Religion and the cults

Christianity and the Mormons. What’s a religion and what’s a cult? Wasn’t Christianity a cult only about a couple of thousand years ago? What about the even older religions like Hinduism and Buddhism with fuzzier origins? Perhaps they are beyond the religion label, and are now lifestyles.
In science, believers of weird new ideas like that the earth goes around the sun start as cults, then is filtered to become a hypothesis, then a theory, and then becomes a fact through a progression of tests. How can you ever apply that to concepts, beliefs, and faiths?
Whatever helps one to go through life should be OK by the others? Chai/Mai?

Interesting comments, Ray!
While Thailand is touted as being 95% Buddhist, a good many Thais have varying degrees of belief in black magic. There's an interesting article about the subject at http://www.time.com/time/world/article/ ... 71,00.html (In Thailand, A Little Black Magic Is Politics as Usual).
Our neighbor's daughter and her boyfriend ran some shady business that eventually failed. The girl chalked it up to bad juju in the neighborhood and called in the village shaman priest to cast away the bad spirits.....the ceremony was rife with black candles, black incense, and incantations at each corner of the property.
Government House in Bangkok seems to regularly undergo these sort of ceremonies when something bad happens in the country or in the political system.
If you did the same sort of ceremony in your stateside neighborhood, complete with the shaman priest and black candles, your neighbors would be calling the police.....or at least labeling you as a cultist.
For me, I don't care whether you kneel at your bed before you go to sleep, burn a black candle in your home, or stick pins in your kid's Barbi dolls......don't care unless you begin to mix religion and politics. Then I care!

Ray.Charles wrote:Christianity and the Mormons. What’s a religion and what’s a cult?

Ray, you've opened up an excellent and worthy topic of discussion, but I'm afraid there's not enough room here to give you the appropriate answer. So...I highly recommend the following website for those who are keen on discovering the "truth".

http://www.letusreason.org/Cults1.htm

Also click on the HOME page and then click the STATEMENT OF FAITH link, and that pretty much sums it up for me!

semperfiguy wrote:

Ray.Charles wrote:Christianity and the Mormons. What’s a religion and what’s a cult?

Ray, you've opened up an excellent and worthy topic of discussion, but I'm afraid there's not enough room here to give you the appropriate answer. So...I highly recommend the following website for those who are keen on discovering the "truth".

http://www.letusreason.org/Cults1.htm

Also click on the HOME page and then click the STATEMENT OF FAITH link, and that pretty much sums it up for me!

I'm glad you put truth in quotation marks. Whether Christian, Buddhist, Mormon, Voodoo, etc., they are all steeped in mysticism for which there is no empirical or scientific evidence. The truth in religion is only what one believes. With so many different truths, how can any of them be valid? I see little difference between "religion" and "cults", except the way society defines them.

I consider all religions, nothing but a cult religion, if not rather large though. Anyone or thing that preaches heaven and hell, damnation for not following the rules, all while collecting money, is nothing less than a royal scam. The dark ages are over, and as people get educated, the believe less in what they can see. Any wonder why countries full of ignorant people are believers, worst are the ignorant and uneducated of any science.

Say 3 hail Mary’s and leave a little something in the basket. This food is alright to eat, because someone blessed it, Oye. The peaceful religion, who can we blow up now.

Don’t forget to cover your windshield and back window with religious articles, so you are protected. And all those highway deaths must be bad karma. Bulletproof tattoos. The list goes on. You are born, you die.

tutone wrote:I'm glad you put truth in quotation marks. Whether Christian, Buddhist, Mormon, Voodoo, etc., they are all steeped in mysticism for which there is no empirical or scientific evidence. The truth in religion is only what one believes. With so many different truths, how can any of them be valid? I see little difference between "religion" and "cults", except the way society defines them.

If you want to compare religion with science, I think you could link or compare religion (at least some religions, like Buddhism) to philsosphy.

I also think that you have to separate religion and their sects from the believe in ghosts/spirits. The believe in ghosts is everywhere, you can find fortunetellers, black magic or white magic, everywhere in the world, independent of any culture or religion. Some time ago I saw "Char" (a famous fortuneteller/medium) on American TV, very funny. But that's more about entertainment.

Choose whatever religion (cult) works for you that doesn't tread on the rights of others. Unfortunately, few of the ones I am aware of care for anything but heir own purpose whatever it may be. Live and let live and try to leave the world a better place is my religious cult. Members are anonymous but you know who they are when you meet them. Peace.

As a passive atheist, I think all religions are flawed and cult-like because they all have flaws and behave like cults (to varying degrees). At the same time, I can participate as a passive observer/learner because each has something to teach. Generally, they all teach morality and compassion - differing approaches to the same end. That said, IMHO, if one feels they need religion as a guide, then more power to them. I am imperfect, but I have attained the peace, morality balance, and general contentment I [emphasis] seek.

I have no problems with religion. It's the hypocritical zealots who rub me the wrong way. If you say you are a good Christian (for example), then there is no way you should ever even want to accumulate wealth. Jesus wore sandals and a simple robe. He gave whatever he could to help those in need despite being the "King of Kings" and "Son of God". it seems all of his examples (and Commandments) have been swept under the rug for millennia. They seem nice, but aren't convenient. IMHO, no Christian "man of God" should ever want for more than he/she needs (for example). A person claiming to be of a certain religion should conduct themselves and their life 100% as prescribed by whatever manual they claim be following. As the spiritual which got me questioning the true nature of faith goes: "99 1/2% won't do". You are either a [insert religion here] or you are just faking it. If you are faking it, then you are a heathen. If you can accept that, then you either need to change your ways and BE what you say you are or reject the notion entirely and accept yourself for being just you.

ALL IMHO.

I'm sure people are tired of my ramblings on this subject. I will therefore take this space to present a link to
an article about a man whom I respect immensely. No man on this earth should be idolized, but some have earned
a good deal of well deserved admiration.

http://richarddawkins.net/articles/6434 ... r-hitchens

Be careful who you Idolise rjj04, for Idolatry is just another form of worship!

Kill one man, you are a murderer
Kill a thousand, you are a King
Kill 'em all, you are a God!

AroyFarang wrote:Be careful who you Idolise rjj04, for Idolatry is just another form of worship!

Yes, I agree with that.

If people refer to religion, are they referring to the religion or the master/teacher of that religion, or the followers/students of that religion?

Take soccer (as a cult) as an example. Do the fans have anything to do with the sport and its players itself? And what about the hooligans? In what way is the soccer club responsible for the hooligans who decide to follow that club?

So, if you take religion. In what way is Buddha responsible if some followers don't understand his teachings?

IMO, the followers who misinterpret religion/cult/teachings/philosophies are responsible for the mess they make. Just like Einstein was not responsible for the production of nuclear bombs, God/Jesus/Buddha/Krishna are not responsible for the actions of some crazy people who decide to follow them and make a mess of things.

So I think people shouldn't argue against the religion itself, but against the crazy/fanatic/terrorist/fundamentalist followers/worshippers of that religion.

AroyFarang wrote:Be careful who you Idolise rjj04, for Idolatry is just another form of worship!

Kill one man, you are a murderer
Kill a thousand, you are a King
Kill 'em all, you are a God!

Hmmmm, no idea what you are talking about. Joke? Although I had a couple glasses of Merlot last night,
reading my typing this morning, I don't see where I said I "idolized" people. In
fact I warned against it. Hitchens, a man from the left, thinks that the Iraq war was a good thing. So,
I don't really agree with anybody 100%.

"Kill 'em all, you are a God!"... God to whom, since your flock no longer exists Nice saying though.

Now, where is that aspirin.

As an ex preachers son I have seen first hand what a racket (that is what I consider to be an organisation that pays no taxes to be) church/religion is. I am with you rjj44 Richard Dawkins is a very smart, articulate well travelled man who speaks the truth. My wish is that there were more like him. Quote Religion gives people hope in a world torn apart by religion Unquote Charlie Chaplin 1889-1977 THERE IS NO GOD GET A LIFE GET OVER IT.

Actually, the link was to a ceremony at which Richard Dawkins gives an honor to Christopher Hitchens. Hitchens
has been fighting esophageal/metastatic cancer for a while now. A low quality video is here...

http://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com ... -in-texas/

Hitchens is speaking very weakly, as he admits, his time is nigh. He still, hasn't succumb to
Pascal's Wager though.

If you have no interest in atheism or Hitchens per se, the last video is still worth a watch, as Hitchens tells a few good jokes about Perry and the Mormons. A good laugh in the morning with your breakfast.