BibleBelted

I don't know what forum this should properly be in, if any, but this is potentially as bizarre as anything Jim Jones or David Koresh ever did.

In a nutshell: this wackjob, Doyle Davidson, of Water of Life Church in Plano, Tx (burb of Dallas) appears to be having a mental meltdown, on television -- in front of God and everybody. Doyle is not just any preacher .. he's a prophet (and apostle) and spends most of his hour-long television show yelling at the dumbasses who attend his church. He also has the power to consign people to The Devil, so I certainly hope I don't upset him.

But that's not the good part.

He is also the pastor of Dena Schlosser, a woman who killed her own infant by cutting both his arms off, apparently at the command of God Himself.

But that's old news.

God gave Doyle a special gift, not just of prophecy, but also of the (much younger) wife of another man. Unfortunately, the woman involved is possessed by a "spirit of Jezebel" which makes her rebellious and apostate, and she refuses to "come home" to Doyle. Even though she claims to live for God she will not obey God's command (as delivered by His prophet, Doyle) and Doyle is plenty pissed about it.

The story is too long and sordid for me to go into right now, but if you want to observe a religious fanatic well down the road of insanity, or if you just want to feel your skin crawl, here is his main website: shudder

The first link in the thread is where he has posted some emails to his "wife."

My biggest question is .. who gives money to crazy bastards like this?

Lilyofthevalley

Weird, very weird. I hope Lisa/ Jezebel prevails. It would all be quite funny except for this part:

:crying:

BadBadBad

It seems like every time I go to Dallas, I hear of some sorted affair of child abuse. Someone burning their child. In this case cutting off the baby's arms. Not necessarily old news. It was just in the news a couple of weeks ago. She killed her child in November, and I suppose her trial is news now. Not so odd that the news coincided with my visit.

She cutoff both arms of her eleven month old baby to give him up to God as I recall. Of course there was some mention of the nutjob church she went to. Not too much though. Of course, that didn't have anything to do with it.

Orestes

Damn, i used to go to that church, if being forced by my mom as a kid counts as going. I dont remember too much about though it cause i spent the time daydreaming, so i cant really give any sordid details. I do remember though that it was a speakin in tongues, castin out the devil type of church.

My mom, for one.

edit: I do sort of remember the bit about him bangin the wife of one of the members, it was not long after Doyles wife died that it became public if i recall, but the affair had been going on while she was alive.

edit:edit: im off to class, so if there are any questions or whatever i can try and answer em after i get back

BadBadBad

The day before the baby's death, she told her husband, John, she wanted to give their daughter "to God."

She repeatedly said, "praise God, thank you, God" as she waited in the living room, court documents show. She told a Plano officer that she severed Margaret's arms at the shoulders because "I felt like I had to."

"Exactly what happened?" the 911 operator asked.

"I cut her arms off," Schlosser replied, as the hymn "He Touched Me" played in the background.

"You cut her arms off?" he repeated.

"Uh huh," she answered.

When a psychiatrist told her that she could die by injection if convicted of killing Maggie, she responded that was fine "if God needed her life."

Religiosity Common Among Mothers Who Kill Children

All I want to know is if it's psychosis that drives religious delusions or is it God visions suggesting they kill their children that drives psychosis?

BadBadBad

Schlosser’s husband "feels the best place for ..." her "is at home ... wants ..." her "to come home ... says that Dena’s ‘spiritual church vocabulary’ may be mixed up ..." and she will be perceived as " ‘being crazy’ ... says we may contact their church about any aberrant beliefs and does not want their religious beliefs to be confused ..." with "psychosis," according to another medical record.

"This experience has put fear in me. If God is in charge, I have a new peace," Schlosser is quoted as saying. She later said: "I felt a change this morning. I felt at peace. God is going to take care of everything."

BibleBelted

<off topic>

Hell yeah, I have questions. I've been wondering if he has always been this crazy. He seems to spend a lot of his time telling his own congregation how stupid, wicked and demon-possessed they are. I don't get why people sit there and take his abuse. Does your mom still go there? and what does she think of him lately?

There are some audio files on his site here. The 6/15 sermon is fairly typical, with him threatening hellfire to anyone who opposes him, and tales of casting out visible devils. I just cannot fathom why anyone would sit and listen to him for 5 minutes (without laughing) unless they were convinced he really does shoot pool with God. He's on tv twice a day here, so he must have some money.

Just as an aside -- Doyle loves George W. Bush, and has prophesied (if that's the proper term) that Dumbya is going to bring about great things.

Orestes

From what i recall, no. I think this downward spiral started after his wife died, which happened shortly after i stopped going. I mean yeah, they did the whole casting out demons bit in church sometimes, but no one pretended they actually saw the demons, at least not in church. Sometimes folks would claim they say demons at home or wherever, usually somewhere where it was unverifiably safe to claim they saw them.

Actually, alot of the folks would, when the demons were being 'cast out', shake and scream quite a bit. Then one day, he said something to the effect of wonding how many people did the screamin and shakin because of the pain of the demon being 'cast out', and how many did it to show off that their demons were being expelled. There was a whole lot less shakin and screamin after that. That and one other thing he said made me realize that the whole thing was just bullshit, if you'll pardon my french.

No, she doesnt. Far as i know, she hasnt gone in around 5 or 6 years. Of course, this probably has more to do with no longer living in the same state than anything else. I think she still sends him money on occasion though, so she must not think too ill of him.

From what I remember, he never really did the whole 'hellfire and brimstone' thing, so this must be part of the tangent his life went on after his wife passed. Really kind of sad, now that i think about it. Grief and loss can do really weird things to people.

brighid

Since most theists don't go around butchering and murdering their children, it seems most logical that psychosis drives these sorts of religious delusions. Andrea Yates suffered from the most severe form of post-partum depression, post-partum psychosis. If a woman has any pre-existing chemical imbalance or mental issues one of the worst things she can do is get pregnant. The post-partum rollercoaster of sleep deprivation and dramatic hormonal changes can dramatically effect an otherwise mentally healthy woman. The problem is probably exasberated by those who fervently believe in the darker aspects of religion.

If we believe there is no God than a God cannot produce these visions and given the ample scientific evidence of mental illness it seems a biological/physiological cause drives these horrific acts of violence.

Brighid

BibleBelted

No, no, that's fine. I was just being a bit of a smartass -- but I'm serious about my questions. I've read Psalm 137 in its entirety many times, and your commentary notwithstanding, I still don't see how you can overlook its cruelty and barbarism; also, I've never heard of any foolproof, concrete way to determine who is really a Christian and who is a crackpot. Saying the Holy Spirit will guide you doesn't seem to any help at all since the Holy Spirit seems to lead many sincere people in opposite directions depending on what scriptures of the Bible they want to focus on.

They're his daughter and son-in-law. Inspiring pair of songbirds, aren't they?