When did the watchtower become a cult? (page 4)

barry

Christian sects have agreements between each other to not accuse each other of being a cult and some could be described in that way.

I think it is more accurate to describe the WT as a high control group. Barry

Panda

"In the beginning was the Russell, and the word was the Russell, and Rutherford saw that the scam was good."

wednesday

Absolutley when they changed the baptism vow to include devotion to the org too.

LittleToe

So is "Micro$oft" a cult??

IMHO a cult is high-control group that crosses the line and damages people (mentally, physically or emotionally).
Neither high-control groups, nor cults are particularly desirable in modern society.

By this definition I'd say that the WTS is a cult, because the level of control exerted by some (maybe many) of it's representatives has caused real damage to people. The lives of people contributing to this site bear testimony to that fact.

Edited to add that I don't think that beliefs, religious or otherwise, have much to do with this status. Taking RR's point, belief as a Trinitarian or a Unitarian, etc. doesn't make one group a cult and another not. Highlighting such differences is often just one method that is used to control !!

neyank

They became a cult when they decided that they knew more about what God is and wants than He does.

neyank

Oxnard Hamster

They became a cult when they decided that they knew more about what God is and wants than He does.

If you believe God and Jesus are the same, then this is certainly true. It always baffled me how a group that claims to know the Bible so thoroughly could make false predictions. Even Jesus admitted that he didn't know the exact end date. As a matter of fact, there are a couple of scriptures that mention that only the father knows the final hour, and not even the son knows.

Funny how by reading in between the lines they missed something so glaringly obvious.

When did the watchtower become a cult?