the concept of "cult" for me went through a cycle - when I was growing up, it was very bad and serious. When I got a little older, it was fun and joking - "I wanna be in a cult!". And then eventually, after cults hit my social sphere, it became very bad and serious again.
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I think “cult” is paired with “bad” to those who are single-barreled christians. For media, they are usually bad when Satan is involved. If you are seeking alt spirituality, it can be risky or beneficial. The difficulty is in the discovery of knowing what you are getting into.
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I knew a very sweet young lady who was in The Way.
She moved to Colorado suddenly when she was assigned to marry a much older man she had not met. Or so I was told.
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When I was in middle school, my friend’s older brothers would talk about places like Elohim City the way hippies must have talked about California. I didn’t listen because I was just a kid who wanted to read fantasy novels all day. Years later I found out what was really going on
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How would you define cult? Typically, historic creeds are used to indentify cults, so how do you do that when you reject historic creeds?
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I was in a religious cult from the age of 7-25. I didn't know I was in a cult until my last 2 years in there. When I left I had a bitch of a time to reprogram and learn about reality. I would have 'PTSD' when I hear the word cult. Fast forward 4 years later, I now joke about it..
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I'm still in the valley. My koolaid-saturated family members are objectively living better than most people atm.