Religion, cult, or gang?

[evboat]

My wife came home with ash on her head yesterday and I was wondering what defines and separates these three. They all want you to join to serve a greater purpose and to better yourself. They are have good and bad aspects. Killing innocent people bad. Snappy clothes good.

[instrument]

Oooooooooo good question!

Cause even accepted religions have cult like denominations.....

Like mormons, mostly accepted till you get to the poligamists.... Even catholics have those opus dei folks.

My personal belief is that they're all cults afraid to accept the nature of life.

[boosterp]

Wow, I am no theologian but I do have a view on this.

A particular religion is not necessarily mainstream but is something that is widely adopted.

A religious based cult is a break away group, usually much smaller than what it broke away from. This break away is usually unintentional yet the smaller group has it's own philosophy based on the bigger group yet only adopted by the smaller following.

A gang does not quite fit into these definitions.

[A.J.]

"What are three things the world would be better off without."

http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/sportatorium/Carnac.jpg

[boosterp]

"What are three things the world would be better off without."

http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/sportatorium/Carnac.jpg

:lol:

[MacVittie]

This is how I define a cult:

1) The leader of the cult is viewed as God himself, and no one can question his or her will.

2) There is an intense initiation process where cult members and brainwashed and made to abandon all non-cult ideas, practices, and people.

3) There is a strong belief that the end is very close.

4) Once a member, you can not under any circumstances leave the cult.

The way I see it, major religions aren't cults because you can still do secular things if you are Catholic or Jewish or what have you, and you can be a Catholic for 40 years and leave on a whim, and come back any time you like. Gangs aren't cults because their leaders aren't necessarily God-like and they usually don't deal with the endtimes. To me, the real cults are your Jim Jones/David Koresh deals. Even the Heaven's Gate people led by Marshall Applewhite seemed pretty peaceful in their decision to castrate themselves and commit suicide in their white Nikes, so to me there just a bunch of LARPers.

[Furtherman]

"What are three things the world would be better off without."

http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/sportatorium/Carnac.jpg

A.J. scores again! QFT.

Every religion started as a gang (I'm not talking bloods and crypts gangs) and every cult started as a religion. It's just a progression of brainwashing.

[yojimbo7248]

This is how I define a cult:

1) The leader of the cult is viewed as God himself, and no one can question his or her will.

2) There is an intense initiation process where cult members and brainwashed and made to abandon all non-cult ideas, practices, and people.

3) There is a strong belief that the end is very close.

4) Once a member, you can not under any circumstances leave the cult.

This sounds a lot like the earliest group of Christians. 1) Jesus was viewed as the Son of God, which, as I understand it, means he is God. Our protestant church taught us that the Trinity means that God is like H2O and the Father is Ice, Son is like Steam, and Holy Spirit like Water. 2) Baptism, leaving behind previous religious traditions and ties. 3) Book of Revelations. 4) You can leave Christianity if you are fine with your soul enduring eternal punishment in hell.

[razorboy]

There are differences?

[MacVittie]

4) You can leave Christianity if you are fine with your soul enduring eternal punishment in hell.

Yeah, but there's a difference between leaving and coming back and an implied punishment in another dimension and a bullet between the eyes if you don't want to drink the Kool-Aid.

[yojimbo7248]

Yeah, but there's a difference between leaving and coming back and an implied punishment in another dimension and a bullet between the eyes if you don't want to drink the Kool-Aid.

this will be a fairly narrow definition if you only call a cult a group that will kill you if you leave.

[cougarjake13]

theyre all the same

[Devo37]

"What are three things the world would be better off without."

http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/sportatorium/Carnac.jpg

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[GreatAmericanZero]

"What are three things the world would be better off without."

http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/sportatorium/Carnac.jpg

true dat!