Why are Mormons or Jehovah's Witness seen more as cults than the Amish?

Question

Is it only because they knock on doors?

Answer 1

Amish believe in God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit as the Bible teaches. Mormons believe God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit are three different elevated beings from another planet...and that we can all become like they are. They don't believe the Bible, but they believe in the Book of Mormon. Their Angel was named Moroni for a reason. Jehovah's Witnesses believe in the Watchtower which teaches that Jesus is not divine. They misinterpret many things in the Bible...they had to write their own version of the Bible in order to cover up their misinterpretations.

Answer 2

People are afraid of what they don't understand and quick to apply labels where they don't belong. True, JWs and LDS knock on doors, and that is, interestingly enough, something that Jesus set a precedent for and commanded (Matthew 28:19,20).

The Book of Mormon, well I suppose that's the main reason why they're considered a cult, but I'm not trying 2 point fingers here.

The Jehovah's Witnesses have done nothing to corrupt the Bible. The New World Translation is an accurate modern-language version that hasn't been tainted by the traditional/personal beliefs of its translators. Compare any NWT passage with a KJV or NIV passage. If you can locate any, compare all three with the oldest existing manuscripts.

Funny how the Amish (I'm apologizing in advance for the crudity of my statement) shy away from all but the simplistically simple, basically to the point of extremism, but the JWs and LDS are seen as a cult. (I guess I can't really offend any1 with that cuz no practicing Amish person would use the Net, right?)

Jehovah's Witnesses also don't follow a specific human leader, which is one of the primary definitions of a cult. Neither do the Amish (I don't think). I can't give a definite yea or nea on the Mormons, cuz I'm not sure how important Joseph Smith was 2 them.

Answer 3

Amish are Christian and they believe in the orthodox tenants
of the Faith. Virgin birth of Christ, the Trinity, The Resurrection.
the J.W.'s and Mormons DO NOT believe that Jesus Christ
is God the 2nd person of the trinity. The J.W's changed their
bible and the Mormons added the book of Mormons. Both
were tainted by Satanic Doctrine. The Amish believe the Bible
but just do legalistic things such as dress and how they live.
They are more of a sect and they don't proselytize( knock on doors).

Answer 4

I think the fact that we Witnesses are not secluded in farms and what not is a main reason we are slandered. When one willingly extends themselves they open themselves to scrutiny and slander. The Amish are not exactly in the public eye often.

On the other hand since answering questions on Y!A I have seen many say that: The Amish, The Catholics, Wiccans, Buddists, Baptists, Witnesses, Mormons, etc are all Cultists. It seems that the word cult has now come to mean EVERYONE who believes differently than me.

Answer 5

I know Amish and JWs personally and I know of Mormons.

JWs are pretty cult like in their practices. They deny the Holy Spirit and practice the act of shunning people. They claim some pretty darn weird stuff that isn’t in MY bible. They publish the Watchtower and then wonder why everybody thinks they are a cult.

Mormons should realize that they are up a creek when they read REV 22:18

Rev 22:18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:

The Amish on the other hand are bible believing Christian folk who keep to themselves. They NEVER recruit, they breed. They don’t have church houses but they have services in each others houses. They read a slightly trimmed down version of the bible, at least the ones I know. They believe Christ died for our sins and that he’s coming back soon.

Answer 6

The Amish are not evangelical. This means they are not competing with the other sects for market share.
The Jehova's Witness and Mormons are competition. So of course the other competing sects refer to them as cults, consider it as a negative branding strategy. If it was being done by soap companies there would be lawsuits.

Answer 7

It's because many Christians see them as a threat, and are afraid. They use the word "CULT" to get a knee-jerk reaction of fear and anger and hate, despite the fact that there really is nothing to fear from either group. MOST people are smart enough t decide for themselves whether or not they want to believe the way the J. W. 's or the Mormons do. We, and they, don't need fear-crazed non-LDS, non-JW CHristians causing fear and, yes, even panic, among those who otherwise are ignorant of what we believe.

The Amish don't generally proselytize or otherwise try to recruit from outside their own ranks. They keep to themselves for the most part. They aren't a threat.

Answer 8

Because the Amish are considered Christians by many people, while Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses aren't.

Answer 9

I really don't know. I am Mormon, and some people have pretty insane opinions. Like Cloud and Blitzpup for example. They have NO idea what they are talking about. And zoril, that is pretty crazy. There aren't 3 gods. Jesus is the Father's son and the Holy Ghost is a spiritual being that can help guide and direct us.

Answer 10

I think they are consider more like a cult for the same reasons the ancient Jews thought Christian Jews were.

They viewed them as following an uneducated ex-carpenter of the Jewish Lower Class who was executed for cause by the governing authority.

They were uneducated, lower class individuals, such as a failed fisherman (Peter) and a hated tax collector (Matthew).

Lacking any formal education, they were easy to manipulate into believing he was the Messiah, something that was impossible, as he did not bring about the destruction (Armageddon) of the enemies of the Truly Blessed People of God, the Israelites, as was prophesied.

After his lawful execution, these clearly brainwashed followers began going door to door telling their brethren that the traditional beliefs, rituals, and observances (holidays), dating back hundreds of years, were no longer valid.

They began creating their one scriptures, to support their false beliefs, instead of relying on the Holy Torah, which had sustained God’s People for hundreds of years.

Finally, there were highly educated individuals, especially in the religious arts, such as Saul of Tarsus, who could clearly prove that they were a false cult, bent on leading God’s People down a false path to destruction.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saul_of_Tarsus

What happened to them, as a result of their false teachings, and their door to door work, was only to be expected of people who have lost their way.

Clearly, what you may or may not think of JWs is reliant on your point of view, just as it was in those first years. Having an advanced education in religion does not mean that you are right, only that you sound that way.

JWs may have come from a simple, and some times, erratic beginnings, but at least they are making a valid effort to do better. You cannot say that for other religions who:

Continue to get involved in politics;

Lie to the IRS about not doing so in order to get their non-profit status;

Avoids paying taxes on retail sales within the church;

Allows immorality to creep into the church;

Immortalizes their founders through the observance of a birthday, death, and/or anniversary of the founding of the church;

Places a pictures of the founders in all their churches, so that all can see and pay obeisance;

Gives tacit approval to the Theory of Evolution; and

Doesn’t teach their followers to preach and teach the Bible, as Christ instructed.