cults

[The Kilted Heathen]

Cults are just subsets of the Christian culture.
Without Christianity they wouldn't exist.
What decides if their teachings are not correct is whether it fits in with the current mainstream Christian culture.

Patently wrong. There were, for example, cults to Dionysus and Artemis long before there was a hint of Christianity in the world.

 

[Polymath257]

there are a few aspects that are definitely harmful, like murder. as far as monasticism and celibacy, they are not forced on people. if some people chose it, why is it harmful?

True, but *very* few cults advocate murder. Suicide is more common, but tends to be at the end of the life of a cult (for obvious reasons). MUCH more common is isolation from families and friends, financial indebtedness, and delusional thinking. The problem is that *all* of these are seen in mainline religions also.

 

[Polymath257]

Cults are just subsets of the Christian culture.
Without Christianity they wouldn't exist.
What decides if their teachings are not correct is whether it fits in with the current mainstream Christian culture.

There are many non-Christian cults and many cults existed before Christianity.

For that matter, the ancient Romans considered Christianity to be a cult with clearly unhealthy tendencies.

 

[columbus]

True, but *very* few cults advocate murder. Suicide is more common, but tends to be at the end of the life of a cult (for obvious reasons). MUCH more common is isolation from families and friends, financial indebtedness, and delusional thinking. The problem is that *all* of these are seen in mainline religions also.

This brings up another good point.
A precise definition of a cult is impossible, partly because many groups have some cultish facets to some degree. There is no clear bright line separating the cults from everything else.
Tom

 

[osgart]

Cults use brain washing techniques. They put social peer pressure on the members , not to act out of line in the group.

They use repetitious sayings constantly. And they are relentless. A cult member loses their sense of individuality, to the group pressure. The rules are rigid, and the culture is dominating.

Religions are often cults. Religion is business too. If you are not allowed to think for yourself, you are in a cult.

 

[Fool]

when a religion becomes a cult? what seperates religion from cults?

in my opinion, a cult is an organization that teaches harmful teachings.

cult and religion are synonyms.

cultivation comes from the word cult. the word culture does too.


a belief system is based on the environment in which it is cultivated. basically a religion comes from the culture.

here we see the idea of cultivating


19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
...........
23 Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.

 

[allfoak]

Cults are part of culture in every time a place.
I was apparently too specific.

Patently wrong. There were, for example, cults to Dionysus and Artemis long before there was a hint of Christianity in the world.

 

[The Kilted Heathen]

I should say so, as the way you worded it before made it sound as though they are unique and reliant upon Christianity.

 

[Quintessence]

when a religion becomes a cult? what seperates religion from cults?

in my opinion, a cult is an organization that teaches harmful teachings.

That's one meaning for the term. The word "cult" is pretty polysemic (as most words are). In a religious context it can also refer to:

1. A small (usually new) offshoot of an existing religious tradition.
2. A closed-door religious tradition (e.g., initiatory-only tradition, mystery tradition).
3. A group dedicated to the worship of a specific deity within a pantheon.
4. An all-purpose snarl word used to denigrate some religious tradition you have an axe to grind with.

 

[robocop (actually)]

Well, I'm glad that I've known about Steve Hassan's B.I.T.E. model for a long time.
It's a great resource! BITE Model | Freedom of Mind Resource Center Pretty universal!

I used to be Mormon when it had more of these things but it has improved. Also I was Raelian for 8 years and even left and want to go back. They have done nothing on the list to me except discourage drinking fluids that aren't water because your body is 70% water.

 

[DennisTate]

when a religion becomes a cult? what seperates religion from cults?

in my opinion, a cult is an organization that teaches harmful teachings.

Yes... and another important distinction would be when one powerful leader in the cult attempts to turn other members practically into clones of themselves..........
almost like images of themselves.......
and attempts to take away the personality of members of the cult.

 

[Katzpur]

when a religion becomes a cult? what seperates religion from cults?

Mostly, I think, it's a matter of degree of acceptance by the general public.

in my opinion, a cult is an organization that teaches harmful teachings.

I'd have to disagree with you there, as "harmful" is a pretty relative term. Lots and lots of people use the word "cult" to describe pretty much any religion they disagree with. It's kind of like the worst thing you can call a religion, so it's used more for religious mud-slinging than anything else.

To me, a cult -- dangerous or not -- is a group that uses excessive mind-control over its members, threatening them with complete isolation from those the have come to rely on should they decide they want to leave. A cult tries to limit its members' access to information other than information supplied by the group, and restricting its members from interacting with people on the outside. It typically induces fear in its members, not so much of physical harm, but of spiritual and emotional isolation.

 

[QuestioningMind]

when a religion becomes a cult? what seperates religion from cults?

in my opinion, a cult is an organization that teaches harmful teachings.

In my opinion any religion that advocates belief without genuine evidence is harmful. It's this mindset that enables so many people today to advocate the notion that what they 'feel' about something is somehow equivalent to demonstrable facts. Once we begin to promote the idea that facts are just a matter of opinion, all hope for our future survival is lost.

 

[Katzpur]

In my opinion any religion that advocates belief without genuine evidence is harmful.

Wouldn't that pretty much be religion in general? I can't think of a single solitary religion that can prove its claims to non-believers based on evidence.

 

[QuestioningMind]

Wouldn't that pretty much be religion in general? I can't think of a single solitary religion that can prove its claims to non-believers based on evidence.

I can't think of one either.

 

[columbus]

In my opinion any religion that advocates belief without genuine evidence is harmful.

Wouldn't that pretty much be religion in general?

Like most of these cultish attitudes, some religions do that a lot more than others.
"My way is right and all others are wrong, evil even." and "My scriptures say xyz is a bad thing to do, so therefore I can't allow you to do it." seems mostly a Christian and Muslim attitude. Not entirely, of course, Hindus get wrought up about cows and such.
But when was the last time a Jew or a Hellenist or Asatru even made a claim expecting you to accept it without evidence?
Tom

 

[QuestioningMind]

Like most of these cultish attitudes, some religions do that a lot more than others.
"My way is right and all others are wrong, evil even." and "My scriptures say xyz is a bad thing to do, so therefore I can't allow you to do it." seems mostly a Christian and Muslim attitude. Not entirely, of course, Hindus get wrought up about cows and such.
But when was the last time a Jew or a Hellenist or Asatru even made a claim expecting you to accept it without evidence?
Tom

All of them accept that there is a God(s) that they can offer no evidence for.

 

[columbus]

All of them accept that there is a God(s) that they can offer no evidence for.

But they don't expect you to do so. Most religions don't. They might like it if you do, but the adherents mostly don't care what other people believe about the unevidenced.
Tom

 

[QuestioningMind]

But they don't expect you to do so. Most religions don't. They might like it if you do, but the adherents mostly don't care what other people believe about the unevidenced.
Tom

I'm not staying religion is bad because religious people try and push their beliefs onto others. My argument is that if you start to accepts things as real based on feelings instead of facts in one part of your life there is a very real danger that you'll start accepting other things as real based on feelings instead of facts. The danger is that you'll start to have a world like we have today where everyone decides they can have their 'own facts' based simply on what they feel is true and not on actual verifiable evidence.

 

[arthra]

when a religion becomes a cult? what seperates religion from cults?
in my opinion, a cult is an organization that teaches harmful teachings.

I found an article on cults that may be of interest... Here's an excerpt from it and I'll provide the source:

"....five "defining characteristics" of a cult:

1. It has a charismatic leader demanding total authority and who is plagued by ethical improprieties.
2. It uses "controlling techniques"--primarily confession--which fosters an unhealthy dependency and the loss of independent thought in the cult follower.
3. It fosters social isolation--primarily by viewing noncult members as "impure" or "unsaved"--and physical isolation.
4. It utilizes extreme or fanatical behavior, including excessive rituals, aggressive "witnessing," and the promotion of violence.
5. It uses secrecy and deception, especially in doctrine and finances."

The Good Tree