Flip-side News: Lauren Stuart Did Not Do It Because of Shunning [Opposers Dismythed]
We withheld writing this response to the Lauren Stuart murder-suicide until we had all the facts regarding the incident from the police. Now that the actual police report has been completed and filed by the police, let us take a look at the real facts.
First, we would like to express our condolences to Lauren's father and 11 siblings, whose feelings the media has failed to consider because of their religious affiliation. We know that this time cannot have been easy for them. Jehovah is with them and the love of their families and friends in their congregations and their worldwide brotherhood is with them.
On February 15th, the day after Lauren Stuart celebrated Valentine's day together with her family, Lauren killed her son, daughter, husband and family dog and then turned the gun on herself.
Both the media and our apostates have been quick to prejudiciously and publically humiliate Jehovah's Witnesses over the shunning issue without any evidence except the word of one single apostate close to Lauren. That apostate had been quick to invade a local kingdom hall the very next day and tastelessly use Lauren's death as a publicity stunt to highlight her own anti-disfellowshipping agenda. One reporter we were in contact with stated that her goal for her article was to "show how shunning hurts". However, the police report shows that shunning had nothing to do with this incident.
This public lynching has been comparable to a doctor misdiagnosing a patient because he has already decided what the problem is before he collects the facts, or a cop planting evidence to support his narrative. It is an abuse of power, in this case, journalistic power, resulting in yellow journalism.
In her suicide note, Lauren Stuart herself wrote that the cause is that "I allowed evil into my heart when I chose not to accept God’s free love and it made me sick inside," and that she "can't do it anymore." Did you catch that? She herself believed that she became "sick inside" as a result of her personal choice, and not because she was shunned. She did not blame her shunning, but merely identified it in a video as a symptom of her "path of destruction".
Then she said in her note, "I killed my family because I know my death would stumble them" because of the pain it would cause them. Nowhere does her note or recorded videos cite her having been shunned 10 years earlier as the direct cause, or a contributing factor, of her actions.
What was the conclusion of the police? They concluded: "It would appear that Lauren immersed herself in her own world of her version of religion and increased depression.” Again, did you catch that? "Her own world of her version of religion". They do not believe her religious views lined up with the beliefs of Jehovah's Witnesses. Along with that, they cite "increased depression".
The fact is, it is common for some to conclude on their own, and not as a result of our teachings, that they are somehow beyond God's mercy. We fight that viewpoint all the time. It is a viewpoint, not caused by our teachings, but by the depressed person's own view of themselves as a result of their depression alone, which leads to a low self-image. Our publications have outspokenly identified such a viewpoint as "a satanic lie," that is, a lie that paints God as unloving and harsh.
If you have tried saying that she committed suicide because she was shunned, then you need to eat your crow and correct this lie or else you make yourself a liar. If you try to twist the facts to justify your shunning claim, it will not make it any less a lie. Her act was neither a protest nor statement about shunning at all. She was a severely depressed woman who used her own erroneous reasoning, based on some perversion of what she was once taught, as justification for what she herself called a "selfish act".
You can find these facts reported in this skewed article: How shunned Jehovah's Witness mom killed her entire family. Note how the title and content once again tries to emphacize the shunning aspect, even though the facts presented in the article itself show that shunning played no role in Lauren's decision to kill herself and her family. She also did not identify it as contributing to her depression, identifying, instead, her own choices and childhood trauma as the sole causes of her depression. She made no mention of the organization's policies on shunning or any other issue.
First, we would like to express our condolences to Lauren's father and 11 siblings, whose feelings the media has failed to consider because of their religious affiliation. We know that this time cannot have been easy for them. Jehovah is with them and the love of their families and friends in their congregations and their worldwide brotherhood is with them.
On February 15th, the day after Lauren Stuart celebrated Valentine's day together with her family, Lauren killed her son, daughter, husband and family dog and then turned the gun on herself.
Both the media and our apostates have been quick to prejudiciously and publically humiliate Jehovah's Witnesses over the shunning issue without any evidence except the word of one single apostate close to Lauren. That apostate had been quick to invade a local kingdom hall the very next day and tastelessly use Lauren's death as a publicity stunt to highlight her own anti-disfellowshipping agenda. One reporter we were in contact with stated that her goal for her article was to "show how shunning hurts". However, the police report shows that shunning had nothing to do with this incident.
This public lynching has been comparable to a doctor misdiagnosing a patient because he has already decided what the problem is before he collects the facts, or a cop planting evidence to support his narrative. It is an abuse of power, in this case, journalistic power, resulting in yellow journalism.
In her suicide note, Lauren Stuart herself wrote that the cause is that "I allowed evil into my heart when I chose not to accept God’s free love and it made me sick inside," and that she "can't do it anymore." Did you catch that? She herself believed that she became "sick inside" as a result of her personal choice, and not because she was shunned. She did not blame her shunning, but merely identified it in a video as a symptom of her "path of destruction".
Then she said in her note, "I killed my family because I know my death would stumble them" because of the pain it would cause them. Nowhere does her note or recorded videos cite her having been shunned 10 years earlier as the direct cause, or a contributing factor, of her actions.
What was the conclusion of the police? They concluded: "It would appear that Lauren immersed herself in her own world of her version of religion and increased depression.” Again, did you catch that? "Her own world of her version of religion". They do not believe her religious views lined up with the beliefs of Jehovah's Witnesses. Along with that, they cite "increased depression".
The fact is, it is common for some to conclude on their own, and not as a result of our teachings, that they are somehow beyond God's mercy. We fight that viewpoint all the time. It is a viewpoint, not caused by our teachings, but by the depressed person's own view of themselves as a result of their depression alone, which leads to a low self-image. Our publications have outspokenly identified such a viewpoint as "a satanic lie," that is, a lie that paints God as unloving and harsh.
If you have tried saying that she committed suicide because she was shunned, then you need to eat your crow and correct this lie or else you make yourself a liar. If you try to twist the facts to justify your shunning claim, it will not make it any less a lie. Her act was neither a protest nor statement about shunning at all. She was a severely depressed woman who used her own erroneous reasoning, based on some perversion of what she was once taught, as justification for what she herself called a "selfish act".
You can find these facts reported in this skewed article: How shunned Jehovah's Witness mom killed her entire family. Note how the title and content once again tries to emphacize the shunning aspect, even though the facts presented in the article itself show that shunning played no role in Lauren's decision to kill herself and her family. She also did not identify it as contributing to her depression, identifying, instead, her own choices and childhood trauma as the sole causes of her depression. She made no mention of the organization's policies on shunning or any other issue.
Comments
Another interesting bit is that it is now reported that she left 10 years ago, instead of 5, as initially reported in February, making the connection to JWs and shunning even more dubious.
The reporter has demonstrated a complete disinterest in facts despite reporting them, further demonstrating precisely why the organization doesn't deal with the media.