I recall one particular Thursday evening at the mandatory meeting held each week to teach Jehovah’s Witnesses and prospectives the art of speaking with householders.
Demonstrations would be held with two witnesses, one posing as the homeowner and the other acting as the visiting proselyte.
We would also read sections from books detailing the finer points of Jehovah’s Witness theology. This was for a few reasons. One was because the doctrine is not obvious from a plain reading of the scripture and needed to be explained by the writings provided to us by the Watchtower organization.
Secondly, we had to thoroughly know what we were teaching so as to be able to refute any objection brought to us by those in other branches of Christianity. These pretend encounters would show us an example by which we could lead a person to a groove purposely funneled to end in the proper conclusion.
You would not want to be surprised at the door with something you could not answer. And so, there were practice sessions enacted for the entire congregation. Of course, the acting was shoddy and the person always was amenable to reading the provided text and scripture to show that Jehovah’s Witnesses know the only true way.
We would nod and smile even as they gave few protestations that whatever their position was could hold water, knowing they would soon cave to the approved way of thinking.
This was one of the ways women could speak into a microphone that did not count as the leadership positions held only by men. It was a cute doublespeak by which women could teach but not really. It was sharing information.
In reality, Jehovah’s Witness women were not going to leave theology only to the men. When the majority of people going house to house are women, they have to know their stuff. And they do.
One night, the question was asked as to whether or not we were a cult. My ears bristled, and the air buzzed with electricity. Well? Were we? This was an accusation frequently leveled at Jehovah’s Witnesses during the 90s and aughts.
People would address us as being in a cult and tell us we were cult members. Many were flummoxed. Beset. Addressing the allegations as untrue. And so, when it was coming from the front, my ears were pricked.
What was going on? Were we really going to talk about this? Yes. And also no. Because, well.
So the question was posed, and the immediate response came back more as another question. Socratic method employed. Are not cults unorthodox? Well, yes. People could agree on this. Fringe groups are weird and uncouth. Did that describe us? Of course not. We were normal, held gainful employment, and went to school.
Were our beliefs unorthodox? No, of course not! We held to a truer form of scriptural interpretation than anybody else. We weren’t strange, either. We looked just like you. Like me. Like your neighbor down the street. Therefore, we weren’t a cult.
Look around at your fellow friends here. Is anything out of place? Isn’t anyone welcome? Cannot anybody descend upon our fellowships and sit with us? Duh. The question hardly begged asking.
What then?
There was nothing to hide, and we regularly invited outsiders to come and see our activities. We were moms, grandmothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, children, and adults. We held Bible studies to teach people the word of God free of charge out of the goodness of our own heart.
Therefore, the assertions that we were a cult were categorically untrue. Case closed. Everyone seemed more than satisfied. Deep sighs of relief could audibly be heard throughout the sanctuary.
Except, as far as Jehovah’s Witness explanations go, this one was like watery soup. Where were the vegetables and heavy meat substitutes? Where was the base and the usual thick slog through commentary and writings from the 4th century Mishnah? Where were quotes from ancient rabbis passed down from antiquity?
It struck me as odd the cursory way in which this issue was treated as opposed to literally every other subject about which they could go on for days.
But here we were. It was covered, and it was over. It was official. We were not a cult. Except that this is not the definition for what makes a cult. Not too long thereafter, I picked up a book about cults and how one can define them.
And then I purchased several more.
In these, I found detailed criteria for categorizing groups and also the means by which they will operate. Suddenly, what was around me in front of my very eyes appeared less innocuous but calculated for effect. And also very much like what in the pages I devoured with studied intensity.