http://www.orange-papers.org/orange-cult_q8.html*
* 1. The Guru is always right.
* 2. You are always wrong.
* 3. No Exit.
* 4. No Graduates.
* 5. Cult-speak.
* 6. Group-think, Suppression of Dissent, and Enforced Conformity in Thinking
* 7. Irrationality.
* 8. Suspension of disbelief.
* 9. Denigration of competing sects, cults, religions...
* 10. Personal attacks on critics.
* 11. Insistence that the cult is THE ONLY WAY.
* 12. The cult and its members are special.
* 13. Induction of guilt, and the use of guilt to manipulate cult members.
* 14. Unquestionable Dogma, Sacred Science, and Infallible Ideology.
* 15. Indoctrination of members.
* 16. Appeals to "holy" or "wise" authorities.
* 17. Instant Community.
* 18. Instant Intimacy.
* 19. Surrender To The Cult.
* 20. Giggly wonderfulness and starry-eyed faith.
* 21. Personal testimonies of earlier converts.
* 22. The cult is self-absorbed.
* 23. Dual Purposes, Hidden Agendas, and Ulterior Motives.
* 24. Aggressive Recruiting.
* 25. Deceptive Recruiting.
* 26. No Humor.
* 27. You Can't Tell The Truth.
* 28. Cloning -- You become a clone of the cult leader or other elder cult members.
* 29. You must change your beliefs to conform to the group's beliefs.
* 30. The End Justifies The Means.
* 31. Dishonesty, Deceit, Denial, Falsification, and Rewriting History.
* 32. Different Levels of Truth.
* 33. Newcomers can't think right.
* 34. The Cult Implants Phobias.
* 35. The Cult is Money-Grubbing.
* 36. Confession Sessions.
* 37. A System of Punishments and Rewards.
* 38. An Impossible Superhuman Model of Perfection.
* 39. Mentoring.
* 40. Intrusiveness.
* 41. Disturbed Guru, Mentally Ill Leader.
* 42. Disturbed Members, Mentally Ill Followers.
* 43. Create a sense of powerlessness, covert fear, guilt, and dependency.
* 44. Dispensed existence
* 45. Ideology Over Experience, Observation, and Logic
* 46. Keep them unaware that there is an agenda to change them
* 47. Thought-Stopping Language. Thought-terminating clichés and slogans.
* 48. Mystical Manipulation
* 49. The guru or the group demands ultra-loyalty and total committment.
* 50. Demands for Total Faith and Total Trust
* 51. Members Get No Respect. They Get Abused.
* 52. Inconsistency. Contradictory Messages
* 53. Hierarchical, Authoritarian Power Structure, and Social Castes
* 54. Front groups, masquerading recruiters, hidden promoters, and disguised propagandists
* 55. Belief equals truth
* 56. Use of double-binds
* 57. The cult leader is not held accountable for his actions.
* 58. Everybody else needs the guru to boss him around, but nobody bosses the guru around.
* 59. The guru criticizes everybody else, but nobody criticizes the guru.
* 60. Dispensed truth and social definition of reality
* 61. The Guru Is Extra-Special.
* 62. Flexible, shifting morality
* 63. Separatism
* 64. Inability to tolerate criticism
* 65. A Charismatic Leader
* 66. Calls to Obliterate Self
* 67. Don't Trust Your Own Mind.
* 68. Don't Feel Your Own Feelings.
* 69. The cult takes over the individual's decision-making process.
* 70. You Owe The Group.
* 71. We Have The Panacea.
* 72. Progressive Indoctrination and Progressive Commitments
* 73. Magical, Mystical, Unexplainable Workings
* 74. Trance-Inducing Practices
* 75. New Identity -- Redefinition of Self -- Revision of Personal History
* 76. Membership Rivalry
* 77. True Believers
* 78. Scapegoating and Excommunication
* 79. Promised Powers or Knowledge
* 80. It's a con. You don't get the promised goodies.
* 81. Hypocrisy
* 82. Denial of the truth. Reversal of reality. Rationalization and Denial.
* 83. Seeing Through Tinted Lenses
* 84. You can't make it without the cult.
* 85. Enemy-making and Devaluing the Outsider
* 86. The cult wants to own you.
* 87. Channelling or other occult, unchallengeable, sources of information.
* 88. They Make You Dependent On The Group.
* 89. Demands For Compliance With The Group
* 90. Newcomers Need Fixing.
* 91. Use of the Cognitive Dissonance Technique.
* 92. Grandiose existence. Bombastic, Grandiose Claims.
* 93. Black And White Thinking
* 94. The use of heavy-duty mind control and rapid conversion techniques.
* 95. Threats of bodily harm or death to someone who leaves the cult.
* 96. Threats of bodily harm or death to someone who criticizes the cult.
* 97. Appropriation of all of the members' worldly wealth.
* 98. Making cult members work long hours for free.
* 99. Total immersion and total isolation.
* 100. Mass suicide.
* Bibliography
The Cult Test
by freydi 1 Replies latest watchtower bible
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freydi
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WTWizard
I took the test with a "secret society" I joined, and it scored a paltry 7 out of 100. And, those items were fairly common to any group (most jobs will score higher than that). True, the leader does have ideas that have not become mainstream (and that the governments that are causing us so many problems and destroying our freedoms do not want to), but they are all based on Aristotle. And, many of the items listed on the test were blatantly opposite of what this "secret society" teaches: the "secret society" will not even tolerate threats for anyone wanting to leave, having the leader do all the decision making, or ulterior motives.
In fact, this "secret society" wants people to do their own thinking. You do not work long hours in it and not get paid. Instead, they will pay people fair wages for any work they do--and they do not have a Worldwide Pedophile Defense Fund. I paid something like $350 for three books to get in (I joined mainly to give Jehovah a slap in the face), and felt that it was worth that price. I have seen the criticisms (yes, they are allowed)--all people that didn't even give it a fair chance or were telling something that was a blatant lie. People are allowed to criticize the works--and question the faults that are certain to be part of any organization.
Of course, if you are going to join anything, I highly recommend researching with independent sources before. Look for founded criticisms, especially on independent web sites. Look to see how hard it is to find case histories on independent sites that the group has ruined lives, is involved with the Illuminati or the Church of Scientology or other known cult, or where few positive comments on independent sites exist. And, if you cannot find the truth about the core doctrines, rules, and beliefs on the official site or most of the people in it do not know the core doctrines or rules, you might be in for trouble.
Yes, there are groups out there that offer sound wisdom. You have to know where to look. The Watchtower Society did much worse, scoring positive on the cult test on all the important elements. The Mormons and Moonies also do poorly. And, if you get involved with a group that is from the Illuminati or the Church of Scientology, you might be asking for trouble. However, independent philosophers that get to the root of Socrates and Aristotle are probably safe--do the research beforehand to make sure.