I'm used to being bored. After all I did spend my childhood and young adulthood in endless meetings and assemblies hearing about how wonderful they are and hearing them explain once again how a lot of that stuff they taught me a few years ago has been changed once again. I also spent a lot of time hunkered down waiting for the end to arrive so.....
Does it get boring....
by FaceTheFacts 40 Replies latest jw friends
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Hortensia
yes, as a matter of fact, it does.
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perfect1
people like you keep it entertaining.
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kmanc
cult= a system of religious veneration and devotion directed toward a particular figure or object.
like Jehovah or Jesus Christ
It sure sounds like all religions to me are cults
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FaceTheFacts
Yes...kmanc...I agree.You'll be surprised how many early writings refer to primitive Christianity as a dangerous cult.
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Londo111
There are multiple definitions of the word. In the World English Dictionary, the third definition is "a quasi-religious organization using devious psychological techniques to gain and control adherents".
This is the definition that is meant when referring to JWs, Scientology, Moonies, Mormons, Branch Davidians, People’s Temple, and so forth. A more descriptive term many people use is “high control group”.
People in a cult or high control group are under mind control, a slow and subtle system of influence.
Dr. Robert J. Lifton outlined eight criteria that identifies mind control:
1. Milieu Control. This involves the control of information and communication both within the environment and, ultimately, within the individual, resulting in a significant degree of isolation from society at large.
2. Mystical Manipulation. There is manipulation of experiences that appear spontaneous but in fact were planned and orchestrated by the group or its leaders in order to demonstrate divine authority or spiritual advancement or some special gift or talent that will then allow the leader to reinterpret events, scripture, and experiences as he or she wishes.
3. Demand for Purity. The world is viewed as black and white and the members are constantly exhorted to conform to the ideology of the group and strive for perfection. The induction of guilt and/or shame is a powerful control device used here.
4. Confession. Sins, as defined by the group, are to be confessed either to a personal monitor or publicly to the group. There is no confidentiality; members’ “sins,” “attitudes,” and “faults” are discussed and exploited by the leaders.
5. Sacred Science. The group’s doctrine or ideology is considered to be the ultimate Truth, beyond all questioning or dispute. Truth is not to be found outside the group. The leader, as the spokesperson for God or for all humanity, is likewise above criticism.
6. Loading the Language. The group interprets or uses words and phrases in new ways so that often the outside world does not understand. This jargon consists of thought-terminating clichés which serve to alter members’ thought processes to conform to the group’s way of thinking.
7. Doctrine over Person. Member’s personal experiences are subordinated to the sacred science and any contrary experiences must be denied or reinterpreted to fit the ideology of the group.
8. Dispensing of Existence. The group has the prerogative to decide who has the right to exist and who does not. This is usually not literal but means that those in the outside world are not saved, unenlightened, unconscious and they must be converted to the group’s ideology. If they do not join the group or are critical of the group, then they must be rejected by the members. Thus, the outside world loses all credibility. In conjunction, should any member leave the group, he or she must be rejected also.
Another description of mind control is the BITE model. This is outlined here: http://freedomofmind.com/Info/BITE/bitemodel.php
Both the 8 Criteria and the BITE model point to the conclusion that the JWs are under mind control and thus a cult.
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Think About It
Does it become boring/monotonous reading thread after thread about how terrible the GB is and how much of a cult JWs are...
What I found boring was all the JW meetings and assemblies where people would drone on and on in prayer, talks & comments kissing the Governing Body's asses.
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wha happened?
How much time did u count on this thread?
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wasblind
Question : You wish we were a bore don't you ??????? wouldn't have so many visits
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Londo111
Cults have Leaders and JWs are no expectation. In the past there were individual personalities (Russell, Rutherford, Knorr/Franz) that had 100% control…and many worshipped these men. From the 1970’s onward, the Governing Body has been that Leader.
JWs have great reverence for the Slave paradigm. With the recent tweaks in teaching, the Governing Body is viewed as the “Slave”. They call the shots. One has to agree in total with this cooperate Leader or face punishment. Even if one privately doesn’t agree with the Governing Body on ALL points, this is viewed as a serious sin. That, my friends, is a cult.
The universal themes of cults are as follows:
1) The Doctrine is reality – members are not allowed to disagree with the organization’s doctrines. The most effective doctrines are those “which are unverifiable and unevaluable” in the words of Eric Hoffer.
2) Reality is Black and White, Good versus Evil – there is no room for interpretation, deviation, and compromise.
3) Elitist Mentality – “members are made to feel part of an elite corps of mankind. This feeling of being special, of participating in the most important acts in human history with a vanguard of committed believers, is strong emotional glue to keep people sacrificing and working hard.”
4) Group Will over Individual Will – “The group comes first. Absolute obedience to superiors is one of the most universal themes in cults. Individuality is bad. Conformity is good.”
5) Strict Obedience: Modeling the Leader – new members are often encouraged to imitate people who they are paired with (i.e., how they dress, speak, behave) to effectively overcome their individuality.
6) Happiness through Good Performance – “One of the most attractive qualities of cult life is the sense of community that it fosters. The love seems to be unconditional and unlimited at first, and new members are swept away by a honeymoon of praise and attention. But after a few months, as the person becomes more enmeshed, the flattery and attention are tuned away toward newer recruits,. The cult member learns that love is not unconditional but depends on good performance.”
7) Manipulation through Fear and Guilt – members come to live within a narrow emotional band of fear, guilt, and shame. It is always the members fault for all problems.
8 ) Emotional Highs and Lows – members swing between the extreme happiness of experiencing the “truth” with superiors, and the crushing weight of guilt, fear, and shame for failing.
9) Changes in Time Orientation – how members interpret their past, present, and future are changed. A member’s past is rewritten to color everything dark. An organization creates a great sense of urgency for members to keep members extremely busy on daily tasks and to prevent them from thinking too much. As time-tables pass, the leaders will establish new time-tables to keep members busy.
10) No Way Out – there is never a legitimate reason for leaving an organization. Members are told that they must be weak, immoral, tempted, brainwashed by deprogrammers, pride, sin, etc.