4 ms·

Honestly, apply it to your political party. I've come to see both parties can be very cultish as of late. If you leave the herd, you are immediately attacked ev

Honestly, apply it to your political party. I've come to see both parties can be very cultish as of late. If you leave the herd, you are immediately attacked even if it's for the smallest topic. People leave their families over it. When you start to think about it...it's starts to fall a bit into that. I think that is a more compelling argument than saying family itself is a cult, which is at the human core more than a political party.

13of40 4y ago
I got basically a zero score when I did it for my company (except the separation one, which I guess is analogous to quitting) but when I tried my country I got a pretty good score - 8/10 (Edit: To be clear I'm not a member of a political party so I can't try that one.)
- lmm 4y ago
  That doesn't sound so implausible. Many countries are cult-like and many people, even those who think of themselves as liberal, have a very cult-like nationalism.
- mcv 4y ago
  I decided to do it for my church, and got zero. I think most companies and countries score higher than that. Although even for my country I could only honestly give a point for the title. (No idea if it's the king or the prime minister who counts as the leader here, but it's an impressive title. There's plenty of laws, but they don't restrict much on the relational front. Well, there's restrictions on marrying children, and criminal jobs are illegal, so that might be another point.)
lazyeye 4y ago
A good indication of a cult is that there is a shopping list of specific core beliefs (say 20) you are expected to believe. And you believe 19 of them but on the 20th you have a slightly different view. If this causes you to be banished and ostracised, then it's probably a cult. JK Rowling would be an example of this.
- etchalon 4y ago
  "I completely agree with the core tenants of Buddhism, but I think I should be able to eat babies."
  - lazyeye 4y ago
    This is the kind of answer you'd expect from the member of a cult.
  - whatshisface 4y ago
    That's adding one (making a positive should-statement) not removing one.
    - etchalon 4y ago
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_precepts https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_precepts
      - latency-guy2 4y ago
        I was in the process of making a longer comment, but I think I will leave it at this one: Non-Violence or 'Ahmisa' being a core tenant of Buddhism (and many other religions), is the one I would pick as a more apt comparison. I don't think it is reasonable to commit no violence, especially if you consider all life precious - even if you restrict to only humans. Not all people think the same, in fact some people are far more willing to enact violence to reach their goals. Is protecting yourself and your community not included in the definition of 'violence'? If 'Ahmisa' is to be understood as, yes all forms of violence are sinful - then I outright reject that idea. You must be willing to protect other people, and you must be willing to enforce, and further able to enforce that. I don't think I have to enumerate all the ways history has proven that violence in the protection of others (and self) was/is necessary.
        etchalon 4y ago
        I'm not arguing for or against any specific precept. I'm not a Buddhist. My analogy was meant to out point that the argument, "I believe everything you believe, except for this one thing" is sophomoric, as the number of things we agree on matters less than the weight of what we disagree on – and vice versa.

13of40 4y ago

I got basically a zero score when I did it for my company (except the separation one, which I guess is analogous to quitting) but when I tried my country I got a pretty good score - 8/10 (Edit: To be clear I'm not a member of a political party so I can't try that one.)

lmm 4y ago
That doesn't sound so implausible. Many countries are cult-like and many people, even those who think of themselves as liberal, have a very cult-like nationalism.
mcv 4y ago
I decided to do it for my church, and got zero. I think most companies and countries score higher than that. Although even for my country I could only honestly give a point for the title. (No idea if it's the king or the prime minister who counts as the leader here, but it's an impressive title. There's plenty of laws, but they don't restrict much on the relational front. Well, there's restrictions on marrying children, and criminal jobs are illegal, so that might be another point.)

lazyeye 4y ago

A good indication of a cult is that there is a shopping list of specific core beliefs (say 20) you are expected to believe. And you believe 19 of them but on the 20th you have a slightly different view. If this causes you to be banished and ostracised, then it's probably a cult. JK Rowling would be an example of this.

etchalon 4y ago
"I completely agree with the core tenants of Buddhism, but I think I should be able to eat babies."
- lazyeye 4y ago
  This is the kind of answer you'd expect from the member of a cult.
- whatshisface 4y ago
  That's adding one (making a positive should-statement) not removing one.
  - etchalon 4y ago
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_precepts https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_precepts
    - latency-guy2 4y ago
      I was in the process of making a longer comment, but I think I will leave it at this one: Non-Violence or 'Ahmisa' being a core tenant of Buddhism (and many other religions), is the one I would pick as a more apt comparison. I don't think it is reasonable to commit no violence, especially if you consider all life precious - even if you restrict to only humans. Not all people think the same, in fact some people are far more willing to enact violence to reach their goals. Is protecting yourself and your community not included in the definition of 'violence'? If 'Ahmisa' is to be understood as, yes all forms of violence are sinful - then I outright reject that idea. You must be willing to protect other people, and you must be willing to enforce, and further able to enforce that. I don't think I have to enumerate all the ways history has proven that violence in the protection of others (and self) was/is necessary.
      - etchalon 4y ago
        I'm not arguing for or against any specific precept. I'm not a Buddhist. My analogy was meant to out point that the argument, "I believe everything you believe, except for this one thing" is sophomoric, as the number of things we agree on matters less than the weight of what we disagree on – and vice versa.