Are JW's unknowingly part of a CULT?

by The Fall Guy 9 Replies latest jw friends

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  The Fall Guy

  Some points for awakening JW's to consider in 2020:

  "Joining a Cult: Religious Choice or Psychological Aberration" by Dena S. Davis.

  Some of the following characteristics are listed:

  1. Authoritarian ruler. The self-appointed rulers of cults [G.B.) have complete and final say. They are usually considered charismatic and charming. They are adored by their followers and are often considered more than human. [immortal joint king/priests of the universe in waiting!]
  2. The identity of the community becomes communal and totalistic. Everyone involved relies on each other and the group's ["the organisation's"] wants and needs become the core identity for each follower.
  3. Aggressive campaigns and conversion efforts are enforced by the authority figures. For most, the fear of heaven and hell [paradise/great tribulation/armageddon/gehenna] prompts members to reach out, but authority figures may also rely on social issues. [shunning by friends & family]
  4. In order to be initiated into the group, there will be an enforced and systematic indoctrination. There are usually several practices or ceremonies new followers must complete to secure their place among the group. [regular field service, baptism, constant meeting/assembly/convention attendance]
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  ZindagiNaMilegiDobaara

  Cults appeal to that part of us that wants something better. A better world for others or a better self—these are the genuine, heartfelt desires of decent, honest human beings. Cult recruiters are trained in how to play on those desires, how to make it look as though what the cult has to offer is exactly what you're interested in. Cults can be formed around almost any topic; there are nine broad categories of cults: religious, Eastern-based, New Age, business, political, psychotherapy/human potential, occult, one-on-one, and miscellaneous (such as lifestyle or personality cults). All cults, no matter their stripe, are a variation on a theme, for their common denominator is the use of coercive persuasion and behavior control without the knowledge of the person who is being manipulated. They manage this by targeting (and eventually attacking, dissembling, and reformulating according to the cult's desired image) a person's innermost self. (Reparing the soul after a cult book)

  Zing
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  ZindagiNaMilegiDobaara

  In some religious cults, as shown in Debbie's experience, converts are introduced to the group's ideology only after they have affiliated. Once they have identified with the group's general orientation, though, they accept the particulars of belief quite readily when these are spelled out (jdumb strategy at work is it not). (From the book Cults Faith Healing n Coercion)

  Zing
  
  
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  JimmyYoung

  If a JW knows they are in a cult they are a PIMO. Most who are drinking the kool aid are not aware they are in a cult.
  
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  Ding

  "All cults, no matter their stripe, are a variation on a theme, for their common denominator is the use of coercive persuasion and behavior control without the knowledge of the person who is being manipulated."

  JWs are probably aware of the following at some level, but it all seems quite normal:
  

  1. When you study with JWs and when you attend Watchtower studies, you stop asking your own questions; instead, you give the WT's answers to the WT's questions.

  2. The WT quotes only a VERY selective number of Bible verses to "prove" its doctrines.

  3. Constant repetition programs JWs to think nothing but WT thoughts.

  4. The WT keeps JWs feeling guilty that they aren't doing more for the WT organization.

  5. While assuring JWs that they are on the only "road to life," the WT keeps them in constant fear that they won't prove worthy to survive Armageddon ("he who endures to the end will be saved").

  6. While insisting that JWs aren't following men, through the concepts of "Jehovah's sole channel of communication on earth" and "the faithful and discreet slave" the GB makes sure that's exactly what they are doing.
  

  7. JWs think they are studying the Bible when they are instead studying WT literature.

  8. Despite having the worst prophetic track record of any person or group in history, the WT keeps JWs convinced that Armageddon is just around the corner and that they therefore need to set aside everything else (college, careers, etc.) to "put kingdom interests first."

  9. By poisoning JWs' minds to all alternatives to the WT ("where else could we go?"), the WT keeps even dissatisfied ones in line.
  

  10. The WT isolates JWs from anyone ("apostates," "worldly people," "Christendom," etc.) who might help them see how they are being manipulated.
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  iwantoutnow

  Isn't everyone in a Cult - unknowingly in a Cult?
  

  I mean, no one says, hmmm today seems like a good day to join a cult.
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  Finkelstein

  Most JWS would deny that they are in a cult, they dont have that kind of critical self evaluation of what they are involved in.

  All they know is that they are in God's chosen organization, the most righteous Christian organization on earth.
  
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  OnTheWayOut

  The vast majority of people in the JW cult say "It's not a cult."

  But they are very much in a cult.
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  GLTirebiter

  To Ding's list, I propose adding #11: (related to #7)
  

  "Quotes their own writings more frequently than, and as equally authoritative to, other widely accepted sources used by non-members." In this case, they quote the Watchtower and and various books published by WTBTS as if they were accepted scripture. Note well: they call the weekly meeting a Watchtower study rather than a Bible study.

  Yes, it is a cult. No, it does no good to tell a Witness that it is a cult. All that does is solidify their resistance to anything else you say, which they might otherwise make some attempt to hear.
  
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  Phizzy

  If talking to a J.W I use an expression along the lines of " You are in an Authoritarian, Mind Control Group", let 'em argue their way out of that one !