What makes a cult (in the pejorative sense)?

by Vanderhoven7 46 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  Vanderhoven7

  R.ex-JW writes

  Was recently talking to a JW friend that l hadn’t heard from since before covid. We were in the same congregation until l moved away. Always a great guy, cheerful, very devoted to the religion his whole life. Seems he got himself marked for disorderly conduct, he invited a sister for a meal unchaperoned, even though nothing bad happened -sounded more like a personal grudge by an over-righteous elder.

  He sounded so depressed on the phone, telling me that the ‘friends’ would run hot and cold, first they would shut him out, totally ignore him, make him work alone in field service, then a while later they would welcome him warmly and invite him to social events. Only to rinse and repeat. This went on for more than a year. He said that all this messed with his mind because he could never predict if they would be pleasant or rude. He could handle either behaviour, but not both! Today l found out from a cousin that he committed suicide last night. Left a note saying that he couldn’t take it any more.

  I totally blame the leaders of this toxic religion, they have no idea of the power they have over peoples lives and their minds. They killed my friend with their bullying and manipulation. I will never forgive them. If there’s a god l hope that he serves up justice to these monsters.
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  Sea Breeze

  Failed predictions have to be a the top of the list for identifying a cult. The Watchtower predicted Jesus' return in : 1878, 1881, 1914, 1918, 1925, 1975, 1995 This is probably the first thing that makes them look like a cult to outsiders.

  Deut 18: 20-22 "But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.’
  And if you say in your heart, ‘How may we know the word that the Lord has not spoken?’ when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him."

  Abandonment of teenagers by pissed off JW parents has to be right under that. The level of mind control necessary to abandon your own offspring has to be enormous to overcome family bonds. JW kids are totally unprepared to face people in the world when they are finally forced to flee religious oppression.

  When parents make it impossible for the child to live peaceably with their parents and they are forced to leave; the drug addicts, perverts, pimps, trannies, and many others are waiting to pounce on them for exploitation.

  Jehovah’s Witness parents are the cruelest people you will ever meet. Most animals treat their offspring better.

  Yet, the WT has made them believe that false prophecies are really just eagerness that other (fake) Christians don't have. They claim abandonment of their children and watching them get eat up by predators is really an act of love.

  
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  NotFormer

  Vanderhoven7, a group that bullies a bloke to the point of suicide sounds pretty cultic.

  So sorry to hear about this! 🙏 😞
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  no-zombie

  I was going to stop commenting on this thread but, is this the best argument you guys can come up with?

  I mean really ... just by saying cult ... cult ... cult is not going to improve you position at all.

  For god's stake, just go to Wikipedia and type in 'shunning' and 'Unfulfilled Christian religiousness prophesies' and you will see how many mainstream religions still practice disfellowshiping and or have unfulfilled teachings. And then do a bit of math, you will see that the total number of people in that group, its far larger than our tiny 8 million.

  OR ... be fair and call them all cults too.
  
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  NotFormer

  The question is asking people what makes a cult. And people are honestly giving their opinions. That you don't like those opinions is neither here nor there.

  To be fair, I've been using the word "cultic". I could use "cultish" too, if you like. It's no skin off my nose.
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  Riley

  I used to follow the evangelical view that theology was what made a cult. If you didn’t believe in the basic tenants of the Christian faith like Trinity or hell are you were in a cult.

  later in life, I got to know some Mormons and it was kind of a high opener. Even though I think Mormonism is kind of silly, they are really, really nice people. There’s really no sanction for leaving or calling the book of Mormon a piece of fiction.

  Would you believe has really nothing to do with being in a cult? It’s just how you act as a person. Cults destroyed lives and families. They waste your time and destroy your potential. They emotionally blackmail you when you try to leave.
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  Vanderhoven7

  Mack Moore writes

  Jehovah’s Witnesses are only not considered a cult by persons who have never studied the real-world cult phenomenon. Many people treat cults as if they were merely a concept, and claim that any asserted belief is “my truth”, and therefore above questioning. Nonsense. Ignorance is not equal to knowledge.

  

  If you have to use the qualifier “your” or “my” with the word “truth”, you’re not dealing with truth, reality, or facts. Truth is shared, or not truth. Reality is shared, or not reality. There is no such thing as “your truth”. There is such a thing as “your delusion”, which is the opposite of truth.

  A true belief or statement is one that aligns with reality. A false one deviates. Reality is the only standard by which to measure truth. You have to study reality in order to align with it in your beliefs and statements. We should not miss the opportunity to hold ourselves accountable to reality by observing it, and aligning with it. Those who miss the opportunity are choosing delusion.

  If you haven’t studied the real-world cult phenomenon, you are uninformed. Almost everyone is uninformed, because of never having studied, and assuming that “my truth” is correct, just because they labeled it as such, which is a delusion.

  No topic is more buried in myth, disinformation, and prejudice than cults and mind control.

  However, all the published cult researchers are in agreement, because they have all studied the same real-world phenomenon. That agreement should tell us something.

  If we want to be informed, and therefore protected, we must read the work of the only party who has studied the phenomenon. In this case, that would be cult researchers. They have published dozens of books. Ignore them at your own peril.
  ____