I resent GiveFundGo holding themselves out as a "Christian" crowdfunder. Since when do Christians have a monopoly on honesty?
I was scammed several times by a man who fronted a business in my name without my knowledge and permission in Orlando, Tampa, Asheville, and Nashville to dupe Christians for fundraisers. Ironically, his first name was Angel.
I feel uneasy whenever anyone uses "cult" or "cultist" in a pejorative vein. We need to admit that our country was founded by cults and that the basic fabric of the United States is a fabric of cults--many good, some bad.
Atheists like us are a cult, perhaps the largest cult. So were/are the Pilgrims, the Jews, the Shakers, the Mennonites, the Quakers, the Catholics, the Red Cross, the US Senate, etc. To slam one's detractors as a cult is also a form of bigotry.
Note that the Religious Tolerance Act of 1649 came about in the early days of enclaved settlements by several cults who could not tolerate each other, much less cooperate amidst the threats of surviving disease, the Indians, the weather, etc. Eventually, they decided not to cruelly punish and kill each other over religious differences. But the Act exempted Jews and atheists from this protection.
If you look up "cult" in dictionaries going back 100 years, it was not a pejorative term until Google (I believe) hijacked and twisted it to be used as a device to cast aspersions against groups that they disliked.
You're correct that it is now "normal" to use it pejoratively. And to do so is actually unAmerican and bigoted in the context of our history. (Of course, what is and is not "American" is another wishy-washy term.)
My comprehensive treatise of this can be found by searching for "Cult Bashing 2.0." I believe that you will enjoy it. A slightly more recent upgrade of this is on my Substack. In it I provide several dictionary references going back to 1933.
Jim Jones predated Google by over 20 years. We called them a cult as a pejorative. A few years later I began referring to my mother's religion of LDS as a cult, also before 1995.
I agree with you on my dating Google, but still it is inconsistent of us to use "cult" pejoratively for one group like Jim Jones or the Branch Davidians and then deny the reality that all good groups and causes are also cults. As I say in my treatise, this inconsistency is selective intolerance and bigotry on our part.
Let's not forget that the Pilgrims, the Quakers, the Methodists, the Shakers, the Mennonites, the Puritans and many others were cults that fled oppression in other parts of the world to eventually form the fabric of our country. And these cults were often intolerant of each other to the point of requiring the Religious Tolerance Act of 1649 that then excluded Jews and atheists.
Eric Hoffer, in his book, "True Believer" was talking about cults in his treatise on mass movements, although he did not use the word, "cult."
The fact that we join in here to discuss atheism makes us a cult. That's not at all bad.
I guess that it is possible that if only one person was atheistic, he would not be part of a cult, as a cult is a group--more than one. But not only is atheism a cult, but within it are subcults and sects.
I resent GiveFundGo holding themselves out as a "Christian" crowdfunder. Since when do Christians have a monopoly on honesty?
I was scammed several times by a man who fronted a business in my name without my knowledge and permission in Orlando, Tampa, Asheville, and Nashville to dupe Christians for fundraisers. Ironically, his first name was Angel.
I feel uneasy whenever anyone uses "cult" or "cultist" in a pejorative vein. We need to admit that our country was founded by cults and that the basic fabric of the United States is a fabric of cults--many good, some bad.
Atheists like us are a cult, perhaps the largest cult. So were/are the Pilgrims, the Jews, the Shakers, the Mennonites, the Quakers, the Catholics, the Red Cross, the US Senate, etc. To slam one's detractors as a cult is also a form of bigotry.
Note that the Religious Tolerance Act of 1649 came about in the early days of enclaved settlements by several cults who could not tolerate each other, much less cooperate amidst the threats of surviving disease, the Indians, the weather, etc. Eventually, they decided not to cruelly punish and kill each other over religious differences. But the Act exempted Jews and atheists from this protection.
I get the distinct impression that what you mean by "cult" is wildly different than how that term is normally used.
If you look up "cult" in dictionaries going back 100 years, it was not a pejorative term until Google (I believe) hijacked and twisted it to be used as a device to cast aspersions against groups that they disliked.
You're correct that it is now "normal" to use it pejoratively. And to do so is actually unAmerican and bigoted in the context of our history. (Of course, what is and is not "American" is another wishy-washy term.)
My comprehensive treatise of this can be found by searching for "Cult Bashing 2.0." I believe that you will enjoy it. A slightly more recent upgrade of this is on my Substack. In it I provide several dictionary references going back to 1933.
Jim Jones predated Google by over 20 years. We called them a cult as a pejorative. A few years later I began referring to my mother's religion of LDS as a cult, also before 1995.
I agree with you on my dating Google, but still it is inconsistent of us to use "cult" pejoratively for one group like Jim Jones or the Branch Davidians and then deny the reality that all good groups and causes are also cults. As I say in my treatise, this inconsistency is selective intolerance and bigotry on our part.
Let's not forget that the Pilgrims, the Quakers, the Methodists, the Shakers, the Mennonites, the Puritans and many others were cults that fled oppression in other parts of the world to eventually form the fabric of our country. And these cults were often intolerant of each other to the point of requiring the Religious Tolerance Act of 1649 that then excluded Jews and atheists.
Eric Hoffer, in his book, "True Believer" was talking about cults in his treatise on mass movements, although he did not use the word, "cult."
The fact that we join in here to discuss atheism makes us a cult. That's not at all bad.
When we use the term "cult" we mean BITE model type groups but even under the definition given in that PDF atheism is not a cult.
I guess that it is possible that if only one person was atheistic, he would not be part of a cult, as a cult is a group--more than one. But not only is atheism a cult, but within it are subcults and sects.
Sure it is...