Rolf Furuli Mental Health

by oppostate 10 Replies latest watchtower medical

• 

  oppostate

  Rolf Foruli, Scandinavian academic and Watchtower apologist, has come out with a video at times quoting figures on mental disease from the 1930's and 40's, in support of his allegation that the rate of mental problems and depression is actually only a third of what it is among the entire population.

  There are numerous holes in his presentation. For one, when JW's are DA'ed or DF'ed they're no longer considered JW's and only active JW's are part of the results. Those who were victimized and suffered the most mental trauma as JW's aren't even considered in the studies he mentions.

  Watch his video: "The Mental Health of Jehovah´s Witnesses" R. Furuli, on YouTube:

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYXGivw8-fE&t=1240s

  The real question might be "what is Rolf Foruli's own state of mental health?"
• 

  Diogenesister

  Interesting that when collating statistics he considers a "lifetime prevelence",or a generational prevelence in other words, 40 years !!!!

  Maybe he should tell David Splane!!
• 

  Half banana

  From Wikipedia on R Furuli;

  In a 2004 issue of Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, Lester L. Grabbe, professor of theology at the University of Hull, said of Furuli's study: "Once again we have an amateur who wants to rewrite scholarship. ... F. shows little evidence of having put his theories to the test with specialists in Mesopotamian astronomy and Persian history."[5]

  Furuli here in the mental health analysis of JWs, is speaking outside of his expertise not that this automatically makes his information incorrect but his record shows that he is prepared to use his academic qualifications to promote his religion regardless of factual and peer recognized evidence.

  With no further knowledge of his data on mental health, it would nevertheless be significant to point out that Furuli's first MA on Babylonian texts in 1995 coincided with the Watchtower's reappraisal of the failure of their pivotal "1914 generation" and the consequent 'excuse' of overlapping generations.

  The Watchtower at that time would have been desperate to find an academic prepared to use "theocratic warfare" and support the unsupportable evidence for 607 bce as the fall of the siege of Jerusalem instead of 587 bce.

  Clearly they found one in Furuli.
  
  
  
• 

  DATA-DOG

  Perhaps Leah Remini would be interested in your last two posts? There’s at least two episodes for her expose’ on Dubs.

  She has already had Steve Hassan on once, perhaps he could comment on the general “mental health” of cult members..

  DD
• 

  sparky1

  This man is not even smart enough to be ashamed of himself. Sending out a survey for the congregation elders to make an assessment of individual witnesses mental health is not a 'scientific study'. It is the gathering of anecdotal judgments made by the elders in individual congregations based on their cursory observations of their fellow congregants. Even a 'self reported' survey by the individual publishers would be a more accurate assessment (Though it would still not be a 'scientific study'). The words charlatan and fraud come to mind for me after watching this video.
  
• 

  OrphanCrow

  sparky: Sending out a survey for the congregation elders to make an assessment of individual witnesses mental health is not a 'scientific study'.

  Ooohhhh

  Is this the "study" that I have seen referenced in certain WT documents? In submissions to international courts, etc?

  Now that makes sense. I always wondered who it was that conducted such a stupid "study"

  And the org uses it liberally. Whenever they want to present 'expert" opinions. Pfffftt

  Isn't this the guy that was part of the production "In the Name of God"? The one that Reibling et al supported. Financially

  *to add - yeah

  Here is the background on that "independent" production. And I had the name wrong - "The Name of God"

  https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/exjehovahswitnessforum/the-name-of-god-documentary-film-t27746.html
  
• 

  sparrowdown

  What else would WT be doing with all that falsified, trumped up, psuedo data gathered by unqualified fools from people who don't know they are being surveyed except use it to their advantage?
• 

  Diogenesister

  sparky1an hour agoan hour ago

  This man is not even smart enough to be ashamed of himself. Sending out a survey for the congregation elders to make an assessment of individual witnesses mental health is not a 'scientific study'.

  That's the first thing I thought of. As if elders, with their ability to promote and sanction a publisher at will, would be appropriate men to collate such "evidence". Aside from the fact they are not qualified to do so.

  Speaking of qualified, Furuli has no expertise in mental health whatsoever.

  Interestingly, with regard to qualifications ,I have heard two Norweigian exjws state that further education is not especially frowned upon by Norweigian Jws. I t is far more common to find kids attending uni over there.

  It seems Furuli was rarther cunning in choosing HIS congregation as an example of the range of educational norms of Jehovahs Witnesses, notwithstanding HE HIMSELF would have squewed the results somewhat.
• 

  sparrowdown

  WT gets away with it because no one big, famous and with credentials calls them on it.
• 

  steve2

  Surely this “research” would never be peer-reviewed for publication in any reputable scholarly journal.