Quote:
Originally Posted by OBW
Tough topic.
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Not really.
I have received
help from some secular authorities regarding what is commonly held to be constituents (markers) of a cult.
They have been listed on this forum in a number of posts, but here are some of the common markers for identifying a cult:
1. Totalitarian leadership with a supreme leader (MOTA)
2. Definite hierarchy - (MOTA > blendeds > co-workers > elders > etc etc)
3. Thought reform (tha ministry)
4. Elitism ("poor Christianity")
5. Special knowledge (High Peak of the divine revelation / God's economy)
6. Isolation (rigorous demands of the church life schedule and doctrine)
7. Us vs Them mentality (everyone else is Babylon)
8. Fear of leaving the cult (To quote W Lee: "If you leave the Lord's Recovery
you will loose everything"
There are many other finer points like
- zero toleration for questioning the leadership
- alienation from general society
- extreme legalism
- false representation of the cult's real identity to the outside world
- breaking down of the individual's traits to that of a common identity assumed by the group as a whole
- ostracizing and evil speaking of ex-members
- double standard of morality becoming more pronounce as you move up the hierarchy of the group
BTW, all of these points of behaviour is crystallized in the Lord's speaking regarding leadership:
"You know that the great among the gentiles
LORD IT OVER THEM,
it shall not be so among you"
Not so tough afterall.