There are lots of thoughts on both sides of the issue. Let's just start with the Merriam-Webster definition. Definition of CULT 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 What say you?
why limit it to Christianity? Oh that's right, its the cool thing to attack Christianity while praising all other "cults" like Islam, Judaism, etc. as beautiful "religions".
and to answer your question, no. It is not a cult because it is the most widely followed religion, not an outlier.
I was calling out Christianity because I know people on this board are Christians. I know of one practicing Jew, crandc, so you could add that in I guess, but I don't think we have any Islam, Hindu, or Sikhs, but if you want to address those too, feel free.
well, the majority of religion atheist attacks are against christians because its not PC to attack Jews and Muslims. just wanted to point that out.
So Heavens Gate was only a cult because they weren't popular? If Heavens Gate was the most common religion it would not be a cult?
I find it interesting that a self-proclaimed atheists spend so much time starting threads trying to call out religious folks because the atheist isn't secure with their beliefs. But I'll play along for a minute: Also from Merriam-Webster: Is atheism a cult? :MARIS61: :MARIS61:
There is a reason Christianity is the main religion attacked, it sets the standard in our society. The majority of our populous considers itself Christian. the old adage "don't pick on someone smaller than you" kind of applies, you attack the big dog, the one who sets the societal norms. And in our country, that's Christianity. I personally don't like all the threads calling out Obama all the time, but he is the President, and for good or bad, that puts him in the cross-hairs. I don't read many of those threads, and when I do read them, I hardly ever reply. Perhaps if the threads discussing the validity of your religion are too personal, upsetting or just annoying, then you skip those threads.
I do generally skip those threads because its a waste of time. The singling out of christianity is just rampant from a certain section of this country, wheras most would dare not utter the same about the other religions like Judaism or Islam, not because of some "standards set in our society", but because its essentially seen as bigoted hate mongering in this country to do so.
Interesting question. Let's take a look according to the definition. 1) formal religious veneration : worship Certainly does not fit this part of the definition. There is no worship or formal religious veneration. 2) a system of religious beliefs and ritual; also : its body of adherents Not here either. Not a system of religious beliefs since there is no religion to subscribe to . 3) religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious; also : its body of adherents Well, you could claim that atheism is unorthodox, but it certainly is not a religion and is not spurious. It is what it is, a claim that there is no god. 4) : a system for the cure of disease based on dogma set forth by its promulgator Atheism makes no claim to cure disease so this one does not fit. Lastly we have 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 There is no deity or pope-like person, so (a) doesn't apply, although you could falsely make the claim that we regard Hitchens in that way, but most see him just as a smart person with some good things to read. (b) there is no object of great devotion. (c) Some of the atheists are in small groups and are quite devoted to the idea of atheism. This would be, in my opinion, the only part of the definition that might come close enough to in some cases claim that atheism is a cult. But, we are talking about really reaching to make that claim. Mostly, I think it's comical that you would turn this around this way, there is really no connection to be drawn from atheism as cultists, but there are many ways to make the claim of Christianity as cultists.
Well let me say my opinion clearly, I find all those religions including Islam to be based on lies, as I do Christianity. All of them claim to know god, to know there is a god, and to know what god wants. All of those are bull in my mind.
Colloqiually I think the word "cult" has a connotation that isn't present in the textbook Merriam-Webster definition. To me it denotes a practice of religious belief headlined by a charismatic (living) character, where followers pledge their loyalty and lives to this singular figurehead and usually has some sort of sexual deviancy associated with it (plural marriages, women becoming the sole "property" of the charismatic leader, forced castration, etc.). In modern times, this brings up belief systems that centered around guys like Jim Jones, David Koresh and the Heaven's gate dude. So does 1st century C.E Christianity meet this colloquial definition of a cult? Maybe. It was certainly deemed dangerous by the Roman authorities and the mainstream Jewish faith that it sprang from, but in modern terms I don't think you can call it a "cult."
False. See my post with definitions above. False. See my post with definitions above. You've got to be kidding or trolling. Go back and read my post with the definitions. It is completely logical and based on widely accepted definitions. If you claim that there is no connection between atheism and cultists, but claim there is a connection between christians and cultists, you're being intellectually dishonest and won't take a logical, unbiased look at your own beliefs.
a belief that something doesn't exist is not the same as a doctrine of belief. I'll put it this way, the entirety of what atheists believe can be fully written in one small sentence. "There is no god." But there is an entire doctrine of belief in Christianity. The flood and Jesus and the disciples and god and on and on and on. There is a pretty long book specifying what that doctrine is. The two just don't equate in that way. If anything I would say that Nikolokolus had a very good reason why Christianity is not a cult. It might not match up with the dictionary definition, but I do agree that there is a general belief in society that cults are centered around a charismatic leader. And I'm not trying to prove one thing or the other. I have not been a well educated or well versed atheist. I am asking these questions honestly. I think there are several possible answers to my question. There is yes, there is no, there is yes but who cares, and all can be supported in some capacity. We, in this thread are not going to find a definitive answer, but we could further our thinking on the subject.
i bet jesus could cure a super bad hangover instantly, no wonder a dozen wine drunkards followed him around he never had the sex though, i agree with whomever, usually some weird perverse sex thing makes people think cult i bet he got boners though
