Deadly Cults

by MsMcDucket 6 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  MsMcDucket

  I've seen this advertisement of The History Channel for several days now. I thought you all might be interested in seeing the show about deadly cults.

  Decoding The Past: Cults: Dangerous Devotion - Thursday, January 4, 2007 - 09:00-11:00PM

  Posted: Tuesday, January 2, 2007

  From the bizarre prophecies of Charles Manson to the desperate paranoia of Jim Jones, cult leaders draw us into worlds of power, paranoia, and death. Through interviews

  http://feeds.feedburner.com/aetn/history/weeklylistings

  Here's a link to a crimelibrary page the author talks about kids and cults.

  Robert L. Snow, a police officer who authored Deadly Cults, interviews numerous cult experts who seem agreed that people who are emotionally low or stressed out can become vulnerable to a cult recruiter or to a book offering spiritual guidance.It can seem to them that they've been saved by some divine intervention (the preacher or healer arrived at just the right moment), and the ideas they hear that appear to give life purpose become a veritable lifeline.Cults can provide an identity, and for adolescents, who often try out one identity after another, discovering one that provides direction is like finding a new home a "perfect" one.

  http://www.crimelibrary.com/news/original/0306/0101_brianna_cult2.html

  (Warning) This page can be somewhat graphic.
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  Scully

  Thanks for posting this. I'm setting up the VHS to record it now.
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  james_woods

  History Channel had a field day on "prophecy of the time of the end" over the holidays. I watched the whole thing, just waiting for them to mention the JWS, but they skipped over our little part of this mess.

  They did, however, hammer the Millerites and also that Linden guy of the book "the late great earth". It seems he insisted on the date 1988 as the end of the world, but all that happened was an election.

  Perhaps the witnesses are such a small footnote that the general population has forgotten 1914, 1918, 1925, 1975, etc...?

  There were a couple of other interesting ideas that were new to me, at least - first, the term "Dispensationalism". This is a great description of the JW mindset, but I for one had never heard the term. You can Wikipedia it - it seems to indicate a belief system that some religious cults somehow get a special "dispensation" from time to time - like the "faithful and discreet slave".

  The other was that this kind of apopalyptic craziness comes in two main forms - first, the "numerology" types (i.e. 607 BCE, etc.), and second the super-special "sign" people.

  Funny how it never comes true...
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  MsMcDucket

  You're welcome Skully.

  Mr. Woods, I know that these men actually believe that they are prophets (I can't spell today.) of god. Some actually believe this doesn't this make them psychotics? And more importantly, what does it make the followers? Are they/we insane too?
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  james_woods

  You bet they are, under most normal descriptions.

  I also thought it was just hilarious about the "all knowing Aztec calender" and the 2012 date.

  So, if they were such great prophets, how come they didn't see the Spanish Conquistadors & smallpox for what they were?

  James

  PS - I loved that antique chart made by Miller showing his version of the divine plan of the ages. Isn't it amazing that he claimed way in advance of CT Russell that he had kind of "forgot" about the zero year in the AD calender, so it had to move from 1843 to 1844! Russell himself shamelessly claimed the same thing!
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  lighthouse19something

  I don't know how many jws died by refusing blood, But it was more than Jonestown, Waco, Heavens Gate, but not as my as Hitler's Blood Flag religion, or ancient pagans which practiced human sacrifices
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  Anitar

  Can someone please record it and post it online for those of us who don't get the history channel or can't record it? Thank you!