We're not a cult because we don't have communes

by carla 38 Replies latest jw friends

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  truthsetsonefree

  Lady Lee, I had the same problems thinking of the WT as a cult for a while. It wasn't till I realized that the control doesn't have to be physical (as in a commune) that it became clear. In many ways I think the mental bondage is way more powerful.

  However, it is probably worth restating that WT does have something similar to communes as well. The Bethel's and branch offices, with members taking vows of poverty, and their inability to make their own money coupled with the tiny allowance they get functions similarly. One difference is the fact that Bethelites can get "green handshakes" and money from family if they have it that way.

  So in the end it comes down to the mental control which to me is analogous to the commune which clinches them in my mind as a cult.
• 

  Scott77

  To you Carla, there is no such things as the real 'Watchtower Farms'. I visited that place sometimes back. Its in fact kind of a facility a keen to a five star hotel. Anyone on this site having been there in less than five years ago can confirm this.
• 

  cameo-d

  To you Carla, there is no such things as the real 'Watchtower Farms'. I visited that place sometimes back. Its in fact kind of a facility a keen to a five star hotel. Anyone on this site having been there in less than five years ago can confirm this.

  So perhaps the "inner circle" has a 5 star resort commune?

  Since you all helped pay for it....why don't you all plan a big apostafest and storm the halls of Jericho? Plan a week vacation. You helped build it. You deserve it.
• 

  carla

  What do you mean there are no wt farms?! is the one that was sold or something? That isn't the point anyway, they live together as a cult in all the places they live together producing for the gb. They are 'volunteers' just as all cult communes are, they work for free or a small stipend, their time is regulated, they must follow certain rules or face expulsion which includes losing family members, they restrict free association, restrict marriage & children, dictate when & what they eat, members leave with no real work experience that can be used on a resume, no retirement plans, no protection when the wt wants to dump one for getting old, etc..etc..etc..

  farm video from jw apologist site-

  http://www.jwbrothers.org/play.php?vid=180

  Life inside headquarters by James Penton-(many other examples of people who have lived in the communes of the wt found all over the internet)

  http://www.caic.org.au/jws/organization/bethel_penton.htm
• 

  Sparkplug

  "When you define your own language it is easy to deny anything and everything"

  <P>

  Amen Lady Lee
• 

  still_in74

  i remember when I was a kid telling people that we are not a cult because we are a legally recognized religion. I was actually told that by an older JW at the time.

  so we are not a cult because we have church tax-exempt status... of course!!!!
• 

  still_in74

  1 John 4:1
  Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many falseprophets have gone out into the world

  are you kidding me Reniaa????? ARE YOU SERIOUSLY USING THAT SCRIPTURE TO SUPPORT THE WTS???????

  NO JW IS EVER ALLOWED TO TEST THE WTS! EVER!!!

  The WTS and JW's love to say they examine what they are taught from the bible. But all of us here know beyond any shadow of doubt that JW's do NOT examine what they are taught, they examine the bible topically and in light of what they are taught in the WT!

  If JW's followed this scripture there would be no WTS because all JW's would have seen that the WTS is a false prophet!

  Reniaa - how does just stating this scripture mean anything? how does quoting the bible answer a question against the WTS? Oh wait, it doesnt! Its an empty meaningless way to try and deflect a legitimate question by using the bible as a distraction. Typical JW-Cult protocol. BTW Reniaa - YOU ARE AN APOSTATE. Accept it. So why dont you can the apologetic rhetoric?
• 

  JimmyPage

  Great questions, Hobo Ken.
• 

  Hobo Ken

  @ still in 74.

  I tried to make that point to her but will she listen? I doubt it.

  You can't be told what the matrix is ,you have to see it for yourself even then it's difficult to comprehend . The realisation that what you believed all your life was an intricate illusion, partly created by the wts literature and history and partly created and perpetuated by our own human mind. That is what sustains a JW's mental belief, NOT hard evidence and facts which show them to be in error.

  Until people like Reniaa deconstruct what they have built up they will forever be captive to this mental prison.

  @jimmypage

  Thanks .You would think they would crack the nut but it appears not.....