What is a Cult?

[JohnDB]

So I've been studying the identification and behaviors of cults lately.

So it occurred to me that there are TWO Cults on the National Stage at the moment.

Christian Nationalists
AND
Woke/LGBTQ/BLM

Both of these groups have every single attributes of Cults and cult behaviors. Especially with the indoctrination of children. The hate/shaming cultural norms within that both groups promote is over the top lately.

Both wish to cancel culture the other side....both have affinities for those on the "inside".

Both sides seem to have extreme extremists with QAnon and child predators.

Right?
Wrong?
Why and how?

 

[theHawk]

Well if I am going to be in a cult, it’s going to be for Jesus.

I guess that makes me a “Christian Nationalist”.

 

[2aguy]

So I've been studying the identification and behaviors of cults lately.

So it occurred to me that there are TWO Cults on the National Stage at the moment.

Christian Nationalists
AND
Woke/LGBTQ/BLM

Both of these groups have every single attributes of Cults and cult behaviors. Especially with the indoctrination of children. The hate/shaming cultural norms within that both groups promote is over the top lately.

Both wish to cancel culture the other side....both have affinities for those on the "inside".

Both sides seem to have extreme extremists with QAnon and child predators.

Right?
Wrong?
Why and how?

Do you even understand that "Christian Nationalism," is a fake creation.....made up by the democrat party to give their democrat party journalists an easy way to smear Republicans? It is no more real than "qanon," was, which the democrats dropped for the most part because no one knew what they were talking about, and they had to keep explaining it.....because it was another smear they created ............

If you actually believe their is a "Christian Nationalism" thing in this country, you are a dupe of the democrat party....

 

[Remodeling Maidiac]

Alphabet Mafia

 

[kyzr]

A "cult" involves worship in a religious sense. Being a political supporter of someone does NOT make you a cult member.

cult

noun​

1. A religion or religious sect generally considered to be extremist or false, with its followers often living in an unconventional manner under the guidance of an authoritarian, charismatic leader.
2. The followers of such a religion or sect.
3. A system or community of religious worship and ritual.

 

[JGalt]

Well if I am going to be in a cult, it’s going to be for Jesus.

I guess that makes me a “Christian Nationalist”.

A "cult" that believes in everlasting life without blowing yourself up, sounds like a pretty good deal to me.

Not sure about that "Woke/LGBTQ/BLM" thing though. Socialism, cutting off dicks, and looting doesn't sound like something I'd care for.

 

[theHawk]

Do you even understand that "Christian Nationalism," is a fake creation.....made up by the democrat party to give their democrat party journalists an easy way to smear Republicans? It is no more real than "qanon," was, which the democrats dropped for the most part because no one knew what they were talking about, and they had to keep explaining it.....because it was another smear they created ............

If you actually believe their is a "Christian Nationalism" thing in this country, you are a dupe of the democrat party....

I don’t mind being called a Christian Nationalist.

It would be nice if an actual Christian nation existed. We used to be a de facto Christian nation. Now we are more of a nation that admires Satanic things, hence ”pride month”.

 

[WEATHER53]

Cult is another word constantly misapplied by lib loons who can only label or name call and can’t formulate detail oriented responses.

 

[mamooth]

Especially with the indoctrination of children.

Complete detachment from reality is an attribute of cultists.

That means you're a cultist.

 

[toobfreak]

So it occurred to me that there are TWO Cults on the National Stage at the moment.

Christian Nationalists
AND
Woke/LGBTQ/BLM

A CULT is a minor group following an extreme viewpoint.

That would fit your Woke/LGBTQ/BLM/

But Christians are nationalists and are the defacto standard largest or second largest common organization on the planet.

So, hardly a cult.

By strict definition, anyone NOT a christian nationalist is a cult.

 

[kyzr]

Complete detachment from reality is an attribute of cultists.
That means you're a cultist.

link please. I call bullshit on your definition.

 

[JGalt]

Do you even understand that "Christian Nationalism," is a fake creation.....made up by the democrat party to give their democrat party journalists an easy way to smear Republicans? It is no more real than "qanon," was, which the democrats dropped for the most part because no one knew what they were talking about, and they had to keep explaining it.....because it was another smear they created ............

If you actually believe their is a "Christian Nationalism" thing in this country, you are a dupe of the democrat party....

They use the term "Christian Nationalist" because the left doesn't believe Christians should have a say in the structure of a government, how it operates, and how the country is ran. Unfortunately for the left, there is a massive surge of Christians who are becoming politically-aware and actively-involved in the the creating of political policies, which drives the left absolutely nuts. They seem to think that the "separation of church and state" means that Christians should have no say in the politics of a country's policies, which is farther from the truth.

Jesus said "Render unto Caesar" He didn't mean "Surrender unto Caesar."

 

[Resnic]

Cult no longer has any meaning because it's been so over used and used incorrectly so many times it means nothing at all.

Nazi, racist, white supremacists, confederate, cult, homophobe, conspiracy theorist, and so on have no meaning anymore.

Saying "I want America to be great" in the eyes of millions makes you a white supremacist, colonizer, racist. Saying you don't want gays in leather dog outfits shaking their ass in front of a child makes you a homophobe. Saying a man pretending to be a woman is a man makes you transphobic. Saying "I liked trump as president" means you're in a cult.

Words have no meaning anymore. We are systematically destroying the English language and rendering meanings of words useless. So many people sling the same words over and over and over again that have no idea what it really means.

 

[d0gbreath]

It seems that a certain cult, which was the one that got everyone using that word, has been overlooked.

 

[Donald H]

Both sides are wrong, but few Americans are yet coming to the understanding on 'why' they are wrong.

Dog knows I've tried many times to introduce the conversation on this board.

A hint: Escalation of petty issues into near the equvalent of a gun fight instead of facing the issue with socially reponsible reactions.

Again: Ask me on any specific issue.

 

[okfine]

Well if I am going to be in a cult, it’s going to be for Jesus.

I guess that makes me a “Christian Nationalist”.

Now that you mention that...

Neuroscientist sounds the alarm on the GOP's 'contagious sociopaths' who live among us

Sociopaths, a term often used to describe those living with antisocial personality disorder, operate within their daily lives without a “conscience,” can be characterized as acting without feelings of guilt, remorse, or shame coupled with a tendency to reject the concept of...

www.rawstory.com

 

[theHawk]

Now that you mention that...

Neuroscientist sounds the alarm on the GOP's 'contagious sociopaths' who live among us

Sociopaths, a term often used to describe those living with antisocial personality disorder, operate within their daily lives without a “conscience,” can be characterized as acting without feelings of guilt, remorse, or shame coupled with a tendency to reject the concept of...

www.rawstory.com

Raw story with a paywall? LOL

 

[MisterBeale]

One of my favorite satirists is now under indictment in Germany, facing prison time, for calling out one of the world's largest cults.

This was one of my most favorite pieces of note recently on cults.

The Covidian Cult

One of the hallmarks of totalitarianism is mass conformity to a psychotic official narrative. Not a regular official narrative, like the “Cold War” or the “War on Terror” na…

consentfactory.org

". . . Looking in from the dominant culture (or back through time in the case of the Nazis), the delusional nature of these official narratives is glaringly obvious to most rational people. What many people fail to understand is that to those who fall prey to them (whether individual cult members or entire totalitarian societies) such narratives do not register as psychotic. On the contrary, they feel entirely normal. Everything in their social “reality” reifies and reaffirms the narrative, and anything that challenges or contradicts it is perceived as an existential threat.

These narratives are invariably paranoid, portraying the cult as threatened or persecuted by an evil enemy or antagonistic force which only unquestioning conformity to the cult’s ideology can save its members from. It makes little difference whether this antagonist is mainstream culture, body thetans, counter-revolutionaries, Jews, or a virus. The point is not the identity of the enemy. The point is the atmosphere of paranoia and hysteria the official narrative generates, which keeps the cult members (or the society) compliant.

In addition to being paranoid, these narratives are often internally inconsistent, illogical, and … well, just completely ridiculous. This does not weaken them, as one might suspect. Actually, it increases their power, as it forces their adherents to attempt to reconcile their inconsistency and irrationality, and in many cases utter absurdity, in order to remain in good standing with the cult. Such reconciliation is of course impossible, and causes the cult members’ minds to short circuit and abandon any semblance of critical thinking, which is precisely what the cult leader wants.

Moreover, cult leaders will often radically change these narratives for no apparent reason, forcing their cult members to abruptly forswear (and often even denounce as “heresy”) the beliefs they had previously been forced to profess, and behave as if they had never believed them, which causes their minds to further short circuit, until they eventually give up even trying to think rationally, and just mindlessly parrot whatever nonsensical gibberish the cult leader fills their heads with.

Also, the cult leader’s nonsensical gibberish is not as nonsensical as it may seem at first. Most of us, upon encountering such gibberish, assume that the cult leader is trying to communicate, and that something is very wrong with his brain. The cult leader isn’t trying to communicate. He is trying to disorient and control the listener’s mind. Listen to Charlie Manson “rapping.” Not just to what he says, but how he says it. Note how he sprinkles bits of truth into his stream of free-associated nonsense, and his repetitive use of thought-terminating clichés, described by Robert J. Lifton as follows:

“The language of the totalist environment is characterized by the thought-terminating cliché. The most far-reaching and complex of human problems are compressed into brief, highly selective, definitive-sounding phrases, easily memorized and easily expressed. They become the start and finish of any ideological analysis.” — Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism: : A Study of “Brainwashing” in China, 1961

If all this sounds familiar, good. Because the same techniques that most cult leaders use to control the minds of the members of their cults are used by totalitarian systems to control the minds of entire societies: Milieu Control, Loaded Language, Sacred Science, Demand for Purity, and other standard mind-control techniques. It can happen to pretty much any society, just as anyone can fall prey to a cult, given the right set of circumstances. . . . "

 

[Mac1958]

Generally I'd think that a cult would include the following elements:

• Iconoclastic, authoritarian, charismatic leader who sets the philosophical and behavioral tone within the cult
• Intense devotion of the cult members to that leader, including a willingness to break laws
• A simple shared story that is constantly drummed into the cult that paints them as victims and glorifies the leader
• A secondary (and perhaps tertiary) level of leadership that aggressively enforces the rules and philosophy
• A paranoid, binary, us vs. them, us against the world mindset on most issues
• Methods of extracting as much money specifically from the believers as possible
• Highly controlled and consistent informational ecosystem that only reinforces the philosophy
• A proprietary language that exists in addition to the regular language
• Disapproval of, and intimidation against, questioning or doubt within the ranks
• The quick, loud and summary expulsion of anyone who breaks the rules
• An insulated set of rules that allow the cult to adapt reality to its peculiar worldview
• An aggressive and purposeful separation between the cult members and friends/family members outside the cult

Something like that.

 

[task0778]

A "cult" involves worship in a religious sense. Being a political supporter of someone does NOT make you a cult member.

cult

noun​

1. A religion or religious sect generally considered to be extremist or false, with its followers often living in an unconventional manner under the guidance of an authoritarian, charismatic leader.
2. The followers of such a religion or sect.
3. A system or community of religious worship and ritual.

The Left has appropriated the term 'cult' to demean and denigrate those on the Right who support DJT, even though it ain't a religion, they do not live in an unconventional manner, DJT is not particularly charismatic IMHO, and finally there is no system or community religious worship or rituals involved. Might seem to be that way due to the large crowds that show up for his appearances, but basically it's because he espouses their beliefs rather than the other way around. People do not support him because of what he wants, but because he's the guy that supports what they want. And IMHO that ain't exactly cult-like, he's merely the alternative to the disaster that is the democrats. IOW, MAGA is not a cult, it is a political faction or group, I think TRump didn't start it but he did kinda jump in front of the protest march.