Is the Catholic faith a Cult?

[LostMyMoney]

In the 'Pope is an idiot' thread Edge34 said:
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The only thing bizzarre is the fact that there are still idiots out there who, instead of just laying out some kind of logical argument, decide they'd like to offend as many people as possible by calling things like the Catholic Church "cults".

Assclown

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PoBoy123, who attends a Catholic school so he has been brainwashed slightly, concured with this statement.

Well, lets go to the definition:


from Dictionary.com

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CULT
(source WordNet, Princeton University)
n 1: adherents of an exclusive system of religious beliefs and practices 2: an interest followed with exaggerated zeal; "he always follows the latest fads"; "it was all the rage that season" [syn: fad, craze, furor, furore, rage] 3: a system of religious beliefs and rituals; "devoted to the cultus of the Blessed Virgin"

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(source American Heritage Dictionary)
1. 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.
2. The followers of such a religion or sect.

2. A system or community of religious worship and ritual.

3. The formal means of expressing religious reverence; religious ceremony and ritual.

4. A usually nonscientific method or regimen claimed by its originator to have exclusive or exceptional power in curing a particular disease.

5.
a. Obsessive, especially faddish, devotion to or veneration for a person, principle, or thing.
b. The object of such devotion.

6. An exclusive group of persons sharing an esoteric, usually artistic or intellectual interest.

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I pose it to you 2p2, is christianity a cult. Is it even close?

[Cyrus]

It's not a cult when it's popular enough.

Cult bands do not fill stadiums.

A system of beliefs can be totally stupid and wildly popular; the latter attribute effectively takes it out of the cult category.

Alternatively, a system of beliefs might be objectively correct and followed by the smallest of minorities (no surprise there). It should not be called a cult either, but then we run into the central issue of who is placing the labels? The majority usually does, so the correctly held beliefs of the minority might very well be labeled a cult.

In a world full of Christian or Islamic fundamentalists, an atheist credo is a cult.

[ACPlayer]

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an atheist credo is a cult.

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Do we have a ring on a finger, attached to a man, that we kiss?

[PoBoy321]

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con·no·ta·tion ( P ) Pronunciation Key (kn-tshn)
n.
The act or process of connoting.

An idea or meaning suggested by or associated with a word or thing: Hollywood holds connotations of romance and glittering success.
The set of associations implied by a word in addition to its literal meaning.
Logic. The set of attributes constituting the meaning of a term; intension.

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Note definition 2b. There are certain connotations (thanks MMMMM) that go along with a cult that don't apply to the Catholic Church.

And out of curiosity, why is it that everyone gangs up on the Catholic Church, but not, let's say, Southern Baptists? Or Muslims? Or Hari Krishnas?

[bernie]

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And out of curiosity, why is it that everyone gangs up on the Catholic Church, but not, let's say, Southern Baptists? Or Muslims? Or Hari Krishnas?

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They did gang up on the muslims. Or are you missing the Iraq war? Do you so easily forget the backlash against muslims after 9-11? That's nice.

Another time? How about the Catholic Church ganging up on everyone between 1100-1500? I guess it's excuseable when they did it.

The others take their shots also. The church happens to be the most visible in world matters so they tend to take the brunt of alot of it.

b

[Stu Pidasso]

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They did gang up on the muslims. Or are you missing the Iraq war?


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The Iraq war is not an example of us ganging up on muslims. Our motivation for going to war had nothing to do with persecuting muslims.

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Do you so easily forget the backlash against muslims after 9-11? That's nice.


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There was more of a backlash against whites when the officers who beat Rodney King were found innocent than there was against muslims for 911.

Stu

[bernie]

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There was more of a backlash against whites when the officers who beat Rodney King were found innocent than there was against muslims for 911.

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This is debateable.

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The Iraq war is not an example of us ganging up on muslims. Our motivation for going to war had nothing to do with persecuting muslims.


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You're right. I was actually referring to a result of 9-11 along with attacking Iraq which many in the US targeted muslims in the backlash.

b

[Arnfinn Madsen]

Seriously though, a woman in the papal council of Pope John Paul publicly said that the Catholic church is a cult. Have heard nuns say that as well. Christianity is a religion, the church is a cult.

Have a sense that you have a negative connotion with the word though [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img].

[jj_frap]

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Seriously though, a woman in the papal council of Pope John Paul publicly said that the Catholic church is a cult. Have heard nuns say that as well. Christianity is a religion, the church is a cult.

Have a sense that you have a negative connotion with the word though [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img].

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Sect or denomination is what you're looking for...I'm not fond of the Catholic Church, but I have far more respect for it than I do for the fundamentalist cesspool of American Protestantism.

[JackWhite]

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I'm not fond of the Catholic Church, but I have far more respect for it than I do for the fundamentalist cesspool of American Protestantism.

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I am so glad to see tolerance is thriving again.