Just Who is a Cult?

[TrueTomHarley]

An 'anti-cult expert' I keep my eye on invites his followers to watch him on a TV iterview, where he makes the point that Trump was elected due to cult influences.

 

If you think half the country fell victim to cult influence, does it not mean that you have drunk too much of the Kool-Aid yourself? Time was when the word meant something. If you fell under the spell of a charismatic leader and withdrew from normal life, you just might be part of a cult. These days simply thinking outside of the box suffices, and the definition expands to include ‘people we don’t like.’

 

Can Witnesses be a cult (the latest slam)? How can it be? You cannot join them without a period of study and experimentation, seldom lasting under a year. All the while you are 95% in familiar routine and surroundings. College is more cult-like by this definition, where a student is separated almost 24/7 from family and prior stabilizing influences. It is only because Witnesses come to think outside the mainstream that they are called a cult by those who permit no deviation.

[Witness]

On 5/15/2018 at 5:00 PM, TrueTomHarley said:

On 5/15/2018 at 5:00 PM, TrueTomHarley said:

It is only because Witnesses come to think outside the mainstream

 

Yes, it is called, “confusion”…

On 5/15/2018 at 5:00 PM, TrueTomHarley said:

that they are called a cult by those who permit no deviation.

God permits no deviation to truth.  Cults twist the truth.

Here are examples of ‘messing with your mind’; which cults are good at: 

Awake 9/22/04 p. 14 par 8:  “The Bible urges you to think for yourself”

Wt. 7/15/06 p22 par 14:  “Some fall into the trap of independent thinking”

 yp1 chap. 38 pp. 273-281:    Why not dig into your Bible and scrutinize your beliefs, perhaps using a book such as What Does the Bible Really Teach?

 Wt 89 9/15 pp 20-25:   “But a spirit of independent thinking does not prevail in God’s organization, and we have sound reasons for confidence in the men taking the lead among us.”