I Dont Go to Church

One of the great many churches I have found I disagree with on innumerable issues.

@PeaceandCompassion: Aw, that's sad.

@MartinTheFirst: not really. JW's are a cult with well documented history of failed prophecies and abusive behavior towards its members. Shunning and the threat of shunning is abusive.

@Doomflower: And what do you think makes us a cult? We're not a cult, come on now 🙄 We're also above 8 million people. Failed prophecies? We don't make prophecies my friend, the prophecies are only written in the bible... We don't take part of abusive behavior either, I've lived with this religion since I was a child, I should know. And no, Shunning is important to keep track of people who could harm others within our organization.

@MartinTheFirst: All religions are cults but in the colloquial sense we use the term to refer to a small and harmful religion.

Predictions (by date of publication) include:

1877: Christ's kingdom would hold full sway over the earth in 1914; the Jews, as a people, would be restored to God's favor; the "saints" would be carried to heaven.[28]
1891: 1914 would be "the farthest limit of the rule of imperfect men."[29]
1904: "World-wide anarchy" would follow the end of the Gentile Times in 1914.[30]
1916: World War I would terminate in Armageddon and the rapture of the "saints".[31]
1917: In 1918, Christendom would go down as a system to oblivion and be succeeded by revolutionary governments. God would "destroy the churches wholesale and the church members by the millions." Church members would "perish by the sword of war, revolution and anarchy." The dead would lie unburied. In 1920 all earthly governments would disappear, with worldwide anarchy prevailing.[32]
1920: Messiah's kingdom would be established in 1925 and bring worldwide peace. God would begin restoring the earth. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and other faithful patriarchs would be resurrected to perfect human life and be made princes and rulers, the visible representatives of the New Order on earth. Those who showed themselves obedient to God would never die.[33]
1922: The anti-typical "jubilee" that would mark God's intervention in earthly affairs would take place "probably the fall" of 1925.[34]
1924: God's restoration of Earth would begin "shortly after" October 1, 1925. Jerusalem would be made the world's capital. Resurrected "princes" such as Abel, Noah, Moses and John the Baptist would give instructions to their subjects around the world by radio, and airplanes would transport people to and from Jerusalem from all parts of the globe in just "a few hours".[35]
1938: Armageddon was too close for marriage or child bearing.[36]
1941: There were only "months" remaining until Armageddon.[37]
1942: Armageddon was "immediately before us."[38]
1961: Awake! magazine stated that the heavenly kingdom "will, within the twentieth century, cleanse the entire earth of wickedness."[39]
1966: It would be 6000 years since man's creation in the fall of 1975 and it would be "appropriate" for Christ's thousand-year reign to begin at that time.[40] Time was "running out, no question about that."[41] The "immediate future" was "certain to be filled with climactic events ... within a few years at most", the final parts of Bible prophecy relating to the "last days" would undergo fulfillment as Christ's reign began.
1967: The end-time period (beginning in 1914) was claimed to be so far advanced that the time remaining could "be compared, not just to the last day of a week, but rather, to the last part of that day".[42]
1968: No one could say "with certainty" that the battle of Armageddon would begin in 1975, but time was "running out rapidly" with "earthshaking events" soon to take place.[43] In March 1968 there was a "short period of time left", with "only about ninety months left before 6000 years of man's existence on earth is completed".[44]
1969: The existing world order would not last long enough for young people to grow old; the world system would end "in a few years." Young Witnesses were told not to bother pursuing tertiary education for this reason.[45]
1971: The "battle in the day of Jehovah" was described as beginning "[s]hortly, within our twentieth century".[46]
1974: There was just a "short time remaining before the wicked world's end" and Witnesses were commended for selling their homes and property to "finish out the rest of their days in this old system in the pioneer service."[47]
1984: There were "many indications" that "the end" was closer than the end of the 20th century.[48]
1989: The Watchtower asserted that Christian missionary work begun in the first century would "be completed in our 20th century".[49] When the magazine was republished in bound volumes, the phrase "in our 20th century" was replaced with the less specific "in our day".

Then there's disfellowshipping which is just sick. I saw it done to a 13 year old girl once. And cover ups of sexual abuse also happen in KH they are just not as widely publicised.

Oh and also the idiotic no blood thing is dumb. You're a step below Mormons and their magic underwear and spirit children in the dumb beliefs department. At least Mormons don't have doctrines that are actually physically dangerous.

@Doomflower: You're being quite disrespectful, and to say all religions are cults is quite ignorant of you.

Okay let's see here.

There's quite a lot in here about The End. Now something that is important to understand when we're talking about the time Harmageddon will occur, is that we don't believe we know the exact date. We've believed and we've hoped that it would come soon, just as any other person believing in Christ do. We don't pretend as if we know what date it is going to occur, as it's clearly said in the Bible Scriptures that no one will know what day Harmaggedon will occur on. We don't make prophecies, as we don't have the capability of it and we very well know that. The quotes in what you copy pasted is simply someone being too wishful and blurting something out, and then evidently being wrong about their hopes.

It's not a sin to hope that the end is near, that is in fact how one would stay ready for it. We don't pretend as if we can make prophecies, but we simply hope.

@MartinTheFirst: cult has only recently come to have a negative connotation. All religions are technically cults but not all cults are religions.

I copy and pasted a listing from wikipedia on predictions from the JWs because writing the whole thing out myself is a bit of a pain. The point is the pattern and the pattern is clearly seen by anyone not blinded by cognitive dissonance.

You hope for the end times? You hope for global death, destruction, and suffering. You hope that the world and the billions of people who don't believe as you do will all pass away? That's just sick.

@MartinTheFirst: I am under no obligation to respect religious beliefs. People deserve respect. Opinions do not.

@Doomflower: Definition of Cult: a system of religious beliefs and rituals.

No we're not a cult, because a cult has rituals in it, and we do not take part of any rituals. We're a religious organization.

A pattern of people having faith in that the time will come soon, is there something wrong with that?

Not at all, I hope for paradise.

@Doomflower: No, respect comes from the heart and it's given for nothing in return.

@MartinTheFirst: so going to kingdom hall isn't a ritual? Studying your bible isn't a ritual? LOL

You hope for paradise for you and your tribe, death to everyone else.

@Doomflower: Do you know what a ritual is?

I don't hope for death, do not twist my words. I hope for paradise, and the ones who do not want to be apart of it will have to suit themselves, I certainly hope that they would reconsider my beliefs, but that's not up to me.

@MartinTheFirst: have you read about the end times? Do you think non JW'S will just disappear? Nah... they die horribly. Read your bible. Even the NIV has some pretty nasty descriptions in there.

@Doomflower: A ritual is a [quote] ceremony in which the actions and wording follow a prescribed form and order.[/quote]

As an example, sacrificing would be considered a ritual.
We do not take part of rituals.

@MartinTheFirst: whatever you say baby cakes. You are so young I really shouldn't pick on you.

Okay, lets not call it a cult. It is a denomination or sect. Your sect is the second stupidest version of Christianity.

@Doomflower: Indeed many will die, so if you fear the end times, then perhaps you should reconsider your ways? I can not tell you what to do. I simply hope for the paradise and that as many as possible will follow God's words.

@MartinTheFirst: I don't fear the end times. I am telling you that you're a pretty sick person for hoping that they will happen.

You hope for paradise for you and death for everyone else. Oh you don't want them to die so much but you're fine with most of the world being killed for not picking the right version of your magic jew story.

@Doomflower: Your condescending ways do not bite on me.

Indeed let's not call it a cult, because it isn't one, that's a fact.

@MartinTheFirst: It is a cult but I don't expect you to see it as you're currently in one. Most cult members don't believe they are in a cult until they get out.

The full definition of cult:

cult (kŭlt)
n.
1.
a. A religion or religious sect generally considered to be extremist or false, with its followers often living in an unconventional manner under the guidance of an authoritarian, charismatic leader.
[b]I would say the watchtower society and the governing body fit this bill [/b]
b. The followers of such a religion or sect.
2. A system or community of religious worship and ritual.
[b]the kingdom hall is a community and you get together to worship. Having been to kingdom hall before I can tell you are either delusional or lying when you say it isn't a ritual.[/b]
3. The formal means of expressing religious reverence; religious ceremony and ritual.
4. A usually nonscientific method or regimen claimed by its originator to have exclusive or exceptional power in curing a particular disease.
5.
a. Obsessive, especially faddish, devotion to or veneration for a person, principle, or thing.
[b]In my experience it is insane how obsessed JW'S are with their beliefs.[/b]
b. The object of such devotion.
6. An exclusive group of persons sharing an esoteric, usually artistic or intellectual interest.