Out May 17 - Memo PST "s/t" LP from In The Red. Debut album from this new group led by Orville Neeley (Bad Sports, OBN IIIs) and Chris Shaw (Ex-Cult, Vile Nation). Twelve blasts of raw and primitive Los Angles punk rock.
https://midheaven.com/item/memo-pst/s-t
#memopst
#intheredrecords
#obniiis
#badsports
#excult
#vilenation
#punkrock

I thought Wally made a really good point in this video. If you're trying to get a cult member to wake up, maybe consider recommending they take a break for a few months. He found that tons of JWs left the organization during early pandemic because their mind control routine was disrupted. It gave them extra time they could spend in their own way. Cults usually make this kind of break seem really dangerous so be prepared for resistance (maybe less resistance than the normal arguments against the beliefs themselves though).

https://youtu.be/cPGKX0FO65s?si=nncOCT8TPlVf06Zq

#exJW #exCult

I just watched this video from Panda Tower about major doctrinal changes being made by JW leadership (the Governing Body). They have always said that once the Great Tribulation starts, it will be too late to be saved, you won't be allowed to go convert to be a JW at that point. The people who were already Witnesses when it starts will be spared, and everyone else alive at that point will die. Crucially, they also won't be eligible for resurrection, so it's like a true death with no afterlife.

The new teaching is that they may still be able to change their mind, it's not too late! You have to understand how core of a teaching this was in JW theology. As Panda says, "The whole point of being a JW was to be prepared to survive the Great Tribulation. That was the driving force behind everything you did." JWs see themselves as a life raft on a sinking ship, and everything they do is about trying to get people on board before the end comes.

So, why are they doing this? I have two guesses.

One, they want to start saying that the Great Tribulation has started. They have been trying to find the right balance between 'the world is about to end' and 'ok it's actively ending now' and they're feeling pressure to declare endgame. But importantly they don't want recruitment efforts to stop once they announce that. "Still keep trying to bring people back! It's not too late!"

So many families have been torn apart by this teaching. Parents have spent their whole lives believing their disfellowshipped children would be barred from the afterlife by not returning to the church soon enough. A large part of why still-ins fight so hard to claw back folks that left is that they want to save them from this fate. And countless people have faced intense emotional abuse, where their actions towards self-protection are portrayed as selfish and destructive. as in, "How can you leave your kids knowing they won't be able to see you in Paradise. Do you want to die knowing you'll never see them again?"

So I think that may be part of the other reason too - they want to reduce some of the strain this puts on people. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of people follow a disfellowshipped person out, thinking "If I won't have them with me in Paradise I may as well not bother with being a JW at all". So they are feeling some pressure to soften the stance so that people don't give up (a lot of people are giving up, their retention numbers are really bad).

#exJW #exCult

https://youtu.be/Qaz5aft45FI?si=gS-NZnYJVTHQtEuy

the "don't criticize unless you have a better suggestion" argument is very tough for me to swallow, and I admit this may just be because of my trauma history. for many years I had trouble pointing out abusive issues with the JWs because they constantly say 'well it might have problems, but it's still the closest religion to the truth' or 'where else will you go' or 'any church in Christendom is worse'.

First of all, these things weren't true. But this mindset can be really freezing to critical thought. Sometimes it's hard to imagine an improvement. Sometimes you need to wrestle with critique for a while until an alternative comes to mind. Critique is a useful activity in its own right, and sometimes the 'better alternative' is in an entirely different category than the thing you are walking away from, so it's not obvious at first.

#exCult #exJW

JWs made a major policy change - members are no longer required to submit a monthly report on the number of hours they spent preaching and their literature placement rates for the month.

This report was a big source of guilt and a way to surveil the members. As Wally explains in this video, it was used to determine the privileges you were eligible for and your general status in the congregation. I'm surprised they did this but also I'm sure they needed to make things easier on members because they have been losing a ton of people lately.

#exJW #exCult

https://youtu.be/pdsj4a-GtOQ?si=nWuuVmqPZa87ChHA

Is Eckankar a cult? I never hear them listed when people talk about high-control groups, even though they resemble a lot of other ones by being a new religious movement and having a lot of gatherings and their own songs. Is this an example of the fabled non-abusive NRM?

note: they definitely seem appropriative, it's basically a white guy leader taking a lot from Sikhism and Hinduism. not trying to say they are great I'm just curious if they are a cult.

#exCult #religion

I'm reminded of a sneaky language trick JWs do. When you leave they will announce from the podium "[Name] is no longer one of Jehovah's Witnesses." They say this exact phrase when they forcibly kick people out and when people choose to leave on conscience grounds. But the audience will always interpret it as the first situation. Regardless, the audience is expected to shun the person and never speak to them again.

#exJW #exCult