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. In order to gain supporters/followers Applewhite and Nettles began by opening a specialty bookstore. The bookstore was greatly unsuccessful therefore they took to the road. Together they traveled to throughout the United States giving talks about their belief system. They combined the Christian doctrine (salvation and apocalypses) with evolutionary scientific concepts in which proposed travel to other worlds and dimensions, via unidentified flying objects (UFOs). As I have previously mentioned, the Heaven’s Gate Cult’s purpose was to prepare those on earth for recycling, In order to further elaborate on this concept, Applewhite believed that Earth existed on a continuum. And it was his duty to carry on the last task, as promised by the Book of Revelation; to provide vessels in which souls returned to heaven. This process according to Book of Revelation, offered a way for cult members to gain access or membership into the evolutionary level above human. According to Applewhite the evolutionary level above human is synonymous with the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Heaven. The only way to enter was to join Applewhite and Nettles and learn to release themselves of their “humanness” and their material possessions. The group was very close knit; they shared all that they had communally. Some of the men even went as far as undergoing voluntary castration. ... ... middle of paper ... ...instituted fear into his followers by telling them that if they do not join his cause they will lose their souls forever upon the recycling of the planet Earth. Hence, the only way to save their soul was to rid themselves of their human nature. The last technique that Applewhite used to gain his students trust was institution of power and importance. Applewhite told his followers that he was a member of the evolutionary kingdom bought to earth in order to prepare its inhabitants for re-enlightenment; to teach them how to be saved and not “plowed under” with the others. (Initiation Video one) These behaviors, along with many others not discussed here allowed Applewhite and Nettles to gain and maintain control of their followers. Behaviors such as these can be seen in practice today, not necessarily in cults, allowing us to further explore how and why cults develop.
This event changed the role of American religion during the early nineteenth century. Non-traditional religions such as Mormonism resulted from this religious revival movement as well. The religious revivals that emphasized individual choice of humans over predestination of God continuously shook New England Calvinism. The “cult of Matthias” was unlike any other religious groups during the time period.
As a result of the exposure to various beliefs and practices the religions of African slaves transformed into a hodge-podge of magickal practices
Jehovah’s Witness started as a bible study movement in 1870 by Charles Taze Russell. In 1879, Russell started a magazine called Zion Watchtower and the organization became the Zion’s Watchtower Track Society in 1884, and in 1908 Russell moved the headquarters to Brooklyn, New York where the organization has been based ever since. After Russell’s death in 1916, the organization was lead by a man called Franklin Rutherford. Rutherford led the organization very successfully and in 1931 the name “Jehovah’s Witnesses” were adopted. Rutherford wrote over hundred books and fundamentally shaping group’s theology. The Jehovah’s Witness publishes magazines “Watchtower” and “Awake” which circulates about twenty seven million and thirty two million copies respectively nowadays. And because Jehovah’s Witness do not have professional clergy, the Watchtower magazine also functions as means of distributing its doctrine and practice to faithful worldwide.
The Gospel Spreading Church was founded by a man by the name of Elder Solomon “Lightfoot” Michaux, who was born, raised, and educated in Virginia. In 1906, Lightfoot came to Mary Eliza Pauline, a woman one year his junior, was born and raised in the church. With hard work and dedication, by the age of 34, Lightfoot, had become “a prosperous business man, securing large government contracts to furnish food to defense establishments.” Mrs. Michaux prayed for the salvation of her husband daily, and one day, “God saved him and from that time forward, they worked as a team in gospel ministry.” One year after finding salvation, Elder Michaux was ordained and licensed. He then began preaching at a small church called “Everybody’s Mission” which he had built up from scratch. Moving from Everybody’s Mission, Michaux began once again to build a church, this time starting from a tent. It was here, in this tent, that one hundred and fifty people would come to accept the Lord as their Savior, and would join the Michaux family in becoming the foundation of the Gospel Spreading Church (GSC).
Jehovah’s Witnesses, a sect of the Adventist movement, founded in 1872 by Charles Taze Russell are one of the most unusually strict biblical literalist groups in the world. They are strict to their interpretation of scripture to a fault, as intentional communities go this, as most religion based groups, is one which depends upon the charisma of the biblical character Jesus while looking almost yearningly forward to the “end of days” a time during which the supposedly wicked will be cast into purgatory and the chosen will ascend to heaven, and the righteous will inherit the earth to live in paradise for eternity.
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.
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.
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 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.
His evidence for the sub-argument on the initial transition into Methodism from other denominations is well done in that he explains why the people would have switched to Methodism and what about the denomination was more appealing to the people. The evidence for the itinerancy was compellingly effective because he explained the far reaching hands of Methodism that would have stretched far enough for the scattered and unreachable people to be covered. His argument for the social aspect of Methodism was covered by his facts and statistics of attendance for Methodist functions and how Methodism became the people’s entire lives. His evidence for the sub-argument on African-American Methodism was particularly compelling as it made clear how Methodism had captivated the African-American population and turned many people against slavery, which was a huge culture shift. The support for the sub-argument for women’s roles in the movement was fair enough in showing that they held the movement together through their hospitality for itinerants and their fervor and willingness for the gospel. Overall, the support and evidence was
Such total separation, the group preached, was necessary because Earth's human structures --governmental, economic and, especially, religious -- were under the control of demonic forces: “Luciferians” and evil “space aliens,” in the group's terms. In time, they began calling themselves “the Two,” a reference to the “two witnesses” of Christ foretold in the Bible's Book of Revelation. According to the Bible, the two witnesses are prophets who will be slain by a beast from the bottomless pit, then be resurrected and ascend to Heaven. They were both anti-establishment and intolerant, calling for total separation from society, simple living with shared resources, and adherence to a rigorous moral code. Applewhite also required members of the cult to dress, talk, and look the same.
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).
Garden of Eden, where the power of naming everything and creating a world that fit into
Up until this point I had never known about the concept of a new heaven. I had heard about the new earth, but new heaven was foreign. I had wondered before this class what would happen to everyone in heaven when Jesus came again. I guess I just thought that whoever was in heaven at that time would stay there, and all the believers on earth would live on the new earth separately. Now that I think about it, that logic sounds odd. It does not really make sense that everyone would be separated for eternity. It seems more reasonable that heaven would come down to earth and together they would be new. It does not really matter where heaven is because it is wherever God is, so when God decides to renew the earth, he is coming down to dwell on it
God made a tree, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the tree had a fruit that was forbidden. God said not to eat the forbidden fruit, but the serpent on the tree persuaded Eve to eat the forbidden fruit and Adam tasted the forbidden fruit too. Adam and Eve lost their innocence immediately, and they became ashamed of their nakedness and they covered themself with leaves, when God saw they had not listened to him he kicked Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden.