circular reasoning is the wt's best tool.
"it is so, because I told you so" and "that makes it.........." point proven, see?
Watchtower explains why it's NOT a Cult
by JWOP 49 Replies latest watchtower bible
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wannabefree
Loved it.
I notice Youtube deleted his account, Warchtower legal must not like JWFairytale.
"This account has been terminated due to repeated or severe violations of our Community Guidelines."
[Cedars pointed out below that his account still is active (thanks Cedars), this is the message I get when clicking on the first link of the thread.]
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Kojack57
That video was tooooo funny!!!
Kojack
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cedars
wannabefree - as far as I can see, his account is still very much up and running.
Cedars
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Finkelstein
Based on Steven Hassan's book Combatting Cult Mind Control
10. Autonomy and individuality are discouraged. Dependence, conformity and obedience are encouraged and sometimes required.
9. A person must shed his old identity and aquire a new one that is desired by the group.
8. The information one is allowed to access and be exposed to is tightly restricted.
7. The doctrine claims to answer all questions and problems. One need not think for themselves, the doctrine does the thinking for him.
6. Members are assigned specific goals and tasks thus restricting their free time and behavior. In destructive cults there is always something to do.
5. The cults "loaded language" keeps members feeling special and seperate from the world around them. It also confuses newcomers and
implies that they must simply "study harder" in order to "understand". Understanding simply means believing.
4. Members are trained to disbelieve any criticism. Critical words are explained away in advance as " the lies Satan puts in people's minds"
3. Members are told to avoid contact with ex-members, those who could provide the most information are ones to be especially shunned.
2. People are not allowed to question the leaders or the doctrine. If there is a problem it is always that of the individual's and they are at fault.
Since the doctrine is the 'TRUTH' any flaw is viewed as the believer's imperfection.
1. People have the freedom to join but not the freedom to leave a destuctive cult. There's not a legitimate reason for a person to ever leave and
those doing so will have evil befall them.
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Finkelstein
Ten warning signs of a potentially unsafe group/leader.
- Absolute authoritarianism without meaningful accountability.
- No tolerance for questions or critical inquiry.
- No meaningful financial disclosure regarding budget, expenses such as an independently audited financial statement.
- Unreasonable fear about the outside world, such as impending catastrophe, evil conspiracies and persecutions.
- There is no legitimate reason to leave, former followers are always wrong in leaving, negative or even evil.
- Former members often relate the same stories of abuse and reflect a similar pattern of grievances.
- There are records, books, news articles, or television programs that document the abuses of the group/leader.
- Followers feel they can never be "good enough".
- The group/leader is always right.
- The group/leader is the exclusive means of knowing "truth" or receiving validation, no other process of discovery is really acceptable or credible.
Ten warning signs regarding people involved in/with a potentially unsafe group/leader.
- Extreme obsessiveness regarding the group/leader resulting in the exclusion of almost every practical consideration.
- Individual identity, the group, the leader and/or God as distinct and separate categories of existence become increasingly blurred. Instead, in the follower's mind these identities become substantially and increasingly fused--as that person's involvement with the group/leader continues and deepens.
- Whenever the group/leader is criticized or questioned it is characterized as "persecution".
- Uncharacteristically stilted and seemingly programmed conversation and mannerisms, cloning of the group/leader in personal behavior.
- Dependency upon the group/leader for problem solving, solutions, and definitions without meaningful reflective thought. A seeming inability to think independently or analyze situations without group/leader involvement.
- Hyperactivity centered on the group/leader agenda, which seems to supercede any personal goals or individual interests.
- A dramatic loss of spontaneity and sense of humor.
- Increasing isolation from family and old friends unless they demonstrate an interest in the group/leader.
- Anything the group/leader does can be justified no matter how harsh or harmful.
- Former followers are at best-considered negative or worse evil and under bad influences. They can not be trusted and personal contact is avoided.
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Phizzy
In other words , if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck etc etc
The favourite technique individual JW's use to object to the term "cult" is to argue about the meaning of the word, well, we all know they ain't too hot on definitions, generation ??
They are a high control and mind control group, that is a worse label than cult, if you don't like the word.
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Sulla
OK, so you want to call it a cult. So what? Are the JWs less wrong if they are a cult than they are if they are not a cult? Help me out here: what is the reason so many are insistant that the JWs are defined as a cult?
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cedars
Sulla - because cults follow men and are known for promoting damaging practices such as shunning. "Religion" is a far broader term denoting belief in a deity, and is not necessarily synonymous with shunning and following humans.
Jehovah's Witnesses may not follow a single human leader, but they do follow seven leaders - namely, the members of the Governing Body.
Cedars
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jgnat
As a counter question, sulla, why does the Watchtower take such pains to claim that they are not?
In justification of your point, "cult" is derogatory term with all sorts of awful connotations. It is true that Jehovah's Witnesses do not eat their young. A more careful term like "high control group" describes the injury and the caution people should use before joining.
