Suggestion - Cult & Cultist Board

Hiya

Got a suggestion 'ere. What do people think of a new board based on cults and cultists. Reckon it would be a fine thing as it would give a home to posts that can be found in all sorts of forums but have the same theme. For instance, remember that prophet dude who prayed for UFO's? Well personally that should have gone to the cult forum, cos thats what it was, regardless of what appeared, be a balloon or seagul, it was definitely a cult.

Cult & Cultists... whatcha think?


Dae

isnt one mans cult another mans religion?
And I think both ATS and BTS are well served with religion threads...
nice idea though..

Dan

Source
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.
The followers of such a religion or sect.
A system or community of religious worship and ritual.
The formal means of expressing religious reverence; religious ceremony and ritual.
A usually nonscientific method or regimen claimed by its originator to have exclusive or exceptional power in curing a particular disease.

Obsessive, especially faddish, devotion to or veneration for a person, principle, or thing.
The object of such devotion.
An exclusive group of persons sharing an esoteric, usually artistic or intellectual interest.

It's covered under Religion mate, Islam is a seen as a Cult by Christians. So on and so fourth by each group.

Cults... if you ask me, they're a different thing to religion. I mean... cult movies arent usually very religious. Maybe people use the term cult to denigrate another's religion, but calling it so doesnt stop it being a religion... so if something can be both cult and religion, or one or the other, then surely they are not the same?

Maybe I'm just being insensitive because I hated how the ol' Sunday papers back home always bundled science and religion together. 'They are not the same!' I proclaimed, loudly, usually while waving a paper annoyingly close to someone's face. But I got my point across... that I was an annoying kid with no idea that they were indeed indentical, apart from the spelling.

So, anyway, where was I? Oh yes... we should go ahead and banish all cult discussion to the religious board because doomsday cults and cult movies and the cult all had really bad hair... no no... no, that's right, they're 'not religion'.

Can I have my donkey back now?

Wouldn't Secret Societies work?

Originally posted by intrepid
Wouldn't Secret Societies work?

Yeah but what if it aint secret! Yeah!

You got vampire cults, music cults, cults of the Forbidden Badger™...

Yeah.

Originally posted by Dae

Originally posted by intrepid
Wouldn't Secret Societies work?

Yeah but what if it aint secret! Yeah!

You got vampire cults, music cults, cults of the Forbidden Badger™...

Yeah.

The Forbidden Badger™ cult is in fact a secret... very few people here would have heard of it, as is meant to be. Please, everyone, unremember the previous post. Or the bit about the badgers, anyway.

Fin.

Problem is, Cult Movies would go over to BTS.
Non-Religious Cults could move into Secret Societies or over to PTS into the ideologies forums.

The only real sort of posts that you do not have somewhere for is to speak of a Cult of Personality, but even those are covered in BTS. Can you think of a thread title or topic? Maybe that'd help your arguement.

I don't think we should start throwing a bunch of stuff into a 'cult' forum, just because you don't believe/agree/approve of it. Like the Prophet Yahweh case belongs in the Alien&UFO section, regardless that it turned out to be a hoax. Just like Serpo has nothing to do with religion/cults, but you might throw it into a cult forum because it has become a cult internet sensation.

If it was made at all, it should be "Conspiracies in Cults" (Which is basically Conspiracies in Religion), and be about stuff like the big Kool-Aid mass suicide, and other modern cults. But we all know that it would soon just become whackos saying that every religion but their own is the work of Satan.

Now if you don't mind, I'm going to go look into this "Forbidden Badger" thing .

[edit on 4-4-2006 by Yarcofin]

Originally posted by Odium
Problem is, Cult Movies would go over to BTS.
Non-Religious Cults could move into Secret Societies or over to PTS into the ideologies forums.

The only real sort of posts that you do not have somewhere for is to speak of a Cult of Personality, but even those are covered in BTS. Can you think of a thread title or topic? Maybe that'd help your arguement.

Cult Movies and a cult based on a movie is different no? For instance, a cult formed believing in the Matrix movies, its not a religion or a secret society (its known). This cult could involve eventual suicide based on a part of the film (more explained in the Animatrix series) where a boy freed himself from the matrix by jumping off a building and believing in Neo.

Cults based on vampireism (from drinking blood to Buffy worship lol), again does it belong in the religion forum or secrect societies?

You are right, most of these topics can be fitted into another catagory but Im vouching for a category all of itself. For instance, Id like to see more discussion on cults like Alcholholics Anonymous, but where does it go? It has conspiracy laced through it (in my opinion, which isnt a set belief), so it it BTS? Its not a "secret society". Where does it go? NWO board? I suppose.

Maybe Cults & Fads ? Media play a large part in creating and promoting these things, and as we all know the media is a large cog in NWO engine.

Originally posted by Dae
Cult & Cultists... whatcha think?

We have a forum for conservative politics.

I say yes to a cult board.. I recently posed a cult topic and it got moved by moderators into 'general chit chat' on BTS. How is that General chit chat.. Please create a board.. cult(s) interest me greatly and i'm sure it'd be in constant useage

Originally posted by Dae
Cult & Cultists... whatcha think?

Good idea Dae. It sounds like you are trying to focus on the real issues which face humanity. Cults are grabbing many innocent minds these days.

But, as has been said here, a forum with the title "Cults" is probably going to consist of threads which devolve into discussions of what is a cult and what isn't. There have been several threads like this regarding Falun Gong, and I can think of Jehovah's Witnesses as a cult group which hates being called a cult also. I think this topic is really a buzz-kill for a lot of ATSers. Threads about cults are quickly mocked by users with nothing better to post. This trivializes the issue.

Really what needs to happen is for the majority of humans to wake up to what evil cults represent in this modern age. If you haven't had family members stolen by a cult, it may be hard to empathize.

Anyway you're on the right track, but really, ATS would probably be better served by your posting one well-conceived thread about cults (your specific fears and suspicions). Conspiracies in Religions is probably the best place.

Originally Posted by Knights:
I say yes to a cult board.. I recently posed a cult topic and it got moved by moderators into 'general chit chat' on BTS. How is that General chit chat.. Please create a board.. cult(s) interest me greatly and i'm sure it'd be in constant useage

Which post is it? Can you link to it?

Some Moderators are also skeptics of course so their trivialization of a topic by putting it into chit-chat is not indicative of their bias necessarily. They want to see posts which describe a conspiracy. If they move a post in such a way, format one that makes the conspiracy more clear, and perhaps they'll let that one stay.

I don't want to get into a long, drawn-out, discussion of what is a cult. These "discussions" usually are semantic exercises. For the most part, I think that we all know the difference between a religion and a cult -- unless, of course, you happen to be a member of one.

Nevertheless, I would think that a separate forum for "cults" would be unnecessary as the "Religion and Spirituality" should cover it. If you are a Roman Catholic, there are those who view this belief system as a cult. Scientologists certainly don't see themselves as belonging to a cult whereas many would certainly label them as a cult. I would suppose that it would all depend upon your point of view.

For example, a few months ago a very nice gentleman from the Jehovah's Witness' came to my door. We began a discussion of the Bible, God's Plan and, of course, how his belief system had "the answers that I was seeking". He was a very sincere gentleman and I certainly could not doubt his dedication or his faith in his religion / "cult". After all, he was the one standing on my porch in sub-zero weather holding a Bible in one hand and a few copies of the Watch Tower Magazine in the other.

I think of the Jehovah's Witness' as a cult. Trust me, this man really believes and views his beliefs are part of a religion and he is sincerely hoping to save my soul. All I can say is "God Bless Him". He is doing what he believes with sincere intentions. I think that he is being used by his religion to prosletize and he believes that he is trying his best to bring others to his true faith. Is this a religion or a cult? It would depend, as I stated, on ones' point of view.

Regardless of the semantic games one plays, we are dealing with faith, spirituality and belief systems so I would have to conclude that Jehovah's Witness' are a religion which, naturally, would be discussed in an existing forum. There is no need to start yet another forum for the Jehovah's Witness' or, for that matter, any other belief system involving faith and spirituality. Whether we were discussing Branch Davidians, Scientologists or Berean Christadelphians, we are discussing belief systems that are just as valid, in their own way, as Catholicism, the Baptists or any other "mainstream" belief. It would all have to do with one's point of view.

We don't need a new forum, the one we have now covers it.

Thanks for your support Knight and smallpeeps


I can see the hassle of creating a Cult board and all the negative connotations involved, it nearly made me not bother with the idea but as you can see I decided to give it a shot.

I personally have had a couple of cults in my life, when I use the word cult I mean its an organisation that alters your thinking and beliefs in a not always healthy way. For instance my dad is involved with Alcoholics Anonomous (which means I was directly involved via Alateen) and my mum was involved with a cult called Sant Mat (of which I was involved as a young adult - my choice). The first being AA, which I now have come to understand as the fastest growing religion the world has seen! That and it brainwashes... The second is a religious philosophy, Sant Mat. Sant Mat "prides" itself on its honesty and morality, I have witnessed and read to the contrary!

Despite probably all our reservations about opening a can of cult worms on ATS... sod it, I think it could be interesting and heck, if the 3 amigos dont like how the cult board turns out then they can junk it... any harm in trying? Perhaps

One mans cult is another mans religion. And fair enough too! A cult board would allow a person to raise the viability of cult status for an organisation. No harm in looking at an organisation critically. Yes Jehovah Witness is a religion for some but it works as a cult for others, that is life!

Could ATS hadle it? Yeah I think so.

Originally posted by benevolent tyrant

Nevertheless, I would think that a separate forum for "cults" would be unnecessary as the "Religion and Spirituality" should cover it. If you are a Roman Catholic, there are those who view this belief system as a cult. Scientologists certainly don't see themselves as belonging to a cult whereas many would certainly label them as a cult. I would suppose that it would all depend upon your point of view.

We don't need a new forum, the one we have now covers it.

After I read your post I did a search in all forums from the beginning for the word 'cult' in only the subject lines. You should go see, pick a few and see where they are, scattered all over the show! From aliens&ufo to various broads in BTS. Im just advocating a board to house them all.

Maybe if it was called Cults & Fads and housed somewhere in BTS?

Originally posted by Dae
I can see the hassle of creating a Cult board and all the negative connotations involved, it nearly made me not bother with the idea but as you can see I decided to give it a shot.

Well, I'd say again, that your heart is in the right place. One things for sure, if enough people post individual posts about their own experiences with cults, then eventually there will be a forum for those posts because sheer quantity will force it. No way can a multitude of personal cult experiences be marginalized to chit chat. Even skeptics may be won over by the intricate conspiritorial wrecking of humans seen within these cults.

I personally have had a couple of cults in my life, when I use the word cult I mean its an organisation that alters your thinking and beliefs in a not always healthy way.

Wow, that's probably the most succinct and correct definition of a cult I've seen. Yes, I was a JW in my youth and have commented on that fact here at ATS. It's interesting to study the nature of groups like the Watchtower and then to observe how people on the outside of the cult have no idea how organized it all is. Also, a lot of JW's I knew are still dear to me and although they must shun me, I bear them no ill will. Like a lot of cultish-groups, the majority of JWs are truly "sheeplike" and docile. For them it really is a "religion". What they fail to realize, and are trained to ignore, are the wolves who lurk within the group.

One mans cult is another mans religion. And fair enough too! A cult board would allow a person to raise the viability of cult status for an organisation. No harm in looking at an organisation critically. Yes Jehovah Witness is a religion for some but it works as a cult for others, that is life!

Why would people raise the viability of cult status when you yourself admit that all religions are cults, and may also be seen as a religion? As you describe, it's largely a point of view.

My suggestion would be to start a thread in Conspiracies in Religion forum titled, "One Man's Religion Another Man's Cult?" for example, and then you'll have a good starting point to argue for your forum. Then come back here and after seeing how that thread went, maybe the group will have a more complete picture of what a cult is, and why this issue is so important.

I'm very interested in this subject and will definitely be following your comments.