OHA

Oy Tit Cont Editor

The Way Things Sometimes Are

 

’m having troubles differentiating
between what constitutes a “cult,”
and what constitutes a “religion.”

Is it the actions of a religion that sep-
arate it from a cult? Can good deeds help
transform a run-of-the-mill cult into a
super-duper religion? If Group A feeds

the hungry, while Group B gathers in
covens under a full moon to evoke the
Goddess, is Group A more religious than
Group B in the public’s eyes? Not if
Group A only has 25 members, it isn’t.

What’s the difference between the vow
of amoeboid asexuality taken by Catholic
nuns and priests, and the same vow taken
by Heaven’s Gate members? Aside from
the number of Catholics dwarfing the
number of Heaven’s Gate members,
nothing. The more I think about it, damn
near all religions seem daft to me. Judaism
appears equally as bat-shit crazy to me as
Scientology.

becemoer 1/2000

Sn

 

Maybe it’s the amount of brainwash-
ing that differentiates a “religion” from a
“cult.” Maybe cults “brainwash” mem-
bers, whereas religions allow people to
come to an informed decision on their

own. Uh, no, I don’t think so. Is it brain-
washing that leads a healthy young person
to strap a pipe bomb to their body in the
name of Allah? Yep. Just like it’s brain-
washing to believe so fervently in an
end-of-the-world-during-the-solar-eclipse
scenario, that you’re willing to drink poi-
sonous Kool-Aid. Granted, these
examples come from the far ends of reli-
gious fanaticism, but it seems to me that,
to a large degree, a// religions brainwash
their members.

Why is Jehovah’s Witness a religion,
while David Koresh’s Branch Davidians
get torched, fried, and cooked alive as a
dangerous cult? Apparently, if the

Does the number of members—and the
bank account that comes with a large con-
gregation—make a “cult” a “religion?”
You betcha.

It’s the mathematics of mysticism.
Money equals power and influence these
days. Power and influence equals the abil-
ity to affect elections. Electoral muscle
equals: all the politicians and cops better
be nice if they know what’s good for
them.

All organized religions and cults seem
to believe that they have “the one true
world view” that will earn them eternal
peace. But isn’t a belief that you’ve got it
all figured out the folly of the foolish? I
mean, the world /oks pretty damned flat
to me, but I’m fairly certain it’s actually a
sphere, right? Notice I said, “fairly cer-
tain.”

 

The fervent belief in one’s favourite
Belief System—to the exclusion of both
all other systems, and changes in accepted
facts—is the end of creative thought. I
mean, if one knows the “real true truth,”
what’s the point of seeking any new infor-
mation? If there’s a 2,000-year-old
book—or a drug-addled guru figure—
with the entire code of conduct for
“proper living,” what’s the point of striv-
ing at all? Who needs self-betterment
when you’ve just got to resist temptation
to earn a backstage pass to heaven for all
eternity?

Plus, any religion worth its weight in
salt will throw in the cult-like glazed eyes
of the truly devout, free of cost.

 

Davidians had had enough mem-
bers—and money—to influence
the election of public officials, they
would have suddenly become a

 

“real religion,’ and the Waco,
Texas, incident never would have
happened.

It’s a question of public accept-
ance. It seems to me that if a “cult”
has enough members to have an
absurdly large bank account, then
widespread acceptance won't be far
behind. With widespread accept-
ance, a “cult” will be miraculously
transformed into a “religion.” It’s
like the Catholic miracle of tran-
substantiation—where wafer and
wine become the body and blood
of Christ during communion.

 

OT oo: 01 01 01 61 01 01 6: oso

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