The Big Lie(about Theism)

599 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Impact of religion on youth

The Big Lie I have been going to church since I was three years old. I also attended Sunday school since I was three. Since then I have been confirmed as a member of the church and have actively participated in the senior high youth program at my church. All of these years I figured that I would "grow into god", well at least that is what my pastor said. I think of myself now, at seventeen years old, and I still have not "grown into god". I have many reasons why I chose atheism.

First I think of church as a bunch of hogwash. When I take a step back to look at the church, here is what I see. I see a god that has not shown any proof for that last 2000 years (if even then), I also see a god that has left no evidence, except for the cross. Lets talk about the cross for a moment. Jesus was supposed to have carried this huge cross only to be nailed to it and hung among thieves.

First off, if Jesus was this big threat to a king and supposed to be the Son of God would not one think that he would go out with a bigger ceremony. I do not think that the king would just hand him among thieves. Second, on the third day he was supposed to move this huge stone and "rise". What is rising anyway did he just magically lift into the air without making a sound and no one seeing him. Or was it more of a fade away into nothing, if that was so why did he move the stone?

I see many similarities between the church and a cult. What is a cult? A cult as I see it is people who blindly dedicate time and money to a higher power in which they have never seen evidence of, same as the church. The main difference between a church and a cult as I see it is the church has history. Many cults can be self-destructive, hence the church is thought to be stronger. The people of the church also have this book they cling to, the bible.

This bible was supposed to be written thousands of years ago and supposed to have actual quotes from Jesus himself. First how could a book last this long?

Show More
Related

  • David Koresh and the Branch Davidians

    3296 Words  | 7 Pages

    Cultic activity has taken place since the practice of religion was established thousands of years ago. Since then, literally thousands of denominations have been inoculated throughout the world, especially in the United States. A cult, according to Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary is a system of religious beliefs and rituals. By definition, this includes organizations such as Baptists, Catholics as well as Satanists and Witches. While this maybe true, cults have been popularly perceived as Separatists who are consumed by the belief of apocalyptic events, and the leader is someone who believes he or she is chosen by God or some other deity to lead those who are to follow him or her. One group that fits this description is the Branch-Davidians. In the early 1990’s the Branch-Davidians made national headlines when they had a deadly standoff with government agents in Waco, Texas, where many perished, including their infamous leader, David Koresh. To understand why this happened, we must understand the history, beliefs and the determination of the Branch-Davidians to defy the government by stockpiling arms, supplies and taking refuge in Waco, Texas. We must also enter the world of David Koresh to make sense of how he was able to have the impact he did on the minds of members of the Branch Davidians.

    Read More

  • The Jonestown Massacre: Jim Jones

    866 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Cults And Jews

    1012 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Cults and Their Leaders

    4160 Words  | 9 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Jonestown

    2195 Words  | 5 Pages

    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).

    Read More

  • Cults

    571 Words  | 2 Pages

    Many people feel that cults are nothing more than a nontraditional religion, because of beliefs, organization, and interest. Cults are much more than just little religions. They are a dangerous, and in the United States there is little we can do about it.

    Read More

  • Cult Activities and Psychological Manipulation

    542 Words  | 2 Pages

    Cults are organizations that generally portray their own types of religion and generate practices. Cults typically do not follow the common moral code of their surrounding societies. In other words, cults make their own society by drawing in members through close friends and family members. Organizations that have been targeted as cults include the Amway Motivational Organizations and Scientology. Not only are these organizations classified as a cult through their Pyramidal structure and regulation of member behaviors, but they are also classified as a cult through their psychological manipulation.

    Read More

  • Rewriting the Bible

    687 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...s distorted by authors who are not qualified in writing it and the chance for a soul to be transformed by the Word of God is lost. There are many works out there that misrepresent the image of God and His word. People take it and mold it into what they want it to be, and what they need to hear. There must be an understanding of the importance of God’s word. In order to preserve the Bible for future generations, the Bible must stay intact in its original form, translated rather than rewritten.

    Read More

  • Early Christianity

    550 Words  | 2 Pages

    When Jesus visited Jerusalem around 29 AD, he found enthusiastic crowds greeting him as the messiah. However he was arrested for not worshiping pagan Roman gods and was sentenced to death on a cross. While he was hanging awaiting death he forgave those who had killed him and those who had worshipped him the day before were denying him. After his crucifixion he was placed in a tomb, on the third day he rose, and greeted his followers, further convincing them that he was the messiah.

    Read More

  • Cults Essay

    1534 Words  | 4 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Analysis of John Saliba´s Understanding New Religious Movements

    800 Words  | 2 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Common Misconceptions About Christianity

    267 Words  | 1 Pages

    There are many misconceptions about Christianity. One is that Christianity is primarily based on blind faith. Christianity is not primarily based on blind faith, but as a substitute belief primarily based on evidence. Blind faith is superstition. Another common misconceptions are We get to heaven primarily based on how precise we are right here on earth. Well, we do get to heaven based totally on properly works, but not our precise works! We get to heaven primarily based on the works of Jesus Christ! The Bible teaches that no one is desirable adequate to get to heaven based totally on their desirable works. It is Christ’s sacrifice for our sins that saves us from God’s wrath and hell. This is the biggest single false impression about Christianity.

    Read More

  • Why Nobody Wants To Go To Church Analysis

    601 Words  | 2 Pages

    In my transition point in life from high school to college, I had many questions. This is a time in your life where you are introduced to so many claims of truth, evolution, atheism, Islam, and the list goes on. Sadly, during my transition point in life, no local ministries help me during this time. They wanted to stay away from the hard topics, leaving me to fend for myself. There was a point where I almost gave up my faith due to Christian hating college professors and my life, which was heavily involved with science.

    Read More

  • Sect Church Cycle Essay

    491 Words  | 1 Pages

    People often accept a church into their community because churches are believed to bring safety and security to those that need it. A cult has a very high tension and has a low acceptance. Cults usually cause problems within their community and are usually not accepted because they often believe in the super natural. An example that was given was the cult called The Two. This cult believed that the world was doomed and that the only people that were going to be saved was the people that were highly disciplined.

    Read More

  • &quot;My Faith&quot;

    625 Words  | 2 Pages

    Thus, without an option, I was attending religious classes each Sunday morning and listening to what I thought were boring and useless sermons. I was never given a choice; I had to believe. I felt I had no freedom in what I could think or believe; it was all predetermined for me. I became frustrated and, after memorizing what I needed to memorize, I got confirmed and stopped going to church. About six months later, our church was in sudden turmoil: our council asked our pastor of 8 years to resign his position, or he would be "let go." Mo...

    Read More

More about The Big Lie(about Theism)

Open Document