by Rafael Martinez, Director, Spiritwatch Ministries
We need to examine not only what we
personally believe, but also what is taught by any religious organization with
which we may be associated .. if we are lovers of the truth, there is nothing to
fear from such an examination."
Truth, pg. 13
Jehovah's Witnesses have often found themselves on the receiving end of sharp
criticism where ever they go as they seek to spread their gospel. Why is this? A
variety of reasons may be cited, ranging from blatantly religious bigotry
to ignorant mockery, attacks we certainly in no way
support but would roundly condemn. Roughing anyone up verbally or
physically is certainly the work of carnally insensitive and ignorant
individuals that no one should have to endure. However, one of the charges that is often leveled at
Witnesses by those
they call upon is that their organization, far from being a Christian ministry,
is instead a destructive cult group that has adversely affected the members of
the community. This unpleasant accusation follows Jehovah's Witnesses where ever
they go, and has increasingly been a serious impediment to their
work.
The
February 15, 1994 issue of The Watchtower
magazine represents one of the more recent efforts by the Watchtower Society to
counter the numerous charges made against it that it is not a Christian
fellowship but a destructive cult. The title of the issue, which reads
"Jehovah's Witnesses: A Cult or Ministers of God," is the first sign
the casual reader may have that the Society has been experiencing a serious
amount of mounting trouble trying to convince both it's Witness constituency and
outsiders that it is not a cult that destroys lives. We wish to examine the
question the Society has posed on page 4: "Are Jehovah's Witnesses a
cult ?"
Cults As Defined By The
Watchtower
Let us briefly outline the content of
The Watchtower magazine as it addresses this
issue.
The first article is entitled "Cults - What Are They?" and the
second "Are Jehovah's Witnesses A Cult?"
In the first article, we are taken to Waco to review the Branch Davidian
tragedy and supposedly see what a real
cult actually is like while the Watchtower quotes several sources to develop a
composite definition of what a cult is, admitting frankly that what it calls
"anticult organizations" will refer to Jehovah's Witnesses as such a
group. The best definition of a cult that the Society admits to is found on page
4, it's source being the language of a state resolution: "A cult is a group
or movement exhibiting excessive devotion to a person or idea and employing
unethically manipulative techniques of persuasion and control to advance the
goals of its leaders."
The second article
"Are Jehovah's Witnesses A Cult?" draws heavily upon this composite definition to
bolster the Watchtower's argument that it couldn't possibly be a cult, even
citing Scripture to prove how the opposition made against Christ and the apostle
Paul are examples of how new religious figures and groups with radical views and
practices could be viewed as cultic. On page 6, the anonymous Watchtower authors exclaim "many who are not Witnesses readily
acknowledge that there is nothing freakish or bizarre about Jehovah's Witnesses.
Their conduct does not clash with what is accepted as normal social
behavior." Responding to the same unnamed critics who cite them for
the usage of coercive mind control techniques, on the same page, the Watchtower asks Witnesses if mind-control
techniques were ever employed on them. "'No' would doubtless be your frank
response," the article assures us.
Pages 6 and 7 declare that "..Witnesses recognize that it is their
Scriptural responsibility to love and care for their families. They live and
work with people of all races and religions. .. Jehovah's Witnesses are
'absorbed in humanity.'" Finally, on page 7, the Watchtower attempts
to deftly evade the charge of cultism when
they state that "the veneration and idolization of
human leaders so characteristic of cults today is not to be found among
Jehovah's Witnesses."
Responding
To The Watchtower's Arguments: What Cults Are
In
other articles on our site, we have used both
theological and psychological perspectives
to define what constitutes harmful and abusive activities in high-demand social
groups, which - like it or not - are called "cults." We have
stated that from a Christian perspective, a cult is any group of people who follow
one man or the group's definition of spiritual practices and teachings that
always contradict orthodox Christian doctrine and advance heretical or aberrant
doctrine. We have also stated that, from a psychological perspective, the group
will intentionally exert some form of deceptive recruitment and manipulative
indoctrination to exert a very real and effective mind
control on members of the group. These distinctives of destructive and damaging
cultism are prevalent among many groups around the world, and the Watchtower
certainly cannot escape this assessment. We will avoid discussion of
theological perspectives here (saving this for another
article).
First
of all, the Society makes an inspired attempt to prove
that it is not a destructive cult by drawing heavily upon the other sources, arguing that it
is not a secretive group of fanatics engaged in ritualistic and bizarre
religious practices, nor a small fringe sect that isolates itself from society,
using brainwashing techniques. To do this, the definitions the Watchtower cites
are very selective and depict cult groups as crazed extremists completely out of
touch with society. Note how the Watchtower has extensively used this kind of
profiling in examples from a variety of their
publications:
*** g93 12/8
29 Watching the World (Awake!) ***
The Daily News quotes Dr. Carl Raschke, a professor at the
University of Denver, as commenting: "I see a lot more violent cults
forming, and violent abuse occurring in the guise of occult beliefs."
Experts at the seminar also warned that such hate groups as the neo-Nazis and
the Ku Klux Klan are using occult trappings to attract members and gain more
control over them.
*** g93 10/8 4
Your Child Is in Danger! (Awake!) ***
In various countries disturbing reports have surfaced about religious cults that
abuse children with sadistic sexual practices and torture.
*** w91 2/1 5
Why Take Religion Seriously? (The Watchtower)***
For one thing, religious cults tend to be here today and gone tomorrow. Their
fadlike nature gives little reason for taking them seriously
*** rs 202
Jehovah's Witnesses (Reasoning From The Scriptures)***
A cult is a religion that is said to be unorthodox or that emphasizes
devotion according to prescribed ritual. Many cults follow a living human
leader, and often their adherents live in groups apart from the rest of society.
Note the way the
Society has chosen to characterize cultism as that of religious zealots
whose obsessive devotion is twisted and perverse and who are usually
involved in degenerate activities hidden away in secretive strongholds. The
message is clear: hate groups and self-styled Satanist bands are the
personification of what "real" cults are, groups whose
antisocial practices clearly identify them. The Watchtower Society has been
forced for decades to defend itself from precisely this charge laid against it
by a variety of secular government:
*** yb82 160 Italy (1982 Yearbook) ***
We have already mentioned the fact that persecution against true Christians
became harsher after 1935. Why? On April 9, 1935, the
Cults Department of the Ministry of Home Affairs issued a circular on
"Pentecostal Associations." At that time the authorities had not
properly identified Jehovah's Witnesses and thought they were part of the
"Pentecostal" community. The circular was sent to the provincial
administration centers, calling for the immediate disbanding of those
associations whose activity was declared to be "contrary to our social
order and harmful to the physical and mental welfare of our race."
During the
time of the Fascist Italian government's persecution of Pentecostal Christians
in 1935, the Society's Italian membership exerted great effort to distance
itself from them on the basis that the Pentecostal groups
were, as charged by Mussolini's governmental officials, undermining
Italian society with subversive social activity that was both disruptive and
harmful. This Watchtower apologetic - of distancing itself from other local
groups whose activity appears to be far more outrageous then local
Witness congregations - is important to bear in mind since it shows how the Society
defends itself from a charge it has had to
face in many countries where other religious groups and authoritarian rulers
have not tolerated its presence. It, in effect, went on to scorn the
Pentecostal movement in the Italy of the 1930's as the real villain.
This
"whipping-boy" tactic would be used again and again the Watchtower
throughout the 20th century. It explains how this assumption became a standard
defensive tactic in the Society's repertoire of resistance offered against
critics. The Watchtower essentially conditioned itself to accept this stereotype
through much of the mid to late 20th century, and from the
1960's onward, the sharp rise of horrific cult activities has tragically served
this crafty contention. Since Witnesses do not engage in antisocial activity
resulting in wholesale death, destruction and disruption
of human life, the Watchtower argument goes, it cannot be considered a cultic
group.
It is the ability of the
Watchtower to cleverly conceal the true nature of its activity that enables it
to continually use this argument. A knowledge of the counterculture of Jehovah's
Witness lifestyle that clearly demonstrates would quickly explode it,
especially when examined in the light of established principles on how cults
operate:
-
Cult groups freely use
deception and manipulative ploys to attract members. Witnesses will
point out many societal ills and the failure of religious belief to cure
them to argue their case at doorsteps and street corners around the world.
But they are led by Watchtower indoctrination to present many more arguments
based upon falsehood (contrived research used to manipulate facts to their
advantage) or distortion (overstated or implied conclusions aimed at making
things seem worse - or better - than they are). "Bible
studies" offered free of charge by Witness Pioneers do not study the
Bible, but selected Watchtower literature using their specious
argumentation to indoctrinate. Recruits are warmly greeted by the local
congregation and an almost instant intimacy is established with them in an
effort to present themselves as truly loving Christian people. This warmth
quickly fades to a relationship of conditional love based upon the convert's
ability to successfully conform to their standards -but not before they are
made baptized members.
-
Cult groups routinely
exalt their dogma at the expense of the welfare of members. Witness lifestyle is controlled by Society teaching supposedly based
upon Biblical interpretation, which in many cases, turned out to be entirely
arbitrary. Bans on organ transplants and vaccinations were later removed,
but not before untold thousands of Witnesses suffered crippling or fatal
results of their obedience to these "Biblical" teachings. Many in
an entire generation of Witnesses during the 1930s and 1940s put off
marriages and family so their "preaching" work of an impending
Armageddon would not be slowed. Blood transfusions today are still rejected
as "unbiblical" - and some Witnesses still die. Witness children
are instructed to avoid any interaction with non-Witness
children in school and playtime activities to keep them "pure."
And even marital sexual practices have been rigidly controlled by Society
teaching, down to even precise positioning. Through it all, the
"truth" and authority of the Watchtower was continually
vindicated, even if it cost the well-being and even the lives of Witnesses
who looked to it for leadership in godly living.
-
Cults
utilize some form of leadership structure that is illegitimately exalted A major Society publication known as the Proclaimers
book tried bravely to downplay just how many early Bible Students (the
precursors of today's Jehovah's Witnesses) passionately believed
that Charles Taze Russell, the first Society president, was the "faithful
slave" of Matthew 24, and therefore was a unique voice for God in the
world (1). Although no one
man
today is exalted by Witnesses, the reverence and blind loyalty given to the
Watchtower Society by Jehovah's Witnesses worldwide can not be described as
anything but a veneration of human leaders. Witnesses unceasingly praise the
Society, led by its' Brooklyn, N.Y. -based Governing Body, as the only true channel of Jehovah God in
a dark and evil Babylonian world, the only sure leadership said to be filled
with "holy spirit", and therefore, virtually infallible. On page
7, the article cites approvingly a reference work which notes the Witness
rejection "of a clergy-laity distinction," and yet firmly upholds
the sharp distinctions between the "anointed" leadership and the
"great crowd" of Witness membership. This attitude is nothing less than a
last-day rise of idolatry, the establishment of a leadership caste "more
equal" than others.
This
is only the tip of a cultic lifestyle iceberg shaped by the Watchtower
Society that barely breaks the surface of the sea of humanity it smashes
through. Remember that most of an iceberg's vast and irresistible mass is unseen
to those observing them from surface ships. We hold that this behavior,
when placed into the context of a seemingly balanced and Bible-based lifestyle,
is so well concealed that only careful observation can reveal it.
When incidences of this cultic behavior among Jehovah's Witnesses are
distributed evenly throughout the course of time, instead of being overtly, immediately
manifest in the case of less-discrete cultic movement lifestyles (such as the Hare Krishna
and Nation of Islam groups), their ability to conceal the
reality of their profoundly cultic lifestyle is that much more successful.
Most
Witnesses recognize this antisocial behavior for what it is at one level of
consciousness or another, but ultimately conclude that it is a "Bible-based" course
of action. Couple this sincere faith in the Society to their personal desire to
please God and their outrage at seeing their piety and labor questioned by
outsiders who haven't been "taught the Bible" is understandable; it is
no wonder Jehovah's Witnesses will arise in anger to bitterly protest. Yet
those are the facts.
Responding
To The Watchtower's Argument: What Mind Control Is
Mind
control is a process that mobilizes group dynamics and phobia indoctrination to
compel group members to submit to the group's leadership and objectives. Following the crowd
is part of human nature, and cultic circles of influence use this impulse to
literally transform people through psychologically abusive means that the
prospective member is completely
unaware of.
This is done through the control of their thoughts, and subsequently, their
behavior. Over and over, cults emphasize that God has provided only one source
of enlightenment, only one standard of truth – and it is whatever
interpretation of Scripture or human philosophy the leaders provide.
Cultists catch
on they can’t trust their own reasoning, except as properly patterned after
the cult leadership thinking.
It is, after all, the only way they can truly know God’s will.
Jehovah's
Witnesses are no different than anyone else in that they are as human as their
non-Witness neighbors. This fact alone explains the success of the incredibly pervasive and
lifelong exposure to mind control techniques intentionally wielded by the
Watchtower in its effort to consolidate the loyalty of and control over
their members.
New
congregational social circles, Watchtower book studies, and numerous meetings
and field ministry requirements are all used to implant the isolating and
manipulative devices that the Society uses to control Witnesses and those
studying with them. How many family members can testify to the distressing
transformation that occurs to a loved one who starts to study with Jehovah
Witness pioneers!
In a matter of months, they completely change to individuals whose lives are
completely centered around the rule of obedience to the Watchtower, and family
relationships are often shattered or severely strained as their Watchtower
indoctrination relentlessly remolds them into compliant Society
membership.
What are some of these "devices"? Steven Hassan has created
the "BITE" acronym (2) to help define four critical areas of control
cult groups must focus upon among their social circles to effectively achieve
cultic mind control (control of Behavior, Information, Thought
and Emotions). These characteristics of cultic control are prevalent among Jehovah's Witnesses and again, we
assert, they are well hidden:
- behavior control - A comprehensive
and never-ending effort is put forth by the Society to enforce a
clearly defined, scrupulously detailed and rigidly enforced standard of
conduct among all Witnesses. Society publications, social interaction and
frequent "role-play" dramatizations in public meetings ensure that
they are continually reminded of what is good behavior and what is
"conduct unbecoming a Christian," as they would say. The pages of
the Awake! and The Watchtower magazines are filled with
prescriptive teachings on how to act in a wide variety of different
situations; the constant readiness for Witnesses to rehearse their
unsolicited wisdom to householders on how to beat a cold or do grocery
shopping is a singularly striking example of this.
- information control - The
Watchtower views its authority as part of "theocratic order" and a
loyal submission by all Witnesses to it a serious test of fellowship. No
more sure a test of this submission is how willingly Jehovah's Witnesses
will "avoid independent thinking" (3) and reject any sources
of information that may lead to critical thinking. The immediate
response of Jehovah's Witnesses, upon being confronted with individuals or
literature that question the authority of the Watchtower, is to
demonize the questioner as unspiritual and blind and/or reject or destroy
the literature. Witnesses surfing the World Wide Web and who view
counter-cult websites (such as this one) do so under pain of harsh
congregational sanction. Indeed, any and all information that
contradicts and brings into question the Watchtower is viewed as spiritual
pornography and must be vigorously shunned.
- thought control - Randy Watters has
helpfully observed that the Watchtower's campaign to control the minds of
Jehovah's Witnesses has gone so far as to result in the creation of
"thought-stopping" cliches used frequently in Witness social
circles (4). These cliches are the vocabulary, expressions and slang
that Witnesses use among themselves to put any given situation or individual
into an instant context that compels them to view it as the Society wishes
it to be seen, and therefore, thought of (former JW David Reed calls
it "Jehovah-talk"). Usage of phrases like
"rebellious," "whole-souled", "opposer",
"loyalty" and "wicked system", each with a very specific
and clear-cut meaning, are part and parcel of Witness thought. Remembered or
used in the right order at the right time keeps the Witness in lockstep with
Society expectations and a Society worldview. This is just one of
many ways thought is controlled or even stopped in the minds of Jehovah's
Witnesses.
- emotional control - The human
capacity to both suffer guilt and quail in fear is exploited to an
unspeakably insidious way by the Society to reinforce the black and white
mentality of the Watchtower's worldview. Fears of a demon-haunted world, of
the fate of non-Witness loved ones, of an impending Armageddon, of not being
"remembered" by Jehovah in the resurrection, and above all, of
being expelled from the Society are always in the back of Witness minds and
hearts. Guilt over not working "hard enough" for Jehovah, for
having sinful thoughts (such as questioning the local leadership), for
neglecting study meetings, and for being unable to meet the code of conduct
of a "clean organization" are also woeful companions for many,
many Witnesses. This terrible internal pressure is subtly yet unmistakably
paranoiac and has caused untold trauma to many Witnesses unable to withstand
the mental stress. And to resolve this, the Witness constituency is
endlessly admonished to bury themselves in faithful service to the
organization, and to trust that Jehovah will take care of it all. Relief is
then contingent upon service, and those who struggle emotionally are often
viewed as lacking somewhere in that area.
As we can see, by using Hassan's
"BITE" acronym, a clear and compelling chain of evidence
demonstrates conclusively that the Watchtower Society indeed does appear to
operate in a decidedly cultic manner that is destructive, manipulative and
harmful. The Watchtower denials of any usage of cultic mind
control on page 6 simply have no weight to them:
Of the millions of non-Witnesses who are
studying the Bible with the Witnesses or who have studied with them at one time
or another, we ask, Were there any attempts to brainwash you? Did the Witnesses
employ mind-control techniques on you? "No" would doubtless be your
frank response. Obviously, if these methods had been used, there would be
an overwhelming number of victims in contradiction to any argument
in favor of Jehovah's Witnesses.
The rhetoric here bravely attempts to squarely face the evidence we have
discussed but only raises more questions than it tries to answer. If the
millions of individuals the Society has indeed
targeted in the past for
recruitment were to be fairly queried about possible mind control usage upon
them, why didn't the Society explain what it is? Why was the ominous term like
"brainwash" raised and then left completely undefined so those same
millions could legitimately consider the issue? Cult mind control is designed to
deceive an individual into voluntarily relinquishing the control over the only
tool they have to make an objective judgment, that being a free mind. So
therefore, how could those Witnesses whose reason and
perception that has been controlled by the Watchtower organization
be expected to give an objective
answer to their rhetorical question on "victims"? Such questioning is
like asking a hostage by telephone, with a gun to the back of his head, to
condemn his captors. It is not likely to happen.
Why do those who have attempted to raise the question who were former
Jehovah's Witnesses treated like reprobate dissidents who are labeled
"apostates" - and hence off limits to all active Witnesses? Why does
the Watchtower so firmly declare dialogue with former members as an off-limits
activity that can be punishable with disfellowshipping? The
Society's attempt at candor here fails miserably. The hard truth is that
the real victims of abusive Watchtower control are instead dismissed as
bitter losers who could not measure up to "God's requirements" and who
are branded as enemies of the Watchtower state.
Responding To The
Watchtower's Arguments: Where's The Love, Man?
The Society routinely engages in great self-promotion when Witnesses, on
doorsteps, street corners and in wildernesses around the world, point to their
warm, communal love for all within their organization. In the article, the
Society reiterates this point on pages 6 and 7 by citing a Czech reporter's alleged byline that stated "..they
are not fanatics. They are are people who are absorbed in humanity."
The Watchtower goes on to explain that "Witnesses recognize that it is their
Scriptural responsibility to love and care for their families. They live and
work with people of all races and religions. .. Clearly, Jehovah's Witnesses are
'absorbed in humanity.'" We have heard, time and again, this same
pious claim coming from many Witnesses that their group alone embodies the
spirit of Christ's command to "have love among yourselves." (John
13:35 NWT).
While it is true that there is much appealing warmth and community among
Witness social circles, this love is hardly exemplary of divinely endued love
for mankind. Genuine Christian love is inspired by the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5),
abundantly bestowed upon all mankind by God,
whether righteous or not (John
3:16) and is to be fully manifest in the world by all Christians (Matthew
5:43-46, Romans 13:9-10, 1 John 4:7-12). However, the quality of socializing
that Witnesses conduct among themselves is typically group-centered and leaves
little room for non-Witnesses. The claim on pages 6-7 that Witnesses are
"quick to respond" with relief supplies and other humanitarians
assistance is clearly meant to imply that they engage in this activity as a
matter of course for the non-Witness destitute around them, which is not the
case whatsoever (5). The fellowship and fraternity Witnesses can expect of one
another rarely seems extended outside their group, except, of course, to new
prospects whom they are anxious to impress. Consider the following quotation
from the same Watchtower issue we've been looking into, which speaks
volumes:
We must be on guard against extended association with worldly people.
Perhaps it is a neighbor, a school friend, a workmate, or a business associate.
We may reason, 'He respects the Witnesses, he leads a clean life, and we do talk
about the truth occasionally.' Yet, the experience of others proves that in
time we may even find ourselves preferring such worldly company to
that of a spiritual brother or sister. (p. 24).
The perpetual suspicion that a
"worldly" person automatically will lead the "spiritual" to
stray from Witness principles hardly demonstrates an absorption with humanity.
Indeed, it only serves to show how socially isolated Witnesses are expected to
be from the larger society outside their organization. This separatist attitude
contributes to an aloof posture by most Witness communities to their local
community. There is little to no corporate participation by
Jehovah's Witnesses in mutual efforts put forth by other community groups for
the local common good, such as the support of food banks, pro-life activism, or
mentoring programs for youth at risk. "Clearly," the article says
on page 7, "Jehovah's Witnesses are 'absorbed in humanity'" - but in
practical reality, the global Watchtower constituency has yet to come anywhere
close to even remotely suggesting that such an "absorption" is part of
a "compassion consciousness" Witnesses excel in.
We
must sadly conclude that millions of sincere Jehovah's Witnesses worldwide are
indeed being led astray by a powerful and destructive influence originating from
the Watchtower Society that cannot be called anything else but cultic. We
take no pleasure in making this assertion, yet we do so out of loving concern
for Witnesses everywhere, and for those involved with them. It is our prayer
that this article has helped you see why so many do indeed feel the Watchtower
is cultic to the core, and why all truly God-fearing people should recognize it
for the human enterprise it has long, long ago become.
If you are
laboring under the spell of marching to the Watchtower's organizational
drumbeat, we would encourage you to turn
away from any blind obedience to a man-made religious organization and instead,
consider once again the warm love and call of Jesus Christ for real and
eternal salvation. His saving grace, which bestows true peace and communion with
God is given so freely and immediately by nothing more and nothing less then
faith in Him and Him alone for the forgiveness of sin. No organization can ever
equal that! Turn to Christ Jesus for true salvation and the Scriptures for true
instruction on Godly living, not the dictates of a cult group like the
Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Brooklyn, New York.
