Cults

[Mider2009]

So...having said that...do most churches fit the more negative definition of cults? Yes and no....they almost all deny science, they almost all use threats of hell, they almost all take scripture literally (Protestant world)

As I’m not Muslim idk about Islam I just know entire countries share crazy views such as suppressing woman’s rights etc...

now weather these views are of the original organizers I’m sure they may have not been...NONE RHE LESS they are not say...rare instances

 

[Diluculo_DelFuego]

I think just about anyone could be a leader of a cult, as there ae plenty of sheep willing to hand over their lives savings.
I think the culprit is a lunar or Neptune influence on the cult followers.

 

[Jastiv]

I go into great detail about how various sacraments are used to create cult followers in the "Western Mystery Tradition" I talk mostly about the Catholic Church, but of course I also apply it to other sects as well. Sometimes cults will just use one or two of these things, other times they use all seven. Sometimes people leave the church, but also don't understand why it still has such a hold over their lives even though they officially left.

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[Konsciencia]

I was a Mormon for several years when I was young. I met and married my first wife as a Mormon. Some of the nicest people you could ever meet, but it's 100% a cult, and it's all about control (as it is with all established religions). When you start going to a Mormon church, especially if you were some sort of Christian before, they're very good at not saying too much to scare you away. You'll hear "Jesus" a lot, in the beginning, and not so much "Joseph Smith". After you've been there for awhile, that changes. Testimony day becomes more about someone publicly stating they believe Joseph Smith was a true prophet, and Jesus becomes just a bit player.

They've very good about keeping the ritual aspects secret when you're new. You won't hear about the underwear, or being "sealed" to your wife and kids in the temple. You definitely won't hear about white salamanders and such for quite awhile.

But then something happens, and they decide you're ready for the entire crazy train. There's a big push to go to temple for various rituals. Now, I lean towards ritual magic pretty hard, so I obviously have no problem with ritual and understand that it can hold power. However, people are different when they return from the temple. It's truly weird.

Most people obviously know about the "magic underwear". I never really had a problem with that, to be honest. If you haven't been to temple, it's very difficult to get anyone to answer questions about the underwear. I finally did get someone to answer me. He told me, the underwear has symbols sewn into it, and it's meant to remind the wearer of the vows they took at the temple. The underwear isn't "magic", it's an intimate, daily, constant remind of whatever the hell it is they agreed to during their temple rituals.

I could never get any first hand details about what happens at the temple. Even the guy I got to talk about the underwear was a full stop once I asked those questions, and I'd been at the church for at least a year at that point. I hadn't been to the temple, tho, and that's the price of admission for that "secret" information. I never went and I eventually left due to what happened with my first wife.

Of course, you can find a lot about this stuff by googling now, but this was decades ago. There was no public Internet. I was still running a local BBS. The only thing Non-Mormons in the Eastern part of the US knew about Mormons was they had a nice choir.

I was dating a Mormon girl, and (oops) she got pregnant. She was 18, so a legal adult. As a nice brainwashed young fellow, the only valid response to this in my mind was to marry her. At this point, she was staying with me.

The church found out and got her mother to come over and pick her up for breakfast. Instead, they took her to the Bishop's house (in Mormonism, a Bishop is the leader of a local congregation) and locked her in a room and refused to let her leave. I had to physically go to the Bishops house, refuse to leave until he heard me out, and convinced him.

In hindsight, I wish I hadn't married her, but that decision ultimately led me to Jaide, so it's hard to wish something didn't happen when it led to the person that makes me the happiest.

That was the end of my involvement in the Mormon church. They have deep community ties and even with outright kidnapping (she repeatedly told them she wanted to leave), it's near impossible to get anyone to do anything against them.

I spent most of my younger life in a Pentacostal church. I even went to Zaire (when it was still Zaire) as a missionary when I was 16. Now those people... they aren't subtle like Mormons are. There was a week long "boot camp" we had to go through before flying out of the US. Ironically, they heavily covered 2 cults and how to convert followers of those 2 cults. To them, that was the Mormons and Catholics. Catholics were never referred to as "Christians". Baptists were, tho.

The Pentacostal church takes damaged people in, especially single mothers, uses them up and spits them out even more damaged when they're done. It's definitely a cult. It's very hard to leave a church. You'll get constant phone calls, visit from church members. Some Pentacostal pastors are batshit insane and super controlling.

Good thing I never was really interested in the mormon church. Yes... I was there as well. But, thanks to you Incognitus, I know now what that insane church does.

My Mother is a strong Catholic, and she is too brainwashed to that faith. When I was little both my Parents, took my Sister and I to a Catholic Church for my Sister's baptism. Somehow, I did not feel right being at the church, I felt unease. You can call me The Omen. But seriously, I did not felt like I belong there. Ever since, I was a teen, I didn't focus on anything Spiritual. Of course, I did not know who even Jesus or Lucifer was at that time. In other words, I was lost. However, now I found what I was looking for, and I didn't have to go to a church to find It.... I'm sorry for your first wife Incognitus. You have my support all the way. Thanks for sharing that with us. Many blessings! And much Love to you!

 

[Jarhyn]

Good thing I never was really interested in the mormon church. Yes... I was there as well. But, thanks to you Incognitus, I know now what that insane church does.

My Mother is a strong Catholic, and she is too brainwashed to that faith. When I was little both my Parents, took my Sister and I to a Catholic Church for my Sister's baptism. Somehow, I did not feel right being at the church, I felt unease. You can call me The Omen. But seriously, I did not felt like I belong there. Ever since, I was a teen, I didn't focus on anything Spiritual. Of course, I did not know who even Jesus or Lucifer was at that time. In other words, I was lost. However, now I found what I was looking for, and I didn't have to go to a church to find It.... I'm sorry for your first wife Incognitus. You have my support all the way. Thanks for sharing that with us. Many blessings! And much Love to you!

I feel a similar thing in relation to churches now, too.

Not every religious or sacred space, mind, but most explicitly worship spaces devoted to Christianity and only those spaces which are devoted to such cult hierarchies.

Perhaps it is because such places are profane, an unholy mockery of reason and unconditionally loving each other, and treating neighbor as self rather than "lesser".

This is how the feeling manifests, presenting this as it's "unreliably narrated basis".

I will of course give the unreliable narrator a squinty eye and a healthy measure of doubt, but doing so thus far hasn't yielded anything but this apparent truth.

If there is a spirit of Worship of that which is Holy, reason and truth that may be seen with our own eyes turned toward our world and the reality of it, it does not live there. It may be less in that place, in fact, than any other.

 

[Mider2009]

Hmmm to the OP

If one has a cult mentality you may be correct in that the followers are not connecting to the Source

By that I mean that you can actually make religion and even scripture into an idol

So...yes you are correct there's a difference between true religion and a cult

 

[Jarhyn]

Hmmm to the OP

If one has a cult mentality you may be correct in that the followers are not connecting to the Source

By that I mean that you can actually make religion and even scripture into an idol

So...yes you are correct there's a difference between true religion and a cult

Well, there's some religious source material "religion" that is tailored to make itself into an idol, insofar as it has never pointed strongly to "The Source" at all.

Inceldom is such a cult, and it didn't even need a central prophet. It just needed a set of religious beliefs held without critical examination, and a group of folks who were susceptible to falling into it

 

[Mider2009]

That’s why I said in many ways certain religions became cults...they have forgotten to look deeper at the source of the religion, the message

 

[KjEno186]

I allowed myself to attend the so-called Memorial of Jesus Christ's Death on Friday evening. This annual "celebration" of Jehovah's Witnesses is a one hour meeting in which members are encouraged to invite non members. I went because I'm a good son to my elderly parents, and attending this event and some of their meetings is a way to make them feel happier. I cannot express to them or anyone in my family just how I feel about their religion. So, I'll vent a bit here...

We got there, and I sat down while others came in and mingled. I looked like a 'new person' since I don't bother to wear a suit jacket and tie. So, I become someone to greet and 'encourage' towards eventual membership. I avoid referencing my past since that's a quiet agreement between myself and my parents. If I publicly pointed out my practical apostasy, they would take steps to disfellowship me immediately, which would result in a whole other can of worms regarding shunning. Apparently, being baptised at 14 years of age makes one a life long member with no recourse. If you find out it's not to your liking later and have some very good reasons why, well, they don't just let you go, they want your family to never talk to you again!

So, I sat there through the dull meeting, picking apart the presentation piece by piece. They use certain key words intended to evoke feelings in the members, things normal people usually would never say. There were scriptures read from the Bible where it is interpreted to mean that it was god's purpose for mankind to live forever on Earth. Literally. Adam and Eve didn't have to die, so they say. You can Live Forever on Earth, they say. After Armageddon, Jesus and his angels will wipe out the wickedness from Earth and you can have a happy existence petting the lions and being at peace with your neighbors and everyone left on Earth, so they say. Jehovah this, and Jehovah that. Aren't you happy to be part of god's organization?

But I wasn't happy. It was a completely joyless and sterile occasion. After the talk, unleavened bread and red wine were passed around, but not partaken of. Well, it's not expected that anyone will seriously partake, but I don't feel like going into all that doctrine now. I wished I had the ability to sense the aura of the place. The feeling I got was a lot of old and sick people were desperate to believe that The End was just around the corner. The younger ones were being dragged along by familial expectations. Decades of life lost serving the interests of a corporate 'religion' while dreams were put on hold waiting for a fantasy world that would never come. It's an organization sucking the life and resources from its members while providing no spirituality, support, magic, or even true community in return. As above, so below. It's probably run by the lawyers and real estate managers at this point...

 

[Mider2009]

I allowed myself to attend the so-called Memorial of Jesus Christ's Death on Friday evening. This annual "celebration" of Jehovah's Witnesses is a one hour meeting in which members are encouraged to invite non members. I went because I'm a good son to my elderly parents, and attending this event and some of their meetings is a way to make them feel happier. I cannot express to them or anyone in my family just how I feel about their religion. So, I'll vent a bit here...

We got there, and I sat down while others came in and mingled. I looked like a 'new person' since I don't bother to wear a suit jacket and tie. So, I become someone to greet and 'encourage' towards eventual membership. I avoid referencing my past since that's a quiet agreement between myself and my parents. If I publicly pointed out my practical apostasy, they would take steps to disfellowship me immediately, which would result in a whole other can of worms regarding shunning. Apparently, being baptised at 14 years of age makes one a life long member with no recourse. If you find out it's not to your liking later and have some very good reasons why, well, they don't just let you go, they want your family to never talk to you again!

So, I sat there through the dull meeting, picking apart the presentation piece by piece. They use certain key words intended to evoke feelings in the members, things normal people usually would never say. There were scriptures read from the Bible where it is interpreted to mean that it was god's purpose for mankind to live forever on Earth. Literally. Adam and Eve didn't have to die, so they say. You can Live Forever on Earth, they say. After Armageddon, Jesus and his angels will wipe out the wickedness from Earth and you can have a happy existence petting the lions and being at peace with your neighbors and everyone left on Earth, so they say. Jehovah this, and Jehovah that. Aren't you happy to be part of god's organization?

But I wasn't happy. It was a completely joyless and sterile occasion. After the talk, unleavened bread and red wine were passed around, but not partaken of. Well, it's not expected that anyone will seriously partake, but I don't feel like going into all that doctrine now. I wished I had the ability to sense the aura of the place. The feeling I got was a lot of old and sick people were desperate to believe that The End was just around the corner. The younger ones were being dragged along by familial expectations. Decades of life lost serving the interests of a corporate 'religion' while dreams were put on hold waiting for a fantasy world that would never come. It's an organization sucking the life and resources from its members while providing no spirituality, support, magic, or even true community in return. As above, so below. It's probably run by the lawyers and real estate managers at this point...

The threat of shunning is pretty pathetic and a way to control the community. In some communities like struck Jewish communities of the Amish you can be pretty screwed if you’re shunned

it’s common as is the threat of hell. In my old church we were the only ones saved everyone else was wrong.

so yeah I had similar experience to you...God was gonna burn 99 percent of his creation forever (not annihilate like in Jehovah’s Witness doctrine) and if you stepped outta line you were evil...

this was thrown at me by a bigoted old preacher who treated his wife like crap, lied, etc. yet of course he was going to heaven. After a particularly nasty interaction between me n him I felt betrayed and left, listened to atheist videos, watched actual science videos and saw that much of the stuff we were taught in church was garbage

after several more years i started studying The Bible more in debt and saw that Christianity often has a poor grasp of scripture...in Biblical law...sodomy is prohibited but two men doing anything else? That’s not, two woman being gay was not prohibited at all, it became prohibited by the Jewish courts later but never by corporal punishment

and what the church never mentions is....most of the laws in the Bible...dietary, even who people can worship, etc...is Only mandatory for Jews, non Jews only have 7 laws or categories to follow...

 

[Diluculo_DelFuego]

I don't pay attention to laws like that, as Christians are freed from most of the law. Love God and your neighbor as yourself, follow the golden rule, obey the Ten Commandments, you're pretty solid. Except for this magic stuff, thank Jesus.

 

[Diluculo_DelFuego]

Now, one lovely group gave me an e-meter reading and declared me as an anti-social psychopath.
Fortunately, that pissed me off enough to shrug that group off after mild sonic warfare and street theater, and that I was diagnosed differently by psychiatrists.

 

[Konsciencia]

I allowed myself to attend the so-called Memorial of Jesus Christ's Death on Friday evening. This annual "celebration" of Jehovah's Witnesses is a one hour meeting in which members are encouraged to invite non members. I went because I'm a good son to my elderly parents, and attending this event and some of their meetings is a way to make them feel happier. I cannot express to them or anyone in my family just how I feel about their religion. So, I'll vent a bit here...

We got there, and I sat down while others came in and mingled. I looked like a 'new person' since I don't bother to wear a suit jacket and tie. So, I become someone to greet and 'encourage' towards eventual membership. I avoid referencing my past since that's a quiet agreement between myself and my parents. If I publicly pointed out my practical apostasy, they would take steps to disfellowship me immediately, which would result in a whole other can of worms regarding shunning. Apparently, being baptised at 14 years of age makes one a life long member with no recourse. If you find out it's not to your liking later and have some very good reasons why, well, they don't just let you go, they want your family to never talk to you again!

So, I sat there through the dull meeting, picking apart the presentation piece by piece. They use certain key words intended to evoke feelings in the members, things normal people usually would never say. There were scriptures read from the Bible where it is interpreted to mean that it was god's purpose for mankind to live forever on Earth. Literally. Adam and Eve didn't have to die, so they say. You can Live Forever on Earth, they say. After Armageddon, Jesus and his angels will wipe out the wickedness from Earth and you can have a happy existence petting the lions and being at peace with your neighbors and everyone left on Earth, so they say. Jehovah this, and Jehovah that. Aren't you happy to be part of god's organization?

But I wasn't happy. It was a completely joyless and sterile occasion. After the talk, unleavened bread and red wine were passed around, but not partaken of. Well, it's not expected that anyone will seriously partake, but I don't feel like going into all that doctrine now. I wished I had the ability to sense the aura of the place. The feeling I got was a lot of old and sick people were desperate to believe that The End was just around the corner. The younger ones were being dragged along by familial expectations. Decades of life lost serving the interests of a corporate 'religion' while dreams were put on hold waiting for a fantasy world that would never come. It's an organization sucking the life and resources from its members while providing no spirituality, support, magic, or even true community in return. As above, so below. It's probably run by the lawyers and real estate managers at this point...

Kjeno! I'm so sorry for you. I'm glad my parents weren't as strict as others are. It's bad enough for those Children to grow in households like that. But, what I would recommend for you, is to do whatever makes you Happy, and not do things because you want to please others. Many blessings!

The threat of shunning is pretty pathetic and a way to control the community. In some communities like struck Jewish communities of the Amish you can be pretty screwed if you’re shunned

it’s common as is the threat of hell. In my old church we were the only ones saved everyone else was wrong.

so yeah I had similar experience to you...God was gonna burn 99 percent of his creation forever (not annihilate like in Jehovah’s Witness doctrine) and if you stepped outta line you were evil...

this was thrown at me by a bigoted old preacher who treated his wife like crap, lied, etc. yet of course he was going to heaven. After a particularly nasty interaction between me n him I felt betrayed and left, listened to atheist videos, watched actual science videos and saw that much of the stuff we were taught in church was garbage

after several more years i started studying The Bible more in debt and saw that Christianity often has a poor grasp of scripture...in Biblical law...sodomy is prohibited but two men doing anything else? That’s not, two woman being gay was not prohibited at all, it became prohibited by the Jewish courts later but never by corporal punishment

and what the church never mentions is....most of the laws in the Bible...dietary, even who people can worship, etc...is Only mandatory for Jews, non Jews only have 7 laws or categories to follow...

Mider I didn't know you struggled with that. I'm glad you found your path. I think I didn't have contact with The Universe, I wouldn't know what to do. Anyway, many blessings!

 

[Mider2009]

The threat of shunning is pretty pathetic and a way to control the community. In some communities like struck Jewish communities of the Amish you can be pretty screwed if you’re shunned

it’s common as is the threat of hell. In my old church we were the only ones saved everyone else was wrong.

so yeah I had similar experience to you...God was gonna burn 99 percent of his creation forever (not annihilate like in Jehovah’s Witness doctrine) and if you stepped outta line you were evil...

this was thrown at me by a bigoted old preacher who treated his wife like crap, lied, etc. yet of course he was going to heaven. After a particularly nasty interaction between me n him I felt betrayed and left, listened to atheist videos, watched actual science videos and saw that much of the stuff we were taught in church was garbage

after several more years i started studying The Bible more in debt and saw that Christianity often has a poor grasp of scripture...in Biblical law...sodomy is prohibited but two men doing anything else? That’s not, two woman being gay was not prohibited at all, it became prohibited by the Jewish courts later but never by corporal punishment

and what the church never mentions is....most of the laws in the Bible...dietary, even who people can worship, etc...is Only mandatory for Jews, non Jews only have 7 laws or categories to follow...

Strict Jewish communities or the Amish

 

[Konsciencia]

I guess both

 

[Frater Dag]

I was born into a Hebrew-Christian doomsday cult. When I say cult, I mean the word in the modern sense. I left when I was in my early 20s.

I spent years studying cults. There are three basic qualities that all damaging cults have. The first is a charismatic leader. Second is that they exert a high level of control over all aspects of a member’s life. The third is that the cult causes members to separate from their families. My cult attempted to control the money of it’s members, their sexuality, who they could date, their financial decisions, their job decisions, and many other aspects of their lives.

My father and many of the relatives are still in the cult. I came out with my spiritual practice to him a few years ago. My practice frightens him. I made 15 Shem talismans at the beginning of the pandemic to protect the wearer from getting Covid-19 and I offered to give him one. He freaked out and told me he didn't want one.

I'm doing well these days. During the last year I got connected with a spirit that completely changed me and now I'm connected to a very powerful source. This last year has been the best I have ever experienced on a spiritual, psychological, and material level.

 

[Roma]

The word religion has the same etymological origin as ligature. So to whom/what should you be tied with a ligature?

Free will may be hard to come by.

 

[Konsciencia]

I was born into a Hebrew-Christian doomsday cult. When I say cult, I mean the word in the modern sense. I left when I was in my early 20s.

I spent years studying cults. There are three basic qualities that all damaging cults have. The first is a charismatic leader. Second is that they exert a high level of control over all aspects of a member’s life. The third is that the cult causes members to separate from their families. My cult attempted to control the money of it’s members, their sexuality, who they could date, their financial decisions, their job decisions, and many other aspects of their lives.

My father and many of the relatives are still in the cult. I came out with my spiritual practice to him a few years ago. My practice frightens him. I made 15 Shem talismans at the beginning of the pandemic to protect the wearer from getting Covid-19 and I offered to give him one. He freaked out and told me he didn't want one.

I'm doing well these days. During the last year I got connected with a spirit that completely changed me and now I'm connected to a very powerful source. This last year has been the best I have ever experienced on a spiritual, psychological, and material level.

Damn, that is sick! Thanks for posting that Frater Drag. My only Cult is Lucifer and Her Beauty!

 

[LostYeoman]

a relatively small group of people having religious beliefs or practices regarded by others as strange or sinister.

Ah, so like how Christianity used to be back in pagan Rome; strange men in peasant’s clothing skulking in alleys whispering of apocrypha and a one true god? All religions start out as cults until they grow and become an opiate for the masses.

 

[Diluculo_DelFuego]

JW and LDS, as did Christian Science also attracted me. Of the three, CS is most likely. I did get baptized by LDS and got to see the inside of the temple except for areas like baptism for the dead.