They'd be less uptight if they masturbated or had sex more often.
Inquisitor
JoinedPosts by Inquisitor
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43
State A Simple Opinion About Jehovah's Witnesses
by minimus ini think jehovah's witnesses are extremely judgmental.
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69
Be Fair = Witnesses are NOT a cult!! What about Christians or democracy?
by Witness 007 inpeople like to throw around the cult word when describing the watchtower society.
but look at the definition of "cult" and you will see it applies to any system of thought concieved by an individual or group to control others.
are christians a jesus cult...yes.
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Inquisitor
sacolton and inquisitor, you both raise issues that indicate JW to be a potentially dangerous group for a minority of its members.
Actually, Jeffro, I don't think that was my point. It was sacolton's, not mine. =)
The message in my last coupla posts is that there are church groups, communities and lobby groups out there who actually behave in a way that is equally cultish but these are not labelled as such.
My question to the Call'm Cult Class is : WHY THE DOUBLE STANDARDS?
Do we call JWs a cult out of retribution or to reveal an objective fact about them? If we are being objective, why do we not condemn other religious groups that act in bigotry and ignorance, controlling the minds of their youth to execute their agendas?
I'm not denying that JWs are cultish in some ways, but I am very uncomfortable calling them a cult. There are two reasons for this:
Firstly, the picture conjured by this loaded term is different for each person. Because the limits of definition are not fixed/ are fixed differently, to some JWs are DEFINITELY a cult. To others, they are merely cultish. You can see which category I fall in. Sure you can open a book by a cult expert and start pulling up dot points on how to spot a cult. But people seem to apply this selectively. Like reading a horroscope, the written stuff seems to serve no purpose other than to legitimize our prejudices.
The second reason I avoid the label is because even as a JW I realize who else (other than ex-JWs) love to use this term:
Anti-JW "mainstream" Christians
There is definitely some from this group that would use any available means to save souls from the JW "cult". Accuracy of description is not very high on their list of priorities. Scare tactics are... which brings me to my last point.
In the end, it doesn't matter if JWs "are" a "cult" or not IF you explain in precise terms what you mean when you say that. If people would leave the JW religion, I would rather they do so with an informed mind. Not out of fear. Not out of ignorance. After all, there are many other "cults" out there waiting for fresh meat...
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69
Be Fair = Witnesses are NOT a cult!! What about Christians or democracy?
by Witness 007 inpeople like to throw around the cult word when describing the watchtower society.
but look at the definition of "cult" and you will see it applies to any system of thought concieved by an individual or group to control others.
are christians a jesus cult...yes.
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Inquisitor
Tell that to all the people (adults and children) who have died from "abstaining from blood" because of doctrine. How about those who didn't receive vaccinations when that was forbidden? - sacolton
How about churches and families that stigmatise same-sex attraction, driving their gay youths to depression and suicide?
Do you consider them as part of a deadly cult given their insular and bigoted ways?
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69
Be Fair = Witnesses are NOT a cult!! What about Christians or democracy?
by Witness 007 inpeople like to throw around the cult word when describing the watchtower society.
but look at the definition of "cult" and you will see it applies to any system of thought concieved by an individual or group to control others.
are christians a jesus cult...yes.
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Inquisitor
no one at my church tells me what to do nor do i tell them
everyone is an individual in my church
Does your church welcome gay couples? Does it lend moral support to young women who have opted for an abortion? Does the equity-conscious church allow women to serve as pastors even as men do? Does your church speak up against other Christians (besides JWs) who do not show such displays of Christian tolerance and love?
Nobody needs to tell you what to do if protocol is already ingrained.
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69
Be Fair = Witnesses are NOT a cult!! What about Christians or democracy?
by Witness 007 inpeople like to throw around the cult word when describing the watchtower society.
but look at the definition of "cult" and you will see it applies to any system of thought concieved by an individual or group to control others.
are christians a jesus cult...yes.
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Inquisitor
Back to the topic (now that I've made 10 enemies on JWD who are proud, nationalistic, hardcore-GOP, FOX-news-indoctrinated Americans)...
I essentially agree with what Witness007 is getting at.
It's not so much whether or not JWs are or are not a "cult" that's the issue (at least for me). It's how people label JWs "cult", but avoid doing so with other groups/organizations that obviously display cult-like characteristics.
There is no point in re-hashing the criteria for labelling JWs a cult. We already know what they are. That's why we criticize the Org so heavily. We already understand what is wrong with it. Mind-control, disfellowshippping etc.
Where we disagree is when the same label is irrationally removed where other groups are concerned. Then what happens is: people who contemplate if JWs are really a cult, desist from calling them that because of the DOUBLE STANDARDS in definition.
"Cult", to them, appears to be a label that we love to slap on people we love to hate. Why are JW practices cultlike, when these other groups are merely exercising their "religious freedoms", or "freedom of speech"??:
1) Churches and their allies* who teach and promote Creationism. They lobby school boards, build interactive Museums of the Living God and the Darwin Lie, indoctrinate kids (instead of exposing them to opposing viewpoints) fallacious comeback lines against Evolution Theory. Freedom of thought in these communities? Churches? Or cultlike mentality?
2) Churches, conservative think tanks and their allies who teach and advocate homophobia in society. Are there penalties for being gay in such groups? Sure, it may not be a JW DISFELLOWSHIPPING process. Just a little hush hush gay therapy will do. Perhaps a little electrode to your balls as they screen gay porn? Or some advice to get married to a virginal Christian girl ?(let's f***up the life of another repressed individual while we're at it) And don't forget the ink and paper spent on dubious journals to tell you that homosexuality is clinically abnormal. "Homosexuality was removed from the DSM bcos of LGBT lobbying, not empirical study!" cries the learned fool. Or was that the learned anti-gay "cult" member?
These two examples highlight how pockets of deliberate ignorance exist in our society. Ignorance that exact a high price from those to whom these issues matter most. To call it "ignorance" actually makes their behaviour excusable. They have seen the facts that dispute their claims, but are unable to act otherwise because of a "nobler" agenda: advancing the Christian God's moral code or preserving the politically conservative status quo.
If you are a Christian, please do not take it that I call all Christians cult members. Take the time to ask yourself if groups like what I've just described above exist. Then ask yourself, "Are these cults?" "Why not?" "How can their behaviour excuse them from such a label?"
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Be Fair = Witnesses are NOT a cult!! What about Christians or democracy?
by Witness 007 inpeople like to throw around the cult word when describing the watchtower society.
but look at the definition of "cult" and you will see it applies to any system of thought concieved by an individual or group to control others.
are christians a jesus cult...yes.
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Inquisitor
Bush's brand of democracy is hardly liberal democracy. His brand of democracy is paternalistic, conceited and mocks the very idea of democracy. ("We save you from your dictator; oops did we bomb your *terrorist* infrastructure to smithereens? Don't worry. My buddy oil moghuls will help build your country for a small cost. Neo-Con Capitalism To The Rescue! Yay you get to vote! Freedom at last! I did such a fucking good job! Mission accomplished! Sorry, who's this Osama guy again?")
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WEAPONS OF MASS INFORMATION: Watchtower Comments
by V inpm me for more information.
feel free to participate:.
if you are receiving this email, you may have volunteered to help watchtower comments share our videos across the web.
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Inquisitor
Yes a divine "blessing" indeed. I mean it's not like any rational thought went into it. Just extra-terrestrial intervention.
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34
JW weddings gone bad. A story from my old congo.
by uwishufish inmiddle tenn late 70s.
first there was the child the high school girl had out of wedlock.
the term rape was bandied about after she began to show.
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Inquisitor
What does "swarmy" mean, Aude?
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10
Superstition in Your Congregation
by WTWizard inwe all know that the witlesses claim to not be superstitious.
after all, they will walk under the ladders and cross the paths of black cats without flinching.
when i was in, i would often go out of my way to go under unoccupied ladders (i do not recommend walking under occupied ladders, because someone might drop something and hit you in the head).
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Inquisitor
My folks teach their Bible studies that one should not seek the services of a spiritualist because:
(1) the dead know nothing and so these predictions are useless.
(2) doing so will invite Satan and his demons to make the bad omens come true.
Anyone else see a conflict between (1) and (2)?
This is called "superstitious about being superstitious"
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11
Urgent! Trucker strike, trucks blocking interstates nationwide!
by Satans Son ineffective april 1st, .
nationwide, truckers will be going on strike.
parking and piling their tractor trailers on interstate bridges, ramps, and places causing the maximum disruption of activities.. any example of hostilities, resistance, or effort to move these trucks will result in the sidewalls being slashed when left, as a counter.
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Inquisitor
Funny time to choose a strike.. you know.. with April Fool's just hours away.
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