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GLTirebiter
JoinedPosts by GLTirebiter
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66
That C word CULT
by Lady Lee indear lee week 64 friday.
this is my blog today for freeminds.
thaoulgt i would post it here for you too.. .
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GLTirebiter
It compared the JWs with a few other groups like some protestant evangelicals. The authors concluded the JWs were a high control group but not a cult because its members lived relatively independently and there wasn't a clear "guru" or human leadership that was worshipped.
That is an example of different ways the word is used, and how that causes misunderstanding. Some consider only the most extreme cases to be worthy of the name: People's Temple, Branch Davidians, Heaven's Gate and other literally life-threatening groups. For example, an article in Wiki states:
The Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance limit use of the term to specifically refer to religious groups that "have caused or are liable to cause loss of life among their membership or the general public."
The next section of the same Wiki article mentions Steve Hassan and others who consider deceptive recruiting and various emotional tactics as identifying features of a cult:
Steven Hassan, author of the book Combatting Cult Mind Control, defines the term as such: "A destructive cult is a pyramid-shaped authoritarian regime with a person or group of people that have dictatorial control. It uses deception in recruiting new members (e.g. people are NOT told up front what the group is, what the group actually believes and what will be expected of them if they become members)
Thus there will be disagreements when different people don't use the word the same way. Thus (returning to this thread's topic) people who have physically left but still are mentally under group control deny they belonged to and were abused by a cult--clinging to such rationalizations as "It's not a cult, it isn't like they were Jim Jones". These are the problems with that "C" word.
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38
Double Lives of JW Youth
by camicia ini posted a lengthy concern a while back about my 23 year old daughter on the verge of baptism.
the good news is she still hasn't progressed past studying - no door knocking thank god.
the bad news is she's still studying, attending meetings, etc and i am still very much a "satanic influence.
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GLTirebiter
I spoke to her about it tonight and she says she does want out but feels guilty that she wasted the girls time.
Wait a minute here! Who is wasting whose time? Who is getting credit in the congregation for bringing a new "study" to the Kingdom Hall? Who is recording the service hours on their time slips? Who is using guilt to overcome your daughter's doubts?
Try to get through to her that she needs to decide based on what she feels is the right thing to do, not because she feels like she owes anything to them. She doesn't, she has been doing them a favor by listening to their presentations. This is the tactic of unscrupulous used car salesmen: making you feel guilty for taking up their time taking test drives and haggling over the deal--that's their job!--so that you will sign a sales contract for a bad deal. She owes them nothing just for being present while they give their sales pitch!
(edit: @ interested one: you said it first!)
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66
That C word CULT
by Lady Lee indear lee week 64 friday.
this is my blog today for freeminds.
thaoulgt i would post it here for you too.. .
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GLTirebiter
Lee (and sizemik), I see how where I missed the original point--admitting it to yourself is not the same as saying it to somebody else. I apologize for the digression.
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34
Are you an "apostate"?
by cedars ini'm quite new to this site, and i've noticed that many of you are more than happy to call yourselves "apostates", even though many of you evidently believe in the bible and in jesus as saviour, etc.. i'm aware that the society brands anyone who disagrees with them as being an "apostate", but just because they choose to do this, does this mean we should be comfortable with being so branded?
should we "bend over" and take it?.
here is what the insight book says on apostasy:.
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GLTirebiter
Nope, I never let the WT turn me into an apostate. That's what I would have become had I joined them.
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66
That C word CULT
by Lady Lee indear lee week 64 friday.
this is my blog today for freeminds.
thaoulgt i would post it here for you too.. .
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GLTirebiter
The Watchtower organization and leaders regularly act in ways associated with a mind-control cult. The epitaph "cult" carries a strong negative connotation, but as Lee has shown here, the WT has earned that disrespect.
Yes, they are in a cult--that most of us will agree on. Now the question becomes, what is the best thing to do about it?
- To family and friends who are in the organization, the "C word" can abruptly close the ears and break the lines of communication. If you want to burn whatever bridges remain between you and the JWs in your life, your tongue can be your flame-thrower. If helping them and loving them despite their WT connection matters to you, using less volatile language is likely to benefit your cause.
- Those whose only contact with JWs is the Saturday morning service call are likely to think you're exagerating, that it couldn't possibly be as bad as other, more notorious cults. Most people have no idea of what the WT really teaches, nor the severe measures they use to "keep the flock clean". Saying "CULT!", rather than calmly explaining the facts and letting them come to their own conclusion, makes them see you as the irrational hysteric.
- It may seem safe when you're "preaching at the choir" of ex-JWs and relatives of JWs, i.e. here and on similar forums. But there are outsiders lurking, reading what we say. Think about how a hesitant fence sitter sees it: will your choice of words encourage them to join us, or send them back to the meetings?
If helping those still trapped in the organization means more to you than mere venting, think twice about what you say. Your language is the outward sign of your attitude, and that attitude is the difference between being heard and being ignored.
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81
NEW RUMOR: WT ALLOWS BIRTHDAYS
by J.R.R.Watchtower ini've just read at a spanish forum for ex-jw that the wt has cooked a new light article series about social celebrations, including birthdays and aniversaries.
according to a member of this forum 'in short' the wt will let witnesses to decide by 'their bible trained conscience' either they celebrate birthdays or not.
is this rumor based in some real facts or it's just bullshit?.
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GLTirebiter
'in short' the WT will let witnesses to decide by 'their Bible trained conscience'
Translation from loaded language: You know what your conscience is supposed to say about this, so if you don't do that, you're doomed!
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59
What do you think about beauty pageants for kids?
by journey-on inwhile channel surfing the other day, i caught something on tlc called toddlers and tiaras.
i watched it!
i was appalled, but at the same time the whole social implication of such a thing fascinated me.
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GLTirebiter
Whenever I hear about these things, I recall that video of Jon Benet Ramsey in a kiddie pageant. Then I get nauseous.
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44
Should cult members be allowed to adopt or be foster parents?
by Mad Sweeney ini'm wondering what you all think..
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GLTirebiter
So, members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints should be considered as potential adoptive parents?
How about the Children of God?
The Unification Church?
Church of Scientology?
Where is the line declaring some groups are unpopular but OK, while others are dangerous cults? We agree there is such a boundary, but probably not on exactly where it is.
What about Hassidic Jews? Seventh Day Adventists? Mainstream Mormons? Opus Dei? Masons? Sunnis? Shiites? Snake handlers? Hare Krishnas? Voodoo practicioners? Rastafarians? Pastafarians? Pagans? Vegans who belong to PETA? Deer hunters who belong to NRA? Born-again Republicans? Agnostic Democrats? Unitarian Libertarians? No matter what the group is, somebody thinks it's naught but a mob of fools and miscreants.
My point was that group labeling is an inaccurate way to predict who will and won't be a good adoptive parent. Judge the parents on their own merits, not by the group they belong to. A child rapist is a horrid excuse for a human being whether or not they're in one of the polygamist LDS splinter groups. Physical and emotional abusers respect no group boundaries. Drunks and drug addicts are found in every walk of life.
It's also a matter of prejudice: would you reach the same conclusion after replacing the phrase "cult membesr" with "Blacks" or Latinos"?
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44
Should cult members be allowed to adopt or be foster parents?
by Mad Sweeney ini'm wondering what you all think..
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GLTirebiter
Unfit parents should not be allowed to adopt. That does mean investigating prospective adopting parents to determine if they will offer a safe, supportive family life. I realize no parent is perfect. But I also agree that JW families are more likely to have problems than the national average, and the more closely they follow the dictates of the GB the more likely it is that there will be problems.
But religion in and of itself isn't the criteria. The character and abilities of the parents are. Bad parents come in every every religious persuasion.