Robin Jackson Blog

In recent weeks two much publicized cults have been in the spotlight. The first was the Jehovah’s Witnesses and the second was the Fundamentalist Church of the Latter-day Saints of Jesus Christ.

Firstly, Jehovah’s Witnesses have come under fire in Australia for breaching Victoria’s Working With Children Act of 2005. An initial 35 criminal charges were filed alleging that mandatory child protection laws were broken. The charges were filed by Mr Steven Unthank in relation to the refusal of the entire Committee of Management for the Religion of Jehovah’s Witnesses to comply with mandatory child protection laws, which primarily prevents convicted sex offenders, child rapists, drug dealers and murderers from having access to children across a range of industries and organizations. These include religious organizations.

Mr Unthank issued a personal statement in which he stated that the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Watch Tower Society knew about these child protection laws and refused to comply with them from the outset. Mr Unthank went on to say that even the Department of Justice notified them and offered to assist them to comply. The Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses completely ignored the offer of assistance.

In my opinion this shows a scant disregard for the safety and well being of the children in the organization. It is common knowledge that Jehovah’s Witness children are made to go from house to house with adults, sometimes with little supervision, peddling watchtower publications. The problem of child sexual abuse within the Jehovah’s Witness organization has been highlighted before and more can be read about this at http://silentlambs.com. However, the Watch tower is quick to point out the abuse issues within other religious organizations.

Across the Atlantic a jury sentenced polygamist leader, Warren Jeffs, who heads a breakaway sect of the Mormon church to life in prison. This was for sexually assaulting two underage girls he wed as “spiritual” brides. Prosecutors said that Jeffs had “played a sick game of child molestation under the guise of religious ceremony”. The sentencing came a day after an audio recording was played on which Jeffs is heard telling young teen girls that they would be “rejected by God” if they refused his sexual advances. Mr Jeffs will now have to deal with advances from another kind while spending the rest of his life in prison.

The point I want to get to here is that in all of these cults it is the children who suffer the most. The indoctrination, fear tactics, sexual abuse and spiritual abuse can leave children emotionally and physically scarred. The lack of protection and the utter disregard for children’s rights within these groups are a matter of concern. In South Africa the lack of education and awareness of the issue around abuse in churches and cults is not well publicized and exposed. Many are afraid to speak out and to challenge the abusers and those in authority in these groups. As a result these abusers and peadophiles carry on their business unchecked. 

As long as we adults stay silent the children stay victims and will carry on suffering in destructive and abusive churches.

A group of concerned parents in and around Durban, South Africa have set up a website –www.ctmiconcernedparents.com – with stories of their children who have become involved with a church identified as Grace Gospel Church. The church is a branch of Church Team Ministries International (CTMI), an international Christian group with head offices in Mauritius. Young people from upmarket Durban suburbs are being recruited into the group which many parents call a mind controlling Christian cult. It is alleged that some are married off to men they hardly know and who are chosen for them by the church.

It has been reported that many young people have abandoned their studies and careers and left their families to live with church leaders at their various homes. CTMI is led by founder and televangelist Miki Hardy, who lived on a luxurious estate.

The Concerned Parents Group was formed with the aim of restoring damaged relationships and educating others about the dangers of the church group. A common thread that runs through the stories of the parents is that their children have become alienated, robotic, and reluctant to participate in family gatherings.
A 22 year – old girl who did not wish to be named attended the church from childhood and spent some time at the group’s headquarters in Mauritius stated: “They believe their way is the only way. They are not bad people, but they are elitist. They have stopped seeing reality. I’ve seen my good friends, girls of 18 and 19, give up their dreams because the church labelled them ‘worldly’ and ‘of the flesh’.

“They’ve had their lives mapped out for them by the church and some have been married off to men chosen for them by the church, guys they hardly know. These girls had good relationships with their families, but not anymore. The church told them these are emotional relationships and not right, and they must distance themselves from their families. No one is forced to go to Mauritius, but they are strongly advised to move there. If you question the leadership and share your own views, then you are ostracised – that’s it. This is out of control.”

What this girl says positively identifies this groups as a cult. Former members of the Jehovah’ Witnesses, Mormons, Moonies, Scientologists etc will all identify with her utterances.

This was originally reporeted on by the Cape Argus and The Star newspapers.
http://www.capeargus.co.za/?fSectionId=3571&fArticleId=vn20091107072434816C446171

The following is an extract from my book Cults: How They Work

Information Control

Cults tell their members not to read any information outside the cult. All information from outside the cult is considered to be “evil”, especially if that information is in opposition to the cult. Only information which is supplied by the cult is true. Here too cults label any information against it as “persecution” or “spiritual pornography”. The cult I was a member of calls it “apostate literature”. No doubt books like this one will likewise fall into their respective labels. You also run the risk of being expelled from the group if you are caught in possession of any such literature. Members are trained to instantly destroy any information critical of the cult, and not even to entertain the thought that it could be true.

       Therefore, what we can conclude from this is that those who control the information control the person. Naturally, a person who does not consider all information will make unbalanced decisions. Throughout history the practice of filtering information available or trying to discredit it, not on the basis of how true it is, but how it supports the party-line is a common mind control tool.

       This extract from the Watchtower’s monthly publication, Our Kingdom Ministry, September 2007 edition, is a classic example of information control used by cults.

Does ‘the faithful and discreet slave” endorse independent groups of Witnesses who meet together to engage in scriptural research or debate?

No, it does not. And yet in various parts of the world, a few associates of our organization have formed groups to do independent research on Bible-related subjects. […] Throughout the earth, Jehovah’s people are receiving ample spiritual instruction and encouragement at congregation meetings, assemblies, and conventions, as well as through the publications of Jehovah’s organization. […] For those who wish to do extra Bible study and research, we recommend that they explore Insight on the Scriptures, “All Scripture Is Inspired Of God and Beneficial,” and our other publications, such as those that discuss the prophecies found in the Bible books of Daniel, Isaiah, and Revelation. These provide abundant material for Bible study, […] (September 2007, Kingdom Ministry, Question Box) [Italics mine]

       In the above quote members are encouraged to only consult or research the Watchtowers publications for personal research purposes, thereby controlling the information they receive.

       Another former Opus Dei member, Colm Larkin, explains how every book that could be read by Opus Dei members carried a censorship rating that ranged from one to six. Books that were rated with the number one could be read by everybody. Books rated with the number two could only be read if permission was granted. The books rated between three and five could only be read by established members and also depended on the amount of time they belonged to The Work. Lastly, those books rated with the number six were completely banned to everybody.

       Legitimate groups have nothing to fear from their members reading critical information about them. The internet has become a valuable source of information. This tool has also proved to be a thorn in the side of many of these cults and they frequently discourage members from using it. Furthermore, I do admit that some information on the internet should be taken with a pinch of salt, but the vast majority of the information about cults is dead accurate.

       In my opinion, any organization that has to constantly warn its followers against using the internet has a lot to hide. And certainly many of these groups would much rather cover-up much of their past (and present). If you are instructed by a group not to read any information critical of the group, then it is a sure sign of a cult.

Winston Churchill once warned, “we have nothing to fear, but fear itself.” How true these words are when we analyse the motivating factor behind many religious and political movements. This is especially so when we apply this to the cults of our day.
It is one of the most common threads that weave cults like the Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, and the Moonies together.

These cults fear change, loss of influence and modernization. They fear the influence of mass media and its ability to subvert the young with song, dance, fashion, alcohol, drugs, sex and freedom. Education is especially feared if it undermines the teachings of their religion. They fear a future they can’t control, or even comprehend.

Jehovah’s Witnesses fit this notion outright. Their doctrines are based on fear and it is a tactic they have used for decades to recruit new members and to keep the rank and file in check. One only has to look at their publications and literature wherein depictions of destruction and violence are rife. Their book of bible stories, a publication that is supposedly targeted to teach children about the bible, is notorious for its imagery of violence and brutality. No wonder there are reports of Witness children having nightmares when reading this book (And here I speak from personal experience). If their intention was to instil fear in the minds of their little ones then they have certainly succeeded.

Their blood doctrine is certainly the one that is rooted in fear. By now we all know that many lives have been lost due to their refusal to accept blood transfusions. This refusal to have a blood transfusion administered to them is supposedly in obedience to their god who wants them to die and leave family members and young children behind. Once again fear stands out. Fear of disobeying their god and losing their so-called hope of a resurrection into a paradise earth. And here I emphasise the word “hope” because you are not really guaranteed a resurrection according to the Witnesses.

Jehovah’s Witnesses also fear the “end of days”. The word Armageddon sends shivers down their spine. It is the one day they fear the most. They obey their savage and bloodthirsty god for fear of not being spared at Armageddon. Once again this is instilled in them with imagery in their publications.

The leadership is also to be feared. Every utterance that comes forth from the leaders is supposed to be seen as the undeniable “Truth”. And don’t you dare question the leaders! If you do, you are threatened with expulsion and excommunication. The fear of being expelled and losing ones family is what keeps the members from ultimately leaving. This characteristic of fear certainly is another identifying mark of cults and fundamentalist high control groups.

In a nutshell, Jehovah’s Witnesses and their fundamentalist principals characterised by intolerance and rigid adherence to those principles is a cult rooted in fear.

For centuries man has been pre-occupied with predicting the end of the world. Throughout history their have been so-called visionaries and prophets that have claimed to have been given divine authority to predict the end. Calculating precisely when the world will end has preoccupied a long line of forecasters. From Sibyl who predicted the return of Nero as the Antichrist in 195, to William Miller who in the nineteenth century predicted the end to come in 1843.

The list of projected ends generated by these doomsdayers is impressive. Amongst them the dates: 195, 500, 948, 1000, 1260, 1420, 1588, 1666, 1763, 1785, 1819, 1843, 1866, 1903, 1914 and 1975 rank tops. These dates have been fervently anticipated and then bitterly mourned.

The Jehovah’s Witnesses is one sect that has preached and has been most obsessed with end time prophecy.The Witnesses original mathematical groundwork was laid down by Charles Taze Russell. Russell originally predicted the end to come in 1914 according to his mystical and mathematical calculations of Daniels prophecy. He died in 1916 a disappointed and dejected man.

For centuries now we have been living at the end of the world…

OK. This is where I go and explain the reason for the title of my blog. Losing The Faith – Truth under scrutiny is the title of my upcoming book. It is the story of my journey through the organisation known as The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society. A sect that commands total control over its followers and claims that it alone is the channel of communication between God and men. Growing up in the religion I was not allowed to celebrate Christmas, Easter, birthdays etc. Those people that come knocking on your door on a Sunday morning peddling magazines together with a Bible message,well, I was one of them. Yes you guessed right. You know them as Jehovah’s Witnesses.

There were quite a few of the teachings that used to bother me. This caused me great mental anguish to the point that I eventually decided to do my own research into the organisation. What I uncovered dealt a devastating blow to my faith in the organisation. I could not see myself supporting and belonging to a cult that breaks up families and causes countless deaths of its followers because of its blood transfusion policy. The cover ups,doctrinal flip-flops and outright lies endorsed by the Watchtower are to numerous to mention. My gripe is with the leaders of the organisation who enforce teachings on its followers that have no sound scriptural backing.

Millions worldwide are being held captive to a concept. A concept that can be very dangerous to individuals and families.