My son recently was reading a book for one of his college classes titled, "Why We Believe What We Believe" written by Andrew Newberg MD.
It seems to be a very balanced book, the material is written from the medical / psychological viewpoint, ( so far I have found no specific religion-bashing here).
I was just skimming through the last few chapters and one subject on page 150 really caught my attention, as I really think it applies to the jw religion,
I hope you all enjoy reading this :
Seventeen stages of evil
1), Establish a set of ideals and beliefs that show your superiority over others
2), provide logical justification for implementing your beliefs.
3), Have clearly defined behaviors that the group members must endorse.
4), reinforce steps 1-3 as often as possible through discussion and written materials until they become your primary beliefs.
5), Have members contractually agree to the above steps, this reinforces a sense of obligation to the group and its leaders.
6), select a charismatic spokesperson to reinforce your beliefs.
7), create a range of punishments for those who do not conform.
8), emphasize the importance of conformity and punishment to help members aspire to the groups ideals.
9), Insist that each member find new initiates to join the group.
10), Institute severe penalties for those who might think of leaving the group.
11), Limit alternate perspectives and communication between members of the group.
12), exclude as much as possible contact with people from outside of the group.
13), Identify a group that opposes your beliefs and ideals.
14), depersonalize and denigrate those who are not members of the group.
15), Gradually increase hostility and aggression toward the outgroup.
16), when dealing with the “enemy” create a sense of anonymity. Don’t use names for your victims, and give impressive titles to active members of your group.
17), The final solution, elimination of the “enemy”