You ARE in a CULT.
Let's take some common signs that might indicate that you are in a cult. In this case, I am using a story from the Atlantic, but what I am borrowing represents very common descriptions of cult-like characteristics. https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/06/the-seven-signs-youre-in-a-cult/361400/
1. Opposing critical thinking
In the book Jesus and Mohammed, the author Mark Gabriel, who has a PhD in Islamic history and culture from Al-Azhar University in Cairo, began to do the unthinkable. He began to think for himself. He was already a lecturer and mosque leader. He tried to get real answers from other religious leaders around him, only to be given unsatisfactory answers. Here is an excerpt from his book:
All these seem like pretty reasonable questions, do they not? And the answers were clearly not very good. Contradictions were apparent but no one took them seriously. After doing a great deal of research on his own, he came to his own conclusions and tried his best to show others what he had learned. Much time had passed between the last passage and this one. But look at how the other Muslims reacted to his time thinking and learning:
Do you see what they did? They flew into a rage and wanted to kill him! This was not hundreds of years ago. This was only a few decades ago. But, it sounds a whole lot like what the Pharisees did to Jesus, except they didn't rip their clothes off. Check out Matthew 26:65 when the High Priest interviewed Jesus:
"Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses? behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy"
The high priest believed he already knew all there was to know about the subject of the Messiah. There was no room for critical thinking. The fence around his mind was tall and thick, and not even the Messiah Himself could cross it.
Leah Remini the actress left Scientology and interviewed other ex-Scientologists who provide us with similar reactions inside the cult to critical thinking:
The Catholics seem to have a real hard time with critical thinking as well.Charles Chiniquy, a priest who once hired Illinois lawyer Abraham Lincoln to defend him against legal persecution by the Catholic Church said this: -From "50 Years in the "Church" of Rome by Charles Chiniquy
"To make oneself believe that he can convert a piece of bread into God requires such a supreme effort of the will, and complete annihilation of the intelligence, that the state of the soul, after the effort is over, is more like death than life."
These sorts of questions plagued this Catholic minister until he could do no more than to begin telling his congregations the truths he had learned for himself. And that's when the persecution began.
Likewise when atheists gain control of academic situations, they frequently also can not tolerate anyone who refuses to accept their own view of the world and history and thoughts about God. They are instead insistent that everyone around them echo their views without the slightest alteration, lest the wrath of the god they created inside themselves rains down on the self-thinkers.
How many "truthers" believe the world is flat, or that 5-G is causing Corona virus? Many "truthers" even believe that Bill Gates is attempting to kill them by spending hundreds of millions of dollars to create a vaccine. Logic be darned!
The primary reason that critical thinking can never be encouraged in any cult is that its tenants, doctrines, or believes simply do not hold up to scrutiny. Those who do think for themselves often leave. And that leads us to number two.
The second description of cult behavior, according to the Atlantic is:
In Islam, as well as in Catholicism, Judaism, Jehovah's Witnesses, and Scientology it's not uncommon to face persecution, even from family members, for leaving the religion. Many self-thinkers attempt to bring conscience thought to their family members only to be locked in their rooms without food, be tortured or stoned, or called "dead" to their own families. How sad that fear and intimidation gets used where logic and reason can not stand!
Apart from stoning people, atheism exhibits some of the most virulent reactions to its dissidents. Those students who ever dared to think for themselves in an atheist professor's class, or those professors who dared to ask questions at an atheist led university, usually find themselves the victims of humiliation, attack, ridicule, character assassination, demotion, and firings. The worst reactions and name callings, and attacks I have ever faced for thinking for myself have always come from atheists. No student ever gets passed them without stroking their egos, and no one walks away from them without being knocked down a notch. That's what happens when you encounter people who have made themselves their own gods.
Islam has its "apostates," while Jehovah's Witnesses "disfellowship" their former members. Catholics "excommunicate," and Amish "shun" their objectors. Scientologists call their nonconformists "suppressive persons" and go on the attack, often sending a barrage of personal investigators to comb through trash cans, write false articles, follow and harass, bully, intimidate, and cause legal trouble not only for the suppressive person, but often also for those who help them.
Fences are built to keep things in as much as to keep things out. Ideas, thoughts, new information and critical thinking...that all stays out. Inside the fence is an echo chamber reverberating usually the thoughts of one or just a few. Scientology might LITERALLY put you inside a fence and place guards around you!
When I began to ask some pretty basic questions on another Hubbard's "truther" gematria page, I was met with the following response:
"You are nothing here and you will not be missed." I was literally isolated as L. Ron jr sounded the alarm to shun, excommunicate, disfellowship, and completely disregard me and my silly, common sense questions.
Fundamental Baptists do not physically assault anyone for leaving their churches, not do they chase anyone down, or imprison them. However, they do often see those who left them as traitors. They often castigate them for their supposed misbehavior and think of them as no longer being right with God.
According to Islam, apostates are to be killed and represent the worst of humanity. Excommunicated Catholics were sometimes burned at the stake. And former Jews and Amish never get to talk to their families ever again, in many instances.
Now let me say something very serious.
If FEAR is the fence keeping you in your religion, let that FEAR become all the more reason to trust what you know to be true, that your religion, thoughts, or belief system is a lie. Your religion might be atheism, or Catholicism, Islam, or Scientology, or any other. Whatever you thoughts, or beliefs, and whatever category you put them in, if you stay even partially because of FEAR,....your thoughts, beliefs, or religion will not stand to scrutiny and you already know it. Let FEAR fall to courage as you renew your strength and redouble your tenacity to leave, because the real FEAR that you feel is that you will waste your entire life living a lie. Worse yet, you will help perpetuate to others the very fear that has held you.
Number 3 According to the Atlantic is:
Many atheists, regardless of what they might tell you, clearly have their own scriptures. Obscene adherence to scientific orthodoxy usually prohibits free thinking, and allows many of them to create especially erroneous beliefs in the multiverse, dark matter, and the big bang singularity.
For Muslims, this could be the many and vastly varying interpretations of the Hadith, or it could be the varying rants of the many interpretations of the Quran itself by Imams. It could be the Sunnis versus the Shia's, or it could be the more civil Muslims against the fundamentalists.
For Catholics, the Pope claims he can sit on St. Peter's chair and speak "ex-cathedra," and immediately overrule the Bible, the saints, previous Popes, and even Jesus Himself! It's no wonder that the Lateran councils have come up with such insidious and harmful rulings as priestly celibacy!
Jehovah's Witnesses love to make a HUGE deal about not getting blood transfusions, not celebrating birthdays or holidays, and making sure to use the word "Jehovah" as the name of God. While none of this, of course, is ever explicitly stated in the Bible!
Seventh Day Adventists built a whole religion around the idea that church services must be conducted on Saturday.
Christian Science pretends that your mind can heal all your illnesses, while their founder Mary Baker Eddy is...dead.
Scientologists literally believe the following insanity, as stated by Wikipedia (but also talked about and verified on Remini's show on A&E:)
"Xenu (/ˈziːnuː/),[1][2][3] also called Xemu, was, according to Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, the dictator of the "Galactic Confederacy" who brought billions[4][5] of his people to Earth (then known as "Teegeeack") in DC-8-like spacecraft 75 million years ago, stacked them around volcanoes, and killed them with hydrogen bombs. Official Scientology scriptures hold that the thetans (immortal spirits) of these aliens adhere to humans, causing spiritual harm."
The fundamental Baptists love to emphasize that ladies can't wear pants, and that men must wear short hair. All who disregard the rules are browbeaten and viewed as heretics.
Truthers however, rule in the area of creating special beliefs. Some believe that planet Nibiru is coming soon to send aliens to mine gold on our planet. That makes the Scientologists' belief in Xenu look almost sane by comparison. Other truthers think the world is flat, and that space shuttles never actually go into space. They type their beliefs on an internet that apparently doesn't use satellites in orbit around the Earth. Many truthers think the Illuminati and Freemasons are actually running the world. Others think the Rosicruscians are doing it.
4. Seeking Inappropriate Loyalty to their Leaders
Now anyone who is familiar with the fundamental Baptists will recognize that the cult of personality highly defines much of their movement. Having graduated from Hyles-Anderson College, I know all too well how much accent is placed on the ministry leaders. In this case it was Jack Hyles. It was often said at Hyles-Anderson College "any old dog can be loyal." Anyone who spoke against the leadership was always quickly reprimanded, and oftentimes expelled.
However, in Islam, simply drawing a picture...even a flattering one, of Mohammed might get a person killed. Loyalty is at utmost premium inside Islam. No one dares to question the Imam or to even speculate whether Mohammed was ever wrong about anything whatsoever.
Catholics who question the Pope's authority have historically found themselves facing excommunication. The excommunication of the questioning Catholic priest Martin Luther caused him to start the Reformation.
Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons must accept the judgments of deacons or elders within their church....even in dealing with family matters.
Scientologists have literally spent MILLIONS AND MILLIONS of dollars building various mansions around the world so their founder L. Ron Hubbard can live in them when he reincarnates:
If anyone wants to see what truthers think of their leaders, one only need to look at the Patreon donations. Follow the money and see the blind "loyalty." Sadly, many of them think they are helping the world by "getting the truth out." Scientologists dole out around a million dollars each to complete their training. Truthers, by and large, are not the more erudite and affluent members of society, with exceptions, of course. However, their donations conglomerated rival Scientology any day. Alex Jones sells his vitamins, while L. Ron Jr gets his Patreon donations. It's not hard to see to whom they remain devoted.
Ever watch the Q-anoners? Try to tell them ANYTHING....I don't care what it is. See how that goes for you. These people are slavishly devoted to a guy that NONE of them even KNOW who he is. Ironically, I have actually attempted on a couple occasions to tell a few of the more popular Q-anoners on You Tube the ACTUAL NAMES of the people who started it, only to be laughed at and ridiculed! Oh the irony! It's the definition of blind loyalty!
5. Crossing sexual boundaries
(skipped number five from the Atlantic's website)
On this one, the Catholic Church gets the first place prize. Thousands of Catholic priests around the world are brought up on groping, rape, sodomy, and pedophilia charges each year. Charles Chiniquy talked about the same abuses going on in his day. It doesn't represent a modern phenomenon. It's been going on for centuries. It doesn't represent a local phenomenon. It's world-wide.
Islam, on the other hand, believes that little boys are meant to sexually service older men. This is more prevalent among the more fundamentalist sects, especially ISIS. However, in any majority Muslim country, women often report fear of going anywhere around men. If they are not accompanied, Islam teaches that men have a right to rape them. And since a woman's testimony is half that of a man's in Islam, they can't even complain about it in court. And if they tell their families about the rape, their families will often kill them for dishonoring them. The only reason I put Islam below Catholicism is that at least Islam tells you it believes this is ok. Catholicism lies about its true intentions.
Fundamental Baptists are routinely caught in scandal after scandal. Jack Hyles had his secretary, and Jack Schaap, who followed them is currently serving jail time for taking an underage girl over state lines for sex. The same keeps happening in fundamentalist churches across the country.
Atheists self righteously do all the things that all the members of the various religions do, then they judge the religious people for not just being open about it. They should love Islam for this, one would think. But by no means do they exercise some sort of better restraint or personal responsibility.
Truther Alex Jones sent child porn to the victims of Sandy Hook. In reality, your truther movements are largely run by the CIA, which tuns most of the drugs in this country, and protects pedophiles and rapists. Furthermore, most of your truthers belong to one of the religious groups already mentioned. Being a "truther" probably doesn't make anyone more prone to sexual deviancy, but it doesn't alleviate the problem, either.
It's worse crime is that it gives people a false sense that they are fixing the world while only fooling themselves. The Scientologists all believe they are fixing the world by "clearing" it. This false sense of purpose keeps them in their echo chambers. That's also the CIA's purpose for the truther movements. Always follow the rabbit holes provided. Discuss what is being discussed. Find only the "truth" that is put out for you to "find." Accomplish nothing.
Final thoughts
The real truth rarely comes from the direction from which one thinks. Rather, it sneaks up on you and doesn't disclose itself. If you aren't open to it, it walks silently away and you never know it was there. The truth reveals itself only through diligent search and openness. It comes only to those who keep a meek spirit and who are willing to tear everything down in their lives that they have already built on any other foundation. For most people, they must tear down everything more than once. But staying the same person ten years from now that you are today is NOT ok. Everyone should grow.
I invite each person listening on YouTube or reading this blog to search out the truth of Hugh Squier. Hugh knows the real history of your country. He understands how the CIA and publishers murdered millions through 9-11 and its subsequent war. Hugh has lived his entire life harassed and bullied by the same pedo gangs that raped him when he was 4 years old. His inventions, trademarks, and contracts are worth hundreds of billions of dollars. His family gave America computers, vans, washing machine transmissions, and many other machines and inventions.
Better than that, Hugh doesn't want your money or financial support. He doesn't have a Patreon, doesn't sell T-shirts, and won't pretend to help you gamble better. He doesn't want a fan club, and doesn't have meeting or tell anyone what to do.
Hugh wants justice for his murdered wives and fiances. If you want to help REAL people, and make a REAL difference, help Hugh get justice by learning and telling his story.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete