I couldn't find a single point in this propaganda that couldn't be easily refuted. I also notice that many of the attributes of cults as defined by cult experts were not addressed.
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How Jehovah's Witnesses Differ From Cults
by Bangalore 49 Replies latest watchtower bible
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JWoods
Sounds like the guy plaigerized all the JW talking points that they give the public before they start a home bible study.
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Leprechaun
Yes, for the love of Mike, even in a worldly court of law the defendant is free to use the law library and have access to any and all information dealing with judicial legal matters, nothing is hidden from the defendant. This is not the case with the Witnesses in the little back room the pompous elders under the direction of the Society, have special judicial publications protected tooth and nail from the congregation defendant. What a bunch of B.S
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VoidEater
What a load.
Go to the bottom of the article and click on a star to rate the article.
My TL;DR of the day (warning: not proof-read):
1. There are "secret" stages to becoming a JW. The steps just aren't formally published. An example is the encouragement of newly interested people are given to check over the claims of WTS doctine with other religions to come to a conclusion about "the Truth". Once "in", however, study and evaluation is not only discouraged but actively labeled as "untheocratic", "unappreciative", and ultimately "apostasy". Once baptised, a new set of standards applies to the adherent.
2. JWs do not retain fredoms of employment or association. Military jobs and political office result in ousting, and associating with DFed people results in DF. Witnesses are constantly, formally and informally, told to clear things with the elders.
3. Mixed mariiages often produce strife, especially when the JW places emotional stress on the UBM; further, they overly interfere in divorce proceedings with manuals on how to fight UBMs in the courts. THings are much worse for those not yet married but dating an unbeliever.
4. The informal pressures to preach are significant; those that overtly state they do not intend to preach are DF (my Dad being an example).
5. Medical care is curtailed, the most obvious being lack of access to certain blood products; the history of other medical procedures (such as transplants) is varied and contradictory. Going against WTS edict has resulted in DF; when reversing positions, the WTS has refused to undo damage it has caused (e.g., will not reinstate those that were DFed due to accepting a proscribed procedure, usually because the person "ran ahead of their Mother" the church - another example of the demand to strictly adhere to doctronie or be expelled).
6. "Solid [spiritual] food" is routinely denied. JWs are told to not study on their own, especially starting in the late 1970's. Casual review of WT study articles from the 60's to the present shows a marked regression in language and topic analysis. While someone not yet baptized may be ostensibly encouraged to compare doctrine, those that do so after baptism are condemend as "spiritually weak", "rushing ahead", doubters that are viewed suspiciously.
7. The WTS downplays education to the point of ridicule, which in turn limits the options of JWs seeking secualar employment. The jingoistic "pumping up" of Jws (e.g., reading the Awake magazine is the equivalent of a college education) gives a false sense of intellectualism and achievement which cannot be demonstrated outside of the JW social structure.
8. There is no evidence that the WTS has the capacity to respond positively toward criticism, from inside or outside it's organizational walls. Any changes in doctrine have not been in response to critics, but have instead been driven by internal forces within the GB. It is instead highly intransigent, espcially in admitting errors and rectifying mistakes.
9. The WTS maintains a highly controlled, secretive method of handling child sexual abuse cases. Only in areas where the law demands secular authorities be notified will they do so - but only after first conferring with WTS headquarters.
10. Appeals at the local level are routinely denied, are sometimes retried by the same religious authories who handled an initial case, and are often hamstrung by perceived rules that ignore individual circumstances. Appeals made to WTS headquarters are routinely ignored over a period of many, many years.
11. No one is prevented from submitting comments to WTS headquarters. The number of considered responses is vanishingly small.
12. It is true that "tithing" is done through a voluntary donation process, th
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hamilcarr
As a result, Jehovah's Witnesses have stated in recent years in their literature, that they do subscribe to the idea of microevolution, as one example, while not embracing macroevolution but holding to the Bible account of the creation of the first man and woman in Genesis.
Is that proof they're not a cult? Do you know a single religion that does not believe in microevolution - JW definition?
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under the radar
I was appalled by the blatant lies and misrepresentations in this piece. Most of the author's assertions about the Witnesses are misleading at best and I believe outright deceptive in intent. On some points, he uses misdirection to appear to be addressing a concern while really only trying to distract the reader from the real issue. Classic bait-and-switch. And the Society accuses the "apostates" of using "lies and half-truths." How ironic. How hypocritical.
I realize that this article isn't an "official" statement from the Society, but I believe it does represent their own view of themselves. The author is almost certainly an active, avid Witness, and not a disinterested observer. The whole thing has an obvious pro-Witness bias and strives to promote Witness beliefs while masquerading as a scholarly discussion of the subject at hand. This in itself is deceptive and disingenuous.
I would love it if someone with the writing skills of, say, Barbara Anderson, could take the time to refute this article point for point, using direct quotes from Watchtower literature to show the truth about the Truth™. Of course, die-hard Witnesses would never read it, but others might be spared a lifetime of subjugation to the old men in Brooklyn.
An unbiased look at the unvarnished facts leads to one inevitable conclusion: the Watchtower Society is definitely a cult, by any objective definition.
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No Longer Held Captive
Yeah, they are highly controlled alright, and you want to look at Steve Hassans book on it, or what Randy Walters has written, its a real eye opener.
And the elders love power, and to get it they create fear, always making the individual out to be wrong, even when that person is right. They save face at the expense of the individual in question.
I was told by an elder of the congregation where I had been attending, that if the Police and authorities didnt back off, then I wouldnt see my wife or family again. And when you read Hassans book you can see why they do this, even having other congregation members think as they do even when they are wrong. WBTS, Scientology, Heavens Gate, Solar Temple Knights, it is all cult ind control stuff.
So, if these elders had nothing to fear from the Authorities, and now these authorities are involved at Federal Level, why would they need to resort to the use of threats?
I wasted many good years, even stopped the girls from going to University, because I believed this cult.
This here is just a small part of that essay:
4. EMOTIONAL CONTROL
a. Narrow the range of a person's feelings.
b. It is always the individual's fault - never the organization.
c. Use of Guilt:
1. Identity guilt (not living up to what is expected).
2. Social guilt
d. Use of fear (phobias):
1. Fear of thinking independently
2. Fear of the ‘outside world'
3. Fear of losing one's salvation
4. Fear of being shunned if one leaves the group
5. Fear of disapproval/rejection
6. Fear that one could never be happy outside the group.
The WTS creates an atmosphere of guilt for many things e.g. there is guilt for not supporting all of the pre-arranged activities - especially the missing of meetings for almost any reason. The WTS inculcates phobias about anything they deem to be pagan e.g. going into a church building, things to do with birthdays, mother's day, Christmas trees etc; things with a cross on them; things that they consider may be "demonized". They also create an atmosphere of fear of one's being seen doing what is unacceptable to the group e.g. searching for Bible related information in a library, bookshop or on the Internet.
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No Longer Held Captive
TOXIC FAITH SYSTEMS AND MENTAL
PROBLEMSTRAITS OF WBTS
• Control-orientated, arrogantly assertive, power-posturing leadership.
• Authoritarian and legalistic with dictatorial, dogmatic doctrines that are proclaimed to be ‘the Truth'.
• Claims of being the channel of communication between God and mankind; having unique knowledge that makes them special. If members do not submit to its dictatorial rule, the leaders emphasise that any waver of support to the organization or church is evidence of waiver of faith in God.
• Manipulation of members by guilt, shame, blame and fear.
• An "Us-vs-Them" view, a perception of being under persecution.
• Demanding, rigid lifestyles and overwhelming service requirements. Member's lives are controlled by both spoken and unspoken rules.
• Loss of focus on God, replaced by a complicated process of furthering the church or organization and its rules.
• Followers "in pain," hiding real feelings that oppose or disagree with the religious system.
• Intolerance of individual thinking, and of criticism of the religious system by its members. Fosters an unhealthy dependency by focusing on themes of submission, loyalty, and obedience to those in authority.
• Severe discipline of members.
• The religious system puts down other religions.
• Leaving the religious system is painful and difficult.
• Closed communication: information is only valid if it comes from the top of the religious down, and from inside the system to the outside of it.
• Labelling: a technique used to discount a person who opposes the beliefs of the religious system.
• What you do is more important than who you are.
• Love and acceptance are earned by doing certain things.
• Scripture-twisting.
• Scare tactics; focus on demons.
• Threats to remove members from the group.
• Members are misled into thinking that the only safety is in the religious system.
• A view that education is bad or unnecessary.
CHARACTERISTICS OF CULTS
• Members of the group must believe that the doctrines of the group are the one and only "Truth."
• Members must follow the doctrines even if they don't understand them.
• The doctrines form the basis of all thoughts, feelings, and actions.
• There is an "Us-vs-Them" belief that no outside group is recognized as godly.
• No independent thinking by members is allowed.
• It teaches that there is a huge conspiracy (actually non-existent) working to thwart the group.
• Teaches that spirit beings are constantly critically observing the members
• Members are made to feel elite, chosen by God to lead mankind out of darkness.
• The group looks down on other religious groups.
• Members are told if they don't fully perform their duties, they are failing humility.
• Members are required to render absolute obedience to their superiors.
• When members leave the group, the love that was formerly shown to them turns into anger, hatred, and ridicule.
• The group uses guilt and shame to control its members.• Fear is a major motivator.
• Members feel a great sense of urgency about given tasks.
• May groups teach that the apocalypse is just around the corner, and have timetables for it's occurrence with dates near enough to carry an emotional punch.
• Members are kept extremely busy.
• The future is a time when members will be rewa
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The Oracle
good catches teel!
The fact that an article is written about this, further proves the prevailing thought that JWs are considered to more of a cult than a religion by the mainstream of educated citizens.
The verdict is in.
JWs are a cult.
Peace to all,
The Orcacle
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HappyGuy
I didn't read the article. I don't need to. An organization based on TRUTH has nothing to fear. Imagine if you KNEW that you were the communications channel for the ruler of the universe, what a self confidence that would give you. The WTBTS claims to be such a channel. Yet, they are terrified of TRUTH. Why is that?
I will give just one example. The WTBTS tells its members that they are not to read the writings of the founder of the organization, Charles Taze Russel, that these writings are now "apostate" and anyone promoting those writings would be guilty fo "apostasy".
Huh?
Forget that Russel's writings are far more entertaining than the modern day writings of the WTBTS, what would purveyors of the TRUTH directly from the ruler of the universe have to fear from their own writings?
That in and of itself proves to me that the WTBTS is a cult.