the easiest place to start understanding a spectral concept, such as cults, is to indentify it's lowest and highest points rather than starting somewhere in the middle.. so lets call the lowest point of the cult spectrum benign and the highest point destructive.. a good example of an extremely benign cult would be the following of the not so popular 80s movie: the princess bride of which i consider myself a member (no documentation .
if you were to come up to me and claim to be part of the princess bride's cult following i could figure out whether you are a true member by asking you a few questions.
based on your answers i could then conclude that you either meet the criteria or that you do not.
so how does knowing it is a cult help me moving forward?
Some people find studying cults interesting and helpful because it helps them to recognize certain tactics and how they have been affected mentally by those tactics. Part of the study of cults involves clarifying terms, so that is one reason you see people discussing what a cult is.
in the thread http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/213523/1/feeling-a-bit-alienated, concerned jw wrote:.
mistakes will happen.
concerned jw, if mistakes will happen, i was wondering what mistakes you feel the jw organization is currently making?
In the thread http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/213523/1/Feeling-a-bit-alienated, Concerned JW wrote:
mistakes will happen
Concerned JW, if mistakes will happen, I was wondering what mistakes you feel the JW organization is currently making? Can you name even one?
i don't just mean changing from one idea to another, once, but actually go back and forth on their teachings.
teach one thing, then change it, then go back to basically the first belief.. .
they seemed to do this with oral/anal sex, as well as women having to scream or fight during rape..
Wasn't there something about "Abaddon?" Or was that a one-time change?
hey all.. .
thought i'd introduce myself.. .
first, a disclaimer: i'm an athiest.. .
Tuber - In case you have not had much interaction with JW's, here is an example in the following thread, esp. pg 2 & 3.
http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/beliefs/118175/2/Jehovahs-Witnesses-are-not-a-CULT
Notice the dynamic with a concerned JW.
hey all.. .
thought i'd introduce myself.. .
first, a disclaimer: i'm an athiest.. .
Never discuss doctrine?
Not sure how to go about that, looks like I'm already having that conversation.
I know, and that is what I was sad to see happening. I have been down this road, and so have hundreds of others here. Believe me, it turns into a disaster. You see what a trainwreck the literature is? Now imagine you are having a conversation with that literature. You will get a mix of garbled logic, attacks on your motives, and they will make you out in their minds to be a monster who is persecuting them. They view themselves as the teacher, and you must be the student. I suggest learning from example. Here is a thread where a very experienced poster here, Black Sheep, advises someone on how to respond to a JW friend. Not that you should ask these exact questions, but notice the approach of letting the JW do the research for him/herself.
http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/211134/1/How-should-I-respond-to-a-JW-friend-Australia
so during my research on the wts, i stubled across a link to the july 15th watchtower.. .
http://download.jw.org/files/media_magazines/w_e_20110715.pdf.
i'm assuming that the study editions are the ones that they only give to members/ those who attend meetings.. .
Tuber - Good points. I agree.
so during my research on the wts, i stubled across a link to the july 15th watchtower.. .
http://download.jw.org/files/media_magazines/w_e_20110715.pdf.
i'm assuming that the study editions are the ones that they only give to members/ those who attend meetings.. .
Tuber wrote:
The stuff JWs believe make Christianity seem downright tame in comparison.
For me it's a toss up which is worse. JW's don't believe in hell, so in that respect, I think Christian teaching is worse. However, there is something wrong with the WT literature as you have demonstrated so well. I was never a JW, but after a year of studying with them, I can see how a steady diet of that literature could mess with someone's head.
according to 30% of the following definitions.
that leaves 70% that show quite the opposite.
so -- are they a cult?
Concerned JW wrote:
I am pretty sure Steve Hassan did not mean for it to be used as a "How to spot a Cult" book
To help clear up any misunderstanding you might have about his intentions, here is an excerpt:
How does one learn how to discern whether or not a group is a destructive cult? What are the crucial elements that separate benign organizations from dangerous ones? In this chapter I attempt to point out in greater detail the general characteristics of destructive cults so that you can protect yourself from their influence. In doing so, I try to answer some of the more frequently asked questions about cults. Last, I include a list of questions which anyone can use to begin evaluating a group. - from Combatting Cult Mind Control by Steven Hassan, pp 95-96.
The above excerpt demonstrates that part of his intention was in fact "how to spot a cult," as you put it, although there is more to his intention than that. Spotting a cult is only part of what the book is about. He also discusses ways of helping people who are in cults.
I personally found the book to be an excellent read. If you have time, I recommend it.
so during my research on the wts, i stubled across a link to the july 15th watchtower.. .
http://download.jw.org/files/media_magazines/w_e_20110715.pdf.
i'm assuming that the study editions are the ones that they only give to members/ those who attend meetings.. .
Tuber wrote:
Can someone please tell me how to quote?
In the first toolbar in the text editor, there is a dropdown that says "styles." Highlight the text you want to quote and click that dropdown, and you should see it says "quote." That will put the text into a quote box. Try it.
You can also do the indented kind of quoting using the button in the second toolbar with the quotation mark symbol.
according to 30% of the following definitions.
that leaves 70% that show quite the opposite.
so -- are they a cult?
Concerned JW wrote:
Please answer why you asked me if I read it? and why would you think I need to read it?
I am baffled by the fact that you are hesitating to answer a simple yes/no question about whether or not you have read a book. It's not hard to type "yes" or "no." Still, I asked if you read it because I was wondering if we are both aware of the same information that has been published by a cult expert. The book is relevant to the discussion because information from a cult expert helps to shed light on the questions people have and the claims they make about the relationship of the word "cult," if any, to the JW organization. From your second question, I gather that you have not read it. As for answering your second question, I'm not going to try to persuade you to read it. I merely wanted to know if you were aware of its contents. I see that the answer is no, and that's all I was curious about.
