Comments on: VIOLENT CULTS

By: Mysticalteg.Com » VIOLENT CULTS

Mysticalteg.Com » VIOLENT CULTS — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 19:53:08 +0000

[...] wrote an interesting post today on VIOLENT CULTSHere’s a quick [...]

By: anthonynorth

anthonynorth — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 22:01:16 +0000

Hi Leatherwolf,
Nice comment. However, I’d point out that many street gangs – Mafia even – would be the same. Somehow, I don’t see Al Capone as a guru

By: Leatherwolf

Leatherwolf — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 21:46:22 +0000

One important indicator of a cult, missing from the factnet list, is the inability to laugh at the leader of the group. When I studied this in college, some 20 years ago, my professor said, “If you make a joke about the guru, and they beat the crap out of you, you may have found a cult. Unless, of course, the joke was really lame…”

By: anthonynorth

anthonynorth — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 17:45:36 +0000

Hi Leatherwolf,
Thanks for that and welcome. One point I would mention is that fundamentalism can mean an absolute belief in a religion and does not automatically insinuate violence. The difference is not always appreciated.
Anyone wanting to go to factnet, you will find a link on my Cult Watch sub-domain. See Blogroll, top left.

By: Leatherwolf

Leatherwolf — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 17:39:56 +0000

Hello.
I would recommend factnet.org to anyone who hasn’t been there already. They have a list of characteristics of cults. They also have warnings about fundamentalism. Having observed persons who are members of established world religions, I feel that religious fundamentalism, regardless of the faith, is extremely dangerous and should be classified as cultish or cult-like, primarily because of believers’ willingness to set aside the ethical teachings of their faith at large in order to engage in violent behavior toward those who are not “living right in the eyes of God/Allah.”
I agree with the idea that lack of affection in the formative years is one of the contributing factors that makes a cult appealing. It also is one of the culprits behind the development of toxic shame and a shattered self-concept.

By: anthonynorth

anthonynorth — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 21:09:35 +0000

Hi David,
It’s a fascinating subject. And one of the most inrteresting elements, to me, is the way that individual psychology can be subdued to the sociology of a movement.
With violence and atrocity, one classic example is a riot, where otherwise law abiding people can be consumed by the mob. I don’t know whether you’ve ever come across sociologist Elias Canetti. He has a lot to say on the subject.

By: david b

david b — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 18:40:53 +0000

This reminds me of a certainly interesting topic of study I remember from my A-Level History course, the means and mechanisms by which a society could engage in atrocity.

By: anthonynorth

anthonynorth — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 14:00:16 +0000

Hi Susan,
Interesting comment. The problem with defining which of these gurus was mentally ill is difficult. I can’t remember his exact words, but psychiatrist Anthony Storr said, after studying cults, something like:
The boundaries of mental illness have been drawn in the wrong place; the mad are saner than we think, the sane madder.

By: Susan Whelan

Susan Whelan — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 13:55:45 +0000

Interesting reading. Nice to see the lack of comments from the Richard Dawkins type and blame everything on religion in general and ignore the ultimate offender, tribalism. As for cults, I suspect that a number of their leaders were or are mentally ill – Charles Manson is the most visible example. He is what we have studied psychiatry courses would be classified as suffering from a psychosis, coupled with the lack of treatment and lack of love and affection from a family background. You Americans have a track record for executing the mentally ill and if Manson were to get the death penalty after all, he would be another statistic of mentally ill people being put to death!
You also mentioned David Koresh, another obviously mentally ill man…an irony here is that the name he took, “Koresh,” is a variant of the name “Cyrus” – a great Persian ruler who even 2500 years ago was noted for his tolerance and willingness to welcome all religious groups, no matter what stripe, into his kingdom and grant them permission to worship as they please! (Note that fundamentalist Muslims hate this man because he was a friend to the Jews!).

By: anthonynorth

anthonynorth — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 22:25:18 +0000

Hi Red,
I don’t think it’s quite as simple as that – there are intelligent people who are simply searching and end up in a cult; there are political processes that would happen regardless of the Hitler who appears – but as an ideal, well said!