photo from www.newsru.com
jehovahs witnesses claim moscow police broke up prayer meeting ...
mosnews, russia - 11 minutes ago .
oops, sorry, the Branch Davidians (still around by the way) are an offshoot of SDA not Mormonism. Still, I would consider the specific group that centered around David Koresh in Waco to be a cult. However, I am not sure if I would consider the other groups that are still around to be a cult, though they may fit the definition. I don't know enough about their current operations or culture.
-Eduardo
photo from www.newsru.com
jehovahs witnesses claim moscow police broke up prayer meeting ...
mosnews, russia - 11 minutes ago .
I have done pretty extensive research on cults, cultism, new religious movements, etc.
With the exception of the anti-cultists (ACMers) and the counter-cultists (CCMers), generally evangelistic religionists, no objective sociologists or social psychologists label either the main church of LDS or Jehovah's Witnesses as a cult.
Jehovah's Witnesses are presently a sect of 19th Century Second Adventism and eventually will evolve (as many churches do) into a mainsteam (adventist) branch of Christianity and will be recognized as such.
-Eduardo
photo from www.newsru.com
jehovahs witnesses claim moscow police broke up prayer meeting ...
mosnews, russia - 11 minutes ago .
Just a postscript,
however, some of the offshoots of Mormonism, for example Warren Jessup (sp?) group and followers are a cult. I would also say that the Branch Davidians, also an offshoot of Mormonism, is a cult.
I would further point out that being a cult does not itself mean that membership in the group is detrimental or harmful. There are benign cults and there are of course harmful cults. Also it goes without saying that cults can be non-religious - there are political, economic, etc. cults of every nature.
The activities of harmful cults is and has been the subject of proper scrutiny (and in some cases intervention or action) by the Government (including law enforcement) - but mere beliefs and peaceful activities should never be regulated or suppressed.
-Eduardo
photo from www.newsru.com
jehovahs witnesses claim moscow police broke up prayer meeting ...
mosnews, russia - 11 minutes ago .
If you are asking whether Mormons (LDS) are a cult. I don't believe that they are a cult. Most if not all sociologists do not classify Mormons as a cult.
-Eduardo
photo from www.newsru.com
jehovahs witnesses claim moscow police broke up prayer meeting ...
mosnews, russia - 11 minutes ago .
Jehovah's Witnesses are not a cult. However, even cults in most instances are deserving of their basic HUMAN rights to assemble peaceably and to worship whatever god they choose or it whatever way they want. Such fundamental human rights are not the province of orthodox or even the mainstream.
Anyone, west or east, that would revel in such an obvious denial of human rights - simply because it is the Jehovah's Witnesses - only shows that when it comes to JWs, nothing is too low for them. It is only just a tiny step between police (Gestapo-type) crackdowns, to imprisonment to genocide. Such persons have no claim to enlightenment and certainly not Christianity and you provide no reason why anyone should listen to you about anything, even your legitimate criticisms.
Greendawn, as usual your comments contribute nothing to the discussion since there is no such thing as a discussion when it comes to JWs as far as you are concerned. (and besides, I don't see how anyone could ever take someone who uses that stupid Austin Powers movie character as an avatar serious - but perhaps it shows that you found that movie funny which says quite a bit about you.)
Richie Rich - I will chalk your comments up to youthful ignorance. The fact that something may be a law does not make it right. In the U.S. it was not too long ago that the law forbade intermarriage, segregated persons of color from whites in schools and public facilities, and did not permit women to vote, etc.
Being a student of Russian culture for more than a decade and a half, it saddens me to see something like this. Russia has a long way to go in many areas but one day it will embrace full human rights for all of its citizens and learn to tolerate both dissident political speech and minority religions, sects and cults.
-Eduardo
im posting for brooke, cause she is in the middle of a bet, and cant post till may 3rd.
and we know how determined she can be.
she wont loose.
buttlight!!
(ssshhh! I am trying to lure her out)
-ed
is the hall half full or half empty?.
seriously though, last night there were about 20% less than the year before, and the year before that there was less.. the hall was rented, but definitely not jam packed like last year.
i had no problem finding a seat.. what was your attendance like?
not myth but perhaps legend .........
in my 35 years i've only known 1 person who claimed to be of the anointed...but never saw her partake........i have never saw anyone partake at the 3 congs that i have been associated with ---ed
last night at our memorial, i sat next to someone's study.
when the bread was passed, she took a piece but did not eat it.
she placed it on her lap.
yeah it was a spanish congregation I was visiting :-) my first thought was oh no, now its contaminated but not only did I make the 5-second rule but I also figured no one was eating it anyway....still 34 memorials incident free until this one..
-Ed
is the hall half full or half empty?.
seriously though, last night there were about 20% less than the year before, and the year before that there was less.. the hall was rented, but definitely not jam packed like last year.
i had no problem finding a seat.. what was your attendance like?
I agree Truthseeker, it seemed like attendance was low.
I was visiting a new KH in the valley since I was going to a passover seder right afterwards and wanted to have a sort commute there. It turned out to be a spanish congregation which was ok since I could follow along ok. But I was astonished when it was 7 pm and time to start and it seemed quite empty. maybe only 70 people there. I leaned over to one of the young brothers and asked if they had a small congregation but he said no, that more would be coming just late. Probably 20 or so rolled in about 5 minutes later and after the opening song.
Even so all together I would say there were just over a 100 or so there which seems like a very low number to me.
I had a faux pas during the passng of the emblems.
When I was passing the plate, I moved it over too fast and the plate being super-flat and slippery and the matzoh being the same, one of the pieces went flying off and fell to the ground! I quickly picked it up while the brother I was passing it to a few chairs over from me held the plate down low so I could put the piece back on it discreetly.
that was embarrassing. at least no one would be eating the piece that fell on the ground, i thought to myself.
-Eduardo
last night at our memorial, i sat next to someone's study.
when the bread was passed, she took a piece but did not eat it.
she placed it on her lap.
When I was passing the plate last night I moved it over too fast and the plate being super-flat and slippery and the matzoh being the same, one of the pieces went flying off and fell to the ground! I quickly picked it up while the brother I was passing it to a few chairs over from me held the plate down low so I could put the piece back on it discreetly.
that was embarrassing.
-Eduardo
