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Where did I utter B.S.? Oh wait, I don't worship the gospel of Rick Ross and Margaret Singer so ANY disagreement with them is b.s. Thanks for pointing that out.
Oh and please stop white washing the PRC.
Recently it was reported that Haidan Hospital patient Xue Yanlin received two kidney transplants within 48 hours, for a cost of 220,000 yuan (US$27,440) resulting in a financial loss as well as the death of the recipient. The fact that physician Han Xiuwu at Haidian Hospital in Kunming city was able to use kidneys from living donors at will within a very short period of time has attracted public attention.
Originally posted by k4rupt
Rick Ross and Margaret Singer are RESPECTED Cult Experts.
[edit on 21-5-2006 by k4rupt]
Disease has long posed as a formidable enemy of the human race. Despite rapid advancement in modern medicine, there are still many illnesses with no known cure. Countless people around the world live and suffer in the shadow of their sickness. The following is a collection of testimonials by people who experienced miraculous recoveries after embracing the powerful self-cultivation practice of Falun Gong. Following the path of "Truthfulness, Compassion, and Tolerance", has brought health, clarity, and wisdom to these people and many more.
Critics of Falun Gong in the West argue that because of the relationship of dependency that Li Hongzhi establishes between himself and his followers, using what they say are a variety of manipulative techniques, the Falun Gong should be thought of as a cult rather than a new religious movement or metaphysical qigong. A number of American cult experts, including Rick Ross, Margaret Singer and Steven Hassan, have claimed that Li Hongzhi meets their definition of a manipulative cult leader. While cult experts have not reached a consensus definition for a cult, they often focus on what is considered the coercive behavior of the group leader as an indicator for the potentially damaging aspects of a particular group. In a New Times article (March 23-29, 2000) cult expert Margaret Singer stated: “Some will say it’s not but Falun Gong looks like a cult to me. My criteria is a self-appointed person with secret knowledge to share, who gets his followers convinced he is the pipeline to the eternal good life. Doesn’t that sound like Master Li?”
Different theories of what constitutes thought control have also emerged, but again without consensus. American psychologist and exit counselor Steve Hassan has “grave concerns about the personage of Li Hongzhi, head of the Falun Dafa and his organization.” [62] In his 2002 book Releasing the Bonds: Empowering People to Think for Themselves, Hassan describes the BITE (Behavior, Information, Thought and Emotion) model, which explains mind control as a combination of control over behavior, information, thought and emotions. Hassan believes that Li Hongzhi “comes very much out of the cult extreme, the authoritarian stereotype” [63]. On his website [64], Hassan states:
As far as the controls exerted by the group on individuals, I am not convinced that this group (Falun Gong) fulfills my BITE model in its entirety. I have not had an opportunity to interview any individuals who have been very involved with this group and decided to leave. I do have a strong impression that Thought control and Phobia indoctrination (emotional control) is very much used. People are made to feel that the only "true" path is by following Li Hongzhi, and that to fail to do so would result in serious physical health problems manifesting.
posted by k4rupt
I have asked you guys already to post a statement from someone who has a strong background and respectability in the study of cults who has argued that FALUN GONG IS NOT A CULT. Until then, I suggest you people take it upon yourselves to see why plenty of American Cult Experts label FLG as a cult.
[edit on 22-5-2006 by k4rupt]
Main Entry: cult
1:formal religious veneration : worship
2:a system of religious beliefs and ritual; also : its body of adherents
Originally posted by k4rupt
Where did I utter B.S.? Oh wait, I don't worship the gospel of Rick Ross and Margaret Singer so ANY disagreement with them is b.s. Thanks for pointing that out.
Oh and please stop white washing the PRC.
Are you kiddin me? Rick Ross and Margaret Singer are RESPECTED Cult Experts. How DARE YOU reduce their credibility because what they said is against your arguments. That is pathetic. Please, are there any disagreements with them? Have you ever EVEN bothered to post a disagreement by someone who is a respected expert in the study of cults? No... you havent, so until you do, I suggest you actually read what they have to say.
And how the hell am I white washing the PRC? Those things that I have mentioned ARE TRUE... if you would rather dwell in your ignorance and hate for the PRC rather than to just READ a bit of what they have actually done for the Chinese people, then I suggest you stop posting here at ATS. We're here to deny ignorance, not spread it.
[edit on 21-5-2006 by k4rupt]
And yes you do white wash the PRC. They kill thousands a year based on 65 different crimes. They put people in prinson and run them down with tanks for protesting.
Grow up! And learn what you are talking about!
www.nowtoronto.com...
All you have done is give me two names of people who define cults for a living so of course it is in their interest to spin any spiritual organization into an "evil cult". They would be out of a job if they didn't.
And yes you do white wash the PRC. They kill thousands a year based on 65 different crimes. They put people in prinson and run them down with tanks for protesting.
Grow up! And learn what you are talking about!
You asked for it...you got it.
It seems pretty easy for you to knock down Oct's two-sentence statements from the Epoch Times but you don't seem to want to touch the information I have presented in my previous posts...prefering to go on and on about your RESPECTED cult experts.
How about the United States Congress? Are they not respected? They made their conclusion as well...NOT A CULT.
Also, your arguement that many nations have done bad things in the past is ridiculous. Those things happened in the past. They were wrong, yes, but they are DONE and we can't really do anything about it now can we?
What the CCP is doing is ONGOING IN THE PRESENT. Are you suggesting that we should accept atrocities now because they have been commited in the past? PLEASE!
And saying that the CCP was the best thing that ever happened to the Chinese economy is a good one. I laughed pretty loudly when I read that. You ever hear of the failed experiment of collective agriculture which caused the Great Chinese Famine soon after the CCP took power? Millions died.
Actually, the economy of China has taken off quite impressively in the past decade or so...the reason? The move to a free market economy. You do know what a free market economy is, right? A system of allocating resources based only on the interaction of market forces, such as supply and demand. A true market economy is free of governmental influence, collusion and other external interference.
get it? FREE of government influence. The economy improved because the government got OUT OF THE WAY.
So instead of repeating yourself constantly and going off on Oct...why don't you answer the question? Why is Falun Gong evil? And please don't use the same reasons that I debunked in my previous post (that is if you even read it)
Originally posted by _VoiceOfReason_
EVERYONE HAS THE RIGHT TO HIS OR HER OWN BELIEFS. They certainly shouldn't be beaten, imprisoned and killed because of them.