Another good Hassan/JW Comparison:
From the Best Of Section: http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/12/78149/1.ashx
(Weird question mark placement due to errors on JWD at the time.)
If asked, Jehovah"s Witnesses will insist that they are not part of a cult. This is a lie.
The information I use below is based on the book Combatting Cult Mind Control by Steven Hassan. JWs are not mentioned in this book. But their mode of recruiting, indoctrination and mind control are clearly defined. I will ask 8 questions and answer them from JWs own publications. The questions are paraphrased from the book (chapter 8) and provided as a simple test to determine if you are being recruited into a destructive cult. Shall we see how they rate?
Are you trying to recruit me into any type of organization?
JWs will never automatically say yes to this - but they are. In fact, when knocking on doors they rarely even mention they are "Jehovah's Witnesses". Instead they use diverting statements such as those recommended in the Reasoning Book (none of the introductions mention JWs):
"We're endeavoring to share with our neighbors a positive view of the future"
"I'm calling to offer you a free home Bible course"
"We are asking our neighbors a question. We'd appreciate your comment on it"
"We are showing this Bible study aid to our neighbors"
Can you tell me about the names of all other organizations that are affiliated with this group?
Very few JWs will be able to give you this answer:
*** km 1/02 p. 7 New Corporations Formed ***
Such entities or corporations are necessary to conform to local and national laws, as required by God?s Word. (Rom. 13:1) Because of the diversity and scope of our work, the Governing Body has approved the formation of additional corporations to care for certain needs of Jehovah?s Witnesses here in the United States. The new corporations are as follows:
Christian Congregation of Jehovah?s Witnesses
Religious Order of Jehovah?s Witnesses
Kingdom Support Services, Inc.
These will operate along with Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania and Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc.
The real reason for so many corps is to compartmentalize and protect the group from lawsuits and charges tax evasion (see http://www.watchman.org/jw/jwreorg.htm for more details).
Who is the top leader? What is his background and qualifications?
A JW will tell you no one person runs the organization and that it is lead by a ?Governing Body?, although very few can list all the members of the GB. The official JW website offers no listing, only a brief mention of the ?GB? http://www.watchtower.org/library/jt/article_07.htm. I wonder why it is so easy to get the roster from a non-JW site? http://www.freeminds.org/history/listofgbmembers.htm Needless to say, the background and qualifications of these men are even more mysterious.
Does your group believe that the ends justify the means? Is deception allowed in certain circumstances?
A JW will tell you ?the Truth? is a way of life and that JWs are known for their honesty, however?
?Cautious as Serpents?
Of course, being truthful does not mean that we are obligated to divulge all information to anyone who asks it of us. ?Do not give what is holy to dogs, neither throw your pearls before swine, that they may never . . . turn around and rip you open,? warned Jesus, at Matthew 7:6. For example, individuals with wicked intent may have no right to know certain things. Christians understand that they are living in a hostile world. Thus, Jesus advised his disciples to be ?cautious as serpents? while remaining ?innocent as doves.? (Matthew 10:16; John 15:19) Jesus did not always disclose the full truth, especially when revealing all the facts could have brought unnecessary harm to himself or his disciples. Still, even at such times, he did not lie. Instead, he chose either to say nothing or to divert the conversation in another direction.?Matthew 15:1-6; 21:23-27; John 7:3-10.
Find out how this strategy was tried (and failed) in a paticularly political and anti-Semite letter to Hilter in 1933: http://watchtower.observer.org/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040306/JWANDHITLER4/10810004
Once I join do I have to cut myself off from family members and friends who might oppose my membership?
?Of course not!? will come the answer. This is decetful answer. If your JW family/friends are disfellowshipped, you are required to shun them.
*** km 8/02 p. 3 Display Christian Loyalty When a Relative Is Disfellowshipped ***
The Watchtower of September 15, 1981, page 28, points out regarding the disfellowshipped or disassociated person: ?Former spiritual ties have been completely severed. This is true even with respect to his relatives, including those within his immediate family circle?states The Watchtower of April 15, 1988, page 28. ?It might be possible to have almost no contact at all with the relative. Even if there were some family matters requiring contact, this certainly would be kept to a minimum,?
If people are critical of your group, what are their main objections?
An honest answer will include: refusal of blood transfusions; neutrality in war; disfellowshipping; and unreported child abuse (http://www.silentlambs.org/). But JWs are told that unfavorable news reports are actually false attacks from Satan:
*** w04 9/1 p. 17 Beware of the Voice of Strangers ***
While we certainly do not distrust all secular information, we do recognize that ?the whole world is lying in the power of the wicked one.? (Italics as printed)
Have you ever sat down to speak with a former member to find out why he left the group? If not, why not? Does your group impose restrictions on communicating with former members?
The JW may mention ?disfellowshipping? and ?apostacy?, betraying one of the strongest forms of mind-control practiced by the group.
*** w86 3/15 p. 12 ?Do Not Be Quickly Shaken From Your Reason? ***
Now, what will you do if you are confronted with apostate teaching?subtle reasonings?claiming that what you believe as one of Jehovah?s Witnesses is not the truth? For example, what will you do if you receive a letter or some literature, open it, and see right away that it is from an apostate? Will curiosity cause you to read it, just to see what he has to say? You may even reason: ?It won?t affect me; I?m too strong in the truth. And, besides, if we have the truth, we have nothing to fear. The truth will stand the test.? In thinking this way, some have fed their minds upon apostate reasoning and have fallen prey to serious questioning and doubt.
What are the three things you like least about the group and the leader?
What a great question for a cult member! But if a JW says, ?Nothing?, this is a big warning sign. Hassan writes, ?I suggest you watch his face very carefully. The pupils in his eyes will dilate, and he will act momentarily stunned. When he does answer, he will likely say that there is nothing he can think of that he doesn?t like. Cult members?are simply not permitted to talk critically? (pg 110) You mean like this?
*** w96 6/15 pp. 21-22 Blessings or Maledictions?Examples for Us Today ***
But what if we were to develop a negative attitude that manifested itself in critical discussions among an intimate circle of friends? We would do well to ask ourselves, ?Where is this likely to end? Would it not be far better to stop murmuring and pray humbly for wisdom?? (James 1:5-8; Jude 17-21) Korah and his supporters, who rebelled against the authority of Moses and Aaron, may have been so convinced that their perspective was valid that they did not examine their motives. Nonetheless, they were completely wrong. So were the Israelites who murmured about the destruction of Korah and the other rebels. How wise it is to let such examples move us to examine our motives, dispel murmuring or complaining, and allow Jehovah to refine us!
There you have it. If you have not already, I encourage you to read Combatting Cult Mind Control exposing Jehovah?s Witnesses' methods as a destructive cult.
