What is a cult?

How would you define a "cult"? I was looking at a book in a book store on cults and it listed yoga as a cult! (Maybe due to the meditation.) Is it all mine control over a few where they obey their "leader" and, if so, how is the different from Catholisism or born again religions?

I'm not knocking anyone's religion. If you worship a head of lettuce and don't hurt anyone and that gets you through the day, who am I to judge? I was just thinking that Jesus was a "cult leader" and the disciples had to turn their backs on their Jewish ways towards Christ's ways. So, wasn't Christianity a big "cult" in the beginning?

Your thoughts, please.

Miriam webster says: formal religious veneration : WORSHIP
2 : a system of religious beliefs and ritual; also : its body of adherents
3 : a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious; also : its body of adherents
4 : a system for the cure of disease based on dogma set forth by its promulgator
5 a : great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement, or work (as a film or book); especially : such devotion regarded as a literary or intellectual fad b : a usually small group of people characterized by such devotion

By the first definition all worship is a cult. I think that it is the use of the word today that has thrown bad light on the word.

Dictionary.com states that a cult is:

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.


Many people believe that such religious organisations as the Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses are cults, while not recognising that any such organisation (including Catholicism and the Anglican Church) can also be desacribed as the same.

Cult List

a small group of people who the general society find unorthodox in practices. They are usually very intense and dedicated to their religion.
Yoga, is actually banned by certain religious groups because they believe meditation leaves you vulnerable to evil spirits and mind controlling entities, and can lead you astray from your religion. This is because your body goes thru odd experiences because its not acustom to concentrating on one thing or nothing at all. You can have auditory and visual hallucinations because your mind and body are not used to the strange practice. It s just your mind reacting, and you eventually lose interest in them totally and do not influence you in the least. Meditation is used for enlightenment. Enlightenment leads to the truth and people in power fear it.
Cults are religions that usually will not socialize or are not even allowed to socially interact with "outsiders" except to try to convert them

Originally posted by xxKrisxx
a small group of people who the general society find unorthodox in practices. They are usually very intense and dedicated to their religion.
Yoga, is actually banned by certain religious groups because they believe meditation leaves you vulnerable to evil spirits and mind controlling entities, and can lead you astray from your religion. This is because your body goes thru odd experiences because its not acustom to concentrating on one thing or nothing at all. You can have auditory and visual hallucinations because your mind and body are not used to the strange practice. It s just your mind reacting, and you eventually lose interest in them totally and do not influence you in the least. Meditation is used for enlightenment. Enlightenment leads to the truth and people in power fear it.
Cults are religions that usually will not socialize or are not even allowed to socially interact with "outsiders" except to try to convert them

That is very interesting what you said about meditation. I meditate (and chant sometimes) and never thought about an "evil spirit". I dabbled in Catholicism for a while and one thing I learned was that saying the rosary was a form of meditation. Isn't prayer a form of meditation?

Lily, I think that you hit on something there. God love Miriam Webster.

Meditation: to focus one's thoughts on : reflect on or ponder over
2 : to plan or project in the mind : INTEND, PURPOSE
synonym see PONDER

Oh yes ofcourse it is but meditation is not necesarily prayer....
People become afraid and cannot have trouble getting beyond a point with their meditation. Hallucinations and Sleep paralysis, "falling" and vibrations can scare the hell out of person. These are all natural parts of falling asleep every night we just dont remember or arent aware of them. Fear has lead people to believe these experiences are attacks by spirits or aliens. They are only a natural physical response.
Meditation leads to answers and some people dont want us to know them. Prayer also leads us to truth, sometimes you dont realize the truth is from within.
Cults use control as a tool of power
When you find the real truth, noone nothing can have control and power over you.
Any group that tells you how to pray, doesnt sound like religion to me

How can yoga be a cult it is not a sect from christian relegion

Cults are Seperate religions which have a few roots in a one or two truths from the bible. However ignore most of the rest.

I have seen letters from cults such as christodelphians mormons etc. They appear to be completely identical to christianity.

however what they believe how salvation is gained usually devides the christians from the cults. Often cults believe in salvation from works (like working for them!)

James and Paul (from the bible) teach proof of believing from good deeds but it is Gods/Jesus's saving grace that gives you salvation.

Other ways cults vary from the truth is in what they believe when it comes to:

The Trinity
Jesus
Salvation
Heaven Hell

There are very modern cults for example mordern christianity and christian science which believe there is no such thing as hell and if heaven exists everyones going! Jesus was just human and God is only a representation of love!

A load of junk! scuse me! There is no evidence for this!

Here is a link to Meta-Religion dot com. This site may help you to discern the truth from the BS in regards to understanding how to identify a cult.

www.metareligion.com...

God Bless

What is a cult? Let's see... from movies, we can assume a cult is a small group of people, so highly dedicated to their beliefs that they'd die for them...

Sounds to me like the Essenes, writers of the Dead Sea Scrolls, so far.

Then, too, the fact that cults tend to have high demands on the patrons. Sometimes, members are forced into something they normally wouldn't do.

I guess that'd be the main difference between a religion and a cult... free-will/participation.