by Lady Lee 66 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
Context. Use the word "spade" in a racial context and it is offensive, and always will be. Use the world "cult" in a religious context and it is offensive, and always will be.
I don't know about the "always will be" part, but that's a damn good point.
-Sab
noun personality cult had been created around the leader. 2 a small group of people who have extreme religious beliefs and who are not part of any established religion Their son ran away from home and joined a cult. 3 ( formal ) a system of religious beliefs and practices the Chinese cult of ancestor worship From the Oxford English Dictionary,,,, note #2.
Do we really have to add benign or destructive to an already negative word? Most people understand the word cult to be negative. Why use the word and say it is a benign cult? Talk about confusing people.
The WTS is a cult in the most negative definition of the word.
They might not kill people all at one like Jim Jones or the Branch Davidians. They do kill people off one at a time.
They don't live in communes. They convince people to separate themselves from every non-JW person including family members who have never been JWs or have left.
They don't have 1 person at the head of it all. They have a group of them that over the century has guaranteed continuity a lot longer than any 1 person every could.
They control every aspect of a JW's life.
It isn't about what they believe. It is about how they implement those beliefs. It is about how they control their members lives.
Cult does have one connotation that is perjorative. Cult in that sense is used to attack religious we do not like. I remember when the Moonies were all over the news. A congressman said he was greatly troubled by them but his sister was a cloistered nun who could not even see her parents. What was the difference? Cults tend to be minority religions that are also marginal.
I prefer authoritarian and high level of mind control. What arguing semantics seems silly? The substance is the same and troubling no matter what you call it.
Why use the word and say it is a benign cult? Talk about confusing people.
People are already confused about the concept of cults. At this point the population needs to understand the spectrum so that they can move away from the negativity of the word. A cult is just an organized group of like minded people. It's, in my opinion, the sterotypical use of the word that is confusing the matter.
-Sab
A congressman said he was greatly troubled by them but his sister was a cloistered nun who could not even see her parents. What was the difference?
the difference: The nun chose to te a nun, and she can leave the order any time she wants to. EVEN if she is excommunicated, she can still talk to her family.
BOTR -- as a lawyer, you have the education and experience to know exactly how ludicrous that example is. This is not a game of one-upmanship. It's an honest attempt to educate, by a recognized expert in her field. I expect better than this from you. COME ON~!
Sab - For the most part, people are NOT confused about the concept of cults. They are just in denial.
As Simon would say, rediculous!!! (yes, I misspelled it on purpose)
t
Marking...
Whether you use the term "cult", "high-control group", "social mileau control", "excessively-controlled social setting" or "controlling environment", it all comes down to other human beings trying to tell you how to live your life... And to a woeful lack of respect for personality boundaries and social boundaries.
Cult does have one connotation that is perjorative. Cult in that sense is used to attack religious we do not like.
It goes much deeper than "we do not like." The primary connotation of "cult" has become "hurtful and dangerous". That's why the original use of the word, as a general term for the practices and members of amy given religious group, has been virtually abandoned. That connotation also is why this thread has so many emotional responses: it touches very painful memories, both for survivors and for those who have lost their family members (living or dead).
Sab - For the most part, people are NOT confused about the concept of cults. They are just in denial.
Denial, of any truth, will lead to confusion.
-Sab
I am bookmarking this for future reference and with many thanks to Lady Lee for starting this thread.
Quendi
