Is Christianity a cult?

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A cult is a religion with no political power.

No, a cult is an organization that wields control over its members well beyond whats considered socially normal.

The problem is, the fact that cults (in the case of most, simply an unfamiliar religion in that particular region) are not socially accepted would appear to be the very reason that many of them have "control over its members beyond what is considered socially normal". And basically all religions have gone through that. The Romans (and non-Christians Jews) certainly considered Christianity to be the then-equivalent of a cult, with the Romans even joking that Christians ate babies (the irony!)
In other words, social ostracism and unacceptance are the only distinctions of a cult that I can see.

Social ostracism and unacceptance are irrelevant. The Catholic Church was a cult in the dark ages, despite holding considerable power. Many strains of Islam are cults regardless of popular support. It all comes down to the level of control.

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I'm in the middle of reading the book written by the niece of David Miscavage about her life in the Church of Scientology. They heavily push church over everyone else including friends and family, even forcing Sea Org families to split up in different parts of the country to the point the kids and parents hardly ever see each other or talk to each other and are made to feel like they're wrong for missing each other.

So yeah, Christianity in its purest form is a cult. Very few Christian sects still take that verse to heart, though.


* http://www.amazon.com/Jenna-Miscavige-Hill/e/B0094KVGVE It's a good book and quite an interesting take on growing up amongst the highest levels of the church. I've read a lot about Scientology before, but some of the stuff in here is still blowing my mind.

Jenna Miscavige Hill is a sweetheart from what I hear about her. She's nothing like her uncle Dave. If you want to read the stories of escaped ex-Scientologists, Blown For Good by Marc Headley is another good one.

[FrankDK]

> To me the only difference between "religion" and a "cult" are the number of members...

A religion is a cult with political clout.

Frank

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> To me the only difference between "religion" and a "cult" are the number of members...

A religion is a cult with political clout.

Frank

This idea has already been refuted more than a few times above...

[Bibliofagus]

A cult is a religion with no political power.

No, a cult is an organization that wields control over its members well beyond whats considered socially normal.

The army is a cult?

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A cult is a religion with no political power.

No, a cult is an organization that wields control over its members well beyond whats considered socially normal.

The army is a cult?

LMAO. In a sense, yes. They do try to completely tear down your personality, and replace it with a soldiers persona.

[aitm]

I keep reading clit and laughing.....

























thought you would want to know.

[BarkAtTheMoon]

I'm in the middle of reading the book written by the niece of David Miscavage about her life in the Church of Scientology. They heavily push church over everyone else including friends and family, even forcing Sea Org families to split up in different parts of the country to the point the kids and parents hardly ever see each other or talk to each other and are made to feel like they're wrong for missing each other.

So yeah, Christianity in its purest form is a cult. Very few Christian sects still take that verse to heart, though.


* http://www.amazon.com/Jenna-Miscavige-Hill/e/B0094KVGVE It's a good book and quite an interesting take on growing up amongst the highest levels of the church. I've read a lot about Scientology before, but some of the stuff in here is still blowing my mind.

Jenna Miscavige Hill is a sweetheart from what I hear about her. She's nothing like her uncle Dave. If you want to read the stories of escaped ex-Scientologists, Blown For Good by Marc Headley is the golden standard.

Funny you should say that, because that looks to be a significant part of the reason for her turn from the church, her leaders saying she was a terrible person for various little infractions against the church, basically caring about people she that were supposedly beneath her, and her realizing she was a good person because of it. Even her uncle and aunt started the tale as relatively normal and got progressively more vicious as they gained power after LRH's death. I'm 63% through her book according to Kindle, and it's been a good read the whole way. I highly recommend it. It's different also from other Scientology stories I've seen in that she was basically born into the higher levels of the church and grew up training to be in the Sea Org when she was elementary school age.

I'll look into downloading that book when I'm done, though I might need a bit of a break between Scientology books.

[BarkAtTheMoon]

The army is a cult?

LMAO. In a sense, yes. They do try to completely tear down your personality, and replace it with a soldiers persona.

The Marines are big on that. I've known guys from high school who came back completely different people, and this was peace time long before all the current wars.

[Bibliofagus]

The army is a cult?

LMAO. In a sense, yes. They do try to completely tear down your personality, and replace it with a soldiers persona.

I agree. But if the army is included that has an impact on the usefullness of the term 'cult'...
There should be a religious connotation in your definition at least I think.

I also think the groups we call cults are generally highly geographically localized. But I'm not sure if that should be included.

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You may not know this, but Shelly Miscavige has been missing for a long time. She's almost certainly off on some sort of RPF gulag, but could be dead and there's no way to know for sure. If you ever want to talk to Jenna, you can probably get ahold of her on her message board at http://www.exscientologykids.com/eskforums/ .

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I agree. But if the army is included that has an impact on the usefullness of the term 'cult'...
There should be a religious connotation in your definition at least I think.

Not at all, some cults are quite secular. Ever heard of Amway? Or the Communist Party? Even Scientology started out as non-religious.

I also think the groups we call cults are generally highly geographically localized. But I'm not sure if that should be included.

Some are, some aren't.

[FrankDK]

> To me the only difference between "religion" and a "cult" are the number of members...

A religion is a cult with political clout.

Frank

This idea has already been refuted more than a few times above...

It's been argued against, but it hasn't been refuted.  The key is the definition of cult.  Here's what you get when you enter "define:cult" into Google:

cult  
/k?lt/
Noun

   1. A system of religious veneration and devotion directed toward a particular figure or object.
   2. A relatively small group of people having religious beliefs or practices regarded by others as strange or sinister.

Synonyms
worship - religion - adoration

Definition 1 fits essentially all current religions.  What keeps religions out of definition 2 is only their size.  Many people qualify as "others" and regard Christianity, Islam, etc., as strange and sinister.  

Frank

[Bibliofagus]

I agree. But if the army is included that has an impact on the usefullness of the term 'cult'...
There should be a religious connotation in your definition at least I think.

Not at all, some cults are quite secular. Ever heard of Amway? Or the Communist Party? Even Scientology started out as non-religious.

I also think the groups we call cults are generally highly geographically localized. But I'm not sure if that should be included.

Some are, some aren't.

Never heard about Amway before, but I'm assuming you mean this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amway
And I see what you mean, furthermore you are right.

But criminal organisations would be cults as well. By definition. To me this is problematic.

Maybe we can find a distinctive difference in the reasons for people to join up?

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I suppose on a strict reading, you would be right. The mafia does indeed control its members more than most would find socially acceptable. They could be described as a secular cult of sort, even if they don't meet many other typical characteristics. Having said that, anyone who joins the mafia knows what they're doing. Perhaps deceptive recruiting should be added to the definition.