Jump to content
The World News Media

Let's Get It On - identify a cult!


Evacuated

Recommended Posts

  • Member

Try this criteria to identify a cult

Any takers?

  • Run by a charismatic, authoritarian leader, or leadership group, who seeks extreme levels of control over followers.
  • Uses a hierarchical pyramid structure with layers of secrecy surrounding the leader.             
  • Followers are socially, psychologically and sometimes physically isolated.
  • Leader's behaviour is justified by a totalitarian belief system that claims to have all the answers.
  • A brainwashing process takes place. Total immersion in the group leaves no time or space for self-generated relationships or activities
  • The group alternates an apparently loving or attentive approach with escalating levels of stress or fear. This could be implemented through sleep or food deprivation, apocalyptic predictions, or threats of violence or sexual abuse.
  • This process of coercive control creates followers who are controlled by or for the leader without regard for their own needs.
Link to comment
Share on other sites


  • Views 2.2k
  • Replies 43
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Posts

Will pictures do?  

People give their lives for any number of causes without faith in a resurrection. This noble quality of humans is exploited by "cult" leaders regardless of the damage it might do to the individual, an

“Debunk” – to prove that something such as an idea or belief is false and silly.   It wasn’t falsely “debunked” until the expectations of the organization never were fulfilled.  It was

Posted Images

  • Member

Apparently no one knows what an actually cult is, nor the difference between a religion and or cult. False ones and stupid ones are ever so ignorant on the term and it shows clearly that such ones do not delve into the history of Christianity.

 

In short, any Christian group that is of mainstream origin that goes beyond the teachings (i.e. stupid and or silly doctrines, believing the church can be unisex and attempt to defend it, justifying homosexuality, interfaith, etc.) above all, take said teachings and twist it into something entirely different in an extremist way - Believing that Jesus is a woman, believing his church order is unisex, teaching to accept all things even when it is dirty and unclean and going into the extremes about it - is a cult.

 

That being said, some so called Christian spread their idiocy and claim they are of God and Christ, at the end of the day, wise ones can see through their folly.  And such ones are the reasons why people make Jesus and his God out to be some kind of joke, as we have an example, many, namely in China.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Member
2 hours ago, Space Merchant said:

In short, any Christian group that is of mainstream origin that goes beyond the teachings (i.e. stupid and or silly doctrines, believing the church can be unisex and attempt to defend it, justifying homosexuality, interfaith, etc.) above all, take said teachings and twist it into something entirely different in an extremist way - Believing that Jesus is a woman, believing his church order is unisex, teaching to accept all things even when it is dirty and unclean and going into the extremes about it - is a cult.

The things that you mentioned are more about the content of the doctrines. @Outta Here made specific list about methods of influence on people or on a group of people that is/can be used in variation of intensity and models. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Member

Quote @Outta Here This process of coercive control creates followers who are controlled by or for the leader without regard for their own needs.

One needs to be a bit careful about this idea I think. Because the scriptures tell us to put God before all things and even to risk our own lives for our 'brothers' (whomever they may be) 

We know that Jesus willingly gave his earthly life to give praise and glory to his heavenly Father and to give humans a chance of everlasting life on a paradise earth. 

One has to think about who their 'leader' really is.  If our 'leader' is Christ and he is leading us to a closer relationship with God, with everlasting life in view, then we must be prepared to face even death beforehand. We obviously need the faith in the resurrection to do so.  This is from scripture not from JW Org. 

In my opinion the Watchtower  / JW Org are too big a business to be a cult as such. And being earthwide I see them more as a full on religion, even though they are heading in a wrong direction. 

I mean the Catholics are earthwide and have the Pope as their leader but i don't think the Catholic church is a cult either. :) 

To the point about the W/t being big business, they have shareholders. I thought shareholders were people that made profit from a company/business. You put money in and get more money out. But I suppose that should be another topic. 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Member

It seems to me that a small or large religion can be a cult, or cult-like.  Cults portray the same primary characteristics, which can be traced back to the Destroyer, Satan. Isa 33:1 Such traits have influenced political and religious rulers throughout history.  Cults and cult-like entities destroy lives using four systems of control explained here:

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Member
On 6/21/2019 at 9:42 AM, JOHN BUTLER said:

we must be prepared to face even death beforehand. We obviously need the faith in the resurrection to do so.

People give their lives for any number of causes without faith in a resurrection. This noble quality of humans is exploited by "cult" leaders regardless of the damage it might do to the individual, and with no thought of benefit to them. Followers are merely pawns.

Interestingly, the word "cult" has come to carry a load of meaning and association  that has little to do with it's original etymology and derivation. Bit like the word "gay".

One current definition that sums up the way many use the word today is  "cult = a religion I don't like".

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Member
9 hours ago, Outta Here said:

People give their lives for any number of causes without faith in a resurrection.

One day it occurred to me that people that face extreme hardship, deprivation, and death with a sure and solid hope in the resurrection have FAR less courage and convictions than the atheist who acting on his convictions, faces extreme hardship, deprivation and death.

I think I came to this realization watching a documentary in the "Battle of Britain" where the English Air force was hopelessly outnumbered by the German Luftwaffe, and as the English pilots rose into the sky to meet the enemy, they had no expectation of surviving the encounter ... and they did it anyway, because it was the right thing to do.

As atheists, they knew what was the right thing to do, and in doing it THEY WOULD BE DEAD FOREVER.

.... now THAT'S courage.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Member

In my opinion war is not  'the right thing to do'. All this about men being tough doesn't wash with me. 

And maybe most of those men were brainwashed into believing they would die and go to heaven. 

The war was about men and women being conscripted to kill other men and women. 

Remember even some Germans didn't go to war. Probably not only JW's at that.

Sorry James but you seem to have this thing about guns and men being tough. There is enough sh-t in life for some of us that we don't need war or guns to make it worse.  

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites





  • Recently Browsing

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Popular Contributors

  • Topics

  • Posts

    • It appears to me that this is a key aspect of the 2030 initiative ideology. While the Rothschilds were indeed influential individuals who were able to sway governments, much like present-day billionaires, the true impetus for change stems from the omnipotent forces (Satan) shaping our world. In this case, there is a false God of this world. However, what drives action within a political framework? Power! What is unfolding before our eyes in today's world? The relentless struggle for power. The overwhelming tide of people rising. We cannot underestimate the direct and sinister influence of Satan in all of this. However, it is up to individuals to decide how they choose to worship God. Satanism, as a form of religion, cannot be regarded as a true religion. Consequently, just as ancient practices of child sacrifice had a place in God's world, such sacrifices would never be accepted by the True God of our universe. Despite the promising 2030 initiative for those involved, it is unfortunately disintegrating due to the actions of certain individuals in positions of authority. A recent incident serves as a glaring example, involving a conflict between peaceful Muslims and a Jewish representative that unfolded just this week. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/11/us-delegation-saudi-arabia-kippah?ref=upstract.com Saudi Arabia was among the countries that agreed to the initiative signed by approximately 179 nations in or around 1994. However, this initiative is now being undermined by the devil himself, who is sowing discord among the delegates due to the ongoing Jewish-Hamas (Palestine) conflict. Fostering antisemitism. What kind of sacrifice does Satan accept with the death of babies and children in places like Gaza, Ukraine, and other conflicts around the world, whether in the past or present, that God wouldn't? Whatever personal experiences we may have had with well-known individuals, true Christians understand that current events were foretold long ago, and nothing can prevent them from unfolding. What we are witnessing is the result of Satan's wrath upon humanity, as was predicted. A true religion will not involve itself in the politics of this world, as it is aware of the many detrimental factors associated with such engagement. It understands the true intentions of Satan for this world and wisely chooses to stay unaffected by them.
    • This idea that Satan can put Jews in power implies that God doesn't want Jews in power. But that would also imply that God only wants "Christians" including Hitler, Biden, Pol Pot, Chiang Kai-Shek, etc. 
    • @Mic Drop, I don't buy it. I watched the movie. It has all the hallmarks of the anti-semitic tropes that began to rise precipitously on social media during the last few years - pre-current-Gaza-war. And it has similarities to the same anti-semitic tropes that began to rise in Europe in the 900's to 1100's. It was back in the 500s AD/CE that many Khazars failed to take or keep land they fought for around what's now Ukraine and southern Russia. Khazars with a view to regaining power were still being driven out into the 900's. And therefore they migrated to what's now called Eastern Europe. It's also true that many of their groups converted to Judaism after settling in Eastern Europe. It's possibly also true that they could be hired as mercenaries even after their own designs on empire had dwindled.  But I think the film takes advantage of the fact that so few historical records have ever been considered reliable by the West when it comes to these regions. So it's easy to fill the vacuum with some very old antisemitic claims, fables, rumors, etc..  The mention of Eisenhower in the movie was kind of a giveaway, too. It's like, Oh NO! The United States had a Jew in power once. How on earth could THAT have happened? Could it be . . . SATAN??" Trying to tie a connection back to Babylonian Child Sacrifice Black Magick, Secret Satanism, and Baal worship has long been a trope for those who need to think that no Jews like the Rothschilds and Eisenhowers (????) etc would not have been able to get into power in otherwise "Christian" nations without help from Satan.    Does child sacrifice actually work to gain power?? Does drinking blood? Does pedophilia??? (also mentioned in the movie) Yes, it's an evil world and many people have evil ideologies based on greed and lust and ego. But how exactly does child sacrifice or pedophilia or drinking blood produce a more powerful nation or cabal of some kind? To me that's a giveaway that the authors know that the appeal will be to people who don't really care about actual historical evidence. Also, the author(s) of the video proved that they have not done much homework, but are just trying to fill that supposed knowledge gap by grasping at old paranoid and prejudicial premises. (BTW, my mother and grandmother, in 1941 and 1942, sat next to Dwight Eisenhower's mother at an assembly of Jehovah's Witnesses. The Eisenhower family had been involved in a couple of "Christian" religions and a couple of them associated with IBSA and JWs for many years.)
  • Members

    • JW Insider

      JW Insider 9,696

      Member
      Joined:
      Last active:
    • xero

      xero 2,295

      Member
      Joined:
      Last active:
    • mcgiver2

      mcgiver2 1

      Member
      Joined:
      Last active:
  • Recent Status Updates

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      65.4k
    • Total Posts
      158.9k
  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      17,669
    • Most Online
      1,592

    Newest Member
    Miracle Pete
    Joined
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Terms of Service Confirmation Terms of Use Privacy Policy Guidelines We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.