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Are all religions cults?

Are all religions cults?

  • Yes

    Votes: 19 38.8%
  • no

    Votes: 26 53.1%
  • I do not know

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • other

    Votes: 4 8.2%

  • Total voters
    49
Now we can debate that but I already admit its just my opinion, people getting upset over facts seems like overreacting or they are too sensitive to me. If you dont think so thats fine by me.

I think you are correct. The word "cult" brings to mind visions of Jones Town. Manson and the Phelps family. The word "cult" has allot of negativity attached to it when it is actually not a negative word. It simply means devoted to something. This can be good or bad depending on what is going on.
 
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I think you are correct. The word "cult" brings to mind visions of Jones Town. Manson and the Phelps family. The word "cult" has allot of negativity attached to it when it is actually not a negative word. It simply means devoted to something. This can be good or bad depending on what is going on.

I agree 100%, some people do like to use it as a negative when there is no negativity attached to it. Much like the extremist on this very board will use words like Con, righty, lefty, libbo etc with a negative connotation to it, but in reality there is no real negativity with the definition of those actual words.

Its all perceived, subjective and made up.
 
Is it possible that only time will tell? Meaning, if someone follows "the one" they believe to be the correct religious leader - and it almost always comes down to one - eventually that particular "the one" is proved to be 1.) nuts; 2.) a liar; 3.) a crook; 4.) a guy trying to get laid on demand, etc. If so, then whatever that particular "the one" started was a cult. It could be proved in history or in the present, in which case it is or was an obvious cult. Or, it will be proved in the future - more likely a religion - false or true, if it lasts without 1, 2, 3, or 4 being proved, it becomes a religion (a true or a false religion).

If it's proved false in the hereafter, it's a false religion. If it's proved true in the hereafter, it's a true religion.

It's been my experience that it's pretty difficult to get someone to come back from the dead to show which ones are false and which one is true. Although, it may have happened...
 
All religions are cults and anyone who follows one is an idiot. Karl marx (don't **** your pants everyone) once said religion is the opiate of the masses. He was right.
 
All religions are cults and anyone who follows one is an idiot. Karl marx (don't **** your pants everyone) once said religion is the opiate of the masses. He was right.

I guess you don't like people having hope for the future?

My opinion, Gosh darn it GreenvilleGrows said it. Except way better than I could ever hope to.
 
I guess you don't like people having hope for the future?

My opinion, Gosh darn it GreenvilleGrows said it. Except way better than I could ever hope to.

Many of the the wars we have are caused by religion. Religion is the root of all evil in the world. Its also an excuse for intolerance. We have a church that says its okay to be a pedophile but not gay. Most happy countries tend to be atheist/agnostic.
 
I think you are correct. The word "cult" brings to mind visions of Jones Town. Manson and the Phelps family. The word "cult" has allot of negativity attached to it when it is actually not a negative word. It simply means devoted to something. This can be good or bad depending on what is going on.

I think the use of the word cult means whatever the user intends if to mean. To use an anecdotal explanation, one of Richmond's oldest churches split over the sole issue of whether the use of musical instruments with the singing was permissible. I have heard those that stayed refer to those that left as a cult.
 
Many of the the wars we have are caused by religion. Religion is the root of all evil in the world. Its also an excuse for intolerance. We have a church that says its okay to be a pedophile but not gay. Most happy countries tend to be atheist/agnostic.
A few questions here:

1. To which "happy" countries are you referring?
2. How do you rate the "happiness level" of a country?
3. How do you determine that an entire nation is atheistic/agnostic?
4. Can you provide substantiation for your logically fallacious assertions?
 
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According to Merriam-Webster...yes.

1: formal religious veneration : worship
2: a system of religious beliefs and ritual; also: its body of adherents
3: a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious; also: its body of adherents
4: a system for the cure of disease based on dogma set forth by its promulgator <health cults>
5 a: great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement, or work (as a film or book); especially: such devotion regarded as a literary or intellectual fad b: the object of such devotion c: a usually small group of people characterized by such devotion
 
Many of the the wars we have are caused by religion. Religion is the root of all evil in the world. Its also an excuse for intolerance. We have a church that says its okay to be a pedophile but not gay.

James wrote that according to God "pure and undefiled religion is to visit orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world". Using that definition, the examples used above describe a defiled religion - a false religion - potentially a cult.

According to James, what will the Christian religion do when it is properly and fairly developed? "Pure religion" would mean being genuine and sincere - and, free from an improper or hypocritical mixture -- and undefiled before God (God's opinion, not ours). Note: James doesn't say there is nothing else essential to religion; but seems to be saying that true religion is demonstrated in life's actions and choices. It would show itself in serving others, in consistency, and in not giving in to the "worldly" (in this example, "worldly" would basically be defined by the New Testament - James' "religion").

If a religion uses a standard as their basis (the example being the Catholic church referenced above and the Bible), and then doesn't abide by their own standard (they say it's God given, but they don't follow it), haven't they proved themselves false? It amazes me how many "religions" do this. "We believe the Bible is the one and only perfect God's word", but "we don't follow it or really even know what it says". Christianity is certainly not the only religion to have been defiled similarly.
 
Simple answer...NO
 
A few questions here:

1. To which "happy" countries are you referring?
2. How do you rate the "happiness level" of a country?
3. How do you determine that an entire nation is atheistic/agnostic?
4. Can you provide substantiation for your logically fallacious assertions?

Look at this list
US doesn't make cut for happiest nations list - Business - World business - msnbc.com

If you look at this map
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/Atheists_Agnostics_Zuckerman_en.svg

that's where all the atheists tend to be. In happy nations. The extremely religious nations like our's tend to be third world countries.
 
James wrote that according to God "pure and undefiled religion is to visit orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world". Using that definition, the examples used above describe a defiled religion - a false religion - potentially a cult.

According to James, what will the Christian religion do when it is properly and fairly developed? "Pure religion" would mean being genuine and sincere - and, free from an improper or hypocritical mixture -- and undefiled before God (God's opinion, not ours). Note: James doesn't say there is nothing else essential to religion; but seems to be saying that true religion is demonstrated in life's actions and choices. It would show itself in serving others, in consistency, and in not giving in to the "worldly" (in this example, "worldly" would basically be defined by the New Testament - James' "religion").

If a religion uses a standard as their basis (the example being the Catholic church referenced above and the Bible), and then doesn't abide by their own standard (they say it's God given, but they don't follow it), haven't they proved themselves false? It amazes me how many "religions" do this. "We believe the Bible is the one and only perfect God's word", but "we don't follow it or really even know what it says". Christianity is certainly not the only religion to have been defiled similarly.

Religion has the ability to turn good men in to bad men. That's why atheism is the best. How many atheists have flied planes in to buildings?
 
Religion has the ability to turn good men in to bad men. That's why atheism is the best. How many atheists have flied planes in to buildings?

Uhhh....uhhh....:doh
As an atheist, I'm ashamed that this kind of argument was made in defense of atheism
 
Many of the the wars we have are caused by religion. Religion is the root of all evil in the world. Its also an excuse for intolerance. We have a church that says its okay to be a pedophile but not gay. Most happy countries tend to be atheist/agnostic.

"Religion is the root of all evil in the world"
:doh
"Many of the wars we have are caused by religion"
:doh :doh :doh

So much fail here that I don't where to begin rebutting
 
Religion has the ability to turn good men in to bad men. That's why atheism is the best. How many atheists have flied planes in to buildings?
Bad men have the ability to turn good religion into something bad. Weak men have the ability to turn bad religion into something horrible.

Atheism is the essentially the religion of the intentionally non-religious (one has to choose to believe nothing as much as one has to choose to believe something) and, as such, can be corrupted by bad or weak men just as easily. There are plenty of examples atheists committing haneous acts - maybe not in the name of atheism, but certainly in the name of communism, etc.
 
I think the use of the word cult means whatever the user intends if to mean. To use an anecdotal explanation, one of Richmond's oldest churches split over the sole issue of whether the use of musical instruments with the singing was permissible. I have heard those that stayed refer to those that left as a cult.

We have dictionary's for a reason. If someone does not know the actual meaning, it is on them.

The word cult simply means devotion to something, that's it.
 
We have dictionary's for a reason. If someone does not know the actual meaning, it is on them.

The word cult simply means devotion to something, that's it.

True, but dictionaries do not determine definitions, rather definitions are determined by usage and documented by dictionaries. A dictionary from a hundred years ago has different definitions than those of today.
 
True, but dictionaries do not determine definitions, rather definitions are determined by usage and documented by dictionaries. A dictionary from a hundred years ago has different definitions than those of today.

And yet "cult" still means what the dictionary says it means today. So I have to say no. If a user could take any word and make it mean what they want, it would be very hard to communicate...

The Post office is a cult.
Why do you say that?
Because cult means what I want it to mean.
Ummmmm?

It does not work that way,
 
And yet "cult" still means what the dictionary says it means today. So I have to say no. If a user could take any word and make it mean what they want, it would be very hard to communicate...

The Post office is a cult.
Why do you say that?
Because cult means what I want it to mean.
Ummmmm?

It does not work that way,

If I use cult to define the post office today, then, yes, your scenario would be correct. However if society as a whole likes my defining the PO as a cult and begins using the term, it would soon be accepted as common language and the dictionaries would reflect that.

If words did not change meaning, there would be no reason for revisions of dictionaries, yet the Oxford English Dictionary in September redefined over 1500 words. Among them: base, black, color, letter, and value, (from their site), all common words for which, by your standards, would have no need for new definitions.

As for communication being difficult if words change meaning, grab a copy of The Canterbury Tales in original old English, or Olde, as Chaucer would say, and compare it to a "translated" version of today. It is reasonably certain that most would be more comfortable with today's version.
 
Uhhh....uhhh....:doh
As an atheist, I'm ashamed that this kind of argument was made in defense of atheism

Religion is evil and has been used as a excuse to commit all kinds of heinous acts. The nazis were christian and committed heinous acts in the name of Christianity.

4836hitlereugeniopacelli.jpg

Most of our founding fathers were atheists and deists and realized the evils of religion so they decided to create a secular nation. Religion is a form of oppression. We have a church that says condoms make the HIV problem in africa worst. Religious fanatics here spend more money stopping gays from getting married instead of donating to charity or helping the poor. They also want to indoctrinate our children with false creationists theories. A society w/o religion like norway is a much happier one.
 
"Religion is the root of all evil in the world"
:doh
"Many of the wars we have are caused by religion"
:doh :doh :doh

So much fail here that I don't where to begin rebutting

You don't have to rebut anything. A true atheist would agree with all i have to say.
 
Religion is evil and has been used as a excuse to commit all kinds of heinous acts. The nazis were christian and committed heinous acts in the name of Christianity.

View attachment 67117977

Most of our founding fathers were atheists and deists and realized the evils of religion so they decided to create a secular nation. Religion is a form of oppression. We have a church that says condoms make the HIV problem in africa worst. Religious fanatics here spend more money stopping gays from getting married instead of donating to charity or helping the poor. They also want to indoctrinate our children with false creationists theories. A society w/o religion like norway is a much happier one.

99.9% of that is not true at all.

Lambert (2003) has examined the religious affiliations and beliefs of the Founders. Of the 55 delegates to the 1787 Constitutional Convention, 49 were Protestants, and three were Roman Catholics (C. Carroll, D. Carroll, and Fitzsimons). Among the Protestant delegates to the Constitutional Convention, 28 were Church of England (or Episcopalian, after the American Revolutionary War was won), eight were Presbyterians, seven were Congregationalists, two were Lutherans, two were Dutch Reformed, and two were Methodists.
A few prominent Founding Fathers were anti-clerical Christians, such as Thomas Jefferson[13][14][15] (who created the so-called "Jefferson Bible") and Benjamin Franklin.[16] A few others (most notably Thomas Paine) were deists, or at least held beliefs very similar to those of deists.[17]
- Founding Fathers of the United States - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

But don't let facts get in the way of bigotry.

You pick out only the bad things church organizations have done while leaving out anything good.
 
You don't have to rebut anything. A true atheist would agree with all i have to say.

Now you decide what a true atheist is? I know quite a few at this site alone that would say that is just ignorant.
 
Religion is evil and has been used as a excuse to commit all kinds of heinous acts. The nazis were christian and committed heinous acts in the name of Christianity.

View attachment 67117977

Most of our founding fathers were atheists and deists and realized the evils of religion so they decided to create a secular nation. Religion is a form of oppression. We have a church that says condoms make the HIV problem in africa worst. Religious fanatics here spend more money stopping gays from getting married instead of donating to charity or helping the poor. They also want to indoctrinate our children with false creationists theories. A society w/o religion like norway is a much happier one.


I wonder if it has ever occurred to you, that you'd be taken more seriously if you didn't post so much stuff that isn't true and is so easily proven wrong.

But by all means, keep making **** up. :lamo
 
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