Cults And Jews
Cults are becoming more and more of an issue for Jews every day. Many cults are beginning to target Jews. They say you can believe in Jesus yet remain a Jew, or many other things like that. It is important for people to educate themselves of these cults and their recruiting techniques so that they will not be taken advantage of by these cults. Cults now are very different than they were in ancient times though. The Jews, rather than being targeted by cults, were themselves a cult. In fact they were one of the first documented cults.
Now, Judaism is not considered a cult, it is a religion. Back in the ancient days many aspects of the Israelites’ laws made them a cult. The Israelites had sacrifices for many occasions. Sin-offerings, guilt offering, fellowship, votive, freewill, dedicatory, and ordination are all documented reasons for sacrifices to God. These sacrifices are what made the ancient Israelites different from the modern day Jewish people. Those sacrifices are also what made the ancient Israelites a cult instead of being a religion like now. After the destruction of the second temple sacrifice was replaced with prayer and prayer still stands now.
Mishna discusses the different sacrifices the Israelites made and the reasons they were made. The rabbis say that sacrifices were not a bad thing. Because the sacrifices were made to God and represented different things between God and the people, the sacrifices were allowed. Sacrifices were made for apologies to God, for holidays and many other purposes, but they were always animal sacrifices and they were always to God. These two aspects permitted the offerings. Because they were animal offerings, not human, the offerings were not too gore-filled. And since the offerings were made to God, it is not a person, but an all-powerful being. It makes sense to make offerings to God because God created the people and guided them.
Merriam Webster’s Collegiate dictionary defines cult as: 1 : formal religious veneration : Worship. 2 : a system of religious beliefs and ritual; also : its body of adherents. 3 : a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious; also : its body of adherents. 4 : a system for the cure of disease based on dogma set forth by its promulgator <health cults>. 5 a : great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement, or work (as a film or book); especially : such devotion regarded as a literary or intellectual fad b : a usually small group of people characterized by such devotion.
The cult was mainly composed of men and women both. All members had crew cuts and were between the ages of 26 and 72. Although many members lived together in a mansion in California, they came from all parts of the country. Many were from California, but members also came from Arizona, Colorado, Texas, Florida, New Mexico, Minnesota, Utah, Ohio, and Florida. There were approximatly 39 members who lived in the 1.3 million dollar Rancho Santa Fe mansion. They operated a web site for their cult called “Higher Source”.
A cult society is an organization that basically disguises itself as a religion. In a cult, they normally perform rituals. There are usually many people in these societies. In Jim Jones’s cult, there were at least one thousand people in this community.
For many decades, the cult phenomenon has fascinated the masses. A cult is an organization with deviant beliefs and practices, and is characterized by the apparent life-time membership of its participants. It seems to be very popular among troubled teenagers and adults. The psychology behind why some people are more susceptible to the charms and the lure of being in a cult is not very widely researched or understood. Many people are concerned with cultist behavior and the effect that they have on the individuals involved, believing that they have been “brainwashed” into this lifestyle. This paper deals with cult mentality and how people become involved in certain religious and secular cults. It will explore the personality traits of current and ex-cult members as well as look at case studies of members of particular cults. The format of this paper will first look at some preexisting dispositions, the psychological effects while in the cult, and any short term or long term effects upon leaving the cult, as well as some treatment options.
Society strives to feel a sense of belonging. We want to be a part of something that shares the same beliefs as us. We spend our time trying to place ourselves in a group to satisfy these needs, whether it is in a hobby club, a group of friends, or religion. Some people go to more extreme measures and find this in what we call a cult. According to Henslin, a cult is a new or different religion whose teachings and practices put it at odds with the dominant culture and religion. (2013:405) Cults are often identified with the ideas of mass murder, deviant behaviors, unusual beliefs, and extremely devoted members. Cults are also highly known for their leaders. The leaders of cults usually are the ones that portray the image for the entire group. Successful cults take a strong-minded and, according to Max Weber, charismatic leader.
The Israelite cult is set apart from other cults in that the people were bound together to worship one God. “The distinctiveness of the Israelite cult is nothing other than the limitation of cultic activity to one particular patron deity” (Anderson, 1987;3). The cult’s foundation of worship centered on those sacrificial gifts and offerings that were given to Yahweh. In addition, the Israelite cults were village centered. In the beginning of the 12th century BC, settlements on the hill country of Judea and Ephraim began to increase in number and density. The farming that took place on these hills allowed Israelites to gain an independent economy from surrounding cult economies (Anderson, 1987;23).
Judaism, the religion of the Jews, is one of the oldest religions in the world. Judaism, in fact, is the oldest of the three major religions that believe in a single God. The other two, Christianity and Islam, have been strongly influenced by Judaism, which is a big part of western civilization today. In the beginning, Jews were a tribe, a band of nomads, more than likely shepherds that may have died out if they would have remained merely shepherds. Jews were one of many “nations” to be found in the ancient Near East.
Cults can be dangerous as manipulative strategies are used to control large groups of people into behaviour they may not usually be comfortable with. A cult is a counterculture that is an extremist group usually lead by religion and a charismatic leader (Winner 2011:417). Counterculture is the rejection of popular norms and values and replaces them with extreme views on violence, family and loyalty (Winner 2011:417). Cult leaders often preach about religious history as they take it very seriously. Usually, these religious views guide the bizarre behaviour and conformity within the cult. Anthropologists see cults as a way for people to find self-identity and belonging within a group which they are not receiving from outside of the group.
For years, there have been problems surrounding the definition of the term 'cult'. The literal and traditional meanings of the word cult, which are more fully explored at the entry Cult (religion), come from the Latin cultus, meaning "care" or "adoration," as "a system of religious belief or ritual; or: the body of adherents to same." In French or Spanish, culte or culto simply means "worship" or "religious attendance"; therefore an association cultuelle is an association whose goal is to organize religious worship and practices. The word for "cult" in the popular English meaning is secte (French) or secta (Spanish). In formal English use, and in non-English European terms, the cognates of the English word "cult" are neutral, and refer mainly to divisions within a single faith, a case where English speakers might use the word "sect". Hence Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy and Protestantism are cults within Christianity. However, in common usage, "cult" has a very negative connotation, and is generally applied to a group in order to criticize it. Understandably, most groups, if not all, that are called "cults" deny this term. Some groups called "cults" by some critics may consider themselves not to be "cults", but may consider some other groups to be "cults". Although anti-cult activists and scholars did not agree on precise criteria that new religions should meet to be considered "cults," two of the definitions formulated by anti-cult activists are: Cults are groups that often exploit members psychologically and/or financially, typically by making members comply with leadership's demands through certain types of psychological manipulation, popularly called mind control, and through the inculcation of d...
Cults have existed throughout history since the beginning of time. A cult is defined in Webster’s dictionary as a “system of religious worship with a devoted attachment to a person, principle, etc.” Over the past thirty years numerous religious cults have caused “ tens of thousands to abandon their families, friends, education’s, and careers to follow the teaching of a leader they will never meet”(Beck 78).
Not to confuse a cult from that of religion because they are different. Religion is an organization of people who are there for a purpose of serving something, however, they are free to have an opinion and thought, free to information, family is encouraged, and clergy are expected to be leading the group as their mentor. In a cult families are broken apart, the members are limited to the information available, and they are expected to not have a voice or opinion other than that of the leader. (Cult Hotline and Clinic)
Cult activity has been on the rise over the past few decades. With it there has been an increase in the fear surrounding it. From this fear, society has learned much about cults, how they get members and what to look out for as far as cult recruiters go. Society as a whole has also learned what can be done to deal with cults.
Cult- a system of religious veneration and devotion directed toward a particular figure or object.
Recovered memories of childhood trauma and abuse has become one of the most controversial issues within the field of psychology. Controversy surrounding repressed memory - sometimes referred to as the memory wars – reached its’ peak in the early 1990s, where there was a rise in the number of people reporting memories of childhood trauma and abuse that had allegedly been repressed for many years (Lindsay & Read, 2001). There are a number of different factors that have contributed to the dispute surrounding recovered memories. Firstly, there is an ongoing debate about whether these types of memories actually exist or whether these accusations arose as a result of suggestive therapeutic procedures. In particular, this debate focuses on two main
Although cults have become a very common practice in our society, not many people actually know what a cult is. A cult is a group that demonstrates an excessive dedication to an idea, person or thing. Cults will conduct manipulative and persuasive behavior to advance the goals of the leader (Langone). There are many different types of cults, but they usually fall into four categories: Religious, Commercial, Self Help and Counselling or Political. Many people mistake religions as cults, but that is not the case. Religious cults are cults that center around a belief system as many common religions do, but they are categorized as a cult because of their practices and mind control. Common religions do not practice these techniques. Commercial cults are those that are interested in gaining money. These cults use their scare tactics and mind control techniques to get members to give them money and even work for them. Self Help and Counselling cults are centered around a business that has programs designed to help people by counselling them. By taking their courses, members are told they will become better people. This of course is not the case and these cults are inte...
The word “cult” has a very negative connotation in modern society as a result of it being applied to several religious groups that have violated basic moral or societal rules. It is regularly applied by the media to groups that are considered to be “deviant, dangerous or corrupt” (1). “The Theological use of the word “cult” is most evident in Christian Evangelical literature.” (2) Here, a cult is described by Walter Ralston Martin as “a group, religious in nature which surrounds a leader or a group of teaching which either denies or misinterprets essential Biblical doctrine.”(2) Another definition by Charles Braden is “those religious groups that differ significantly from those religious groups that are regarded as the normative expression of religion in our total culture.” And “a group of people gathered about a specific person or person’s misinterpretation of the Bible.”(2). Two very vague definitions that could apply to just about any faith that doesn’t align with what the...