sorry to starrt up another 2012 post but i was just thinking closer to the time d you think we will start to see cults apear from nowhere some even prepared to kill themselves in order to ascend? at the dawning of the new 5th world?

i dunno just an idea

I would not be surprised at all if various cults, followings, etc. started to spring up the closer we get to 2012. Unfortunately, I believe that most of them will be started by a person with one thing on their mind . . . money.

Before we call an organizationa cult, we should define a cult first.

Dictionary.com defines a cult as:

1. A religion or religious sect generally considered to be extremist or false, with its followers often living in an unconventional manner under the guidance of an authoritarian, charismatic leader.
2. The followers of such a religion or sect.
2. A system or community of religious worship and ritual.
3. The formal means of expressing religious reverence; religious ceremony and ritual.
4. A usually nonscientific method or regimen claimed by its originator to have exclusive or exceptional power in curing a particular disease.
5.
1. Obsessive, especially faddish, devotion to or veneration for a person, principle, or thing.
2. The object of such devotion.
6. An exclusive group of persons sharing an esoteric, usually artistic or intellectual interest.


Reading this list, I could strech it a little and claim Islam and Christianity are cults. How could I say that? Lets reread some of the definations-Obsessive, especially faddish, devotion to or veneration for a person, principle, or thing.

What happens if a cult becomes very large and popular-what do we call them then? Established religions?

I think a very large cult is an "accepted" religion. Also, the cults could already have been created.

im sure a whole rash of cults will pop up the closer we get to 2012 but i think we might be more concerned about the escelating situation oversees that will proboby spawn most of the cults in the first place