sects, cults, religions... i don't care, their bad stuff by far outweighs their good stuff.
Jehovah's Witnesses are not a cult and here's why I think so
by B_Deserter 69 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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drew sagan
As some have already pointed out, the term "cult" is not precise and thus can lead to many problems by its use.
The term has really become nothing more than a negative label. There never will be any accepted guide on how to define a cult (mainly because no cult will ever accept the label on their group!)
That is why i prefer the phrase "high control group". It in no way brings up the images in the mind that appear when you say 'Cult'. Due to the social reactions to using the word cult I believe that using'high control group' is much more descriptive and well balanced IMO. While a group may be able to shrug off the accusation they are a 'cult', it will take much more to defend the idea that they are not controlling there members by their policies. -
solidergirl
JW are indeed a cult. It seems like everynight before I go to bed instead of saying my daily prays I say I hate JWs. Not the people but the bloodguilty org for breaking up my strong black family that use to stand up for each other regardless. I mad to the point of wanting to cry. I just got over my fears of birds I use to think they was gathering for the big A. I think I'm going to need a therpist.
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MadTiger
One of the things that bothers me is the REACTION they give when you want out.
They usually don't just let you go about your own damn business, as 1000s of posts of personal experience on this site alone can attest. They do all sorts of things.
That alone is enough, and that is not the only thing. -
Exterminator
Followers of dangerous cults take moral stands they would not take if they were freely following their conscience.
Consider for example the refusal by JWs untill 1986 of non-military service offered by many governments to consciencious objectors in replacement of military service. That position landed thousands of young witnesses in prison, until it was reversed by the WTS in 1986. As soon as mother organization changed its stand, all witnesses did too, and no one went to jail anymore (except in exceptional cases, but still with mom's sanction). All of a sudden, thousands of witnesses felt that alternative service was ethically acceptable.
If tomorrow the organization decides that blood transfusions are acceptable, the great majority of witnesses will change their stand, as they did with vaccinations, organ transplantations, etc.
The organization dictates the ethics of its followers. It is dangerous, and it is a cult.
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Frank.L
Jim Penton said it best, IMO, when he described the JWs as the early Puritans who did everything they could to live a clean life and abide by Christianity but then they turned on their own, even killing them when they disagreed with them......cult like to be sure!
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sammielee24
I disagree - I believe they are a cult.
They isolate their members physically, emotionally and mentally. They isolate them educationally, financially and socially. They punish them by using extreme measures ie shunning (and are one of the few that continue to use this form of punishment). They use fear as a method of control. They take their orders in all aspects of their lives from the few people sitting at the top. They are strictly monitored in what they read, what they ask, what they think, what they wear, where they go, how much contact they have with others in the world including their own families. They are taught to spy on one another and to trust no one outside the organization.They believe they are outside the worldly laws thus commission their own judicial committees to mete out discipline. They remove the 'real' family in terms of dedication, loyalty and love for their members and replace it with their own definitions set by their own terms ie mother, sister, brother friends. They use special language to communicate with one another. They believe in sacrifice to the point of death. They predict, pray for and anticipate the end of the world - they live for doomsday and hope it comes tomorrow. The list goes on forever, but if you think all that doesn't mean you are totally isolated while living in a neighbourhood full of worldly people - think again.
What needs to change is the mindset of people as to the definition of 'cult'. Until that happens, the veneer that these 'tax shelters' have won't be lifted. sammieswife.
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sammielee24
That is why i prefer the phrase "high control group". It in no way brings up the images in the mind that appear when you say 'Cult'
Unfortunately that's the mindset of a lot of people. They want to avoid negative connections because words are indeed very powerful a tool. That's why whenever I hear the word 'child molestation' being used when a child has been raped, it ticks me off. Call it what it is. Molestation is a softer, more gentle phrase that conjures up the possibility of perhaps just some fondling or grabbing but rape is just that - a life altering, violent, sick act. sammieswife.
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AllTimeJeff
Just to add my two cents, I do believe that they exhibit enough controlling behavior to be a cult. I have to say that when I left, I started similar threads. I used to think that because they weren't like the Jamestown or Heavens Gate people that they weren't a cult.
Having said that, we have to acknowledge the problems of semantics that so often causes difficulties in these debates. On the one hand, many who leave don't want to think of themselves as ever belonging to a cult, esp because while we were in the borg we did call other fringe groups "cults". (oh the irony) On the other hand, is it really the case that only fringe radical groups qualify for the designation "cult"?
I do think that there are many who call them a cult and leave it at that. It is easier to label then to explain. (that is a JW tactic) Imo, when you simply label a group in an angry manner and leave it at that, you play into the GB's hands. They know that most don't "understand" them, and that those who leave are often angry. So instead of being defensive, the borg goes on the offensive, saying "Yeah, but can't you see that they are disgruntled? LOOK AT HOW ANGRY THEY ARE! No wonder they call us a cult...."
I think if you are going to call them a cult, you back it up in the same calm manner that the JW's display. You have to fight the enemy with their own weapons. Hell, if you were ever a part of the TMS and SM, you know the tactics! Use them!
Having said that, they are a cult, and are going backwards, not forwards. The monthly editions of the magazines, a members only WT, cutting the PT to thrity minutes with no secular references to be used or mentioned unless they are in the WT and AW (and I bet the number of secular references they are using lately is going way down) points to further isolation, not integration. You can't say you are not a cult if there is no way to ask legitimate questions about legitimate issues to the powers that be. If you do, are disfellowshipped as an apostate. It isn't scriptural, logical, or just. Even is you ask about the UN or Pedophilia. It's nuts..... and its cultish....