When did you realize that you were part of a cult? (page 4)

jojochan

When I could'nt have a free thought without being afraid. So many other things pass through my mind right now. Like when I went to bethel and took the tour and saw the underground commisary(pls forgive the spelling)it did seem a little strange.Also the fact that the blood issue is still in effect; to a point, now that is a matter of concience. The feelings of being socially stunted from the outside, ect.

so strange, especially when they put labels on people that don't belive what you believe. How families are apart because of differences with the cult. I finally realised that it was a cult when I just looked around me at this past assembly and noticed the prozac laden faces of those that were sick and afraid of the real world and wanted hope, even if it cost them their free will. That's when I knew I needed to hurry up and escape. True Freedom? In a world where you are an ant in an ant farm? Not hardly freedom, they can have it all back from me, I'm not a wt lamb; I'm human in everyway.

jojochan...the prisioner

Genesis

I knew it the first time I became "Apostate" in march 2005 but then due to the Homeostasis I returned in the "Truth". But 2 months ago I had doubts again and I DA'ed myself 3 weeks ago. I realized that it was a cult when reading COC and now Im happy cause I know within myself that all the JW thing is crap !

Genesis, this is the genesis of my new life, woohooo !

elliej

This is the dumbest thing in the world but...

I had little red flags going up in my head for a lonnng time, but I thought that I was just weak and had to immerse myself more and they would go away. While doing a research paper for a class online I saw the UN stuff by accident, but I didn't research it because I was a stupid, stupid girl and didn't want to destroy my faith (!)

Last summer I was surfing for some JW friendly info on Russell and I happened upon a wiki site on JW's. It said that previous to 1991 (or 92) the literature was sold and the gb decided to begin the donation arrangement to avoid taxes. Here's what got me....the article said that they never explained this to the rank and file, they just let them believe that it was out of goodness that they did it. What a piddly thing to get me thinking, but there was this pioneer sister in my congregation and years ago I told her that someone at a door asked me about selling the books and I thought they were always free. She became so full of righteous indignation and exclaimed "We are not peddlers of God's word!"

I couldn't get that out of my mind, and that is when I finally gave myself permission to do some REAL studying into the history of the WTS.

That is when I opened my eyes and realized that I was caught in a cult and had to get my family out.

The Lone Ranger

When I went against the cults advise and went to the internet. What I read i didn't beleive but I checked it out with the WTS early publications and it was ALL true.

Buster

I was out for many years. But I didn't realize that I had escaped from a cult.

It was only when, a few years ago, I started looking around the internet that realizations started to unfold. Those realizations continue to amaze me, to this day. The more time goes by, the more I consider it a cult - a child murdering, abusing, old-testament, apocalyptic cult.

I shake my head at how long it took to realize.

james_woods

it was Jonestown...Jim Jones - the suicides...

I had known they were off track on armageddon, blood, bad translation, memorial two class system, etc. for several years. But when Jonestown happened I did the logical comparisons. They were not just wrong doctrinaires; these were dangerous control freaks who were perfectly willing to have you go to prison, get massacred by hostile crowds or governments, or die from their weird medical superstitions. They also cared nothing about moving you off into a sort of "self imposed jungle of isolation" to be cut off from all society. They believed in God-like society presidents and star chamber committees and would not accept outside viewpoints. THEY (WE) WERE A CULT!

There was a TV interview in Okla City of a young woman who had just got up and left Jonestown a month or so before the koolaid party. The TV lady asked her how she knew to get out...she replied that it all came to hear after Jim Jones had been ranting on during one of his sermons about how sick he was and how the hard he worked to sacrifice himself for his ungrateful people, blah blah...She then saw a TV news program that showed the Oklahoma Sooners had just won the Orange Bowl and were the NCAA champions. She said, I just got so homesick to hear about the team. Then, she said "I got to looking at coach Switzer, and thought about Jim constantly whining. I just thought - you know, your not god, your not Jesus Christ, your not even much of a MAN!"

I know for a fact that this event shocked quite a lot of "good" witnesses; but most just blocked their own senses and kept on drinking the koolaid.

Balsam

When I read "Crisis of Conscious" and looked up Steven Hassans Cult web-page. It was then I knew and understood I'd been in a cult the entire time I was a JW.

XBEHERE

When I started reading and listening to testimonies of ex JWs online well after I started reading and posting on here and saw the stuff that they went through...in particular some bethelites in the 80's that were caught up in the apostate witch hunt. I realized that saving the org's face was more important than anything else to the ones conducting the hunts at bethel.Very creepy and then I realized its like a cult... its about control and fear... sickening.

fullofdoubtnow

After I left and looked back at some of the things I used to do. When I was in, I never considered that the jws were a cult. In retrospect, it's quite obvious that they are

moshe

When I looked in a mirror and saw this on my arse-

When did you realize that you were part of a cult?

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