Quote:
Originally Posted by NeitherFirstnorLast
In any case:
Cult
1) A system of religious veneration and devotion directed toward a particular figure or object.
2) A relatively small group of people having religious beliefs or practices regarded by others as strange or sinister.
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I think it is difficult in pinning "cult" down. Definition 1 could be christianity. We venerate Jesus (a particular figure) and are devoted to Him.
Definition 2 is too vague. "...regarded by others as strange or sinister"? Anything could be regarded by someone as sinister. The Cub Scouts are probably regarded as sinister by someone out there.
So using "someone doesn't like it" as a criterion is too subjective.
The whole "cult-busters" thing in the late '70s, post-Jonestown especially, was an opportunity for less-than-savory people to fulminate and point fingers. For every true cult there is some fat cat "Cult Watcher" like Hank Hanegraaf, with his golf-club membership, luxury car and padded expense account. Talk about "sinister"....
Gretchen Passantino is, according to Hank, a "world-renowned expert" on religion, if I remember his introduction on one of her LSM essays. "World-renowned"... how about "Hank-renowned"? These people pretend to be objective and unbiased, because the scholarly image pays well, but in reality they are quite far from that.