XPost: alt.religion, alt.religion.baptists, alt.religion.biblestudy   
   XPost: alt.religion.christian.biblestudy, alt.religion.christian.last-days,   
   alt.religion.christian.lutheran   
   XPost: alt.religion.christian.methodist, alt.religion.christian.pentecostal,   
   alt.religion.christian.presbyterian   
   XPost: alt.religion.christian.roman-catholic, alt.religion.christian,   
   alt.religion.christian.teen   
   XPost: alt.religion.christian.you, alt.religion.christianity, alt.religion.gods   
   XPost: alt.bible   
      
   *****Are Jehovah's Witnesses REALLY a cult?   
   (1/10/99)*******************************   
      
   Many people on these NG's refer to Jehovah's Witnesses as belonging to   
   a cult. Although they usually don't offer any supporting evidence for   
   their claim, they nevertheless continue to make those claims.   
      
   Does claiming something make it true? No, as Jesus so rightly shows us   
   in Mt 7:21-23. (claiming to be Christian, does not make you one) Thus   
   there has to be some basis for a claim, some proof, that what is said   
   represents reality.   
      
   Obviously, the place to start would be to examine the definition of   
   the word "cult", from a reputable reference source. Compton's   
   Dictionary (1995) gives the first definition as "1 a) a system of   
   religious worship or ritual".   
      
   Well that definition makes ALL religions "cults". So let's go on to   
   the second one:   
      
   "b) a quasi-religious group, often living in a colony, with a   
   charismatic leader who indoctrinates members with unorthodox or   
   extremist views, practices, or beliefs".   
      
   This sounds more like the definition of "cult" that you see in the   
   news, etc. Let's see if the JW's fit into that definition:   
      
   "quasi-religious group"...... Are Jehovah's Witnesses just halfway   
   religious, or seemingly religious, but really are not? Well, the JW's   
   have been accused of many things, but not being COMPLETELY religious,   
   is not one of them. Some even refer to them as being religiously   
   'fanatical', since they do so many religious things. (such as going to   
   people's homes and businesses and trying to discuss religion with   
   them. See Ac 20:20)   
      
   "often living in a colony"...... Jehovah's Witnesses are spread all   
   over the world, in just about every country on earth, even in   
   countries where religious activities are banned. They live as   
   individuals, mixed in with the general populace. You probably have   
   some as neighbors in your area right now. No, they are not consecrated   
   in one "colony".   
      
   "a charismatic leader who indoctrinates members..."......  Jehovah's   
   Witnesses primary leaders are Jesus and God. They have a legal   
   corporation in New York, and have a president of that corporation,   
   just like many other organizations have, but they do not fanatically   
   follow any man. They are taught from the Bible to observe this   
   structure of authority: 1 Co 11:3,   
      
   "Now I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and   
   the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God." (NIV)   
      
   Yes they do have a structure similar to the first century   
   congregations with an "overseer" arrangement,   
   and with "Ministerial servants", etc, (1 Ti 3:1-10), just as churches   
   have pastors or priests and deacons, etc, in them.   
      
   "unorthodox or extremist views, practices, or beliefs" (given by a   
   charismatic leader)..... As we have seen, there is no human   
   "charismatic leader" among Jehovah's Witnesses, so this definition   
   wouldn't apply to them.   
      
   But Yes, the JW's do have different beliefs (BASED ON THE BIBLE) that   
   many other professed "Christian" religions have. But does having   
   "unorthodox" beliefs tag a religion as a "cult"? If that were true,   
   then Jesus and his followers were a "cult". His teachings were quite   
   "unorthodox" compared to the form of Judaism existing at the time. One   
   encyclopedia goes so far as to say that early Christianity WAS a cult.   
   The World Book Encyclopedia says:   
      
   "Christianity began as a cult within Judaism and developed into an   
   established religion."   
      
   If Jesus' establishment of Christianity made him a "cult", then   
   Jehovah's Witnesses, by following the footsteps of Jesus, would be   
   proud to be a Jesus' "cult".   
      
   But did Jehovah's Witnesses qualify as a cult based on that reference   
   book's definition? Not one part of that second definition applied to   
   Jehovah's Witnesses.   
      
   Thus by definition, Jehovah's Witnesses are not the "cult" described   
   in "1b" above. To call them that kind of cult is to be in error and   
   falsehood. And the God of the Bible wants His servants to observe the   
   "truth". As He said at John 4:23,24,   
      
   "Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will   
   worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of   
   worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must   
   worship in spirit and in truth." (NIV)   
      
   Sincerely James   
   The mental sicknesses   
   of the world   
   4/15/23   
   Goto jw.org	   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)