cult
kəlt/
noun
1. a system of religious veneration and devotion directed toward a particular figure or object.
"the cult of St. Olaf"
o a relatively small group of people having religious beliefs or practices regarded by others as strange or sinister.
"a network of Satan-worshiping cults"
synonyms: sect, denomination, group, movement, church, persuasion, body, faction
"a religious cult"
o a misplaced or excessive admiration for a particular person or thing.
"a cult of personality surrounding the leaders"
synonyms: obsession with, fixation on, mania for, passion for, idolization of, devotion to, worship of, veneration of
"the cult of eternal youth in Hollywood"
Theology is man’s feeble attempt to explain the unexplainable.
Everyone has a “God Hole” in their head. We are born with no information, and from breath one we seek to fill the unexplainable with explanations. Some find their own answers, but most of us rely on the ideas given to us by parents, friends, and of course some form of religion. Now religion is simply defined by whatever fills your God Hole. The major component of this is faith. At some point there are factors that simply can't be proven out so there must be an element of faith simply because we feel this or that to be true and the gears simply won't turn without acceptance of the basic premise.
Be it evolution, creationism or the flat earth theory, they all have some element of faith involved where the facts fall short of one hundred percent proof. Where there is rational understanding and new ideas entering this is healthy because once the God Hole is functional it generates a world view which guides us through our day, indeed, our life. Mostly facts, but a little faith goes a long way when it comes to direction. When this normal flow is taken over by an idea, person, or belief then the result is a cult.
People tend to think of a cult as being religious, and while that is true in most cases it doesn't cover all incidents of blind obedience to one idea or one person. Many cults are political in nature and the effects on the members are exactly the same as belonging to the religious type. As the mix changes the cult/bread will bake. What starts out as a lot of fact with a dash of faith morphs into almost no facts and blind faith in the idea, or person replacing all reasoning ability for the adherents. The reason this is tolerated is that it is easier to follow than to lead, and once you follow long enough you become comfortable with letting someone else do the thinking because by that time you're too busy keeping up with the rules, because the worse thing in the world is to end up with an empty God Hole, and have to start all over again!
Cults begin with open doors to gain members. Almost imperceptibly those doors close one by one. About this time a pecking order emerges. Those chosen to rise to prominence appear to have the authority delegated to them by “The One,” but this is an illustration. This polyester “royalty” is more likely to fall from grace faster than the rank and file. This is because while the ordinary members are allowed to pray, pay, and obey, the ruling class have been given the secrets of the kingdom, not power, just the secrets, and when they defect even the slightest, they must go!
In a cultish situation there may be priests, directors, or advisors, but when in full bloom all power flows from “The One.” You begin to see those who are “in house” and of course those in the “out house.” No one can bask in the wisdom of “The One” forever so then you see defections, lists of disgraced members and attacks on the credibility of the heretics, who will usually ban together to form a group that counters the original cult, or in particular, “The One.”
This causes the master baker to crank the oven up a bit, and you begin to see major flaws. Those on the outside will smell the smoke, however those on the inside of the oven, with a full God Hole will continue to follow the party line, and if things get a bit too hot then Fearless Leader will just throw a few more heretics on the fire, and add more faith to the mix until all you have is burned bread with no yeast what so ever.
From within, in spite of all the misgivings, all the turmoil, and all the empirical evidence, at this point the survival of the cult i.e. Fearless Leader becomes job one. And the noose tightens the leader becomes more rash, adding even more legions to the opposition and top the scales until the house of cards, which is by now built on total falsehood, comes tumbling down, leaving Fearless Leader defrocked, and the adherents thereof stumbling around with their God Holes blown out, looking for new direction. Can I have an “Amen?”
kəlt/
noun
1. a system of religious veneration and devotion directed toward a particular figure or object.
"the cult of St. Olaf"
o a relatively small group of people having religious beliefs or practices regarded by others as strange or sinister.
"a network of Satan-worshiping cults"
synonyms: sect, denomination, group, movement, church, persuasion, body, faction
"a religious cult"
o a misplaced or excessive admiration for a particular person or thing.
"a cult of personality surrounding the leaders"
synonyms: obsession with, fixation on, mania for, passion for, idolization of, devotion to, worship of, veneration of
"the cult of eternal youth in Hollywood"
Theology is man’s feeble attempt to explain the unexplainable.
Everyone has a “God Hole” in their head. We are born with no information, and from breath one we seek to fill the unexplainable with explanations. Some find their own answers, but most of us rely on the ideas given to us by parents, friends, and of course some form of religion. Now religion is simply defined by whatever fills your God Hole. The major component of this is faith. At some point there are factors that simply can't be proven out so there must be an element of faith simply because we feel this or that to be true and the gears simply won't turn without acceptance of the basic premise.
Be it evolution, creationism or the flat earth theory, they all have some element of faith involved where the facts fall short of one hundred percent proof. Where there is rational understanding and new ideas entering this is healthy because once the God Hole is functional it generates a world view which guides us through our day, indeed, our life. Mostly facts, but a little faith goes a long way when it comes to direction. When this normal flow is taken over by an idea, person, or belief then the result is a cult.
People tend to think of a cult as being religious, and while that is true in most cases it doesn't cover all incidents of blind obedience to one idea or one person. Many cults are political in nature and the effects on the members are exactly the same as belonging to the religious type. As the mix changes the cult/bread will bake. What starts out as a lot of fact with a dash of faith morphs into almost no facts and blind faith in the idea, or person replacing all reasoning ability for the adherents. The reason this is tolerated is that it is easier to follow than to lead, and once you follow long enough you become comfortable with letting someone else do the thinking because by that time you're too busy keeping up with the rules, because the worse thing in the world is to end up with an empty God Hole, and have to start all over again!
Cults begin with open doors to gain members. Almost imperceptibly those doors close one by one. About this time a pecking order emerges. Those chosen to rise to prominence appear to have the authority delegated to them by “The One,” but this is an illustration. This polyester “royalty” is more likely to fall from grace faster than the rank and file. This is because while the ordinary members are allowed to pray, pay, and obey, the ruling class have been given the secrets of the kingdom, not power, just the secrets, and when they defect even the slightest, they must go!
In a cultish situation there may be priests, directors, or advisors, but when in full bloom all power flows from “The One.” You begin to see those who are “in house” and of course those in the “out house.” No one can bask in the wisdom of “The One” forever so then you see defections, lists of disgraced members and attacks on the credibility of the heretics, who will usually ban together to form a group that counters the original cult, or in particular, “The One.”
This causes the master baker to crank the oven up a bit, and you begin to see major flaws. Those on the outside will smell the smoke, however those on the inside of the oven, with a full God Hole will continue to follow the party line, and if things get a bit too hot then Fearless Leader will just throw a few more heretics on the fire, and add more faith to the mix until all you have is burned bread with no yeast what so ever.
From within, in spite of all the misgivings, all the turmoil, and all the empirical evidence, at this point the survival of the cult i.e. Fearless Leader becomes job one. And the noose tightens the leader becomes more rash, adding even more legions to the opposition and top the scales until the house of cards, which is by now built on total falsehood, comes tumbling down, leaving Fearless Leader defrocked, and the adherents thereof stumbling around with their God Holes blown out, looking for new direction. Can I have an “Amen?”
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