: still like Margaret Singer's breakdown of the elements of a cult.
:1. The cult is authoritarian in its power structure.
So is the WTS.
:2. The cult's leaders tend to be charismatic, determined, and domineering.
While the WT currently doesn't have any charismatic leaders, they had such for about 120 years from their inception. Even so, the current leaders are "determined, and domineering." Nothing has really changed in the religion since their last charismatic leader, Fred Franz died.
:3. The cult's leaders are self-appointed, messianic persons who claim to have a special mission in life.
Would "being the ONLY spokesmen in the world for God" work? Definitely. Would the fact that the elite leaders are the only ones who can choose new elite leaders work? Of course. Would printing billions of pieces of literature which claims to contain the only correct information necessary for salvation qualify as a "special mission?" Damn right, it would.
:4. The cult's leaders center the veneration of members upon themselves.
The GB handing out autographs in Cuba several years ago is a good example of that. Dubs don't make any important decisions in life unless they check to see if it's ok with "the Society." Score another point. We're 4 for 4 so far.
:5. The cult tends to be totalitarian in its control of the behavior of its members.
That's the WTS, alright. They've even lamented in print that they regret not being able to stone children who do bad things.
:6. The cult tends to have a double set of ethics.
Can anyone spell "UN/NGO?" Does anyone remember that Rutherford lived like royalty, while he demanded that his followers give up nearly all financial rewards in order to follow him. Knorr was chaufeured around in a Cadillac while demanding the same thing Rutherford did with his followers. They let innocent people die in Malawi, while hypocritcally allowing Mexicans to lie to obtain Military Cards. They demand that little children who are raped by adults MUST face their accusers. At the same time, when ex-dubs who were abused as children and other concerned people visited en-masse at their Brooklyn Headquarters to demand why the GB have issued policies to local congos which protect abusers and punish the abused little children, those bastards were too freakin' cowardly to face THEIR accusers and account for what THEY DID! Matt 23, you freakin' HYPOCRITES!
There's a lot more double standards, too, but the few I've mentioned should suffice.
:7. The cult has basically only two purposes, recruiting new members and fund-raising.
The Society prints books and sells them to their members. They've convinced their members to use those books to recruit new members or they will be subject to death and eternal damnation. THAT IS THE ENTIRE PURPOSE OF THE WATCHTWER RELIGION! Yep, they fit point 7 to a tee.
:8. The cult appears to be innovative and exclusive.
They "innovate" new doctrines all the time. Since they teach that the 99.9% of the World's population will be destroyed, and are told not to make friends with outsiders, they certainly "appear" exclusive.
Using the above criteria in order to determine whether a group is a cult, gives the WTS a 100% batting average. In fact, that is about the ONLY thing they've ever gotten right!
Farkel