Comments on: On America, Land of Cults

By: Peter

Peter — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 18:31:23 +0000

6 days later!

Your comment is awaiting moderation.

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Okay, I get it. You guys are not into free speech or discourse of any kind.

No wonder you have no traffic. This place is an echo chamber.

By: Mike

Mike — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 00:15:42 +0000

Thanks for the thoughtful post…and, as a Mormon, thank you for shedding light on the prevalent misuse of the term “cult” as it relates to The Church of Jesus Christ of LDS.

By: Peter

Peter — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 17:49:36 +0000

I will add another interesting tidbit about cults. It’s always the other guy’s religion that the “cult”, and never one’s own.

Funny that.

:o)

By: Peter

Peter — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 17:45:59 +0000

I moved to the USA as an adult after growing up in Canada where I was a lapsed Catholic. Christianity in the USA is very different from that found in other countries. Here starting a church is very much an entrepreneurial effort. If you fail at being a used car salesman, you can always start an evangelical/baptist/pentacostal style church based on nothing more than your claims that god commanded you to do so. No other qualifications are required.

If you’re a good snake oil salesman, your flock (what a demeaning label!) will grow and you will move from a storefront in a strip mall to a dedicated church building over a few years.

That’s all it takes. And that’s why we have so many bizarre sects or cults if you prefer, most of which strong arm their sheep for ever bigger donations so that the pastor can lease a Range Rover.

As James H Kunstler put it, “American Christianity is the Wal-Mart of spirituality.”