As a catholic I am curious because I have zero respect for this religion
Okay fair enough hahah
Anyways uwu
Okay so for most, religion isn't a cult, it's different from a cult, but to be fair, they are quite similar so it's a bit hard to really distinguish the two especially when it comes to devotion
Believe it or not, in the olden days, early Christianity was considered just a cult by both Jews and Romans; Islam was long considered just a cult by medieval Christians; and, of course, many Protestant groups, from the Baptists to the Quakers, were considered cults by other Christians.
Moreover, if your definition of "cult" is a group with a charismatic and very odd leader who thinks he or she has direct access to the divine and spreads a theology that seems both heretical and confused to the established religions around it, then Christianity and Islam and Buddhism were certainly cults when they began — and no doubt the Jews were as well.
Now with that we can see that the belief system clashed regarding if the religious movement is a cult, or just that, a movement. Something that will soon change the world and its views.
Although I dare not to dwell, I do have my own thoughts, considering that if religion is a cult, then aren't we all cult members
With regards of your previous ask: "is Jesus Christ a cult leader" many people would think such a controversial statement is heretic and thus, will lead to an uproar. But let me remind you, Jesus wasn't the first one to tell people of the word of God. Yes, yes, He's the son, but He's not the first to spread the word.
There's the ones before Him, the prophets, the angels, the ones who heard the voices of God.
If that's the case, aren't they cult leaders as well?
What about God? Is he a cult leader?
Though, I may not have answers to that, it's fun to think about sometimes, right
Cults and the supposed rules and such of Christianity (and possibly other religions as well) are quite similar, considering how more often than not, they're quite restricting, they have their own beliefs system that are similar but with the difference of: Christianity is based around the bible, the doctrines, the word of God; while on the opposing end of this spectrum, the cult is quite the same, except for a vague view of what god are they actually worshipping.
^statement above, I'm not sure, but from most of the articles I read. So yeah.
Moving on
This area, therefore, is the foundational issue between biblical Christianity and the sects. Biblical Christianity acknowledges the Bible alone as authoritative, because it alone is inspired by God.
The sects also usually acknowledge the Bible as the inspired word of God. However, most of them claim that other writings are also inspired. These writings become the final doctrinal authority, since they are usually the grid through which the Bible is interpreted.
Religions such as Jehovah's Witnesses and such are considered a cult by the internet, yes? And in the article above, it is stated that it may have been. Although, I've no further proof of that, I'm just gonna go and let you all do your own lil research on that hahah
A lil assignment if you will
Other than that example of a supposed "actually a cult" religion, there's also another one, and I hope you're familiar with this since the pastor (well, in this case, cult leader) resides here in the Philippines.
For those who are familiar with Apollo Quiboloy, yes, he's kinda like a cult leader.
But!
Isn't he kinda like the prophets in the bible? How he spreads the word of god. How he spreads kindness. He helps other people. Much like Jesus, yeah?
I think the kicker for me was he claimed to be the "Son of God," and I've seen too many articles regarding people claiming they are Jesus to fall for that bs.
I honestly can't quite tell if religion is just one big cult, considering the background of the pastor mentioned above and the (little known) background of Jesus Christ Himself, but hey, I'm just human, I don't know any better. These are all thoughts with a mix of other peoples' thoughts. So hey, grab what you can and form your own theory hahah
