I'm surprised that JWs would have been out in field service at 7 a.m. That's unusual for sure, although I suppose there are some JWs who would do that.
As far as the no soliciting thing is concerned... When I was still a JW, we were instructed to ignore "No Soliciting" signs because our work...
JWs tend to home in on people who are in a vulnerable state. Their message sounds very appealing...God will soon eliminate all of the bad things, and any problems you are now encountering will be whisked away. The "free Bible study" is, in truth, a Watchtower indoctrination session where...
This is true. The majority of individuals in the JW organization are decent people. The problem, as you pointed out, is that they never question their leaders. In order to remain a "good JW" I think that you have to actively employ a form of cognitive dissonance. You are told by the...
No, JWs do NOT follow what is recommended in scripture. JWs do NOT go to their brothers to discuss any sins with the person in private. They do NOT then bring one or two more to talk to the sinner. The do NOT reveal the matter to the congregation as a whole. The MO in JW congregations is to...
Honestly, pretty much every "tradition" today started out with pagan origins. If you want to invoke the Bible with regard to "pagan practices" then you really need to do a lot of research and avoid pretty much everything.
Slight correction. Jesus didn't appoint the current Governing Body as the "faithful and discreet slave". They appointed themselves, and considering the fact that the supposed "food at the proper time" is almost always shortly thereafter discarded as "old light" (sometimes it is discarded...
John Woodmorappe, who is a definite Flood supporter, calculated that going by the basic "kind" of animal as you suggest, would result in approximately 16,000 animals needing to be housed on the Ark. Those supposed 16,000 animals would need to be fed, watered, exercised and cleaned up after...
Um...excuse me? Pot--kettle? It has been clearly seen on this very forum that JWs, when their beliefs are challenged or even when such beliefs are not actually challenged, but merely when certain beliefs and practices are brought out in the open, the JW "shell" is quickly discarded and...
I don't think that beliefs should be the criterion for judging whether or not a religious group is dangerous or destructive. Rather than beliefs, I think that actions such as those described in the BITE model I previously posted are more indicative of whether or not a group should rightly be...
This is something that might possibly have some validity. From what I've observed, many people suffering with addictions who join a high control religion simply switch their addiction to a religious addiction and probably tend to be some of the most zealous members.
If they leave, they've...
Again, I think that "high control religion" is a better descriptor. Cult is too general to be particularly useful in determining the "cult status" of any religion, IMO.
Here is a list of qualifiers from the FreedomOfMind website that are often used to determine if a sect is actually a "cult"...
Nobody today worships eggs or rabbits, nor do any of the current Christmas traditions have anything to do with worship today. If you're going to condemn any pagan traditions involved with spiritism or worship, then you should also be condemning bridesmaids (believed to confuse the demons who...
Good point. All the angst about "celebrating pagan traditions" just seems a bit over the top to me. As you stated, in order to attract new converts, old traditions were simply modified and, shall we say, stripped of many of the pagan elements and molded into a new, but similar, tradition...
It's exactly because the term "cult" can be widely generalized that I prefer the term "high control religion." I think that that description is more apt and tends to describe those groups that can cause a lot of harm to their adherents.
As a former JW, I would most definitely include them in the list. Not only is there a dress code, but the control extends to pretty much every aspect of life, from persons with whom you should associate, to what reading material is allowed, to medical decisions, to what music or movies are...
JWs speak out about the failings of other religions and consider it an act of love. For some reason, however, they seem to fear anyone who speaks out about the failings of their religion. They just want those people to shut up and go away...even though those they fear and hate are also acting...
Well, if she just turns in her field service report and doesn't tell anyone how she got her time in, they probably would think that it was due to incidental witnessing rather than on a forum where "apostates" roam.
It does take determination, but JWs also know that if they don't turn in a field service report every month, they will not be considered to be active JWs, and will be looked down upon as slackers.
I'm sure that both of us are on IGNORE. It is sad to think that we are considered to be such fearsome individuals that they have to ignore everything we post.