What is a cult?

Originally posted by KneverKnight
Sending a birthday card is not plagiarism. Presenting someone else's works as your own is.
EDIT what Plabibit said, the card has a "link"
The sender of the card agrees with the words in the card, which express a sentiment, but is not trying to pass off the poetry as his/her own.

Did you believe it was his own work? I don't think his intention was to trick you into giving him credit for these ideas. And I don't think many thought it was original to him. So while his actions were incorrect, I don't think his intentions were.

Do you always look to see the actual author of a greeting card? Personally, I look at the signature of the person who sent it. I guess every time you get a card from someone, you accuse them of plagiarism because they signed it and do intend to take credit for it. If RB did not intend personal credit, what he did was hardly more harmful then sending a birthday card.

Originally posted by Coletti
Did you believe it was his own work? I don't think his intention was to trick you into giving him credit for these ideas. And I don't think many thought it was original to him. So while his actions were incorrect, I don't think his intentions were.

Do you always look to see the actual author of a greeting card? Personally, I look at the signature ...[text shortened]... id not intend personal credit, what he did was hardly more harmful then sending a birthday card.

Look Coletti, I was trying to show RB how to present things in a public forum so that he would be taken seriously, because from the record of his previous posts on RHP, it is very difficult to believe that he wrote that himself.
He, and you for defending his plaigerism, look like people who think that it is fine to be dishonest if it suits your cause. This is fanaticism.
Also, I note RBHill has not apologized for stealing someone else's work.

The dictionary definition of "cult" is "religious system that is ritualistic" and "devotion to a person or thing". (Oxford Dictionary).

My own angle on that definition is that a cult is best defined by any organization in which the significance of the individual is obliterated in the devotion to the cause, or the organization. This "cause" or "organization" is sometimes centered around the cult of a particular personality, and sometimes not.

For example, the military is an excellent definition of a working cult. (And that's not a judgment on the purpose of the military; it clearly is what it is). Individual will is mostly suppressed in devotion to the cause; commands are simply followed.

Corporations also have a distinctly cultic quality to them, in the blind devotion to commercial ambitions and purposes.

Organized religion also fulfils certain aspects of the "cult" definition, i.e. via the ritual, dogma, unquestioning obedience to an assumed all-powerful Overseer, etc. And I'd suggest that the monotheistic religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam conform the most to the nature of a cult via these definitions.

This is not a "big deal"; human nature historically has been given mostly to following an elite or select few who determine how things are to be on the large scale. Much of human history has been based on cultic organization and the minimization of individual free will in the service of a controlling body of elect. And in many cultures this devotion or service to the "elect" has been enforced by ritual of all sorts.

Originally posted by Metamorphosis
The dictionary definition of "cult" is "religious system that is ritualistic" and "devotion to a person or thing". (Oxford Dictionary).

My own angle on that definition is that a cult is best defined by any organization in which the significance of the individual is obliterated in the devotion to the cause, or the organization. This "c ...[text shortened]... ny cultures this devotion or service to the "elect" has been enforced by ritual of all sorts.

That's what the Catholic Church is, they are ritualistic.

Originally posted by Metamorphosis
The dictionary definition of "cult" is "religious system that is ritualistic" and "devotion to a person or thing". (Oxford Dictionary).

My own angle on that definition is that a cult is best defined by any organization in which the significance of the individual is obliterated in the devotion to the cause, or the organization. This "c ...[text shortened]... ny cultures this devotion or service to the "elect" has been enforced by ritual of all sorts.

Why is Buddhism, or Sikhism, or Hinduism not a cult as well?

Originally posted by RBHILL
That's what the Catholic Church is, they are ritualistic.

Does your own spiritual practice contain no rituals? Even something as simple as folding one's hands in prayer and bowing one's head is a ritual. The key is to view ritual as symbolism and not as supremely important in and of itself. If Catholics practice with intricate symbolism but see it for what it is, a "finger pointing at the moon" as the Zen tradtion would say, then I see no fault in it.

Originally posted by RBHILL
What is a cult? or should I saw this is what a ciult is.

A cult is any group which teaches doctrines or beliefs that deviate from the biblical message of the Christian faith. It is very important that we recognize cults and avoid any involvement with them. Cults often teach some Christian truth mixed with error, which may be difficult to detect. There are ...[text shortened]... Witnesses, Mormons, the Unification Church, Unitarians, Spiritists, Scientologists, and others.

""by grace through faith" " simply put is Paulian doctrine. That idea doesn't come from Christ.

btw anybody that calls the Unitarian Society a "cult" has either a very distorted defininition of "cult" or a complete ignorance of what a Unitarian is.
One of the real signs of a mind controlling cult is how easily they call other groups cults.
Free yourself RB . If you want to be a Christian, stop putting Paul higher on the mountain the Jesus.

Originally posted by Spacemonkey7
This is the fruit salad that is 'right to truth' in religion, a battle fought on hypotheticals and bits of paper, and no group has in essence more legitimacy or right to supremacy (their respective members will say differently of course). Science is simply concerned with determinable evidence, and is dynamic because of it, new evidence must be taken i ...[text shortened]... ndynamic. Just in case you were going to site religions unchanging nature as a rockbed of truth.

This is what I call the "Candidates Fallacy". If you're going to vote in an election, and you see 10 candidates' names on the ballot sheet, do you argue "Since there is more than one name on the sheet, all the candidates are equally suited/unsuited for the job"?

Yet that is exactly what you're doing here - dismissing religion because there are multiple candidates.

There are a number of factors (not all objective, I agree) on which religions can be compared:

1. Internal consistency
2. Explanation of major questions (pain, suffering, death, after-life)
3. Values
etc.

And religion is not static. New data can cause changes in existing doctrines, new philosophical thoughts can cause changes in existing doctrines.

Originally posted by eagles54
Does your own spiritual practice contain no rituals? Even something as simple as folding one's hands in prayer and bowing one's head is a ritual. The key is to view ritual as symbolism and not as supremely important in and of itself. If Catholics practice with intricate symbolism but see it for what it is, a "finger pointing at the moon" as the Zen tradtion would say, then I see no fault in it.

Not praying in the name of Jesus is ritualistic, and using a rosery would be.

Originally posted by RBHILL
What is a cult? or should I saw this is what a ciult is.

A cult is any group which teaches doctrines or beliefs that deviate from the biblical message of the Christian faith. It is very important that we recognize cults and avoid any invo ...[text shortened]... cation Church, Unitarians, Spiritists, Scientologists, and others.

I would define a cult in terms of major religions.

Religion/Religious system - A system of belief in some form of after-life and a moral theory based on afterlife outcomes.

Major religion - A religion with a significant (>10😵 national or global membership.

Cult - A minor religion.

Sect - A minority group within a major religion with significant doctrinal differences to the rest of the religion

Originally posted by lucifershammer
I would define a cult in terms of major religions.

Religion/Religious system - A system of belief in some form of after-life and a moral theory based on afterlife outcomes.

Major religion - A religion with a significant (>10😵 national or global membership.

Cult - A minor religion.

Sect - A group within a major religion with significant doctrinal differences to the rest of the religion

Yes, don't forget that Jesus said his followers would be in the minority, not majority.

Originally posted by RBHILL
Yes, don't forget that Jesus said his followers would be in the minority, not majority.

Where did he say that?

Originally posted by lucifershammer
Cult - A minor religion.

Wouldn't that have made Christianity a cult, back in the day? I don't think the one criteria is sufficient to mark a group of individuals as a cult.

Originally posted by eagles54
Wouldn't that have made Christianity a cult, back in the day? I don't think the one criteria is sufficient to mark a group of individuals as a cult.

I don't disagree that Christianity was once a cult. 🙂

These may not be the dictionary definitions of "religion", "cult" or "sect", but I think they're common-sensical enough.

Originally posted by lucifershammer
I don't disagree that Christianity was once a cult. 🙂

These may not be the dictionary definitions of "religion", "cult" or "sect", but I think they're common-sensical enough.

Well, to me, a cult seems driven by ego and the desire to satisfy ego - either one's own or another's. Christianity in its beginnings, assuming it is true and correct in its pointing to communion with the Divine, would not be considered a cult looking at it objectively because to know God the ego has to be lessened and not strengthened.