After reading the article “The Man Who Saves You From Yourself” by Nathaniel Rich, I found that what he wrote about New Religious Movements was completely wrong and was not what these New Religious Movements were about. New Religious Movements are mostly about love and they want to build a community with peace and love and try to make a society that can help promote the idea of peace. He even starts out stating that these are all cults. The first thing he writes in his article is that “No one joins a cult.” (Rich, 35) This is true but not true because no one would join something called a cult because of the negative connotation that it brings. They’re really nothing called a cult; they are a new religious movement. They mostly want people to believe what they preach which is not cult-like at all. The term cult comes from people who want to hurt all the religion that is recent that isn’t like the traditional Judeo-Christian religions. He helps enforces this stereotype about New Religion Movements. Nathaniel Rich makes them look like they are all horrible groups that can trap people and try to scam them and make up a lot of horrible things to make them look like what the New Religious Members beliefs are wrong. He makes them look like all they will do is hurt the recruit and their families by taking them away. He only talks about a few New Religious Movements that has done horrible things and says that all of these types of movement will all do this. Rich gives a lot of example of what he thinks is true but they have been actual proven facts that can prove what he says wrong and why he is wrong.
One of the things he writes is that the person doesn’t know that they are going into a cult. “The first rule of recruitment, […] is that...
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... Satanist believe that you should be able to believe in yourself and that you are capable of doing things on your own without having to rely on another god. You are your own god and that will make sure that will be able to do things for yourself because the only person you should really be serving is yourself. That ideology is what has been what Satanism is about and that will never change for them. It’s what the natural part of Satanism is and that it will always be the same way as long as the New Religious Movement stays the way it is. The only reason that a New Religious Movement would change is that the times are changing and that society has change a little but it’s not because they change their idea because they start believing in their bullshit. They don’t change what the followers would think they want, they have the ideas that the followers like to follow.
Cults are dangerous institutions that have existed for many years, corrupting and reforming the minds of innocent people into believing outrageous doctrines that eventually result in disaster. Horrifying cases involving men such as Charles Manson, Jim Jones and David Koresh have bewildered people and raise the question: how could individuals be easily susceptible to the teachings of these men, so influenced that masses go as far as to commit the unthinkable? Individuals who are in a vulnerable position in search for an identity are attracted to cults because they offer a sense of belonging. In addition, isolation from society contributes to the functioning of a cult for it creates an atmosphere where submissiveness and obedience runs high. These two factors seem to hold true for one of the most notorious cults currently established in the United States and Canada. The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints or, FLDS, is an international polygamist sect that incorporates belonging and isolation along with a dangerous mentality that have resulted in the abuse of women and children in the name of God.
...mixing pot of nationalities. It is ideal to people who are open minded, while Satanism is for people who are against following the natural order of things. They believe that a person can do anything they want without repercussions. It is a wrong and immoral way of thinking.
There are numerous different kinds of social groups in the world, but clearly not all of them are cults. So what makes a cult a cult? [So where is the distinction?] Where is the metaphorical line drawn and what has to be done to cross it? Cult psychological experts Joseph Salande and David Perkins say the differences between a cult and a group are the methods of control and the negative effects on its members (Salande and Perkins 382). They define cults as “groups that often exploit members psychologically
A cult society is an organization that basically disguises itself as a religion. In a cult, they normally perform rituals. There are usually many people in these societies. In Jim Jones’s cult, there were at least one thousand people in this community.
2. the visibly tragic results of some cults do not attend the average New Age participant. Persuasion is not about ends, its about means. Some use persuasion to a tragic end, some do not.
For years, there have been problems surrounding the definition of the term 'cult'. The literal and traditional meanings of the word cult, which are more fully explored at the entry Cult (religion), come from the Latin cultus, meaning "care" or "adoration," as "a system of religious belief or ritual; or: the body of adherents to same." In French or Spanish, culte or culto simply means "worship" or "religious attendance"; therefore an association cultuelle is an association whose goal is to organize religious worship and practices. The word for "cult" in the popular English meaning is secte (French) or secta (Spanish). In formal English use, and in non-English European terms, the cognates of the English word "cult" are neutral, and refer mainly to divisions within a single faith, a case where English speakers might use the word "sect". Hence Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy and Protestantism are cults within Christianity. However, in common usage, "cult" has a very negative connotation, and is generally applied to a group in order to criticize it. Understandably, most groups, if not all, that are called "cults" deny this term. Some groups called "cults" by some critics may consider themselves not to be "cults", but may consider some other groups to be "cults". Although anti-cult activists and scholars did not agree on precise criteria that new religions should meet to be considered "cults," two of the definitions formulated by anti-cult activists are: Cults are groups that often exploit members psychologically and/or financially, typically by making members comply with leadership's demands through certain types of psychological manipulation, popularly called mind control, and through the inculcation of d...
Cult Leaders In Nathaniel Rich’s article, The Man Who Saves You from Yourself, talks about the tactics cult leaders use to infiltrate their recruits. Rich says, “the cult must monopolize the recruits time”(Harpers Magazine, ...
Cults have existed throughout history since the beginning of time. A cult is defined in Webster’s dictionary as a “system of religious worship with a devoted attachment to a person, principle, etc.” Over the past thirty years numerous religious cults have caused “ tens of thousands to abandon their families, friends, education’s, and careers to follow the teaching of a leader they will never meet”(Beck 78).
In conclusion, the entire aura of the Heaven’s Gate cult seems like something straight out of a late night TV movie. Like most millennialist groups, members held a firm belief in an oncoming apocalypse and that only an elect few would achieve salvation. The spread of their doctrine on the Internet brought about widespread concern over the power of the web. The argument has subsided, however, with the passage of time. I, for one, find the supposed link between the Internet and cult activities rather absurd. Extreme gullibility and brainwashing, I believe, would be the only ways a recruit would ever accept such an outlandish set of beliefs.
During the postbellum and early 19th century, people started to challenge what religion meant to them. Lincoln questioned how warring factions could both pray to the same God, yet he concluded that God had “his own purpose” for this war. From these notions, such thought as “the Lost Cause”, was spurred. Another important aspect is people started to challenge their theology with the advent of new science and technology. The effect was to create a competitive marketplace in religion that allowed men and women to shop for religious institutions that they thought best meet their needs. The growing prestige of science compelled Americans reformulating theology; two popular theologies include New Theology, Theodore Munger, and Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy (Goff and Harvey 21-25). These religions are known as NRM, encompassing newer religious groups and old alternative groups, which, together, have challenged mainstream religious traditions and the secular society back in the 19th century, and still to this day. The three popular NRMs during the 19th century are Christian Science, Church of Latter Day Saints (Mormonism), and Jehovah’s Witnesses. According to Daschke and Ashcraft, people are intrigued by NRMs for a number of reasons: new understanding, new self, new family, new society, and new world (Daschke and Ashcraft 1-13). Conversely...
Throughout American history, many new religions and ideologies have come about due to unique, innovative thinking. During the early nineteenth century, an important reformative movement called the Second Great Awakening allowed for the adoption of some of these unfamiliar religions. Numerous preachers decided to revive or “awake” the religious spirit in followers of a denomination, and provided for the evolution of theological beliefs. They preached about new ideas during this time period, such as temperance, women's rights and even abolition. Mormonism, also known as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, is an example of a religion created at during this time period. The rise of Mormonism was caused by its appealing belief system and influencing preachers, however, the religion was unsuccessful at reforming religion in the United States because of its inability to assimilate into American society and racism.
When people think of Satanism or anything to do with that subject, they think of evil. People who sacrifice animals, do all sorts of drugs, murderers etc. But Satanism is completely different from what people may perceive it as. Satanism is actually a religion based on finding yourself and following a moral code other than the one society has made. Satanism goes back to ancient times before the birth of Jesus Christ any of the Gods that people worship today. The religion is spreading and is gaining popularity, not just as devil worshippers, but also as a religion.
According to dictionaries a cult is 1) a system of religious worship or ritual. 2) A religion or sect considered extremist of false. 3) Obsessive devotion to a person or principle. It is believed that every cult ties into some kind of religion, and religions all have a common basis of “a leap of faith”. Whether this so-called leap of faith is going to heaven or being reincarnated, or moving on to some other planet, depends on the beliefs of the cult itself.
In a masonic order your initiation is to become a mason is called “Seeking The Light” (TheForbiddenKnowledge.com) in which Satan is called the “Light Bearer” so philosophers take their accusation of calling masons devil worshippers by interpreting the connection of masonic terms to prove why they think Freemasonry is in fact an organization that worships Satan. Freemasonry along with many other organizations such as “The Bohemian Grove, The Illuminati, and Skull & Bones” are all groups along with the masonic body that are accused of worshipping satan, because of their belie...
Typically, when someone thinks of religion, they think about worship of a higher power, compassion for all living things, and a general love of the world. Satanism, while a religion, does not fit these conventions. The faith holds no belief in a higher power, is rather selfish in nature, and paints a bleak picture of the world and its workings. In addition, Satanism has controversy riddled history dating back to the seventeenth century. Due to the religion’s unconventional nature, it is often looked down upon and its principles and values are ridiculed. To better understand a faith like Satanism, it helps to look at it alongside a more familiar and commonly understood religion like Christianity.