Jehovah’s Witnesses ‘a cruel cult’
ReligionNewsBlog.com • Friday March 15, 2013
Jehovah’s Witnesses are a cruel religion with no soul, says Melbourne cultbuster Raphael Aron.
Aron is a a psychologist, counsellor and director of Melbourne’s Cult Counselling Australia.
The Age says
His warning comes as the federal government considers tightening the definition of a charity to prevent some cults and quasi-religions keeping their tax free status. Independent senator Nick Xenophon has renewed calls for a national cult-busting agency.
Aron specifically targets the Jehovah’s Witnesses practice of shunning— a Biblical concept twisted beyond recognition by the cult.
“I am still waiting for a justification for someone to be able to rip away a five or six year old child from their extended family because Mum or Dad have decided to leave the Jehovah’s Witnesses,” he says.
Former members say shunning can involve bullying, threats, harassment and stalking to lure the ‘apostate’, or lapsed member, back. The religion’s scripture magazine The Watchtower describes ‘apostates’ as “mentally diseased” outcasts who “seek to infect others.”
Mr Aron says shunning is “draconian, cruel and callous.”
Jehovah’s Witnesses
Theologically, Jehovah’s Witnesses is a cult of Christianity. Sociologically the movement has many cult characteristics as well. [Note the difference between theological and sociological definitions of the term ‘cult.’
Christian denominations and theologians overwhelmingly view the movement as falling outside the boundaries of normative, Biblical Christianity. While the movement’s Governing Body views itself as “God’s faithful and discreet slave,” its members and followers can not be considered to be Christians.
Research resources on Jehovah’s WitnessesSource
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