Unexplained Mysteries Discussion Forums

metcalfracing

Jun 16 2005, 08:47 PM

it is crazy, how do people get sucked in to believing in cults?
you might say that they are broken but even broken to the point of brain damage, I would hope they could see that their practices are all dumb and fake and that they are only selling themselves to a con-artist! I looked up cults on the internet trying to see if they were as bad as the media shows. of course the media was 150% right, i am subtracting the 50% of the brain people lose by being in cults and adding it to the media's total. one cult said that you could live in peace and serenity by giving them your earthly possessions and everything from your old life.
can you say making big profits on ebay from how stupid people are.
another more sexist cult said that only women would go to the promised land and women should not even associate with men because they could stray from the path to salvation! in general i think cult worshippers and cult leaders should be sent to re-education facilities and be broken into law abiding citizens, hey if they are going to be brain washed anyways why not make them useful members of society.

hyperactive

Jun 16 2005, 08:57 PM

cults are a product of the human desire to belong. the cult leaders are usually very charismatic people that know how to prey on individual weakness. it does not take an element of "supernatural" to create a cult, it just happens to be an easy approach. (look at the % of people that "think" there is some form of gods - that gives you a big pool to find a few easy victems in).

metcalfracing

Jun 16 2005, 09:04 PM

yeah but the ideas presented are so stupid that i would think people would be warded off by them like the sexist cult which i am starting to believe is also a lesbian cult, how do you go about telling hundreds of people that men are evil?

Irish

Jun 16 2005, 09:10 PM

http://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/forum...topic=34576&hl=
Above is a link to another thread with a template I wrote on cults.

Malruhn

Jun 17 2005, 02:36 PM

What do you mean "the ideas presented are so stupid"? Have you ever considered "mainstream" religion with a dispassionate eye?

Catholics believe that when you die that you go to a place to be tortured for a set period before you get your reward OR go to a place to be permenantly tortured.

Christians in general believe that when you die, your life is weighed against the purest of the pure examples to see if you deserve your just rewards.

The Norse believe that when you die, you fight never-ending battles, and when you "die" in battle, you are reborn to enjoy a feast at the end of each day, then wake the next day for more battle.

The Mormons believe that special undergarments will keep them pure in spirit and protected from physical damage.

The Jews are waiting around for a GodKing that will lead the people to the "promised lands".

Are any of these ideas any more normal than a cult? Not hardly! When you dig into it, ALL religions seem pretty silly. When a person comes to believe, they lose that skepticism and accept the party line and will drink the Kool-aid, or kill themselves to meet God on the passing comet, or live with an abusive spouse until they die because "God" wants them to... or even give their children up to the clergy to have sex with because it is ordained...

When you take a step back, it all seems silly.

eveningsky339

Jun 17 2005, 07:38 PM

QUOTE

Christians in general believe that when you die, your life is weighed against the purest of the pure examples to see if you deserve your just rewards.

Christians in general believe the only way to heaven is through Jesus, who died in our place. If you accept His gift of salvation and believe in Him, you're in. If you don't, you're out.

Unless there are a lot of other Christian denominations that believe otherwise and I'm a minority.

__Kratos__

Jun 17 2005, 09:11 PM

All religions are cults...

A religion or religious sect generally considered to be extremist or false, with its followers often living in an unconventional manner under the guidance of an authoritarian, charismatic leader.
The followers of such a religion or sect.
A system or community of religious worship and ritual.
The formal means of expressing religious reverence; religious ceremony and ritual.
A usually nonscientific method or regimen claimed by its originator to have exclusive or exceptional power in curing a particular disease.

Obsessive, especially faddish, devotion to or veneration for a person, principle, or thing.
The object of such devotion.
An exclusive group of persons sharing an esoteric, usually artistic or intellectual interest.

n 1: adherents of an exclusive system of religious beliefs and practices
Dictionary.com

metcalfracing

Jun 17 2005, 11:16 PM

QUOTE(Malruhn @ Jun 17 2005, 10:36 AM)

What do you mean "the ideas presented are so stupid"? Have you ever considered "mainstream" religion with a dispassionate eye?

Catholics believe that when you die that you go to a place to be tortured for a set period before you get your reward OR go to a place to be permenantly tortured.

Christians in general believe that when you die, your life is weighed against the purest of the pure examples to see if you deserve your just rewards.

The Norse believe that when you die, you fight never-ending battles, and when you "die" in battle, you are reborn to enjoy a feast at the end of each day, then wake the next day for more battle.

The Mormons believe that special undergarments will keep them pure in spirit and protected from physical damage.

The Jews are waiting around for a GodKing that will lead the people to the "promised lands".

Are any of these ideas any more normal than a cult? Not hardly! When you dig into it, ALL religions seem pretty silly. When a person comes to believe, they lose that skepticism and accept the party line and will drink the Kool-aid, or kill themselves to meet God on the passing comet, or live with an abusive spouse until they die because "God" wants them to... or even give their children up to the clergy to have sex with because it is ordained...

When you take a step back, it all seems silly.
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special underwear!?! wow

and i mean the "give up your earthly possessions and worship the the almighty dave!" type of cult and so what if religions have to pretty strange ideas, granted since in my beliefs my religion is the right one that makes all other religions cults but mine.

BurnSide

Jun 17 2005, 11:57 PM

QUOTE(metcalfracing @ Jun 16 2005, 05:04 PM)

how do you go about telling hundreds of people that men are evil?
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The same way that people go about saying a man born to a virgin woman 2000 years ago came back from the dead. Or that the world was magically created from the mind of a faceless incredible entity. Wicked, uminaginable ideas, and people put their very lives on the line to defend these beliefs.
The first question you asked, "how do people get sucked in to believing in cults?" can be asked with every religion or belief really.
Ask a Christian why they believe, and you'll have your answer.

"Because it's the truth".

SilverCougar

Jun 18 2005, 12:20 AM

Hubbard proved all this quite well.

Darkwind

Jun 18 2005, 12:36 AM

QUOTE

The Norse believe that when you die, you fight never-ending battles, and when you "die" in battle, you are reborn to enjoy a feast at the end of each day, then wake the next day for more battle.

My, my I rather like this one.

BRING ME MY SWORD!

Metalix Knightmare

Jun 21 2005, 06:59 PM

Heck with swords man, BREAK OUT THE LIGHTSABERS!!!!

Skinnyal

Jun 22 2005, 04:48 AM

QUOTE(metcalfracing @ Jun 16 2005, 09:47 PM)

it is crazy, how do people get sucked in to believing in cults?
you might say that they are broken but even broken to the point of brain damage, I would hope they could see that their practices are all dumb and fake and that they are only selling themselves to a con-artist! I looked up cults on the internet trying to see if they were as bad as the media shows. of course the media was 150% right, i am subtracting the 50% of the brain people lose by being in cults and adding it to the media's total. one cult said that you could live in peace and serenity by giving them your earthly possessions and everything from your old life.
can you say making big profits on ebay from how stupid people are.
another more sexist cult said that only women would go to the promised land and women should not even associate with men because they could stray from the path to salvation! in general i think cult worshippers and cult leaders should be sent to re-education facilities and be broken into law abiding citizens, hey if they are going to be brain washed anyways why not make them useful members of society.

[right][snapback]680897[/snapback][/right]

If they saw these things from the outset you are probably right that the people in them could be considered stupid....

However, a cult doesn't work like that. 'Sucking people in' is not an instant process, it is done over a period of time. The 'typical' first stage is being asked to take part in a questionnaire in the street (your local main shopping area for example). This will guage the respondent's level of general happiness / disillusionment with their life. If 'suitable' (ie. disillusioned) they are vulnerable to the technique known as 'love bombing'.

If you're feeling down and you get new people giving you attention, listening to your problems you feel better, no? Why, you might even consider joining them for a chat/drink/ etc etc. Wahey... more people who like you, make you feel better about yourself, make you feel good. Why not meet up more with other friendly people, maybe they also share your take on life etc.

and so it has begun.....

Of course they don't say 'hello, we follow a leader who has taken all our cash and possessions and makes us live in a big house sheltered away from the evil world' etc etc.
THAT would seriously compromise their ability to get all your cash and possessions...

(edited for grammar)