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"I guess it depends on your motive. Personally, I see little to gain from causing 'discomfort'. That is a quick way to cause them to raise their defenses and stop listening. If, on the other hand, you want to help people to see for themselves that they are being deceived there are better ways than name-calling to get the point across. Also, the term cult means different things to different people, so often all that is left is its negative, attacking, connotation. The Org. uses this sort of tactic every day, branding 'apostates' as 'immoral', 'evil' and so on. It's not right for them and it's not right for us - well that's my opinion anyway."
Perhaps we’ll just have to agree to disagree agreeably on the point you're making. That said, I believe in the right tool for the right job. Would I walk up to a JW and tell him coldly, "Hey man, you’re in a cult, get out!" No, of course not. But if in a rational conversation the term ‘cult’ came up, then yea, I would tell him that by today’s definition of a cult, his group qualifies to be referred to as such and I would go about explaining those reasons. He IS in a cult and he needs to understand that. Understanding that could save his life or his children’s lives someday (blood transfusion). Conversely, if he (JW) were to ask me in a conversation if I believed his religion was cultic by the nature of its ideologies, should I deny what I believe to be the truth and say no? Of course not. I have a dear friend who is in denial about her smoking and doesn’t want to quit. So, when I bring it up, I tell her that smoking will most likely give her cancer and I explain in detail how that happens and what it would be like to have the illness (as I have researched it). Discomfort, can be a very effective tool in helping people see the self-destructive actions they are perpetrating on themselves. Don’t make the mistake of underestimating this principle. It works, and I have experienced it in my own life as well. Now as I understand it, this website is primarily for the former JW (at least that is my experience here). Ergo, people who have been hurt by the Watchtower Society who need to vent and grow through the pain of separating themselves from the group, should be able to feel free to express themselves as they wish. It’s a natural part of the detachment from a cult process. Now, if an active JW comes to such a site as this and he/she is offended by what he/she reads, then such a person should learn quickly this may not be the site for them. But I have read many testimonies where once active JW’s have come to websites such as this one and have had their eyes opened, and not by coddling and sugar coating of the issues but by seeing in clear vision what the outside world (and former members) thinks about their religion. Its not about name calling for me, its about being honest and up front about what the WBTS is. It is one of the most destructive so-called religions today, that have managed to undermine the family unit and has caused unbelievable suffering for many of those who have left the group. It continues to sacrifice its children to its absurd ideology regarding its ban on blood transfusions. It is completely heretical in its "theology" and has twisted major cardinal doctrine to tailor fit its own ideologies (Jesus, Heaven, Hell, etc). What would you call such a group? I call it, a cult. |
