years, they can look back on with greater perspective. For example, at one stage when my mother was physically unwell (a difficult birth experience with a massive loss of blood but, of course, no transfusion), she was unable to attend meetings for several weeks. My maternal grandfather visited us children at home - ages 4, 6 and 9 - and warned us that if Armageddon came while we were also missing meetings we "might not" get into the new system. We were too scared to even tell our mother what he had said to us because we didn't want her to worry that she too might die at Armageddon. I'm glad that the present-day JWs in general take a less hardline on (some) matters. Also, now that my siblings and I are older we realise that, as frightening as it was to hear our grandfather say this to us, at the same time, we now realise how anxious he was for our wellbeing (i.e., he did not want to see us killed at Armageddon). Times have changed and so have notions of better ways to raise children!
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  Lady Lee

  Steve I can well imagine how your grandfather's words would have affected you. And then you were caught in the middle between needing to protect your mother from undue stress and the words he said. I'm sort of surprised he didn't offer to take you all to the meetings. If he was so concerned after all. It would have "protected" you and given your mother a break. How odd
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  avishai

  Personally, pics from the JW books and the rhetoric involved with them scared the crap outta me. So did other religions pictures of Jesus on a stick. The blood, the gore, etc. And it's still around, on roadside stands, on tv...disgusting.
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  Chalam

  Hi,

  I heard JWs many times talk about people "dying at Armageddon" but never talk about Jesus giving life. No doubt who they are prophesying for :(

  John 10:10 (New International Version)

  10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

  All the best,

  Stephen
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  jwfacts

  I used to have nightmares as a child of falling down a crack during an earthquake. Falling is a common nightmare in children, but I have no doubt the earthquake nightmare I had came from this picture.

  From Paradise Lost to Paradise Regained page 209
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  Black Sheep

  I think the one that affected me the most was on the opposite page.

  The expressions on their faces got to me.

  
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  Still Breaking Free

  Well, we are talking long-term effects? I was born into a witness family. I broke away in the year 2000. I am now 44 and this is the first time I have seen these images in many years. As I am looking at them my heart is racing and I want to cry at the sheer terror portrayed in the faces. It's not until you see clearly - which I, at last, feel I do - that the impact of this type of input becomes apparent.

  It is nothing short of appalling to scare children in this way. I have a daughter of 15 and a son of 11. There are dangers and terrible things around us that I, as a responsible parent, have to educate them about. Their minds mature gradually and as that has happened, I have increased their knowledge of good and bad things that happen around us and tried to make them appreciate when it is necessary to be wary - as most parents do! However, I do not believe that this is achieved by showing them graphic pictures of horrific images at a young age!! This is not rocket science!

  I wonder how this sits with my parents who were actually completely devoted and loving toward me and my brothers and sisters. It only underlines to me how the organisation blinds its followers and people who are intelligent and thoughtful in every other aspect of their lives are led along with no thought of the very real long-term consequences to those they love.

  I call myself Still Breaking Free, but this forum is certainly helping to make that break even more final.
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  steve2

  I'm sort of surprised he didn't offer to take you all to the meetings. If he was so concerned after all. It would have "protected" you and given your mother a break. How odd

  Lady Lee, thanks for the thoughts. My grandparents lived miles away in another district and, at that time my father was 'wavering' in the organization (he later became a very dedicated witness). On reflection, my grandfather would have known that if he had spoken directly to my father about the need to attend meetings, my father would have told him where to go! :) But you're sure right about my poor mother needing a break.
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  chicken little

  I am way too late in anwsering..but I have just read this thread. I stayed a witness when my family left in 1975. I was 14 and my younger brother 12. He went on to become a biker/rocker...hard lifestyle...tough people. He is a lovely guy though and eventually got his life sorted out. He is now 47 and just last year when I told him I was stopping as a witness, he explained he still had nightmares from the pictures in the old paradise book. That is over 35 years ago for him and he was out all that time....so I know those images have a deep down effect...they are not like comics/videos with violence...we truly believed as a child this was going to happen to all our friends and family who were not witnesses.

  Chicken little