Posts by Richard C B

posted

225
Cult or Religion
by Richard C B in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
what is a cult and what is a religion?

its open to debate.

who has the authority to say for certain what is a cult and what is a religion?
Richard C B

@one eyed joe thank you for that info i will consider your reasonings, need a little time to think about that, you have some valid pionts.
The only flaw i can see right now is its all negative. one could argue that for example someone could have been a wife beater and a drunkard and the wife because of cultural or other reasons put up with that situation. Then the husband studies the bible and turns his life around and becomes a great husband. His interpretation has a very positive outcome so in his particular case the said religion or cult has not been DANGEROUS but has been greatly beneficial to him and his family.
P.S having said that i definitly see your line of thought so at this point im not disagreeing with you
225
Cult or Religion
by Richard C B in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
what is a cult and what is a religion?

its open to debate.

who has the authority to say for certain what is a cult and what is a religion?
Richard C B

@ bonsai why are you being defensive? please post your resonings and i will consider them. im open to debate iis not about getting one over on each other. Ive never viewed those you mentioned as charismatic leaders or figures.
225
Cult or Religion
by Richard C B in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
what is a cult and what is a religion?

its open to debate.

who has the authority to say for certain what is a cult and what is a religion?
Richard C B

@ cofty sorry i dont feel as though i have your input has been most valued to me. which questions did you have in mind?
225
Cult or Religion
by Richard C B in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
what is a cult and what is a religion?

its open to debate.

who has the authority to say for certain what is a cult and what is a religion?
Richard C B

@ bonsai,, you have conveniently missed out that the actual dictionary word full meaning of cult,, the cult or movement is led by a charismatic leader. You could apply that for instance to Scientoligy,, im not saying scientoligy is a cult by the way, but they had one leader who you could describe as charismatic.
i think your just getting frustrated because im not being dogmatic and agreeing with you.
I do know what my point is its very clear. And ive done a lot of reserch and also that is what im doing right now there has been some excellent input from others.
What i have learned is, and what I already had in mind, that its very much down to individual experience that one ultimately concludes that Jw s are a cult because they have changed and they brand it a cult because it suits there new or different way of thinking.
Im really looking other evidence to prove its cult status and they dosnt seem to be any.
I would pretty much guarantee most who say its a cult have been disfellowshipped and have regrets.
E.G. someone may have passed over a career opportunity because they wanted,, at the time,, to prioritize preaching. And years later leave the cong. then regret and become bitter.
5
Trinity
by Stephanie Twist in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
do jw believe in the trinity?

if yes, why and if no, why
Richard C B

Hi stephanie, ive seen a few posts you have started about the JW beliefs. Why dont you go to there officail site you will get a straight answer on there. All their basic beliefs will be listed and clear for you to understand. Its like asking about a certain brand of car maker e.g if you want to know about vw cars you would go to there website you wouldnt go to fords website would you?
225
Cult or Religion
by Richard C B in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
what is a cult and what is a religion?

its open to debate.

who has the authority to say for certain what is a cult and what is a religion?
Richard C B

@ punkofnice Thanks for debating with me I can see you are reasoning and thats what Im trying to do, and I agree with you that if a person where to state that the watchtower ppl are a cult then they would have to say all religions are cults based on our reasoning.
@Bonsai, you are missing the point of the topic its not about scripture integrity.
225
Cult or Religion
by Richard C B in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
what is a cult and what is a religion?

its open to debate.

who has the authority to say for certain what is a cult and what is a religion?
Richard C B

Then that comes down to interpretation of scripture, sorry to be awkward im not trying to be but it still dosnt argument the case for it being a cult. on that basis you would have to say all religions are cults then we would have to do away with the concept of religion all together and just call them all cults.
225
Cult or Religion
by Richard C B in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
what is a cult and what is a religion?

its open to debate.

who has the authority to say for certain what is a cult and what is a religion?
Richard C B

@Bonsai Sorry to here about your about your families health problems and dont want to upset you, but it says in the new testament to abstain from blood and laws where giving to Noah after the flood on proper use of blood. So your argument cannot establish a cult status. Thanks for your input
225
Cult or Religion
by Richard C B in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
what is a cult and what is a religion?

its open to debate.

who has the authority to say for certain what is a cult and what is a religion?
Richard C B

There a still no strong argument to establish The wathtower as a cult only on an individual leval can this be concluded. As to policy's that may be flawed this can only be used as ammunition for disgruntled ex witnesses to excuse themselves. So for now my opinion remains the same. Im still open to debate on this.
225
Cult or Religion
by Richard C B in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
what is a cult and what is a religion?

its open to debate.

who has the authority to say for certain what is a cult and what is a religion?
Richard C B

Very relivant points from punkofnice which kind of backed up my points from the topic starting post.