Of all the dangerous things that cults do, which is the MOST dangerous?

[ColbertWatcher]

Poll question: Of all the dangerous things that cults do, which is the MOST dangerous?

By "cult" you can define that any way you see fit, from the Dominionists of Sarah Palin, Jesus Camp and Rick Warren to the Fundementalist sect of Latter Day Saints, $cientology or the megachurches that follow "Prosperity Gospel".

[Mz Pip]

1. I would add

insistance on adherance to beliefs that are false, reactionary and often dangerous.

[ColbertWatcher]

2. I think beliefs that serve to designate a group that is not welcomed in the cult ...

... as second class.

Such as the way most "faiths" designate gay people and sometimes women.

[madville]

3. You forgot a couple

The most dangerous things would have to be withholding modern medical care from members and mass/group suicides.

[ColbertWatcher]

4. Just "a couple"? I'm sure there's more than just a couple that I've missed! n/t

[Tommy_Carcetti]

5. "By "cult" you can define that any way you see fit..."

So by your criteria, any belief system you don't like, you can label a cult.

Whooo-kay.

[ColbertWatcher]

10. What I meant was YOU can define it any way you want.

I just posted some examples that have recently been in the news.

[liberalmuse]

6. I was raised a Mormon.

I was so brainwashed it took me many years after leaving the Mormon church to even pick up certain books. They tell you what to read, what to eat and drink, how to dress and what to think. Religion uses fear to subjugate its members. That's what I detest the most about it. Using fear to herd human beings like mindless cattle. It's despicable.

[ColbertWatcher]

7. I've heard about how Mormons are told what not to eat and drink, but ...

... I've never heard how fear is used to control members.

Could you post a few examples?

[liberalmuse]

12. Basically...

you can do a number of things to become a 'son or daughter of perdition', such as offending the Holy Spirit (they never tell you exactly what that means). Being the naughty liberal child I was, I was constantly trying to keep a leash on my thoughts and one day let a not-so-nice thought slip (in an obsessive compulsive manner) about the Holy Spirit and was convinced I was condemned to eternal damnation.

Fear is so woven into most religions that it is difficult to isolate examples. It's just there. If you do something wrong, you have this overwhelming fear of being punished by some vengeful, asshole god. At least the Mormons don't have an outright hell per say. You just go to 'lesser' heavens. The worst heaven is somewhat like Earth. Hell is only reserved for those who leave the church (like me).

There are a lot of urban legends circulating throughout the Mormon church. I heard many as a child about people who disobeyed dying terrible deaths. Like the guy back in the Brigham Young days who was disobedient and ended up with worms coming out of every orifice as he lay dying (it sounds stupid, but that is the kind of shit I was taught).

Here's a weird story: One day our home teachers (a couple of 'elders' aka 'old guys' that visit assigned families once a month) saw a deck of cards laying on our coffee table when they came to visit. My mom liked to play Solitaire. As a result, a rumor began to spread that my mom was into witchcraft and weird shit (I swear to god, this is a true story). The Bishop of the church did nothing to stop it, and was even a part of it. I remember my mom reading us kids a Mormon scripture, probably from The Doctrine and Covenants that said that something bad would happen to the person who spread false rumors about fatherless children or some such thing. Sure enough, the Bishop dropped from a heart attack a couple weeks later while jogging. He was 32. Ridiculous? You bet, but you believe this stuff and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. You see things around you that confirm your beliefs and fears, and the powers-that-be certainly do more than their part to ensure the flock is well-educated in this type of superstitious nonsense.

[ColbertWatcher]

15. I grew up Catholic and ...

... we had our share of "be good or else" fears, but we didn't take it very seriously as we were more cafeteria Catholics than anything. In fact, we only went to church twice a year: Easter and Midnight Mass Christmas Eve!

I know so little about Mormonism; so, thank you for posting your experience.

[liberalmuse]

17. I loved the Catholics in Salt Lake.

They were so very down-to-earth and non-judgmental. I adopted a couple as my moms. A Catholic family took me and my sister in when we ran away from home one time. They were a very liberal family, but also religious. Good times, LOL. Jesus, I've never met more refreshing people in the hell that is 'Zion' than Catholics.

Going to church twice a year? Lucky you! We went at least 3 times a week. When I got into high school, I had to wake up at 5am every weekday morning and go to Seminary, then youth church ('Mutual') every Tuesday night and twice on Sundays. Holy fuck are the services boring.

I just found my best friend from sixth grade through Junior year after 20 years. The last time I saw her she was a raging bitch (she was very bitter at the time from a failed relationship, but jeez), so I didn't have the desire to keep in touch, but she's mellowed out a lot since then. She's still very Mormon. She gets her jobs through LDS job services, and she also gets her dates through some LDS dating service. I found her on Facebook and am concerned that once she reads my profile, she won't want anything to do with me. I'm now agnostic/atheist and very liberal. She's the complete opposite. It hurts because I sort of know how this will end up. We talked for almost 4 hours about a week ago and picked up right where we left off, but it's possible that something like religion is going to be a wedge. It's a damn shame. :(

[ColbertWatcher]

18. "We went at least 3 times a week."

Wow.

Just wow.

We weren't as religious as other Catholics, but three times a week!? I don't know if any other Catholic outside Mel Gibson's flavor goes more than once a week.

Oh, BTW, here's a present for you: http://www.wikiality.com/Mormon

You're welcome to add anything else that's not on there.

I didn't write it, but a guy who either was a former Mormon, or someone who studied religions did.

Only people who really know a subject can write satire about it.

Enjoy.

[liberalmuse]

19. Thanks for the link.

I'll check it out after I post this. I noticed your rainbow flag. The Mormon church teaches it's members that being gay is a 'sickness', but to love the gays anyway, until they can be de-gayed, I suppose. The interesting thing is that the Mormon church had to cut down the time Missionaries are out in the field because there is a problem, if you can call it that, with Missionaries rooming in the same space becoming very attracted to each other, LOL. What a fucked up religion. Being gay is a 'sickness', but being a bigoted, close-minded asshole isn't. :eyes:

On edit: Very good link. This is exactly how I got out of the Mormon church. I can't remember the name of the couple, but the woman was the daughter of one of the church's most revered prophets. They distribute literature that tells the truth about Mormonism, and have been targeted many times for doing so. Thanks to them spreading the facts, my entire family got out of this cult. The link you referenced is a very non-bitter, gentle telling of the truth about Mormonism.

[ColbertWatcher]

20. A whole bunch of us added the rainbow flag as a sign of unity after Prop Hate passed.

I live in CA and voted against it and was shocked when it passed.

I am embarrassed for the "churches" that teach their members to hate people for whatever reason.

The GOP wedge issues really drag them out from under their rocks.

[Jamastiene]

34. They sure don't aim too high, do they?

"You just go to 'lesser' heavens. The worst heaven is somewhat like Earth. Hell is only reserved for those who leave the church (like me)."

My idea of Hell is somewhat like Earth, at least as it now is. If their worst heaven is somewhat like Earth, my hell is their lowest heaven. They sure don't aim too high, do they?

[Fearless]

8. Plus... ruin the lives of nonmembers...

IE... Westboro Baptist Church and whatnot.

[ColbertWatcher]

9. Oh, you're correct! How could I forget those freaks!? n/t

[Fearless]

11. Here's a good one... About them trying to picket George Carlin's funeral...

The joke being on them as he was cremated.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gg7O0GzrHmA

[ColbertWatcher]

13. I wonder if Westboro really has a tax exemption. n/t

[Fearless]

14. Maybe, partial(?) with a link...

"Although we accept WBC's contention that its picketing activities represent its sincerely held religious beliefs, we determine that its political activities and secular philosophy, which constitute a significant part of its picketing activities, preclude a tax exemption for its 2002 Ford F-150 truck. In short, we determine that the picketing activities in use of the truck do not fit within the exemption for exclusively religious purposes under K.S.A. 79-201 Second. Moreover, we determine that the picketing activities in use of the truck do not fit within the exemption for use of property for a nonexempt purpose when the use is minimal in scope and insubstantial in nature under subsection (c) of K.S.A. 79-201 Second. As a result, we determine that BOTA properly denied the tax exemption for the truck.

We have considered the other issues presented by WBC and determine that they lack merit. "


http://www.kscourts.org/Cases-and-opinions/opinions/ctapp/2008/20080725/98443.htm


EDIT: I believe they are tax exempt but there was a particular case (above) where they had purchased a truck to use picketing and it was ruled that they could not be exempt from those taxes because it was used for picketing purposes and not religious ones.

[ColbertWatcher]

16. Interesting. Thank you for posting. n/t

[SpookyCat]

21. A friend sent this to me the other day,..NSFW!

I think you might enjoy it! :evilgrin:


RELIGION!
Get Religion For Your Brain Today! You'll Be Believing Stuff In No Time!

http://www.ebaumsworld.com/video/watch/310592/


:Edited to add warning:

[ColbertWatcher]

22. A link to ebaum!? You should put a NSFW warning on that! n/t

[SpookyCat]

25. Not Safe for Work?

Sorry, didn't realize!

I'll edit it right now...

[ColbertWatcher]

27. Ebaum may be blocked by most work places.

It's like YouTube for 4chan.

[SpookyCat]

35. Ok...good to know! One question...

I may lose my geek cred here, but what is 4chan?

[ColbertWatcher]

37. Seriously!? Since this is is WAY OFF TOPIC, I will PM you, if that's okay. n/t

[SpookyCat]

40. Sorry, didn't mean to offend. My bad. Sadly, I don't know everything.

[LibDemAlways]

23. A decade ago I worked with a woman who was

married to an actor. He wasn't well known, but he worked pretty steadily and had a good income. The two of them were approached by Scientologists and asked to spend a weekend on a yacht off the Calif. coast.

The man declined, but his wife and their grown daughter went and had a harrowing experience. They were basically held captive and given a high pressure sales pitch so intense that the woman became fearful and both of them ended up jumping off the boat in the middle of the night (it was anchored in a harbor) and swimming to shore. The way she described the experience made my skin crawl.

[ColbertWatcher]

24. Damn.

I've only heard stories about people going to get auditing (or whatever) and having to be very aggressive about wanting to leave before being allowed to leave.

I hope they're okay.

[LibDemAlways]

26. They survived it. The woman was inquisitive and

figured she'd enjoy a weekend on a yacht if nothing else. Never crossed her mind that she'd be harrassed to the point of making a middle of the night escape in the water.

Scientologists are all about money and they go very aggressively after people with big bank accounts. They don't call the Hollywood branch the Celebrity Center for nothing.

[ColbertWatcher]

29. It's a good thing the ship didn't set sail!

Good to hear they're okay.

[Jamastiene]

28. I voted brainwash their members and children of members.

If they didn't do that, the rest wouldn't be as easy for them to get by with. It's the brainwashing that irritates me the most.

The other option that I thought seriously about was using their tax exempt status to further a political agenda. My thought on that, and why I came to the conclusion I did was:
If they could not brainwash their members, they'd never have that money from members or that power from members to be able to push for their fucked up political agendas.

[ColbertWatcher]

32. I like your reasoning. n/t

[Eryemil]

30. You realize of course most of those apply to all religions, small ones of major ones

[ColbertWatcher]

33. I'm really talking specifically about cults, since there seems to be so many of them in the news ...

... lately.

[Eryemil]

38. Funny that, the poll options don't make any distinction between the two.

[anonymous171]

31. Cults are all about the leader and the group.

It's the combination of brainwashing and isolation that make their followers so dangerous.

[ColbertWatcher]

36. True.

It's also scary when one of them gets into a position of power, like Palin.

Knowing that she subscribes to some fringe beliefs and no knowing how many others there are like her, those Dominionists scare me.

[anonymous171]

39. They should scare all of us.

Dominionists are America's very own homegrown fascists.

[Kip Humphrey]

41. By far, the most dangerous free speech is religious speech.

[ColbertWatcher]

42. Who said anything about speaking? n/t