Difference between revisions of "Cult"
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| + | A '''cult''' is a group which stresses [[obedience]] to leadership and exercises a high degree of control over its members lives, often regulating freedom of association and thought. Although they may engage in activities generally regarded as "charitable", such groups are generally regarded by non-members as pernicious influences on society.{{cn}} | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==Ideology== | ||
| + | Cults each have a unique belief system, commonly one which states that only group members are enlightened/saved or otherwise advantaged. Often this privilege has levels or stages - so beginners are taught one set of truths, and after achieving a certain status within the group, another set of truths are deemed applicable. This may be a gradual enlargment of perspective, or alternatively it may entail a complete reversal of the group's purported values and purposes. | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==Origins== | ||
| + | At least in their early stages, cults tend to be centered around a charismatic leader, whose appeal is such that the group continues to attract followers even when it begins to make extraordinary demands on its members. | ||
| + | |||
| + | While they may evolve independently from within an existing group (such as a church), cults can also be deliberately created by external agencies to fulfill particular purposes. [[Jim Jones]], for example, who took hundreds of followers to [[Guyana]] as part of the [[People's Temple]], has an interesting history. | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==Selected examples== | ||
| + | There is no commonly agreed definition of a "cult", although the term is generally understood as a derogative exonym. Generally applied to a fairly small number of religious groups, and associated with frames of [[mind control]] and exploitation of the gullible, lonely and otherwise and vulnerable. | ||
| + | |||
| + | ===The Unification Church (The Moonies)=== | ||
| + | [[The Unification Church]], started in @@@ by [[Moon]]. | ||
| + | |||
| + | ===The Finders=== | ||
| + | {{FA|The Finders}} | ||
| + | [[The Finders]] was a US Deep state backed cult first exposed in the 1980s by a report of semi-feral children in a public park. It was briefely suspected of involvement in child [[sex trafficking]] and production of [[child pornography]], but a cover-up operation has obscured it. | ||
| + | |||
| + | ===Heaven's Gate=== | ||
| + | |||
| + | ===The People's Temple=== | ||
| + | [[The People's Temple]] was run by [[Jim Jones]], a [[paedophile]] abd [[drug addict]] who appears to have been under the control of [[The Cabal]]. It lead to the events of [[Jonestown]], portrayed as a mass [[suicide]]. | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==Disputed examples== | ||
| + | |||
| + | ===Scientology=== | ||
| + | {{FA|Scientology}} | ||
| + | [[Scientology]] was started in @@@ by science fiction writer [[L. Ron Hubbard]]. It is a (pseudo-)scientific movement that offers incrreasingly expensive training to its devotees. It is well funded, litigious and former members report it as ruthless. In the 1990s it was active in [[internet censorship]] - using [[intellectual property]] laws to get the {{t|anon.penet.fi}} remailer shut down. In some countries it has been classified as a [[religion]] (making it tax exempt). The [[German]] government has been ative in opposing it. | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==Other uses== | ||
| + | Although characteristic, traditional religious ideology not essential to a cult; the label has been applied to secular concepts such as [[neoconservatism]], a reference to their totalising nature. The word is usually to minorities, so it would be unusual to talk, for example, of the "cult of [[democracy]]" or "cult of [[party politics]]". | ||
| + | |||
{{SMWDocs}} | {{SMWDocs}} | ||
==References== | ==References== | ||
{{reflist}} | {{reflist}} | ||
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Revision as of 15:07, 22 August 2019
 Cult    | |
|---|---|
| Interest of | • David McGowan • William Ramsey • We've Read The Documents |
A cult is a group which stresses obedience to leadership and exercises a high degree of control over its members lives, often regulating freedom of association and thought. Although they may engage in activities generally regarded as "charitable", such groups are generally regarded by non-members as pernicious influences on society.[citation needed]
Contents
Ideology
Cults each have a unique belief system, commonly one which states that only group members are enlightened/saved or otherwise advantaged. Often this privilege has levels or stages - so beginners are taught one set of truths, and after achieving a certain status within the group, another set of truths are deemed applicable. This may be a gradual enlargment of perspective, or alternatively it may entail a complete reversal of the group's purported values and purposes.
Origins
At least in their early stages, cults tend to be centered around a charismatic leader, whose appeal is such that the group continues to attract followers even when it begins to make extraordinary demands on its members.
While they may evolve independently from within an existing group (such as a church), cults can also be deliberately created by external agencies to fulfill particular purposes. Jim Jones, for example, who took hundreds of followers to Guyana as part of the People's Temple, has an interesting history.
Selected examples
There is no commonly agreed definition of a "cult", although the term is generally understood as a derogative exonym. Generally applied to a fairly small number of religious groups, and associated with frames of mind control and exploitation of the gullible, lonely and otherwise and vulnerable.
The Unification Church (The Moonies)
The Unification Church, started in @@@ by Moon.
The Finders
- Full article: The Finders
- Full article: The Finders
The Finders was a US Deep state backed cult first exposed in the 1980s by a report of semi-feral children in a public park. It was briefely suspected of involvement in child sex trafficking and production of child pornography, but a cover-up operation has obscured it.
Heaven's Gate
The People's Temple
The People's Temple was run by Jim Jones, a paedophile abd drug addict who appears to have been under the control of The Cabal. It lead to the events of Jonestown, portrayed as a mass suicide.
Disputed examples
Scientology
- Full article: Scientology
- Full article: Scientology
Scientology was started in @@@ by science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard. It is a (pseudo-)scientific movement that offers incrreasingly expensive training to its devotees. It is well funded, litigious and former members report it as ruthless. In the 1990s it was active in internet censorship - using intellectual property laws to get the anon.penet.fi remailer shut down. In some countries it has been classified as a religion (making it tax exempt). The German government has been ative in opposing it.
Other uses
Although characteristic, traditional religious ideology not essential to a cult; the label has been applied to secular concepts such as neoconservatism, a reference to their totalising nature. The word is usually to minorities, so it would be unusual to talk, for example, of the "cult of democracy" or "cult of party politics".
Examples
| Page name | Description |
|---|---|
| Aum Shinrikyo | Cult with a lot of scientists involved. |
| Hillsong Church | Australian Christian sect with political connections to both main parties. Sexual assaults, etc. |
| Mormonism | |
| NXIVM | An American cult with deep state connections that engaged in sex trafficking, forced labor and racketeering |
| Order of Nine Angles | Modern satanic cult with members who want to get people killed. |
| Satanism | |
| Science of Identity Foundation | Hare Krishna type of cult with political ambitions. |
| Scientology | Religion/Sect known for its hardball tactics against critics. |
| The Finders | A shady paedophile/sex trafficking cult with US deep state backing. |
| The Hand of Death | A cult which many serial killers in the US may have been connected to. |
| The People's Temple | A cult started by Jim Jones for unclear reasons, possibly at the behest of the US Deep state |
| The Unification Church |
Related Quotations
| Page | Quote | Author | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brian Michael Jenkins | “Key in the planning level of any terrorist activities linked to the Guyana horror-show is Brian Jenkins of the Rand Corporation. Jenkins is cooperating at high executive levels with British intelligence in planning terrorist operations, and has taken a key role in planning the cult phase of terrorism. This should not be surprising to anyone who is informed of the background of Rand or its various involvements in creating Jones and other cults. Rand was integral, together with such entities as Israeli intelligence and the Office of Naval Intelligence's British-controlled National Training Laboratories, in furthering the British "MK-Ultra" project run under Allen Dulles's CIA cover. Undercover and other most-reliable sources have given us a hard dossier on a very, very "dirty" Brian Jenkins.” | Brian Michael Jenkins Michelle Steinberg | 5 December 1978 |
| US/Republican Party | “It should have been evident to clear-eyed observers that the Republican Party is becoming less and less like a traditional political party in a representative democracy and becoming more like an apocalyptic cult, or one of the intensely ideological authoritarian parties of 20th century Europe.” | Mike Lofgren | 3 September 2011 |
Related Document
| Title | Type | Publication date | Author(s) | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| File:SATANIC CULT AWARENESS.pdf | report | 27 January 1993 | Gayland W. Hurst Robert L. Marsh | This training manual is the result of compiling information from several years of occult investigations including volumes of written documentations from several investigators across the nation. |
