3 ms·

I don't know the source but I first read the following useful distinction here in HN: The difference between a cult and a religion: a cult wants it all, a reli

• dmos62 8y ago
  That's an amusing saying, because it conjures images of a struggle, in which there's somewhere something that is greedy and something that seeks fairness. What is the struggle about, i.e. what is that "all" that the greedy actor wants? I think it doesn't matter, because this saying is just a threatrical way of saying that we define a cult as an organization in the religious world that we find to be uncooperative, asocial, greedy, mean, yada yada, -- something we don't like. Further, religion just wants its cut? There's an implicit entitlement there. Why? I started out saying this saying is amusing, but, man, am I finishing on the opposite note.
  • gtyras2mrs 8y ago
    What I get from that statement is that religion is a more sustainable cult i.e. a cult that recognizes that demanding total control is a poor strategy in the longer term.
• liftbigweights 8y ago
  All religions started out as a cult. Christianity was a cult until it won. The difference between a cult and religion is the same as the difference between a molehill and a hill. It's hard to say exactly when a molehill turns into a hill, but you'll know it when it does.
  • kiriakasis 8y ago
    > All religions started out as a cult. Beware of survivor bias. Even assuming that all religion were once cult it still does not follow that all cults could become viable religions.