What do you think about being called a cult?

[mangodroplet]

I don't know how else to put this....

but see, I'm a SDA (A Seventh-day Adventist) and so many people call it a cult, although i do not understand why.

What distinguishes a cult from a denomination?

For what I know.....we don't kill kiddies, or do anything like that....we are basically like any other denomination, but we believe that the sabbath day is the seventh day, which is saturday, and we just want to follow the 10 commandments. Also, we believe that Jesus is going to come soon and bring us all the heaven that way. I do not understand how/why people would be so hurtful and call us fake and a cult.

[Jhon FAKe]

i dont know how to explain this to you,(i do but i dont know how to translate it) , but i dont think that SDA are a cult, i have never herd of them so i dondt know much of them, i will ask in the teological class in my church

[putis]

The Manson Family wasn't really a cult either, but they got stuck with the name and image.

[jasonsplace]

I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon) and we too are called cult members. Personally I think that the biggest problem with being called a cult is that it now has mixed meanings. Because of early cults with evil purposes people think that all cults must be evil. If you look up the word in the dictionary the first definition is:

a particular system of religious worship, esp. with reference to its rites and ceremonies.

According to that, any religion is a cult. It doesn't say that they are evil or that they do bad things. It is simply a word to describe a religion in it's entirety.

The second definition is:

A group of people who follow the teachings of one man.

Well anyone who professes to be Christian believes and follows in the teachings of Jesus Christ so in a way they are all members of one cult.

By those 2 definitions it can be seen that all religions are in reality cults. When you hear that word it just makes you cringe though as in the past so many cults have done so many things and I think that is why people started calling the different churches religions. That way it could help distinguish the 2.

[mangodroplet]

ooooh. Thanks sooo much.

Because....people have been calling SDAs cult-members, and been saying all these mean things.....

And sometimes, I wonder why they don't do it to catholics, or other denominations...

Perhaps it is Satan's work?

[jasonsplace]

I really do believe that it is Satan's work. I was a missionary for my church a couple of years ago and I was treated very poorly. I noticed that a lot of people grouped us as being evil along with the Seventh Day Adventists and Jehovah's Witnesses which are all 3 very different.

[Trogdor]

Originally Posted by jasonsplace

I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon) and we too are called cult members. Personally I think that the biggest problem with being called a cult is that it now has mixed meanings. Because of early cults with evil purposes people think that all cults must be evil. If you look up the word in the dictionary the first definition is:

According to that, any religion is a cult. It doesn't say that they are evil or that they do bad things. It is simply a word to describe a religion in it's entirety.

The second definition is:

Well anyone who professes to be Christian believes and follows in the teachings of Jesus Christ so in a way they are all members of one cult.

By those 2 definitions it can be seen that all religions are in reality cults. When you hear that word it just makes you cringe though as in the past so many cults have done so many things and I think that is why people started calling the different churches religions. That way it could help distinguish the 2.

I don't mean to offend in anyway but as Long as LDS keeps their traditions and stories Joseph Smith brought they will always be considered a cult, mainly for the strong Racism Vibe
This video yet dated, shows many truths of the LDS church

[jasonsplace]

I've seen that video before. Ultimately, there is some truth in it but most of it is quite twisted. We believe that Joseph Smith was a Prophet just like Moses and Noah were in their times. Just like Prophets of the past, God continues to reveal truth through his modern day prophets. If God is the same Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow you wouldn't expect him to change his way of revealing truths to us here on earth.

Also, the racism in that video is uncalled for. The biggest problem is that just like in any church different members have beliefs that may vary. Someone at one time read the scriptures and determined that Africans got their skin color for being non-righteous. That is not official church doctrine at all. Ultimately we don't know the purpose of different races. The church has not made any official claims on it but members have given their own ideas. We treat all races equally and currently have more church members outside of the US than in it. A lot of other things in the video were twisted to make us sound like perverts and ultimately I am offended by the way that they treated our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ in that video. I do worship my Savior and I'm appalled that someone would make him out to be some dirty downplayed pervert.

At the end of the video they make a statement and change one word which really ruins the entire thing. The video says:

The Mormons thank God for Joseph Smith who claimed that he had done more for us then any other man including Jesus Christ.

That quote is so wrong. No one in the church ever claimed that and no one in this church would ever believe that any man could ever do more than the man who suffered and died for our sins so that we could be forgiven. That quote came by twisting the words in this scripture which I copied from the church's official website:

Joseph Smith, the aProphet and bSeer of the Lord, has done more, csave Jesus only, for the salvation of men in this world, than any other man that ever lived in it.

We believe that by restoring the true church of Jesus Christ, Joseph Smith did do a lot for us. It was more than any other man except Jesus Christ but you can't even really compare the 2 tasks. What Christ did was by far the most important act that ever happened.

The biggest problem with today's world is ignorance. Someone talks to a Mormon, hears a thing or two and then see's a video like that with a few things right and a lot of things wrong. I'm sorry but I don't feel that you can call yourself a Christian if you knock a church that believed whole heartedly that their savior is Jesus Christ and it's only by him and through him that we can return to live with God. Joseph Smith himself was murdered by "Christians." Christ taught that we should love everyone so why is their all of this hatred from his believers?

[Dark616]

hey jasonsplace, how a accurate is this to what lds teaches?

[jasonsplace]

A lot of that is true or at last has a true basis. There are also quite a few incorrect statements. I've only actually looked up one source though to verify inaccuracy.
"God had sexual relations with Mary to make the body of Jesus, (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, Vol. 4, p. 218, 1857; vol. 8, p. 115.) - This one is disputed among many Mormons and not always 'officially' taught and believed. Nevertheless, Young, the 2nd prophet of the Mormon church taught it."
The reason that church members dispute that is because it doesn't really say that in the Journal of Discourses. It is a very difficult set of books to find as it was only published for a few years. This page that this references doesn't even speak about this topic and the statement was never made...or at least it wasn't recorded. Also, the reason that the Journal of Discourses wasn't published for very many years was because it wasn't written by church officials. It was basically notes written by people who witnessed the talks. That means that the writers interpretations and thoughts were mingled in with actual teachings. I also feel that they downplay our role of the Bible quite a bit. History will show that minor inaccuracies probably occurred in translations and it can even be seen by different versions of the Bible contradicting each other. We do however believe it to be the word of God and study it daily along with the Book of Mormon.

[mangodroplet]

Yes. I do believe it is satan's work. I know many mormons, and they aren't cult people, and I really do respect mormons. They are some of the most devout christians I know. And I think the things implemented in their church is so important.

Keep on being strong for your faith jason. :]

[jasonsplace]

Thank you. I have studied many religions and met wonderful people that are members of each. Ultimately, I may not agree with the teachings of every religion but I can learn from them and gain a respect for what other's believe in.

[nathanlawliet]

I think people just call something they don't hear of much that they know only a few people follow a cult.

On the other hand, if they hear a lot of it and think a lot of people follow it, they call it something else.

Dumb if you ask me, unless it REALLY is a cult.. Like worshipping someone, such as someone you see at school(basically, someone who is equal to everyone else).

[Dragod]

The way I see it, any group that makes you go to a specific place at a certain time, and tells you that without their teachings you're going to hell. I see any religion as a cult.

[nathanlawliet]

Originally Posted by Dragod

The way I see it, any group that makes you go to a specific place at a certain time, and tells you that without their teachings you're going to hell. I see any religion as a cult.

Not all "groups" make you go to a specific place at a certain time, and not all "groups" say without their teachers you're going to hell.

[mangodroplet]

Originally Posted by Dragod

The way I see it, any group that makes you go to a specific place at a certain time, and tells you that without their teachings you're going to hell. I see any religion as a cult.

actually, my religion doesn't say that you MUST believe in our religion...
It just says to love god, and to believe that jesus died on the cross for you, which most other christian religions believe.

Also, we believe in the advent, which means that when jesus comes back, that is when we go to our respective places.

We don't tell others they are going to go to hell. If you never had the chance to know jesus...he will judge accordingly.

The reason we have our denomination is because we see that certain parts of christianity must have a larger emphasis.

[Gow616]

To help the defnition of the word cult out and since I can access the full unabridged Oxford English Dictionary thanks to my University.

Brought to you by the Oxford English Dictionary.

cult, n.

{dag}1. Worship; reverential homage rendered to a divine being or beings. Obs. (exc. as in sense 2).

1617 COLLINS Def. Bp. Ely II. ix. 371 You tell vs most absurdly of a diuine cult..for so cult you are, or so quilted in your tearmes. Ibid. 380 You..referre it to the cult that you so foolishly talked of. 1657-83 EVELYN Hist. Relig. (1850) II. 39 God, abolishing the cult of Gentile idols. 1683 D.A. Art Converse 92 That Sovereign Cult due to God only.

2. a. A particular form or system of religious worship; esp. in reference to its external rites and ceremonies.

1679 PENN Addr. Prot. II. App. 245 Let not every circumstantial difference or Variety of Cult be Nick-named a new Religion. 1699 SHAFTESBURY Charac., Inq. conc. Virtue I. III. §2 In the Cult or Worship of such a Deity. 1850 GLADSTONE Homer II. 211 While she [Proserpine] has a cult or worship on earth, he [Aidoneus] apparently has none. 1859 L. OLIPHANT China & Japan I. xii. 242 They are devoted in their attentions to the objects of their culte. 1874 MAHAFFY Soc. Life Gr. xi. 350 The cult of Aphrodite.

b. Now freq. used attrib. by writers on cultic ritual and the archæology of primitive cults.

1901 A. J. EVANS Mycen. Tree & Pillar Cult 25 Aniconic Cult Images. Ibid. 77 Cult Scenes relating to a Warrior God and his Consort. 1903 Folk-lore Sept. 264 The image of the patron deity, usually a simple copy of the cult statue. Ibid. 269 Inscriptions found at various cult-centres. 1904 Hastings's Dict. Bible V. 118/1 The female Divinity must be represented by the female animal, in order to carry out the mythological tale or the cult-act. 1906 D. G. HOGARTH in Proc. Brit. Acad. 1905-6 375 Small objects dedicated in that temple, among which are several cult-figurines of the Goddess. 1928 PEAKE & FLEURE Steppe & Sown 104 Already in Early Minoan times the double axe had become, not only a symbol of authority, but a cult object. a1930 D. H. LAWRENCE Apocalypse (1931) vii. 117 Cult-lore was the wisdom of the old races. 1950 H. L. LORIMER Homer & Monum. vi. 349 The earliest cult-image of the goddess. 1950 Scott. Jrnl. Theol. III. 368 The rôle of the king in the great cult-drama at the beginning of every new year. 1957 Antiquity & Survival II. 167/1 Near it a cult mask, made of clay, was still lying on the floor... In a further room, we discovered a unique cult-standard..made of bronze, with a tang to fasten it to a pole.

3. transf. Devotion or homage to a particular person or thing, now esp. as paid by a body of professed adherents or admirers.

1711 SHAFTESBURY Charac. III. i. (1737) I. 281 Convinc'd of the Reality of a better Self, and of the Cult or Homage which is due to It. 1829 A. W. FONBLANQUE England Under 7 Admin. (1837) I. 238 These cults are generally to be found in the same house. 1879 Q. Rev. Apr. 368 The cult of beauty as the most vivid image of Truth. 1889 John Bull 2 Mar. 141/2 An evidence of the decay of the Wordsworth cult.

DRAFT ADDITIONS MAY 2004

cult, n. and adj.2

* A relatively small group of people having religious beliefs or practices regarded by others as strange or sinister.

1927 Appleton (Wisconsin) Post-Crescent 10 Oct. 18/1 Evidence that the strange burial of a youthful ‘priestess’ of the religious cult..may have been preceded by ritualistic and unreported burials of other cult members..sent investigators today to widely separated spots in the mountains of southern California. 1957 Amer. Sociol. Rev. 22 561/2 An opportunity to study public reaction to a man whose small band of followers regarded him as Christ (and who himself acknowledged that status) arose... We were able to..facilitate fairly systematic study of this embryonic cult. 1976 Newsweek (Nexis) 14 June 60 Unlike the Eastern cults that form around gurus, the Moonies make it psychologically difficult for their followers to leave. 1980 Amer. Jrnl. Sociol. 85 1377 Cults.., like other deviant social movements, tend to recruit people with a grievance, people who suffer from some variety of deprivation. 1994 W. SHAW Spying in Guru Land (1995) p. xi, He introduced many of them to ‘astral travelling’; in mild trance states they would ‘leave their bodies’ and return with more dreams and myths to add to the growing lore of the cult.

* Designating cultural phenomena with a strong, often enduring appeal to a relatively small audience; (also) designating this appeal or audience, or any resultant success; fringe, non-mainstream. Hence- possessing a fashionable or exclusive cachet; spec. (of artistic figures or works) having a reputation or influence disproportionate to their limited public exposure or commercial success. Freq. in cult figure, cult status.