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The heaven's gate cult essay
The heaven's gate cult essay
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Heaven’s Gate was a cult founded in 1972 by Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie Nettles. The beliefs behind the Heaven’s Gate cult was based around unidentified foreign objects (UFO). Members of this cult believed the Earth was about to be “recycled” and that the only way to survive was to leave Earth. The members commit suicide with the belief it was the only way they could make it to the “Next Level”. Marshall Applewhite was born on May 17, 1931 in Spur, Texas. Applewhite grew up very religious, as his father was a Presbyterian minister. Applewhite enrolled at the Union Presbyterian Seminary in the hopes of becoming a minister, however, he later decided to pursue a music career instead. Later, Applewater began teaching at the University …show more content…
Nettles was raised in a Baptist family but as an adult she distanced herself from the religion. Nettles marriage was mostly stable until 1972 when she claimed a 19th century monk spoke to her and gave her instructions. Additionally, Nettles went to fortune tellers who said she would meet a tall man with a fair complexion and light hair; this description matched Applewhite whom she later met in March, 1972. Nettles introduced Applewhite to her “spiritual” practices and the pair quickly become inseparable, both believing they had met before in a previous life. The pair came to the agreement that they were the two witnesses mentioned in the Book of Revelation; this was one of the first steps they made towards starting Heaven’s …show more content…
The members of Heaven’s Gate lived in close proximity to each other, always living in the same towns and oftentimes sharing houses or campers. Because all of the members were so close to one another, individual members were more likely to be obedient because of other members who may be watching them and who have possibly set a standard in the cult. Depersonalization was a major factor of obedience in Heaven’s Gate. Members has to disassociate with their friends, family, employers, employees, and any other aspect Applewhite deemed “humanlike”. By taking away the main factors which make a person unique and “humanlike”, Applewhite effectively depersonalizes his followers, which makes obedience from these people much easier to
The reunification of upper and Lower Egypt catalysed the syncretism of prominent sun deities Amun and Re. Consequently, a powerful cult emerged that became the prevailing religious ideology, as well as an important political power base which secured dynastic legitimacy. The importance and impact of the Amun cult is diverse, as it developed social cohesion, shaped the ideology of kingship, facilitated economic and military prosperity, and formed a new power base; the Amun Priesthood.
Malcolm X was born in May 19, 1925, birth place was University Hospital in Omaha, Nebraska. Malcolm birth name was Malcolm little, birth parents were Earl little and Louise (norton) little. Malcolm was a Civil rights activist. Malcolm was intelligent and articulate, Malcolm was then appointed as a minister and a national spokesman for the nation Islam. Malcom used newspaper columns as well as radio and television to communicate the NOI’s message across the United States. The charisma he had was well shown and attracted an astounding number of new members. Malcolm was given lots of cre...
Everyone is in a consumer’s hypnosis, even if you think you are not. When you go to a store and pick one brand over the other, you are now under their spell. The spell/ hypnosis is how companies get you to buy there things over other companies and keep you hooked. Either through commercials or offering something that you think will make your life better by what they tell you. For example, you go to the store and you need to buy water, once you get to the lane and look, there is 10 different types of water you can buy. You go pick one either because the picture is better or you seen the commercial the other day and you want it. During the length of this paper we will talk about two important writers, Kalle Lasn the writer of “The Cult You’re in” and Benoit Denizet-Lewis writer of “ The Man Behind Abercrombie & Fitch”. They both talk about similar topics that go hand and hand with each other, they talk about the consumers “Dream”, how companies recruit the consumers, who cult members really are, how people are forced to wear something they don’t want, and about slackers.
The Heaven’s Gate Cult was founded in the early 1970’s by Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie Nettles. Applewhite was recovering, under the care of his nurse Ms. Nettles, when he claimed to have has a near death experience. Applewhite claimed that he and Nettles were the two witnesses spoken of in the Book of Revelation. And they were to prepare the worlds inhabitants for recycling.
Malcolm X was born on 1925 in Ohama, Nebraska. He was born in a big family. His father, Earl little was a Christian. Malcolm X grew up as the son of the blacks who face discrimination and pressure from the whites. Malcolm X left school early and find work in New York. He worked as a waiter in Harlem. His life was tough. He even sells drugs to and become addicted to it. He later becomes robbers. He was arrested and jailed in 1946.
In the most recent Solar Temple incident, Didier Queze, 39, a baker, his wife Chantale Goupillot, 41, her mother and two others of the faithful exploded themselves into oblivion in St.-Casimir, Quebec; they had attempted to take their three teenaged children with them, but at the last minute the three drugged teens dragged themselves out of the explosive-rigged house and hid in a storage shed. Members of the Solar Temple cult believe that the explosions that cause the fragmentation of their earthly bodies will propel them to Sirius, a star in the constellation Canus Major (Lacayo 44). And, of course, most recently thirty-nine people in matching clothes, members of the Heaven’s Gate cult in Rancho Santa Fe, California, were found lying peacefully in their beds at their rented hillside mansion, hands at their sides, dead. Cult members had taken their own lives on the weeken... ... middle of paper ... ...
Mystery cults greatly influenced the development of Pythagoreanism as Pythagoreans adopted many of their traditions, behaviors and beliefs. Pythagoras, the founder of the Pythagoreans, established a school in which he developed and taught these adopted cultural behaviors and beliefs. "The nature of daily living in the school, both its moral and its intellectual disciplines, can perhaps best be understood as an intellectualized development from earlier mystery cults such as the Eleusinian" (Wheelwright 201). The Pythagoreans and the mystery cults were not identical, but they shared many similar beliefs on subjects such as the soul, transmigration and reincarnation, and they practiced many of the traditions of initiation, ritual and secrecy. Pythagoreans combined the mystery cults' views on these subjects with philosophical thought as a foundation to develop their own unique beliefs.
The church of Scientology has been the subject of controversy since its inception. Its methods and beliefs have attracted the attention of scholars from around the world. The church has been under government investigation and has endured a countless amount of lawsuits (Reitman 14). It is also a hot topic by the media with several endorsements by some of the most recognized Hollywood celebrities. However, the main topic of debate regarding the Church of Scientology is its status as a religion. Some members claim that the church has helped them overcome their struggles and that they are happier people, while others condemn it as a dangerous cult (Sweeney). The church of Scientology is a religious group whose purpose is to retain their members with the promise of spiritual enlightenment. Its controversial history, beliefs, and practices reveal the church’s commitment to keep its members.
Malcolm X was born in May 19, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska. Malcolm’s full name was Malcolm Little. Malcolm was the 4th out of the 7th child. His parents were Earl Little and Louise Norton. Malcolm's early life was very difficult. Malcolm was only six when his father died. Later on when Malcolm was thirteen his mother was put into a mental hospital in 1939. In 1940 Malcolm was put into a foster home where he then had to live in. Malcolm went to West Junior High School in 1938.
For many years, cult leaders always had a psychological hold on their followers' minds. Whether it was to kill other people or to kill themselves, they did it without question. Some cult leaders used fear, violence and guilt as a means of a weapon to control the minds of their followers. Other cult leaders used persuasive and spiritual speeches that made their followers believe they were doing good and fulfilling God's plan. Because cult leaders are powerful through psychological offenses, the people that belong to their cults are brainwashed into doing things they wouldn't normally do in their right state of mind.
When most hear the word cult, they imagine mass murderings and warn their children “don’t drink the kool-aid. However, a cult is defined only as a “religion or religious sect generally considered to be extremist or false, with its followers often living in an unconventional manner under the guidance of an authoritarian, charismatic leader”. These systems or communities rely on worship and ritual. There is no mention of violence or bloodshed in this definition. However, “destructive cults” are a whole other story and are often the ones making the news headlines. These destructive cults use unethical means as a way to control and manipulate to bring thought reform (defined as the systematic alteration of a person's mode of thinking). Ironically, these destructive cults give an illusion of self control and freedom to its members. It is estimated that five to seven million American’s have been in cults or cult-line groups according to the cult hotline, of course this is a hard number to properly caluclate.
In conclusion, the entire aura of the Heaven’s Gate cult seems like something straight out of a late night TV movie. Like most millennialist groups, members held a firm belief in an oncoming apocalypse and that only an elect few would achieve salvation. The spread of their doctrine on the Internet brought about widespread concern over the power of the web. The argument has subsided, however, with the passage of time. I, for one, find the supposed link between the Internet and cult activities rather absurd. Extreme gullibility and brainwashing, I believe, would be the only ways a recruit would ever accept such an outlandish set of beliefs.
A cult is a good place for social outcasts to express their ideas freely, to feel safe, and to be enlightened for the future. A cult is a good thing to be involved in especially if you are a delinquent or criminal. Most people that join cults have a desire to belong, a lack of self-confidence, a desire for spiritual meaning, or to quit their addictions. A cult is a religious group that is not part of a larger and more accepted religion and that has beliefs regarded by many people as extreme. The word cult, which formerly referred to an organized system of worship, is now a term that slanders any religion that you don’t know about and don’t like. “The term has come to do for religion what nigger has done for race relations” (Fellowship of Eternal Desire).
...on November 18, 1978, 912 corpses were found. It has been 31 years since this tragedy occurred and today, the Peoples Temple is known to be the most recognized cult of all time. The People’s Temple was one of many lethal cults along with Branch Davidians which was led by David Koresh and Heaven’s Gate proving that many cults are hazardous. Cults will always be a very controversial subject.
King was born in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1929; he was the son and grandson of Baptist ministers. A bright student, entered college at the age of fifth teen. Then three years later he graduated and entered a seminary to study to become a minister