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Ex-COG Member Slits Throats of Daughters and Self, To Avoid Tribulation (Updated)
More damaging proof that the extreme beliefs of Armstrongism is dangerous to one's health and mental well being! Her husband is a well established dentist in Pasadena area. Truly a sad situation for this entire family! They were church members in Pasadena for many years. Where they went after the break up of the church I don't know. WCG/GCI doesn't preach this kind of stuff anymore so I imagine they are with one of the splinter groups.(Verified in the comments below that they are no longer part of COGdoom)
Palmdale (KTLA) -- A woman slit her daughters' throats before slitting her own early Friday evening, claiming that "the Tribulation" was going to occur and she wanted to prevent them from suffering through it, officials said.
Lyn Benedetto, 47, reportedly told her daughters to lie on a bed and proceeded to take a knife to their throats.
The suspect then took the knife to her own throat before driving the victims to an unoccupied friend's house to die.
Lancaster Station deputies responded to a call regarding an "assault with knife" at about 5:32pm from the owner of the residence where the victims had been taken.
The victims and the suspect were found and the location, and the suspect was subsequently arrested.
The victims were treated at Antelope Valley Hospital for moderate though non life-threatening injuries and released to custody of Department of Children's Services.
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Antelope Valley News has this posting similar to above, except it includes the comment that the chidlren said their mother did it to them becasue she was scared of the tribulation:
The victims stated their mother LynBenedetto, 47, believed “The Tribulation” was about to occur and she did not want them to suffer by going through it. AVNews
I'm puzzled. The headline says she was a COG woman, but I can find no corroboration of that in any of the reports. Maybe I missed something, but there are lots of people with these unbalanced mental conditions due to religious nonsense, not all of it directly connected to a COG.
They were church members here in Pasadena since the early to mid-1980's. I also think they may have been students at one time, but I no longer have any of my envoys to verify that. He started a dental practice that was used by a large number of church members. Their connection is tied directly into Armstrongism.
The doom and gloom that is preached by Armstrongiosm offers no hope for many people. With the earthquakes, tsunami, wars in teh middle east, a bankrupt economy and a myriad of other 'signs' that Armstrongite ministers puke out, you can quickly see why people loose hope.
Look at what Meredith's preaching did in Milwaukee with the LCG church shootings. Look at the utter filth that comes out of Flurry and Weinland's mouths. Look at the utter hopelessness that has caused so many members to commit suicide over the decades. That is the disgusting legacy that Armstrongism bears as it's fruits.
My sister in El Monte confirms that they were once WCG members and she has gone to him for dental work. What splinter they were connected with is not known to her.
I personally know the Benedetto family and know for a fact that they are NOT members of ANY COG-splinter group (and haven't been for over 10 years or so), but had been attending a large community church in their local area for a very long time.
Not to excuse or dismiss religious wackoism as the main culprit in this situation, but it is more common than you might think for women to kill (or attempt to kill) their own children because they are suffering from chemical or hormonal imbalances and no longer have a grasp on reality or right & wrong. I just recently read an article about another woman who slit both of her children's throats (one lived, one died) because she was depressed and didn't want her kids to suffer depression as she did.
I don't know what the outcome will be for this family, but I do know that Lyn needs help and that she most likely will not be able to live with her children again until they are 18. I imagine she will be tried for attempted murder, and possibly convicted -- OR given a lighter sentence if she pleads "temporary insanity". We'll see what happens...
It is tragic for the family, especially for the girls. They lived through what happened to them and were able to tell the police what their mother did it to them. That has to a huge traumatic ordeal for them to have to live through now. Their father must be devastated right now
No, she was not connected with "Harvest Rock." She belongs to a large community church in Palmdale, CA with a pentecostal/charismatic bias, called "The Highlands."
Thanks for the clarification. I know nothing about The Highlands group, but if they're Pentecostal, the weirdness when compared with Harvest Rock can only be a matter of dregrees one way or the other.
They believe in an "imminent" "personal" 2nd coming of Christ.
The word imminent is used by many main line evangelical churches. Each interprets the word differently.
Here is Websters definition Definition of IMMINENT : ready to take place; especially : hanging threateningly over one's head Meaning: [more im*mi*nent; most im*mi*nent] : happening very soon ▪ We are awaiting their imminent arrival. ▪ Their arrival is imminent. ▪ These patients are facing imminent death. ▪ The species is in imminent danger of extinction. [=the species is very close to becoming extinct
Fear is being used by the pre-mil pre-trib advocates to raise money and scare people into professions of faith. This false doctrine will continue for a few more years and then hopefully everyone will take a deeper look at eschatology.
A study of the words "soon", "quickly", "about to" "at hand" "coming in the clouds" "this generation" will lead to a very different eschatology
I don't know about all the pre-mil groups but my S. Baptist family members believe in the pre-tribulation rapture. It's sort of equivelent wwcg's place of safety but with better accomodations.
For whatever reason, it appears that she didn't think she or the kid's would be protected.
It smacks strongly of someone who has tried to leave behind HWA's teachings but maybe felt that doing so was putting herself and her children outside God's protection.
It's such a tragedy. It angers me at the people who plant such ideas and makes me heartsick for the family.
I hope they can all get some peace and sanity restored to their lives.
14 comments:
I'm puzzled. The headline says she was a COG woman, but I can find no corroboration of that in any of the reports. Maybe I missed something, but there are lots of people with these unbalanced mental conditions due to religious nonsense, not all of it directly connected to a COG.
They were church members here in Pasadena since the early to
mid-1980's. I also think they may have been students at one time, but I no longer have any of my envoys to verify that. He started a dental practice that was used by a large number of church members. Their connection is tied directly into Armstrongism.
The doom and gloom that is preached by Armstrongiosm offers no hope for many people. With the earthquakes, tsunami, wars in teh middle east, a bankrupt economy and a myriad of other 'signs' that Armstrongite ministers puke out, you can quickly see why people loose hope.
Look at what Meredith's preaching did in Milwaukee with the LCG church shootings. Look at the utter filth that comes out of Flurry and Weinland's mouths. Look at the utter hopelessness that has caused so many members to commit suicide over the decades. That is the disgusting legacy that Armstrongism bears as it's fruits.
My sister in El Monte confirms that they were once WCG members and she has gone to him for dental work. What splinter they were connected with is not known to her.
I personally know the Benedetto family and know for a fact that they are NOT members of ANY COG-splinter group (and haven't been for over 10 years or so), but had been attending a large community church in their local area for a very long time.
Not to excuse or dismiss religious wackoism as the main culprit in this situation, but it is more common than you might think for women to kill (or attempt to kill) their own children because they are suffering from chemical or hormonal imbalances and no longer have a grasp on reality or right & wrong. I just recently read an article about another woman who slit both of her children's throats (one lived, one died) because she was depressed and didn't want her kids to suffer depression as she did.
I don't know what the outcome will be for this family, but I do know that Lyn needs help and that she most likely will not be able to live with her children again until they are 18. I imagine she will be tried for attempted murder, and possibly convicted -- OR given a lighter sentence if she pleads "temporary insanity". We'll see what happens...
It is tragic for the family, especially for the girls. They lived through what happened to them and were able to tell the police what their mother did it to them. That has to a huge traumatic ordeal for them to have to live through now. Their father must be devastated right now
The worst thing the Armstrong movement did was to control, manipulate, and even destroy the basis for our continued existence, our hope.
I didn't know this family, but my prayers will certainly be with them.
She was a Armstrongite and later Pentecostal as I have been informed.
Certainly a defense case based on undue influence should be considered.
Pentecostal you say. Was she connected with that pentecostal outfit that bought much of the old college property? Harvest Rock is the name, I think.
If people thought WCG was weird, Harvest Rock makes us look sane!
No, she was not connected with "Harvest Rock." She belongs to a large community church in Palmdale, CA with a pentecostal/charismatic bias, called "The Highlands."
Thanks for the clarification. I know nothing about The Highlands group, but if they're Pentecostal, the weirdness when compared with Harvest Rock can only be a matter of dregrees one way or the other.
If you look at the websites of Harvest Rock, The Highlands Group, or even the WCG offshoots, they come across as fairly normal.
It's not until you get into the thick of it that you discover the difference between what they publish and what they actually preach and believe.
They believe in an "imminent"
"personal" 2nd coming of Christ.
The word imminent is used by many main line evangelical churches. Each interprets the word differently.
Here is Websters definition
Definition of IMMINENT
: ready to take place; especially : hanging threateningly over one's head
Meaning:
[more im*mi*nent; most im*mi*nent] : happening very soon ▪ We are awaiting their imminent arrival. ▪ Their arrival is imminent. ▪ These patients are facing imminent death. ▪ The species is in imminent danger of extinction. [=the species is very close to becoming extinct
Fear is being used by the pre-mil pre-trib advocates to raise money and scare people into professions of faith. This false doctrine will continue for a few more years and then hopefully everyone will take a deeper look at eschatology.
A study of the words "soon", "quickly", "about to" "at hand" "coming in the clouds" "this generation" will lead to a very different eschatology
I don't know about all the pre-mil groups but my S. Baptist family members believe in the pre-tribulation rapture. It's sort of equivelent wwcg's place of safety but with better accomodations.
For whatever reason, it appears that she didn't think she or the kid's would be protected.
It smacks strongly of someone who has tried to leave behind HWA's teachings but maybe felt that doing so was putting herself and her children outside God's protection.
It's such a tragedy. It angers me at the people who plant such ideas and makes me heartsick for the family.
I hope they can all get some peace and sanity restored to their lives.
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