The anti-cultists are narrow minded and uninformed to say the least.
You see a lot of this here. It is mostly a cover for irrational hatred.
What is irrational about having hatred for cults? Oh, you've not defined cult! I think that is so important your entire post is like an unhinged door. How do you define cult? I define cult as a high-control belief group.
Most religions organized in a way that they expected their members to take their beliefs seriously. The warp & woof of the social fabric consists of an endless variety of -isms all of which are adhered to with a devotion not un-like cults. Identifying cults is about as scientific as identifying RACE.
We immediately encounter the problem of setting off on a post like this without clearly defining what you mean by cult. A religion, by my definition, is a belief group. A cult is a high-control belief group. You notice the words 'high-control'? I can define those if you like, but the point is that it is quite easy to identify cults.
And the purpose of both is to provide an instrument for marginalizing their targets. The recent banning of the Salvation Army by the Russian government because they are a "paramilitary" organization is an example of how low the "haters" will go.
Ah, so an unreasonable action by one government makes fighting against high-control belief groups wrong. I disagree, I actually think the example you site doesn't have anything to do with fighting cults as the Salvation Army is not a high-control belief group. I also note the loaded language you are using; "haters" actually gives a strong hint as to where you are coming from, or if not, is a very unwise choice of words in what you seemingly wish to characterise as a scientific reasoned approach.
Read Max Webers "The Protestant Ethic and The Spirit Of Capitalism". The main thesis is that the dominant force of our world - CAPITALISM was given birth and nurtured in the emergence of protestantism. Protestantism was the "new" religion of its day. At this point in time 500 years has obscured our view of the innovativeness of protestantism.
Ah, so, in an arguement about cults (which you don't supply a definiton of) we are suddenly talking about how the growth of Protestantism enabled the birth of capitalism. Are you saying Protestantism is a cult? The 'Old Style' Roman Catholicsm from which the Protestant faith diverged could arguably be defined as a 'high-control belief group', so, as pointed out, so far, through lack of stating terms of reference, your arguement resembles Swiss Cheese, and you haven't got to the guts of it yet.
Max Weber describes CapitalISM as eventually squeezing out the last drops of humanness from the social order and placing us all in an iron cage he describes as follows:"Specialists without spirit, sensualists without heart, this nullity imagines that it has attained a level of civilization never before achieved."
Wey hey, what's the evidence he sites to support his point of view? Otherwise it's just an unsupported opinion, which is worth pants.
Eventually the rationalization would engulf everyone in a pervasive "disenchantment" with the life that characterizes "modernization". Weber felt that perhaps some "cult" may emerge such as "protestantism" that would redefine the vision of what it means to be human.
AH, at last, something vaugely interesting. But again, as most of the people here would NOT define Protestantism as a cult, and would define a high-control group as a cult, the lack of definiton of the word cult again weakens your arguement.
The subcultures created by youthful religous communities are perfect laboratories within which to experiment with new forms of social organization. Members of such groups are open to this kind of experimentation for two reasons: First, they are frequently adverse to at least some features of modern society. Second, they are often inclined to accept the insights of their religion's leadership as being on par with- and sometimes more legitimate than the norms of the surrounding social order. New religions promote an environment within which alternative ideals and social arrangements can be practiced. Once these ideas have been established they have the potential for breaking free and influencing the larger society.
Nice arguement, as it doesn't use the word cult. But, again, the fact that ALL it refers to are 'religous communities' bespeaks the mindset from which is comes. Howabout NON-religous communities?
This is exactly how evolution was possible. Isolate a population -usually by geological events. In isolation the population forms new characteristics. When the barrier drops this "new" organism competes and sometimes finds that its'(sic) new characteristics are over powering.
Basically true, (and its is a possesive without the ', it's uses the ' to indicate the contraction of 'it is') but...
Those who would like to stop the activities of cults may be doing great damage to the world in which their children and their descendents live. Social-diversity is every bit as important as bio-diversity.
... is errant nonsense. BECAUSE YOU DO NOT DEFINE CULT. Saying that totalitarian regiemes are damaging, that means something. But you are not saying that, are you?
Your arguement, in summary, is weakened severely by;
a) Bandying around words that are semantically difficult without giving your own usage of those words.
b) Mixing discussion of wide-ranging religious movements (Protestantism) with discussion of 'cults', when most people would not describe the former as the latter.
c) Using unscientific loaded language (classic high-control belief group trick) in something that presents itself as a scientific arguement.
d) Excluding from the discussion any mention of non-religious movements.
I think you are taking a small point, that cultural development is essential and unstoppable, and using it to justify the assertion that "Those who would like to stop the activities of cults may be doing great damage to the world in which their children and their descendents live". Do you realise how big a leap there is in that??
(edited for typos)
Keep on rocking in the free world...
