Cults & isms

The BITE model is a framework for evaluating mind control in cults. It's based on the idea that cults control people through behavior, information, thought and emotion,

What does BITE stand for?

B = Behavior
I  = Information
T =Thought
E = Emotion

How does the BITE model work?

Unfreezing  -  cults break down a person's identity
Changing  -  cults indoctrinate the person with false information
Refreezing  -  cults build a new identity for the person, often by denigrating their past self.

What does the BITE model describe?

How cults control people's actions and behaviors

How cults use undue influence to control people

More information  on BITE can be found here. 

  Freedom of Mind - Bite Model

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True Christianity 

History is riddled with numerous lies and belief systems trying to derail Jesus teaching and the truth of God's word.  IF you are going to survive as a Christian, THEN you must read and know God's word.

John 1:1-5

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.  All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.  In him was life and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

John 8:31-32

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

There are lots of books and testimonies warning people NOT to get involved with this cult.  It is insidious ... not as insidious as Independent Baptists, Exclusive Brethren, Christian Scientists and New Thought believers ... as it's faults soon become obvious with any closer examination of the Bible.

Caution

You are advised not to take on JWs in debate. You will waste your time.  They are indoctrinated in their beliefs with well-rehearsed arguments and counter arguments.  They will tie you up in deceitful theology and verses taken out of context.

Look deep into the blackness of their eyes, pray God's love into their hearts and remember they are lost souls seeking a personal connection with our loving Heavenly Father.

Pray for an opportunity to invite them to a Bible-teaching church.

Founders

Charles Taze Russell was a Pastor and founder of Zion's Watch Tower and the Bible Student Movement.

Russell and his publishing company inaccurately promoted the dates of Christ's return in 1870, 1874 and 1914.

Russell was a charismatic figure and made numerous claims that his studies and commentaries were more reliable than the Bible.  He viewed himself as God's mouthpiece and discredited Christian creeds and traditions.

His credibility was destroyed when:

(i)  a defamation court case found that he did not know Latin, Hebrew or Greek and had not been ordained by any bishop or minister.  

(ii)  his "Miracle Wheat" product had no verifiable test results. 

(iii)  his wife divorced him over her right to share control of the WatchTower magazine.

After his death in 1916, The Watchtower organisation went through several theological splits with the Jehovah's Witness cult emerging in 1931 under the leadership of Jospeh Franklin Rutherford.

Today the "Governing Body" of The WatchTower has a moveable body of beliefs with rear-guard shifts in public teaching called "adjustments" as "new light" comes from God and the angels.

Flawed/twisted beliefs:

1.  JWs have their own translation of the Bible known as the New World Translation but curiously its producers are anonymous and there’s no way of knowing the credentials of the translators. 

2.  JWs deny the deity of Jesus Christ, and even the Holy Spirit in their translations. In fact, they distort the pronouns calling Him an ‘it‘, ‘which‘ or ‘that‘, but never as coequal, or a person or a part of the Godhead.

3.  JWs deny Christ’s bodily resurrection and second coming. In fact they deny the Trinity all together and even claim that Satan was the originator of it!

4.  JWs assert that Christ isn’t the son of God, but he’s merely an incarnation and was previously known as, the archangel Michael, the captain of Jehovah’s hosts.

5.  JWs surmise (the Watchtower Society) to be the only source of truth on earth today and your soul will be destroyed if you refuse their organization and its followers are all prophets of God and the Governing Body is directed by angels from God.

6.  JWs also believe that to salute the flag is an act of idolatry.

7.  Since 1945 they don’t believe in taking any kind of blood transfusion even at the point of death.

8.  Participation in any civil holidays, Mother’s day, birthdays brings condemnation from God.

9.  JWs also claim that Christ’s second coming to the earth has already taken place! It happened in three stages. Firstly in 1874, Christ came to the upper air and later caught the apostles and dead members of the 144,000 who will become immortal. Then in 1914, Christ ended the times of the Gentiles and began to reign, and finally in 1918, Christ came to the spiritual temple and began judgment of the nations. 

10.  JWs believe in a works system of salvation, also known as auto-salvation and even go as far as to say that anyone who dies gets a second chance to receive ‘Jehovah’ during the Millennium reign.

11.  JWs deny conscious punishment and argue instead for painless extinction, but the Bible simply does not teach this. They deny a literal hell and choose to believe in annihilationism or the full destruction of man. We know clearly from the scriptures however, that Hell is a place of eternal torment, originally created for the devil and demon forces but man chose to go there because of his rejection of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. This is clear from scriptures like Matt 8:11-12, Matt 13:42, Matt 22:13, Luke 13:24-28, Luke 16:19-31 and finally Rev 14:9-11.

12.  Jehovah's Witnesses teach that salvation is possible only through Christ's ransom sacrifice and that individuals cannot be saved until they repent of their sins and call on the name of Jehovah.  Salvation is described as a free gift from God, but is said to be unattainable without good works that are prompted by faith. The works prove faith is genuine.  Preaching is said to be one of the works necessary for salvation, both of themselves and those to whom they preach. 

13.  JWs hate the cross of Christ.

14.  JWs don't baptise in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit

15.  JWs believe that they have the truth and anyone who doesn't believe their truth is a follower of Satan 

N.B.  Jehovah/Yehovah is an inaccurate translation of the tetragrammaton YHWH, pronounced yahwey, by breathing in on "yah", and out, on "wey".

Useful Links

Jehovah's Witnesses - Wikipedia

History of Jehovah's Witnesses - Wikipedia

Jehovah's Witness Beliefs - Wikipedia

Jehovah's Witness Doctrine - Wikipedia

Criticisims of Jehovah's Witnesses - Wikipedia

Source Text

Bryan McAnally - World Religions and What People Believe - www.GuidePosts.com

Ron Rhodes - Reasoning from Scripture with Jehovah's Witnesses  -  Amazon