This whole situation is very grievous, and Murrey is as much a victim as anyone else.

Yes, he was a member of "Youth with a Mission", and yes, he was thrown out.  He is what is known as a "Throwaway"- even as those of us who left dominionist churches (under our own power) because of abuse are known as walkouts or walkaways.  I strongly suggest that you read some of dogemperor's and my posts about this aspect of dominionism- and realize that our experiences ARE VERY COMMON.  I'm active in the walkout community, and some of the "tales" I've heard are horrific!!!  (They also ring true to anyone who is a walkout, because the experiences are often common!)

Some points to consider:
(1) churches and groups like that have a history and reputation of treating any form of illness as "demon possession" and generally consider psychiatric help to be "of the world"- so it's frowned on.  There is some evidence that Murrey was showing signs of mental illness before; possibly it was why he was thrown away.  I do know from my own experiences that if a "slap on the head" doesn't "cure" you, you are blamed (you're supposedly holding on to the "demon" and inviting it into your heart- pure bullsh*t!!!)  This ideology holds fast, whether the problem is mental, emotional, spiritual, or PHYSICAL.
(2)"Youth with a Mission" is considered to be one of the more abusive "Coercive Bible-based groups", and from what I read, almost as bad as the defunct Maranatha Ministries (which got me involved in the Assemblies of God CULT many years ago).  You should read about the sort of mental/emotional/spiritual damage such a CULT does to the people in it.  Maranatha, by the way, was thrown off of multiple college/university campuses for brainwashing and other coercive behaviors!!!
(3) Murrey had been homeschooled- and the evidence it was in the fundamentalist homeschooling system.  That "system" has a reputation of reinforcing the very things you mentioned that are true about dominionism.  Dominionists often deliberately isolate people ("staying away from the world") and that only amplifies problems.
(4)People tried to reach out to him, but weren't successful.
(5)As bad of a time as walkouts have, throwaways have a much harder time of it.

One final point- there are branches of dominionism that are especially violent- the "Joel's army" flavor (and there are indications that Matthew may have been involved in that "flavor" of dominionism).  In many of their views, JUST BECAUSE  I AM A WALKOUT, I am condemned to death.  They DO advocate the old-testament penalty for apostasy, and walkouts are automatically considered apostates.

So Matthew Murrey may have already had "training" in violence long before he started- by the very group that his victims came from.

Obviously, the things that had been done (and taught) to him drove him insane.  The really unfortunate thing is that his insanity took a violent turn, and he killed people who were probably brainwashed themselves.  It is not unusual at all for walkouts and throwaways to have severe mental/emotional issues based upon what was done to them.  It is well documented that some of the things that the more "wacky" dominionist churches do ACTUALLY DRIVE PEOPLE INSANE (see dogemperor's posts about that).  

You can also look up one of my older posts if you want to get a small taste of some of the sorts of things that these people do.  They're not just a political threat (which is generally recognized here), but actually a danger to the members themselves!!!

I'm grieving about the whole situation- not just for the people that he killed, but for him as well.  

I'd like to quote something from one of my favorite books "The Prophet" by Khalil Gibron: "What penalty lay you upon him who slays in the flesh yet is himself slain in the spirit?"

Or to paraphrase it in modern vernacular:  How do you judge a person who murders, yet whose own soul has been murdered?

The whole situation is grievous and we all should mourn not only for the people whom he killed, but also for him.

The whole walkout community is grieving right now- for the WHOLE situation.  We reject violence- after all, that is often what is part of what is taught by the groups that harmed us.  Every walkout I know wishes someone had "caught" Matthew before he went off the deep end and put him on a better, HEALING path.  Violence is not part of healing process, as anyone should realize (and we all KNOW).

by ArchaeoBob on Wed Dec 12, 2007 at 11:21:54 AM EST

Last night on the 700 Club, Pat Robertson actually turned this into a Second Amendment issue!  Like all the others, he placed the blame on the secularists and omitted that Murray was raised as a fundamentalist Christian and Christian homeschooled, but then he started going on and on about how the security guard at the church was a heroine for shooting the guy, and that this just goes to show why everybody should have guns.  It was pretty bizarre, but, then again, it was Pat Robertson.

by Chris Rodda on Wed Dec 12, 2007 at 06:04:37 PM EST

with us today...
I can just hear him: "I did it! Me and my family! We talked Murray into it!..."
Which would make just as much sense as blaming Dawkins or the secular media.

by nogodsnomasters on Wed Dec 12, 2007 at 11:25:29 AM EST

According to Arrington, "Hitchens calls religion a "poison."  Isn't it axiomatic that poison is bad and should be eradicated?"

But, it is the eradication of the "poison" that is being advocated, not the eradication of the poisoned.

"Jerry Falwell says that liberals, gays, abortionists and the ACLU cause God to withdraw his protection from the US and thus allowed the terrorists to destroy the WTC. Isn't it axiomatic that those responsible for invoking the wrath of God on our nation must be eradicated?"

Isn't it telling that Falwell and his ilk tell us that "those responsible ... must be eradicated".

The rationalists and atheists would eradicate the diseased thinking (perhaps through better education), yet the religious want to eradicate people.  It's the obsessively religious who blow up health care facilities to make sure no woman can get a safe abortion.  It's this "believe as I tell you to believe or I'll kill you" approach that has been the hallmark of religion since the beginning of recorded history.

by PatrickH on Wed Dec 12, 2007 at 04:18:42 PM EST

http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/12/121307killer.htm

sorry, I am html-challenged, please copy and paste.

Apparently, some listserv posts have been retrieved in which Murray stated he was bisexual.

Now waiting for the sh*tstorm of right-wingers saying that naturally Murray went off the deep end, he was unstable because he was gay.

And the sh*tstorm of LGBTA activists pointing out that naturally the ostracism drove Murray crazy-homicidal-suicidal.

by NancyP on Thu Dec 13, 2007 at 09:49:27 PM EST

A couple of days ago, I stumblied across a site that had transcripts of Matthews' postings on a blog site. I wish I had saved it as I have not been able to find it again.  In it, he describes his home life and his realization of the hypocracy of the "do as I say, not as I do" world he lived in.  Home schooled, he was unable to socialize and was an outsider at his school.  For this he blamed his home schooling and earlier life under strict christian control.
He did reach out, in his blogs and other groups for help.  He didn't succeed.  The voices in his head, indicative of perhaps schizophrenia, were passed off as of heavenly/supernatural origin. He reached a breaking point and became violent and struck out at what he felt was the root cause of his condition.  Unfortunately, others died.  It would follow then that perhaps the greatest sinner is the one most sinned against.

by Concerned on Sat Dec 22, 2007 at 02:53:11 PM EST

I've now found the site for Matthew's posts:
Very sad.

http://www.csindy.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A22482

by Concerned on Sat Dec 22, 2007 at 05:21:36 PM EST