Yeah "Confession" my point is that a Catholic walks up to a Witness and says your a cult because YOUR religion controls you.....even though the Catholic has 8 kids because he's not allowed by the Pope to use a condom!!!
Be Fair = Witnesses are NOT a cult!! What about Christians or democracy?
by Witness 007 69 Replies latest jw friends
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Jeffro
Whether JWs are a cult is debatable, though popular definitions of the term do apply to some degree. But whether they are a dangerous cult when compared with certain other cults that are genuinely dangerous - suicide pacts etc, they're relatively tame.
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sacolton
But whether they are a dangerous cult when compared with certain other cults that are genuinely dangerous - suicide pacts etc, they're relatively tame.
Tell that to all the people (adults and children) who have died from "abstaining from blood" because of doctrine. How about those who didn't receive vaccinations when that was forbidden?
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Jeffro
real one:
i dont know any baptist that counsel someone for wearing a brown belt with black shoes to church
That is an example of 'an abuse of authority', not a demonstration that JWs are cult. JW as an organisation does not sanction against things at such a specific level. And there is no way of proving that some rogue baptist minister might not also make such a petty judgment.
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Jeffro
sacolton:
Tell that to all the people (adults and children) who have died from "abstaining from blood" because of doctrine. How about those who didn't receive vaccinations when that was forbidden?
1. I said "relatively". 2. I don't talk to dead people.
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sacolton
1. I said "relatively". 2. I don't talk to dead people.
Well, if you COULD talk to them ... what would you say?
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Inquisitor
Tell that to all the people (adults and children) who have died from "abstaining from blood" because of doctrine. How about those who didn't receive vaccinations when that was forbidden? - sacolton
How about churches and families that stigmatise same-sex attraction, driving their gay youths to depression and suicide?
Do you consider them as part of a deadly cult given their insular and bigoted ways?
INQ
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Jeffro
sacolton and inquisitor, you both raise issues that indicate JW to be a potentially dangerous group for a minority of its members. I stated that JW is a relatively harmless group compared to cults that are actually, imminently, and deliberately dangerous to all or a majority of their members. Regardless of the problems in the JW religion - and there are indeed many - my point is that there are groups that are significantly more dangerous.
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sacolton
Jeffro, you're right ... there are those groups that are more dangerous ("Sciencetology"), but it doesn't take away the point that the WTBTS is a mind-controlling cult.
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Inquisitor
sacolton and inquisitor, you both raise issues that indicate JW to be a potentially dangerous group for a minority of its members.
Actually, Jeffro, I don't think that was my point. It was sacolton's, not mine. =)
The message in my last coupla posts is that there are church groups, communities and lobby groups out there who actually behave in a way that is equally cultish but these are not labelled as such.
My question to the Call'm Cult Class is : WHY THE DOUBLE STANDARDS?
Do we call JWs a cult out of retribution or to reveal an objective fact about them? If we are being objective, why do we not condemn other religious groups that act in bigotry and ignorance, controlling the minds of their youth to execute their agendas?
I'm not denying that JWs are cultish in some ways, but I am very uncomfortable calling them a cult. There are two reasons for this:
Firstly, the picture conjured by this loaded term is different for each person. Because the limits of definition are not fixed/ are fixed differently, to some JWs are DEFINITELY a cult. To others, they are merely cultish. You can see which category I fall in. Sure you can open a book by a cult expert and start pulling up dot points on how to spot a cult. But people seem to apply this selectively. Like reading a horroscope, the written stuff seems to serve no purpose other than to legitimize our prejudices.
The second reason I avoid the label is because even as a JW I realize who else (other than ex-JWs) love to use this term:
Anti-JW "mainstream" Christians
There is definitely some from this group that would use any available means to save souls from the JW "cult". Accuracy of description is not very high on their list of priorities. Scare tactics are... which brings me to my last point.
In the end, it doesn't matter if JWs "are" a "cult" or not IF you explain in precise terms what you mean when you say that. If people would leave the JW religion, I would rather they do so with an informed mind. Not out of fear. Not out of ignorance. After all, there are many other "cults" out there waiting for fresh meat...
INQ