Cults
31 Jul '20 04:461 editI'm happy to concede that the word "cult" is a mostly subjective and somewhat 'damaged' bit of vocabulary. It is commonly ~ but not always ~ used to express a gut feeling that a group is perceived negatively or with some suspicion and circumspection, or at least unsympathetically. I will leave the er... absurdly sweeping 'it means that you're saying someone is your enemy' stuff to Philokalia.
Whether a group is perceived this way - more often than not, in discourse like ours here - depends on how its members and their purpose fare in the face of biased or subjective scrutiny of [1] their dogma, [2] their carefully cultivated and self-reinforcing sense of "otherness" and exceptionalism, and [3] the resulting intellectual and interpersonal behaviour.
I also concede that I think the word "cult" is of somewhat limited efficacy in a discussion between people who disagree over [1], [2] and [3], aside from how it either signals the disapproval [in the mind of the person using the word] or it is shorthand for whatever conclusion one has reached after taking a look at [1], [2] and [3].
That's my take on the use of the word in our context.
There is also the take on cults ~ more objective and academic than mine, I think ~ found here: http://www.icsahome.com/ where they explain that the International Cultic Studies Association is a global network of people concerned about psychological manipulation and abuse in cultic and other high control environments. And there's lots of interesting material to peruse.
Their library of articles is here: https://www.icsahome.com/groups/jehovahswitness
Whether a group is perceived this way - more often than not, in discourse like ours here - depends on how its members and their purpose fare in the face of biased or subjective scrutiny of [1] their dogma, [2] their carefully cultivated and self-reinforcing sense of "otherness" and exceptionalism, and [3] the resulting intellectual and interpersonal behaviour.
I also concede that I think the word "cult" is of somewhat limited efficacy in a discussion between people who disagree over [1], [2] and [3], aside from how it either signals the disapproval [in the mind of the person using the word] or it is shorthand for whatever conclusion one has reached after taking a look at [1], [2] and [3].
That's my take on the use of the word in our context.
There is also the take on cults ~ more objective and academic than mine, I think ~ found here: http://www.icsahome.com/ where they explain that the International Cultic Studies Association is a global network of people concerned about psychological manipulation and abuse in cultic and other high control environments. And there's lots of interesting material to peruse.
Their library of articles is here: https://www.icsahome.com/groups/jehovahswitness
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