Please, before we see any more of these lists: delineate exactly what constitutes a bona fide religion, and explain why all those institutions classified as "cults' do not meet those criteria. Making these lists is easy- you just assemble all the things you find distasteful about an organization and you declare that those are the things that define a cult. So what is it that makes a church/belief system a "real" religion?

Who put you in charge here? Saucie's been here far longer, and I have as well. And as far as cults go, if it walks like a duck, has feathers like a duck, and swims and flies like a duck, you can bet it's probably a duck.

Per an Egyptology PhD I had over a dozen years ago in a grad level class, "The difference between a religion and a cult is that a religion survives the death of its founder.

Steven Hassan is widely recognized as one of the leading authorities on "toxic cults," and he presented at an Exmormon Conference hear several years ago. I was honored to make his acquaintance, and he drew a lot of parallels between the Reverend Moon's organization and the LDS Church. I'm fairly certain you can find his presentation on the Internet; here are two of his websites.

https://freedomofmind.com

http://old.freedomofmind.com/Info/BITE/bitemodel.php

Thank you Cabbie.

SL Cabbie Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Per an Egyptology PhD I had over a dozen years ago
> in a grad level class, "The difference between a
> religion and a cult is that a religion survives
> the death of its founder.

So does that make mormonism a religion and not a cult?
After all, it survived the death of its founder...

ificouldhietokolob Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> SL Cabbie Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Per an Egyptology PhD I had over a dozen years
> ago
> > in a grad level class, "The difference between
> a
> > religion and a cult is that a religion survives
> > the death of its founder.
>
> So does that make mormonism a religion and not a
> cult?
> After all, it survived the death of its founder...

The Alcoholics Anonymous F@ith would qualify as a religion and a very destructive cult.

That is silly Gheco. AA doesn’t interview people about their sex lives, require tithing, forbid beards and piercings, require someone else to determine your worthiness, require special weddings that exclude people, etc. And don’t hold 3 hour meetings, geez! Hey

At RfM we accept contributions with kindness and don't denounce them because they don't measure up to someone's outlandish idea of correctness. There's no need to ponder a post that you find lacking. Just move on to another that suits you.

> So what is it that makes a church/belief system
> a "real" religion?

I know, I know...!!: It's a real church /belief system when it's not a cult!

Okay, I’ll bite! In a religion, the leaders are dead; in a cult they’re alive! The Mafioso’s Boner

I Think I have been here longer than most of you and have seen many of these check lists.
Ive always said that working for IBM fits.
If the mormon church is a cult then why are 70percent of the flock allowed to go astray. Doesnt sound like a very good one to me. Definitely more love bombing and guilt trips are in order.

I have been here since almost the beginning too, though I used a different name at that time. I have also seen lists about cults from time to time. And they show time and time again, that Mormonism is a cult

SL Cabbie mentions Steven Hassan, once of the most well known authorities on cults. Hassan has been talking and writing about cults since the 70's, long before this board existed.
Here is one of his lists, which relates to Mormonism.

https://www.mormonfaithcrisis.com/assessing-the-mormon-church-using-steven-hassans-bite-model-for-cults/

Trying to ignore that extensive data the points out that Mormonism is a cult, doesn't change the fact: Mormonism is a cult.

Exactly Calico. We can't deny it.

Something I haven't seen explicitly spelled out in cult lists is rejection of logical and factual explanations of why the cult is *not* what it claims to be, i.e. BoM, BoA, Kinderhook, DNA, Masonic plagarism, etc.

I guess that falls under the "controlling information so that a member (or prospective member) never even gets the information" category.

I forgot which general authority it was that said this, but in a discussion about what constitutes porn (where do you draw the line between porn and say, a picture of a pretty woman in a swimsuit to say if it is porn or not), he said about pornography, something like "I can't explain it but I know it when I see it". I suggest we apply that same standard to churches/cults. I know a cult when I see it. Mormonism is definitely a cult.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 07/18/2018 08:41AM by azsteve.

That wasn't a GA, it was US Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart :)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_know_it_when_I_see_it