A checklist for Lurking JW's.

by cappytan 14 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  cappytan

  Dear Lurking JW's:

  If you were in a cult, how would you know? Cults don't call themselves cults. The Branch Davidians and Jonestown cults didn't consider themselves cults.

  Here are some identifying marks of cults:

  1. Ruled by a man or group of men. YES - Governing Body

  Reference: http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/2002203#h=12
  

  2. Isolate you from your previous friends, family, and humanity YES - Bad Associations spoil useful habits

  Reference: http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1102006152#h=28
  

  3. Tell you they are the only way, the only truth, and the only ones that can save you. YES - JW's refer to their religion as "The Truth" and their teachings as "Sacred Secrets"

  Reference: http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/2011568#h=16
  
  

  4. They use fear to persuade you to never leave them. YES - Armageddon, Disfellowshipping

  Reference: http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/2008241#h=25
  http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1102008083

  5. If you leave you are punished severely. YES - Disfellowshipping, shunned by friends and family

  Reference: http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1102008083
  

  6. Abuse is allowed because it favors a patriarchal society were men get privileges women don't. YES - Countless cases of abuse in the organization. Men are the only ones allowed to teach.

  Reference: http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1102008084
  http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/402015042#h=17

  7. They require some sort of sacrifice. YES - No Blood transfusions, no hanging out at party/bar, no holidays

  Reference: http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/2000447
  

  8. They threaten you with lose of family, friends if you don't do as they say. YES - Disfellowshipping and/or marking

  Reference: http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1102008083
  

  9. They claim its not them, but God that wants you to act a certain way. YES - The Governing Body claims to be God's channel for communication.

  Reference: http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/2002203#h=12
  

  10. They claim they get their power by God. YES. - See above

  11. They don't want you to read any literature that is against their cause. YES - The Governing Body discourages looking at literature and websites that are critical of the organization.

  Reference: http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1102008064#h=14
  

  12. They discourage, use fear, threaten, or order that certain medical procedures are not done. YES - No Blood transfusions, in the past they used to ban organ transplants too.

  Reference: http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/2000447
  

  13. They discourage education that they aren't involved in. YES - The Governing Body frequently goes on rants against higher education.

  Reference: http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/2011448#h=9
  

  14. They are usually apocalyptic in their speech. YES - Armageddon

  Reference: http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/2008241#h=25
  
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  fastJehu

  cappytan

  1. Ruled by a man or group of men. YES - Governing Body

  cynicism-mode-on:

  The Governing Body follows the pattern set by “the apostles and elders in Jerusalem” in the first century, who made important decisions on behalf of the entire Christian congregation. (Acts 15:2) Like those faithful men, the members of the Governing Body are not the leaders of our organization.
  

  Source: http://www.jw.org/en/jehovahs-witnesses/faq/governing-body/

  cynicism-mode-off
  
• 

  cappytan

  fastJehu: Any other reference I should use instead?

  We all know the JW FAQ is the sanitized version of the doctrines.

  -------------

  Can anyone else help with modern JWdotORG references for the rest of the points? I have to work right now. lol
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  The Searcher

  Do they use various means to extract money from their members? Yes!
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  fastJehu

  Maybe this quote: http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/2010446?q=%22Governing+Body+Committees%22&p=par#h=8

  Governing Body Committees

  In 1976, all activities of Jehovah’s Witnesses were brought under the supervision of the six committees of the Governing Body.
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  cappytan

  fastJehu: Good one! Unfortunately, I can't edit the OP anymore. lol
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  freemindfade

  Good read, my comment to lurkers is that even when i decided to leave this organization I still would have held that its wasn't a cult, because I didn't really understand was a dangerous cult really was, i changed that tune very much. Do the research, take the time. Many intelligent people can find themselves in these groups, and the witnesses are one of many that use the same tactics to a T.

  1. Read About what makes a cult a cult
  2. Really seriously and rationally compare the witnesses to this
  3. Research other groups (scientology etc) that use the exact same model
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  OneEyedJoe

  One problem is that there is scriptural support* for most of the super-culty stuff that they do. It can take a while before you can get to the point where you can really trust your own interpretation of things. They systematically destroy your self-confidence with their constant talk of not leaning upon your own understanding and not putting your trust in the son of earthling man (which includes the GB).

  To that point, for a lurking JW, I would point out two things:

  First, it's important to remember that we are all individually accountable before god. If something doesn't make sense to you but you go along with it anyway, god isn't going to stand for the "I was just following what I thought was your organization" excuse. Hundreds of thousands of isrealites died following corrupt kings that ostensibly represented Jehovah's organization on earth, what makes you think you'd fare better? This fact alone should be enough to convince any JW (or any christian, for that matter) to investigate any doubts they might have.

  Second, I would focus on the ban on seeking outside information. Is this really a scriptural stance, especially if there is any doubt about the correctness of the JW organization? First of all, there are numerous scriptures that encourage one to test things before trusting them, and making the point that truth need not hide from lies (1 John 4:1; Acts 17:11; 1 Thes 5:21; Job 12:11; John 1:5) so, again, is it really scriptural that you should simply trust what you're told by the GB? Is it also scriptural to avoid ALL information from a source outside the JW organization? Why is it not acceptable to examine multiple opinions and settle on the view that you yourself can live with? Going back to the earlier point - we're all individually accountable to god, so it is very important that you're completely comfortable with your beliefs and actions. If something is true, it will defeat any attacks made by it. If something is false, then it will crumble under scrutiny. If the JW organization is true, then there is nothing to fear (your faith will only be strengthened) by examining it's doctrine, if not then you will be personally accountable to god for not examining it.

  Applying this latter point to the topic of "apostate" information. For a long time I avoided apostates because it was not worth the time to examine the ravings of a bunch of bitter, angry, vengeful people. The problem is that there's two possible scenarios here - either apostates are bitter and angry and led by satan as is claimed by JWs, or they are justifiably upset and angry at the organization that lied to them and misled them and in many cases took lives and families away from them. How can you tell the difference? The only way to know is by examining both sides of things and examining the organization itself to see if they have indeed lied to you, too. Again, if it's all true, just imagine how your faith will be strengthened once it passes this test. The bible states that tests help you to endure, and that can be applied to your faith as well.

  *I mean scriptural support in the sense that scripture is taken out of context and misapplied, but in the minds of a JW (even myself at one time) this is enough to justify the behavior/doctrine of the cult.
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  Viviane

  BITE.
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  Tenacious

  Very good list cappytan.

  Great work.