Quote from Casey D. Geek

Have you ever seen a cult or cult members first hand?

I used to belong to a cult. They made us worship their imaginary god every Sunday and told us that this old book that was made up thousands of years ago was law and that we had to obey it to the letter otherwise we wouldn't get to go to their invisible castle in the clouds. If we didn't do what this book said then we would be cast into a pit full of spikes and fire. It was horrible.

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Quote from Casey D. Geek

Have you ever seen a cult or cult members first hand?

I used to belong to a cult. They made us worship their imaginary god every Sunday and told us that this old book that was made up thousands of years ago was law and that we had to obey it to the letter otherwise we wouldn't get to go to their invisible castle in the clouds. If we didn't do what this book said then we would be cast into a pit full of spikes and fire. It was horrible.

Sounds traumatic 😢 Children shouldn't be exposed to that kind of thing 😔

"It is those who know little, and not those who know much, who so positively assert that this or that problem will never be solved by science."

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Quote from Casey D. Geek

Have you ever seen a cult or cult members first hand?

I used to belong to a cult. They made us worship their imaginary god every Sunday and told us that this old book that was made up thousands of years ago was law and that we had to obey it to the letter otherwise we wouldn't get to go to their invisible castle in the clouds. If we didn't do what this book said then we would be cast into a pit full of spikes and fire. It was horrible.

Sounds traumatic 😢 Children shouldn't be exposed to that kind of thing 😔

As long as you accept Miisa in your hearts I am sure you will feel much happier~

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Quote from Turbophoenix

[quote=Casey D. Geek]Have you ever seen a cult or cult members first hand?

I used to belong to a cult. They made us worship their imaginary god every Sunday and told us that this old book that was made up thousands of years ago was law and that we had to obey it to the letter otherwise we wouldn't get to go to their invisible castle in the clouds. If we didn't do what this book said then we would be cast into a pit full of spikes and fire. It was horrible.

Sounds traumatic 😢 Children shouldn't be exposed to that kind of thing 😔

As long as you accept Miisa in your hearts I am sure you will feel much happier~
[/quote]

@turbopheonix - that sounds frighteningly similar to most religion's doctrines. 😛
Did theses cult guys show the fanatical belief that the TVs potray them with?

There are times when you will miss what you never had. I wonder how you will find what you so desperately need.

Quote from Turbophoenix

I used to belong to a cult. They made us worship their imaginary god every Sunday and told us that this old book that was made up thousands of years ago was law and that we had to obey it to the letter otherwise we wouldn't get to go to their invisible castle in the clouds. If we didn't do what this book said then we would be cast into a pit full of spikes and fire. It was horrible.

There's actually a difference between religions and cults.
Lame joke is lame.

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Quote from Turbophoenix

I used to belong to a cult. They made us worship their imaginary god every Sunday and told us that this old book that was made up thousands of years ago was law and that we had to obey it to the letter otherwise we wouldn't get to go to their invisible castle in the clouds. If we didn't do what this book said then we would be cast into a pit full of spikes and fire. It was horrible.

There's actually a difference between religions and cults.
Lame joke is lame.

Well, to be perfectly fair, the Vatican is about as closely tied to the Italian mafia as Aum Shinrikyo was to the Russian mob. Though in wholly differing ways.

The "small group of people" and "strange and sinister" bits of the definition of "cult" often rule out religions for all except the most belligerent atheist (or rather anti-religious, since there is a difference) types.

...kinda is a lame joke though. I just think the "obvious exaggeration" card is really played out when it comes to Christianity-bashing. I don't have any problem with the essential core of it.

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I used to belong to a cult. They made us worship their imaginary god every Sunday and told us that this old book that was made up thousands of years ago was law and that we had to obey it to the letter otherwise we wouldn't get to go to their invisible castle in the clouds. If we didn't do what this book said then we would be cast into a pit full of spikes and fire. It was horrible.

There's actually a difference between religions and cults.
Lame joke is lame.

Well, to be perfectly fair, the Vatican is about as closely tied to the Italian mafia as Aum Shinrikyo was to the Russian mob. Though in wholly differing ways.

The "small group of people" and "strange and sinister" bits of the definition of "cult" often rule out religions for all except the most belligerent atheist (or rather anti-religious, since there is a difference) types.

...kinda is a lame joke though. I just think the "obvious exaggeration" card is really played out when it comes to Christianity-bashing. I don't have any problem with the essential core of it.

The essential core of almost all cores is reasonably sound. It's how the ambigous parts are manipulated by people to their own advantage that sickens me. Frankly, as far as I can see, a religious fanatic and a cult fanatic are quite similar.

And it's not the definition tha tmatters in real life. It's how people percieve it that matters. If someone considers the activities of the Church as cult-like behaviour, then the Church becomes a cult to them. And if more people think that way, then it becomes a part of the general thinking. And in demcracy, majority wins.(That's just an example though. The Church part is interchangable with any other fitting religious body)

There are times when you will miss what you never had. I wonder how you will find what you so desperately need.

Quote from Scyfon

There's actually a difference between religions and cults.

Religions are official and usually accepted by society. Cults are not. That's the only difference I see.

EDIT: I should clarify - both involve beliefs that I consider to be unrealistic, but people believe in them for their own reasons. That's fine with me as long as they don't try to force it on me again.

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Quote from Turbophoenix

EDIT: I should clarify - both involve beliefs that I consider to be unrealistic, but people believe in them for their own reasons. That's fine with me as long as they don't try to force it on me again.

even if you consider them unrealistic you should respect them,remember that when you make fun of religion you're giving ppl a wrong idea about other athiests too.
and i wouldnt make fun of your beliefs or force mine on you so why not respect my beliefs in return?

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Quote from Turbophoenix

EDIT: I should clarify - both involve beliefs that I consider to be unrealistic, but people believe in them for their own reasons. That's fine with me as long as they don't try to force it on me again.

even if you consider them unrealistic you should respect them,remember that when you make fun of religion you're giving a wrong idea about other athiests.
and i wouldnt make fun of your beliefs or force mine on you so why not respect my beliefs in return?

Making fun of religion is just that - making fun of it. No malicious intent or anything. People need to learn how to take a joke, regardless of the subject matter. If somebody made a joke about my beliefs or lifestyle then I'd laugh, assuming of course it was a good one.

And I do respect other people's beliefs. My opinion is my own, and if you think differently then I respect that. I'm not going to insult somebody because they are a Christian. That's just being a douche.

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Quote from Turbophoenix

Making fun of religion is just that - making fun of it. No malicious intent or anything.

Reread these sentences. Think about them. If you have to, repeat until you see why these two sentences really shouldn't be next to each other.

And if you'd like an explanation:
Making fun of something does contain malicious intent. It means you are ridiculing with intent to derive humor. That ridiculing bit? That's malicious.

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Quote from Crenshinibon

I don't have any problem with the essential core of it.

Have you not read Leviticus 😐
Fortunally the vast majority of Christians have also realised that all of those rules are completely absurd and utterly useless in modern society.

To quote my literature professor "If you live according to Leviticus' rules, you would never be allowed to ride the bus, because you don't nearly have enough information on the person who sat on the seat before you".

I suppose the Trinity and Christ being a man even though he has no human male DNA also seem perfectly plausible to you? Parthenogenesis in humans hasn't been proven, and even if Mary did conceive without intercourse Jezus coudn't have possibly been a boy (women don't have Y chromosomes in their genetic profile, as I'm assuming you all know).
You should read Julian of Norwich; she was arguing Christ as a mother thereby contesting the manhood of Christ, and bear in mind that she was writing somewhere in the 1400s from her anchoritic cell.

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Quote from x0mbiec0rp

Making fun of something does contain malicious intent. It means you are ridiculing with intent to derive humor. That ridiculing bit? That's malicious.

So according to you, making fun of anything, even extremely lightheartedly, means that you're trying to hurt somebody by saying it? Right, sure.

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This isn't a religious debate.

And for those threads that were, they were locked.

Also, this is not a discussion thread either. It's for questions and answers. Move it to PM if you all want to continue this discussion.

Otherwise, shut your yaps.

Also, Casey.... stop trolling.

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and I don't know you. Make sure it doesn't leave the building."[/color]

Quote from Casey D. Geek

Hace you ever seen a cult or cult members first hand?

Does Scientology count as a cult? A few years back, I happened to sit next to a scientologist during a train journey, he said he works at a local scientology church... He tried to convert me even when I told him that I already have my own religious faith. :S ...it was a long...tedious 4 hour train ride for me..I shouldn't have a chat with the guy.

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