Why label it a cult?

rebel8

What purpose does it serve? It just seems to polarize people and ostracize those who aren't ready or willing to label it a cult.

Anyone can look up the dictionary definition of a cult (or experts' definitions). As with everything, people's choice to apply the label to jws or not depends upon what they want to believe, not facts.

Isn't it better to just analyze the group itself--is it healthy or unhealthy, honest or dishonest, destructive or not?

I can understand the value of using a label when talking to non-jws because the label is a shortcut for describing a collection of negative things. What I don't understand is debating this with jws and ex-jws.

There are regular threads on jwd and other forums asking, "Is it a cult," which are followed by a long debate about the definition of a cult and whether or not jws fit it.

IMO the only thing that matters is the nature of the group, not the label.

I wrote about this in my book and got a number of comments from readers.

Mariusuk.

I see your point, however........

It is clearly a cult, it displays ALL of the characteristics of a cult

nvrgnbk

I have respect for your posts and efforts in exposing the misdeeds of the WTS rebel8.

But on this one, I'm gonna kindly disagree with you.

I look at how my involvement with the JW religion affected me, as well as the multitudinous stories here and on other ex-JW sites, and I can arrive at no other conclusion.

I would sincerely be interested in reading your treatment of this subject in your book.

Perhaps I am missing something.

Respectfully,

Nvrgnbk

DJK

depends upon what they want to believe, not facts.

The facts I know from being raised in it. It is unhealthy and destructive. It is a controlling group. Like Jim Jones and David Koresh without the mass suicides, they still earn the label, CULT.

parakeet

Cult, schmult. It's an abusive, deceitful, controlling, smug, self-righteous, and murderous organization. No need to quibble over terms.

Paralipomenon

I think I'm one of the few people on this board that doesn't label it a cult. Really, I think people label it off of their personal experience or the opinion of others. If you step back and ask yourself if how you were treated is uniform across the whole organization, then perhaps the branding is more applicable.

It's not really worth arguing too much for me though, if someone gets a bit of closure or healing from calling it a cult, then it is beneficial.

I just wish some people would attend a cult recovery help group and see the difference. I would liken it to someone tying to stop smoking showing up to a meth addicts support group expecting sympathy.

To each their own though.

WTWizard

Not only is it a cult, but a particularly destructive one. There is a high incidence of proven mental illness within it. And this is caused by all the falsehoods. You are programmed to believe it's the truth, expected to advertise it as the truth, and then you see the hypocrisy. You are expected to pretend to be happy (some truth that is). This alone is damaging.

Beyond that, children raised in it are deprived of just about everything except service. They are stopped from participating in school events. Playing with other children is bad association. There are no holidays or real vacations to speak of. Play time is usurped for service and meetings, which are so boring that many children are taken to the back room for spankings every day. Pedophiles are protected by that two-witness rule. All this stunts emotional growth.

Work is also cut short. People are not allowed to get education without hounding. Work that is productive of value is shot down by the Tower in favor of service. Many end up on Welfare and food stamps to pioneer. All this destroys value within society, making it that much more destructive. Many jobs are forbidden because of religion, that produce legitimate value.

There is no question about it. This organization is destructive. People suffer emotionally, and usually physically. People are tired and get sick often, causing unnecessary suffering and lost value production. Value is wasted and destroyed, contributing to suffering in the world. If this isn't destructive on a wide scale, I don't know what is.

Mariusuk.

If it looks like a cult, smells like a cult and acts like a cult........................

(so glad i did not make a typo there)

Peppermint

Cult is not a good term in my book. It's mostly used by people who have a religious agenda of their own anyway. I say it's best to normalise the witnesses as just another modern day religious movement or NRM (New Religious Movement). Praise them for what they get right but highlight their faults. Why give them the ammunition to think that the world is after them and wants them unfairly destroyed, JW's love that sort of thing, the baggage attached to the word Cult give them cause for that sort of reaction.

Mariusuk.

I disagree

That is like normalising a despot and calling his government a "new age government". Cults should be exposed for the destructive entities that they are.

A religious cult is a group of people practicing a belief system that is considered to outside of the common mainstream with a high level of control over its adherents utilising various methods to this end

Why label it a cult?

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