Why label it a cult? (page 3)

minimus

I HATED it when JWs were referred to as a cult. But the truth is----THEY ARE A CULT.

I don't hate labels at all as long as it fits.

I definitely believe it is a cult because it meets all the criteria of one. For me it was a step towards acceptance when I admitted to myself it is a cult.

However, I don't think applying the label is therapeutic for many people and in fact pushes them away from working on mental recovery further. The word makes them feel they are apostates, demonized, betrayers, who must be internally flawed in order to have been a victim of a cult.

When I did therapy groups with addicts, I started out doing what I was trained to do--educate them about the label & get them to admit it. Most times, people would say I was wrong about what an alcoholic is--then they'd give me a definition that happened to be whatever they were not. The seasoned members would jump on the newbies to "make" them admit they are alcoholics/addicts out loud, because they thought there is no way the newbie can recover w/o saying the word first.

The entire class was spent debating a label instead of working on actual healing. They felt attacked, embarrassed, humiliated, and didn't want to deal with anything further. What good did that do? I got to the point where I said--deal with the label later, just talk about how your drinking is a problem.

That is what I said in my book--you don't "have" to agree it's a cult in order to heal. The label is only one of the issues to deal with as part of your recovery, and you can put it aside to deal with all the other issues first.

rebel8

I don't think jws should be normalized, nor do I think they should be regarded as equal to suicide cults or the KKK type groups.

The issue is not quite as black and white as that. jws are a destructive group that harms many of its members--mostly mentally and financially, some physically--that is an indisputable fact.

This does not mean they are the craziest group out there, but it doesn't mean they are normal or on par with other benign groups.

IMHO

minimus

No one said you have to agree they are a cult so as to heal.....Regarding alcoholics, if an alcoholic refuses to accept being labeled an "alcoholic" yet stops drinking, bravo. But just because a person doesn't want to be labeled, it doesn't change anything. It is what it is.

Finally-Free

Giving something a prettier name only serves to make it sound less destructive than it really is. If I see a pile of shit, I call it shit - and I don't care if the flies sitting on it become offended. To say the JWs are an abusive, destructive cult is already watering it down.

W

smellsgood

Why? for the same reason you put a Mr. Yuk sticker on a gallon of bleach.

AlanF

In common parlance "cult" has extremely negative connotations: no one in his right mind would want to be in a cult.

Using the term may be shocking to some people, but experience shows that such people often need to be slapped upside the head with a dose of reality to get them really to see reality.

AlanF

drew sagan

I will also say that many of us who at one time where offended by the cult label as JWs eventually got over it.

I personally do not feel that the use of the word cult is keeping anybody in the Watchtower. Most people leave because of bad teachings as well as personal experiences (and personal experience is usually what really gets the ball rolling). They usually go hand and hand.

I don't think it is as big as a stumbling block as we sometimes think it is.

LongHairGal

Rebel 8:

Good question. I don't think it is all just about name calling. Back when I was active and thought it was "truth", people told me I was in a cult. I either didn't care or thought JWs were the exception to the rule. Back then the idea of a cult was somebody who wore a robe with white paint on their forehead. Now, people are more enlightened about the topic of cults, especially since the 80s. So, some will argue they are a cult and some will say they are not.

It may not be cult in the true sense of the word, but it has cult-like qualities that can't be ignored.

LHG

Amber Rose

The general public doesn't know much about cults or much about JWs. Cult members are suicidial, murders or robots. JW's are those people that knock on my door and don't bellieve in Jesus. So I think using the term "cult" is counterproductive. Using it makes you sound crazy, like you are over exagerating or being too dramatic. I do believe that JW's are a cult. But the term is off-putting to the uninformed.

Why label it a cult?

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