Dropsafe

by Alec Muffett

John Yettaw: “God told me to warn Aung San Suu Kyi”

The BBC website on the interview they broadcast last night:

The man who swam to the lakeside home of Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has spoken of his sorrow that his action led to her arrest and trial.

John Yettaw told the BBC that he had a dream that Ms Suu Kyi was going to be murdered, and swam to her home wearing home-made flippers to warn her.

Mr Yettaw was sentenced to seven years in prison but is now back home after US Senator Jim Webb intervened.

Ms Suu Kyi was sentenced to 18 months’ further house arrest.

Mr Yettaw, a devout Mormon from Falcon, Missouri, told the BBC’s Newshour programme that he had had many strong visions or dreams which he called “impressions” or “camcorder moments”.

You can hear what he said at http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p0040vr2/Newshour_28_08_2009/ – the the first 12 minutes or so ; the Times summarised the position a few months back:

John Yettaw, a Mormon, told the court that God asked him to travel to Burma from his home in Missouri to warn Ms Suu Kyi that terrorists intended to kill her and then place the blame on the junta. (more)

I am pretty sure that every Christian (or person of other, or no faith) whom I know is going to say that God is clearly not talking to the man, but that maybe something inside his own head is talking to him.

Nonetheless, listening to him is fascinating. I recommend it.

It leaves me asking: how would you tell the difference?

⊞

Comments

10 responses to “John Yettaw: “God told me to warn Aung San Suu Kyi””

  1. Grum

    by talking about it with others and having the humility to believe that in this case you could be wrong….

    Reply
    1. alecm

      okay, but for me the question then becomes: where does the buck stop with that? the saints? prophets? abraham? moses? jesus? mohammed? joseph smith?

      Reply
      1. alecm

        re: abraham, a comedy take: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRYVRcjDzLc

        Reply
  2. Chris Samuel

    I don’t believe it is possible to tell the difference; both would feel real to you but both are equally impossible to prove to be an actual event. Applying Occams Razor would seem to me to suggest that any such event would be far more likely to be hallucination than divine intervention.

    The Flying Spaghetti Monster told me to write this..

    Reply
  3. Valerie

    Mormons, in general, do believe that God speaks directly to them. It was one of the original appeals of the religion, in that it was a belief for every man – a benefit not just reserved for a bishop or pope.

    Of course, this can be taken to extremes, particularly with preexisting mental illness. Read “Under the Banner of Heaven” to get a scary glimpse into this.

    Remember, it tends to be the extremists that cause problems.

    Reply
  4. ramtopsrac

    the process is called discernment, as described by Grum, and the buck stops with ‘you’… can’t blame your own lack of humility or unwillingness to be open to others correcting you, on anyone but yourself.

    But you can find forgiveness, though this may take some while
    (a) for you to realise you need it from God
    (b) for others to get over the hurt and distress caused enough to be able to offer it you.
    Sadly both (a) and (b) sometimes never happen

    Reply
  5. alecm

    Abrahamic religions as Hollywood blockbusters:
    http://cdn.imageonto.com/pictures/1251633343-GyddD.png
    – more later 🙂

    Reply
  6. Chris Samuel

    Loved that metaphor.. 😉

    Reply
  7. John Yettaw

    For What it is Worth:
    Burmese Intelligence officers began using propaganda nearly immediately after I intentionally swam to the Police outpost adjacent to the US Embassy Residence Compound.
    I never told anyone that “GOD” told me to go to Burma – That was the junta using “Propaganda.” On day two, I began hand-writing my statements in English and the Intelligence/Police personnel forged/photocopied my signature onto blank pages and distorted and falsely translated my statements into printed Burmese – placing them onto pages with my photocopied signatures.
    The junta spread lies about what actually happened. The junta created the statements “GOD SPOKE TO ME” as a means of discrediting me. The International and US Media then ran with the distortions and muddied the true issue… and ultimately people blogged their opinions based on misinformation – such as found on this site.
    Below is a commentary that was posted on Wikipedia via a response to Times & Seasons. John Yettaw
    http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/27_December_2009_Commentary_by_John_Yettaw

    Reply
  8. alecm

    i just listened to the interview again, at:

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p0040vr2/Newshour_28_08_2009/

    i’m sorry, john, but at points you’re talking about “voices” telling you what to do and when; not necessarily to _go_ to Burma, but elsewhere in the conversation; and elsewhere the “camcorder” visions which may or may not be “from god” – but still, that’s close enough for me.

    i can’t recall encountering the “times and seasons” article to which you referred, but it seems to be http://timesandseasons.org/index.php/2009/05/anyone-know-john-william-yettaw/

    Reply

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