Have you all heard the latest, latest headlines up here in Wisconsin about the church shootings?

Please pray for these people, first of all. It is really a sad day in time when we're not even safe in church. This guy, Terry Ratzman, had been fired from his job, attending church and found the sermon disturbing or conflicting with his own beliefs. He just open fired and killed 8 people, including children and himself.

Now the media and community is scrutinizing the beliefs of The Church of the Living God. In just a few sample conversations, I've learned that this religious sector is notorious for their cult like behavior.

Does anyone here have experiences with this particular church?


Now that's mental illness!

I am glad that you posted this under mental illness.

I'll be honest with you. When this story broke out, the first thought that came to my mind was this. Perhaps this guy has given money to the church, and now that he needed their help, they probably turned their back on him. I am not excusing what he did, not at all.

I have known people that have had this happen to them. The difference is that they went and got professional help.

This would also be a factor when you are dealing with "cult like" behavior.

Definitely mental illness.

Cathi

I just learned that a close friend's daughter that is an emergency room nurse at the hospital where they took the wounded victims tended to many of them.

She says that it was extremely difficult since they didn't know how many more were going to arrive. She says there were trampled victims, children they had to wash blood off of to see if they had been shot and where.

The 911 calls were played today. Those were so sad. Then they interviewed a very nice lady that provided child care to both of my children when they were toddler ages. She was so nice that often I felt like I was not paying her enough but she'd insist that I was. Her daughters were the same. She is a part of the Church of the Living God. I recall her attempting to get me into her church a few times. When she started teaching my children their ways and a few other things that creeped me, I pulled them.

It's really weird that the very feelings I had about the nice lady are the very ones the media is investigating now. They believe that the end of time is now and that the shooter is not responsible for what he's done. They believe that he is also a victim of evil spirits that are here to bare the signs of the time: The End.

Sugaree, I know nothing about this denomination.

I don't know what's going on here. While listenting to the news Sunday, I heard this news, the news of a little boy shooting and killing his brother, two police being shot in the city, and then the Atlanta shootings last week. I turned the television off. Why do I watch the news? URG!

There was the good news about the woman who talked about The Purpose Driven Life with the gunman in Atlanta. My prayer is more people will now read that book out of curiosity.

You're right, Dotsie, about watching the news. The latest since the church shooting that I watched was that a mother and daughter, driving separate cars, stood in a gas station lot talking when I driver just came up, got inside of the daughter's car and drove off. Not so bad huh?

Well, the newsworthy matter in this case was that there was a six week old baby in the backseat (car seat). Although the baby and auto were recovered shortly afterwards, can you imagine how frantic this mother was?

I made sure that I called the mother of my grandchild to share this story with. Although the criminally insane think slow or poor when it comes to good judgement, they think very quick when it comes to ill decisions. The mother was standing only a couple of feet away from her running car and would have never imagined this happening, like no one else would.

Be careful and pray for peace for this lady. I'm sure she's still frantic. She will probably exihibit OCB behavior as it pertains to her infant for a very long while.

Those people that were going to church will probably have doubts now. THe people that straddled the fence about going to church or had planned to start going probably all have serious doubts now. Not saying that it's right, but I've heard this a few times from some of the interviews re: this church shooting.

Good day!

I don't take unnecessary chances EVER but believe totally that if its not your time to go...you aren't going. Kind of like when a tornado roars through a town and every house on the block is destroyed but one. So go to church, buy gas, whatever just be conscious of the things around you and when God wants us home, we're going even if we're surrounded by armed guards....got it???

Got it. You're right. Great point.

Oh so true, Chatty. But, however, for some folk, it's like touching the hot stove once or witnessing someone else's hot stove burn. We all process traumatic experiences differently.

You may never talk to a man that has blue eyes again because of a derogative experience with one that has that trait. I may never eat pineanpple because I saw my neighbor's fatal allergic reaction. It's all about how we personally process the life events that are presented to us.

But, I do agree that when it's our time, that's it.

Sugaree

The only flaw I see in the "when it's your time" theory is commercial airliners crashing -- or more to the point 9/11 -- I find it hard to believe that everyone gathered that day had their time coming at that exact moment ---

but on the other hand -- you can't dismiss the point that many people didn't go to work or were late for work that particular day for one odd reason or another -- or the person who was supposed to be on that flight and didn't get on for some reason

so I agree with chatty that you just have to live your life -- with your eyes wide open --

Sugaree -- when my boys were young -- around 8-10 yrs old -- i let them go to one of the local Baptist churches -- I being raised Episcopal and my hubby being raised Southern Baptist -- we decided we would raise them "middle of the road". Anyway, after about 3-4 weeks of going to this church (we met the people - they seemed really nice and mellow and the church was in a nice safe peaceful setting) the boys started "shying away" from their dad. They were sooooo close and I noticed a difference so I asked them what was up. They asked me if dad was evil !!!!!

I about fell off my chair -- my husband is about the farthest thing from evil as any man I'd ever met -- so I said of course not and asked them why.
Seems this church's belief was that since my husband had long hair and an earring in his ear -- he was an evil man.

Needless to say they never went back and these nice people heard some not very nice language from me. Imagine that -- turning a child against his father !!!

You're right! That's down right ignorant of a church/congregation to be so judgemental. More like 'mental' that is, for them to compare ear rings and long hair to evil. I'm sure they had seen, even witnessed evil and it aint in the hair.

Ironically though, the sister of the church member that witnessed this shooting a few Sunday ago that I spoke of, judged me by my hair years ago. I was dating her son. I was experimenting with my hair vs. getting it done professionally. I colored it, then put a perm in and it turned green. Since I was young, I saw the color as a unique color and had it styled.

One day her son and I stopped by to see her (my first time meeting her). She questioned me about my hair and the style. Soon after I was told that she didn't like me because of my hair. Well, years later, I became her favorite, even though I was no longer with her son. She tried her best to get us back together.

Funny, huh?