i want to give some information in around about way but need help tp think of ones that a jw would identify with ie controlling what members read and watch , can anyone help ?
can someone give me 5 definitions of a cult for a jw
by looloo 18 Replies latest jw friends
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AlphaOmega
Does any of this help ?
Take a look at this, lifted from www.howcultswork.com
Excellent article, but here are the "key points"...
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Sirona
This should help http://www.cultinformation.org.uk/faq.html
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G Money
1.
A destructive cult tends to be totalitarian in its control of its members' behavior. Cults are likely to dictate in great detail not only what members believe, but also what members wear and eat, when and where members work, sleep, and bathe, and how members think, speak, and conduct familial, marital, or sexual relationships.
2.
A destructive cult tends to have an ethical double standard. Members are urged to be obedient to the cult, to carefully follow cult rules. They are also encouraged to be revealing and open in the group, confessing all to the leaders. On the other hand, outside the group they are encouraged to act unethically, manipulating outsiders or nonmembers, and either deceiving them or simply revealing very little about themselves or the group. In contrast to destructive cults, honorable groups teach members to abide by one set of ethics and act ethically and truthfully to all people in all situations.
3.
A destructive cult has only two basic purposes: recruiting new members and fund-raising. Altruistic movements, established religions, and other honorable groups also recruit and raise funds. However, these actions are incidental to an honorable group's main purpose of improving the lives of its members and of humankind in general. Destructive cults may claim to make social contributions, but in actuality such claims are superficial and only serve as gestures or fronts for recruiting and fund-raising. A cult's real goal is to increase the prestige and often the wealth of the leader.
4.
A destructive cult appears to be innovative and exclusive. The leader claims to be breaking with tradition, offering something novel, and instituting the ONLY viable system for change that will solve life's problems or the world's ills. But these claims are empty and only used to recruit members who are then surreptitiously subjected to mind control to inhibit their ability to examine the actual validity of the claims of the leader and the cult.
5.
A destructive cult is authoritarian in its power structure. The leader is regarded as the supreme authority. He or she may delegate certain power to a few subordinates for the purpose of seeing that members adhere to the leader's wishes. There is no appeal outside his or her system to a greater system of justice. For example, if a schoolteacher feels unjustly treated by a principal, an appeal can be made to the superintendent. In a destructive cult, the leader claims to have the only and final ruling on all matters.
6.
A destructive cult's leader is a self-appointed messianic person claiming to have a special mission in life. For example, leaders of flying saucer cults claim that beings from outer space have commissioned them to lead people away from Earth, so that only the leaders can save them from impending doom.
7.
A destructive cult's leader centers the veneration of members upon himself or herself. Priests, rabbis, ministers, democratic leaders, and other leaders of genuinely altruistic movements focus the veneration of adherents on God or a set of ethical principles. Cult leaders, in contrast, keep the focus of love, devotion, and allegiance on themselves.
8.
A destructive cult's leader tends to be determined, domineering, and charismatic. Such a leader effectively persuades followers to abandon or alter their families, friends, and careers to follow the cult. The leader then takes control over followers' possessions, money, time, and lives. -
aSphereisnotaCircle
Is there an honorable way of leaving? ( A JW will usually turn this question into "can you leave?", and assure you that you can leave at any time!)
Are there double standards? For example, is all non members incouraged to research and be critical of there beliefs, but members are not allowed to be critical of there own beliefs. ( A JW will usually turn this into, "we research our religion all the time!)
Is there an us versus them attitude. Everyone in is wonderful, everyone on the outside are evil.
Are you tought to put the group ahead of the individual? The classic one here is forcing kids to shut up about abuse, to protect the group against bad press.
That's what comes to mind off the top of my head. The big ones to me are the double standards, and the silencing of children.
When I was discussing the double standard thing with a die hard JW, she tried every way possible to wiggle out of it. She finally showed me proof that the Society welcomes criticism.
Guess what she showed me for proof. Her proof was the "questions from readers" articles, no joke.
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5thGeneration
Absolutely amazing is the Society's own definition of a cult in the Reasoning Book.
I'm away from home so perhaps someone else can look it up and post it.
How they don't see the irony is crazy! Just replace 'man' with 'group of men'.
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AlphaOmega
Absolutely amazing is the Society's own definition of a cult in the Reasoning Book.
I'm away from home so perhaps someone else can look it up and post it.
How they don't see the irony is crazy! Just replace 'man' with 'group of men'.
Do you mean this bit... ?
***rsp.202 Jehovah’s Witnesses***
Are
Jehovah’s Witnesses a sect or a cult?Some define sect to mean a group that has broken away from an established religion. Others apply the term to a group that follows a particular human leader or teacher. The term is usually used in a derogatory way. Jehovah’s Witnesses are not an offshoot of some church but include persons from all walks of life and from many religious backgrounds. They do not look to any human, but rather to Jesus Christ, as their leader.
A cult is a religion that is said to be unorthodox or that emphasizes devotion according to prescribed ritual. Many cults follow a living human leader, and often their adherents live in groups apart from the rest of society. The standard for what is orthodox, however, should be God’s Word, and Jehovah’s Witnesses strictly adhere to the Bible. Their worship is a way of life, not a ritual devotion. They neither follow a human nor isolate themselves from the rest of society. They live and work in the midst of other people.
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aSphereisnotaCircle
5th gen, you are so right.
they make it sound like a cult is only when you follow one man.
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5thGeneration
Alpha,
Thx.
HOW DO THEY NOT SEE THIS???
A cult is a religion that is said to be unorthodox (no celebrations whatsoever, no blood, no fun, NO ANYTHING!) or that emphasizes devotion according to prescribed ritual. (3 meetings/week, I refuse to call them 5, Saturday field service, ministry "SCHOOL" parts, kissing elders and C.O.s butts, etc...)
Many cults follow a living human leader (Umm, we don't 'cause we have 12), and often their adherents live in groups apart from the rest of society (WE DO, JUST NOT PHISICALLY).
The standard for what is orthodox, however, should be God’s Word, and Jehovah’s Witnesses strictly adhere to the Bible (LET THE READER USE DISCERNMENT).
Their worship is a way of life, not a ritual devotion (BULLSHIT!!!! Sorry! ) .
They neither follow a human (YEAH, SEE ABOVE re. human versus group of humans) nor isolate themselves from the rest of society. They live and work in the midst of other people (Well at least just to pay the bills and afford to go in service!).
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jwfacts
This is a tricky topic, as no one in a cult thinks they are, and every major religion was considered a cult when it started. A cult is simply an unusual belief system. What is more important is to see whether the unusual religion has destructive elements. For information on this look at http://www.jwfacts.com/index_files/wrong.htm
Researchers generally point out signs that a religion is manipulating its members through coercive persuasion. The most important work in this regard is also one of the first, by Lifton. Lifton listed 8 criteria, and these are referred to by most books on cults and mind control. I have embedded an article that lists these 8 criteria, with examples of how the Watchtower fits all 8 areas.