I was ruminating today on how the Internet could be better utilized to steer folks away from harmful religions in general and I had this idea: Why not have some of the scholarly folks here such as Leolaia and Narkissos draw up a general guideline of the various features of what constitutes a "cult" and then grade various churches according to these feautures? Such as how high a control factor, medical quackery, psychological coercion, dishonesty with outsiders, various forms of abuse with insiders, whatever. This could then become a national cult directory, a very well-known tool for those who are shopping for a religion/church/sect to use? Or who are being coerced or pestered by family, friends, or co-workers.
These sorts of things exists already, yes, but they're run by evangelical and fundamentalist Christians who are unable or unwilling to see the cultic aspects of their own denomination or church/sect and hence they use non-objective standards to judge. That's why scholarly, neutral people--as neutral as humanly possible--are needed to set this up. Of course, people would be asked to send in their personal experiences with groups to help form a consensus on lesser known cults such as the Nichiren sect of Buddhism. (The Buddhist equivalent of WT religion)
Groups would not be graded on being a "cult" because they're non-Christian or non-Trinitarian or such sectarian concerns, but by objective psychosocial criteria of cultish behavior. Every group would be included eventually, from Scientology to the Southern Baptists, the Jehovah's Witnesses to the Church of Christ, the Roman Catholic Church to the Nichiren Buddhists.
I'd be willing to help put seuch a site together, and I mean both work and financial help.
Yes, I know that cult is merely a synonym for religion, but the word is clearly morphing, and is in fact more useful with it's new connotations.
G
A Possibly Helpful Idea (Hey Leolaia and Narkissos)
by Geronimo 2 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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Geronimo
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Arthur
There are already several websites such as this that are not run by "fundamentalists". Here are just two of the ones that I have used:
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Geronimo
Thanks Arthur, I saved them to my favs so I can look them over. Perhaps this is indeed what I was envisioning. G