Study: Belief in an angry God associated with variety of mental illnesses

by sizemik 7 Replies latest watchtower medical

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  sizemik

  Hardly surprising to most ... but it's interesting to have a study confirm it.

  People who believe in an angry, punishing God are much more likely to suffer from a variety of mental illnesses, a scientific study published in the April edition of Journal of Religion & Health finds.

  The study, conducted by Marymount Manhattan College Assistant Psychology Professor Nava Silton, used data from the 2010 Baylor Religion Survey of US Adults to examine the links between beliefs and anxiety disorders like social dysfunction, paranoia, obsession and compulsion.

  http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/04/17/study-belief-in-an-angry-god-associated-with-variety-of-mental-illnesses/
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  ambersun

  Hardly surprising to most ... but it's interesting to have a study confirm it.

  As you say, hardly surprising to anyone who has experienced it first hand.

  It doesn't take a medical genious to work out that a child raised to believe that if they are naughty they will be punished by eternal damnation in either a burning hell or having the ground open up to swallow not only them but also their pet dog or cat at armageddon (which is coming sooooon), is more than likely to suffer some kind of mental anxiety as they grow up .

  However, they have probably spent obscene amounts of money researching the subject and at least it confirms what should be glaringly obvious to most people .
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  steve2

  very interesting study sizemilk. There's an old saying that pets end up resembling their owners and I swear a similar principle applies to the"gods" people worship: we end up with similar qualities to them. Also to fervently believe - and defend - the holy writings of your god's vicious acts indicates a very likely similar outlook. I knew witnesses who resented the worldy success of other humans and who appeared to relish the prospect of Jehovah destroying them. To 'get off' on such negativity suggests something of an unhealthy outlook on life - so I'm not surprised an angry god and mental health disorders are correlated.
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  sizemik

  I hadn't thought of it in terms of that analogy steve2 (pets and their owners), . . . but tend to agree. If you can accommodate mass slaughter as a moral act of your God, then participation is only one step away ... like a dog protecting it's owner. And let's be honest, that's been the pattern thus far, historically.

  I'm no expert, but a psychopathic personality is likely to do better in accommodating the moral position (IMO). It's those who's true moral tendencies are constantly at odds with this position, who find it a crushing weight at times and find themselves in strife. I mean, you have to hate people to want them dead right? I felt bad about it and alone at times ... but you just don't understand why at the time. My anger has subsided in proportion to regaining mental health ... and it's been 10 years. What's even more remarkable is the change in the way I view people, looking back over that time. It's not natural to hate anyone. Mental health is totally dependent on this too I believe.

  I got a lot of pleasure out of watching the passing of the marriage equality bill BTW.
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  PaintedToeNail

  Interesting article, seems to go hand in hand with the RTS, Religious Traumatic Stress, thread a while back. Isn't it interesting though, how the WTBTS always says something to the effect of "Because God is Love, he will destroy untold billions of people who don't fear and worship according to requirements." or one of my favorite from the old song book "God is Love and therefore bids us persecutions to endure"...that one never made any sense to me!
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  Heaven

  sizemik, thank you for posting this. It confirms the things I observed and experienced in and with my JW relatives and the conclusions I came to. I saw this religion disabling the thinking abilities in its members. I saw it change loving people into mean-spirited, holier-than-thou, do-nothing people. They became outward looking and unable to look within.

  I truly believe that any JW in the religion for a period of time knows there is something not right about it. Many a poster here has stated the same thing. The splinter in the mind is there. But they are being held captive by the fear and guilt heaped on them. This religion creates intellectually dishonest people.

  I think the next study I'd like to see done is one that identifies specifically those religions that focus on 'angry God', identifying the harmful and destructive characteristics of these groups, and have laws enacted to protect people.

  It is not difficult to connect this study with brain diseases such as dementia and Alzheimer's.

  There are also studies showing that our morality is inherrent in our DNA. I thought this study was interesting:

  How the human brain constructs morality (http://www.dnaindia.com/scitech/1365244/report-how-the-brain-constructs-morality)
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  carla

  I was listening to some radio show recently in which they claimed that people who believe in an angry God had lower immune systems and got sick more often, failed to recover, etc.... sorry, I forgot where I heard it.
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  Satanus

  Very interesting. Perhaps, that is why many christians prefer to focus on jesus, and they chose to focus on his positives, not the negative things he is said to have said. The wt does NOT do this.

  S