Someone at Daily Kos takes a look at media coverage of the church shooting and digs up some interesting details about the Christian group that Murray was most involved with, Youth with a Mission:
The Cult Awareness Network national office in Chicago had several letters on file concerning YWAM. One such letter by Nancy Brown dated March of 1984 from Itheca, New York stated “that Ywam has many elements of a destructive cult”. A major issue cited was “the authoritarian control by the elders”. Allegedly YWAM depicted the “world” as “Satanic”. Members were told that “Satan comes into an idle mind” and were advised “Whenever you have a spare moment memorize. Elders gave out cards with Bible verses to carry and use”.
And:
Denver station KMGH reports that many people at the Colorado Springs church have similar connections: “There is a Youth With A Mission office on the New Life Church campus, and many members of New Life have completed the YWAM’s school and discipleship programs. They have also worked together in local evangelical outreach programs.”
So here’s what seems to have happened: a particularly loony Christian group filled a mentally ill kid’s head with terrifying non-sense and he ended up killing some people, and now the conservative media want blame secularism for it. Well, it makes as much sense as Christianity does in the first place, I suppose.
December 12, 2007 at 9:27 pm
Apparently he was kicked out of the Ad Astra Oasis chapter of the O.T.O in September. Very weird.
via Stonemirror
http://www.denverpost.com/rapids/ci_7696043
December 13, 2007 at 12:05 am
I read somewhere online (unfortunately I don’t remember where), some of the messages he left on a religious forum. He said that his mother always called him “the prophet”, and that he was considered the “chosen one” by his mother, and given special treatment from the church (could be BS, we’ll never know). Which was probably why he felt excluded from the rest of the kids. And that he thought his mother and the Church were crazy.
Didn’t know about the OTO link. Interesting.
How can the Christians blame this on anyone but themselves? The shooter posted it outright on many forums that Christianity was the cause of his misery.
December 13, 2007 at 2:09 am
“How can the Christians blame this on anyone but themselves? The shooter posted it outright on many forums that Christianity was the cause of his misery.”
This is SO not our fault! He just needed to find Jesus!
December 13, 2007 at 8:39 am
So one letter from 1984 makes it a cult?
What he was taught is not christianity. It’s what some woman’s warped mind led her to brainwash her kid with. The kid obviously had psychological problems, and that should have been dealt with by taking him to a psychiatrist.
December 13, 2007 at 3:39 pm
New twist on the story from this link found on “Slog”:
http://rjr10036.typepad.com/proceed_at_your_own_risk/2007/12/hell-hath-no-fu.html
December 13, 2007 at 4:20 pm
I grew up in a born again Christian household and church. The Born Again movement teaches you that the whole world is Satanic. That is totally true. It fucks up your mind. That is totally true. I think that it is one of the most overlooked forms of child abuse. I haven’t been apart of that movement in almost 8 years and I am still getting over it.
December 13, 2007 at 4:52 pm
I agree that “what he was taught was not Christianity”. Let me just say for the record that I have Christian friends who are open minded, walk the talk, and don’t attempt to shove their beliefs down my throat. In fact they show curiosity about mine.
This was not about him not “finding Jesus”. This was about a kid who in the throws of self discovery felt pressured into a corner by the beliefs of those that were supposed to protect and guide him. Beliefs he himself did not share. In finding this out he knew he would never be accepted by those around him, and lost it. Jesus taught about tolerance, compassion and love. This kid was shown none of that.
Religious extremes of any kind are dangerous. This is just another proof of that.
December 13, 2007 at 9:06 pm
It’s debatable whether what Murray, and others taught in a similar environment, is “real Christianity.” One can make the case that it’s closer to “true” Christianity than what open minded Christians who don’t cram their religions down other people’s throats teach. The Bible says Christians should KILL non-Christians. See for instance: http://irreality.net/mediastore/341/media/pdxo/x01.pdf
Thankfully, most “Christians” ignore a lot of rules from the Bible.