Are Both The JW And The Ex-JW Community a Cult?

by Vanderhoven7 16 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  Disillusioned JW

  Correction: For some strange reason my quote of Micah 4:2 from the NIV says "Lord" in my post though I was copying and pasting from a source which says "LORD" (though with the source having the letters "ORD" of "LORD" being in smaller size than the letter "L" of "LORD").

  Additional information: https://www.studylight.org/commentary/zechariah/8-23.html quotes Clarke's Commentary of Zechariah 8:23 as saying the following. "Verse Zechariah 8:23. Ten men - shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew — The converts from among the Gentiles shall be to the Jews as ten to one. But ten may here signify a great number, without comparison. And from this scripture it appears as if the Jews, converted to God, should be the instruments of converting many Gentiles. See on Isaiah 3:6."

  Micah 4:2 (KJV) in its immediate context shows that Micah 4:2 refers to the time of the rule of the messianic kingdom. It says the following.

  '4 Now it shall come to pass in the latter days
  That the mountain of the Lord’s house
  Shall be established on the top of the mountains,
  And shall be exalted above the hills;
  And peoples shall flow to it.
  2 Many nations shall come and say,
  “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
  To the house of the God of Jacob;
  He will teach us His ways,
  And we shall walk in His paths.”
  For out of Zion the law shall go forth,
  And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
  3 He shall judge between many peoples,
  And rebuke strong nations afar off;
  They shall beat their swords into plowshares,
  And their spears into [a]pruning hooks;
  Nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
  Neither shall they learn war anymore.

  4 But everyone shall sit under his vine and under his fig tree,
  And no one shall make them afraid;
  For the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken.'
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  Disillusioned JW

  Correction: Where my prior post says 'KJV" it should say "NKJV".
  

  Further Correction: Right after I refreshed this page my prior post on this page showed a change of my quotes of "LORD" to "Lord", but the post should say "LORD". After that happened it was too late to correct that post, thus I made this post.
  
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  Diogenesister

  I've seen both here and on Reddit is that as soon as someone like me tries to defend his belief in God, the Bible or other JW teachings then he gets attacked regardless. This in my opinion is exactly the behavior of a cult, no offence

  No offence taken by me. I tend to agree on Reddit in particular people are far too aggressive when they disagree with people of faith. Rather hypocritical when we promote freedom of thought. However I think if one were to come here or Reddit, and promote or defend the shunning policy, I'm afraid I don't have any sympathy when they get the inevitable response. People who've been deeply hurt and had their families destroyed by the cruelest thing you can do to a social animal, will find it pretty hard to respond in a measured, reasonable tone.

  That said, if you want to talk about your beliefs in JW doctrines that aren't overtly harmful, such as no such thing as hell fire, neutrality, or not celebrating Christmas, again it's hypocritical for so-called free thinkers to just dog pile you. Politely disagreement is of course ok and pointing out logical or scriptural inconsistencies is part of life. Only in witness land are thoughts & beliefs ridgedly policed.
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  Bartolomeo

  @Diogenesister

  you have a like from me :)

  I'll try to clarify my position a little: I'm certainly not here to defend nonsense about WT, like disfellowshipping or preteens baptism or CSA policies. I also don't believe, as someone above ironically implied, that the JWs will be the only ones to be saved. But I believe in Jehovah and in Christ's ransom sacrifice, I believe that divine mercy is something unimaginable, and that after death we will all be resurrected and given a second chance, free from the influences to which we are subjected today. I believe that everyone will be accountable for their misdeeds, individually, subjectively, and in terms of their responsibilities as members of an organization. This is to say that WT's cover-up sins regarding CSA and others will not go unpunished! I was not born into a JW family, I became one on my own initiative because I had seen things that had convinced me of the goodness of this people: above all political and military neutrality. But things have changed over time, the organization I had known over 30 years ago is no longer politically neutral and this worries me a lot...
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  EdenOne

  I came to believe in letting people believe in any idiocy they choose just as long as that doesn't disrupt anyone else's life. Saving people from themselves is as meritless as attempting to teach a pig to dance: you won't succeed, and the pig will be annoyed.
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  Phizzy

  I agree almost 100% with Eden One's comment above, except remembering my own experience upon leaving, as a very naive person, having been born in, I really appreciated the guidance of Posters on here, and elsewhere on line, who helped me begin to learn how to think Critically, how to really examine my beliefs etc. and they gave me the impetus to educate myself.

  So, though not campaigning to save people, but a kindly nudge to them may be helpful, but, as Eden says, if they are a pig (ignorant) you won't teach them to dance.
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  smiddy3

  I don`t beleive ex JW`s are a cult ,no way.

  As Phizzy says , though not campaigning to save people, but a kindly nudge to them may be helpful

  cofty20 hours ago

  The obsession with LE is a bit cultish.

  That I agree with .

  Smiddy.