Let's Get It On - identify a cult!

[Evacuated]

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.

[Witness]

Will pictures do?

 

[Space Merchant]

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.

[Srecko Sostar]

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. 

[JOHN BUTLER]

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. 

 

[Witness]

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:

 

[Evacuated]

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".

[JOHN BUTLER]

Well Jesus gave His life willingly, if you believe the Bible that is.  If you do not believe the bible then there is no level ground to debate on here. The bible says basically that we might face death because of our faith in God. 

[James Thomas Rook Jr.]

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.

[James Thomas Rook Jr.]

.... and that, dear genteel souls, is why everyone reading this today are not slaves of the thousand year reign of Adolph Hitler, and his Third Reich, DAILY facing extreme hardship, deprivation, and death.

[JOHN BUTLER]

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.  

 

[James Thomas Rook Jr.]

Well, John, perhaps next time you and your children will be brutalized, worked to death, and ground into blood sausage, and you will be happier for it.