October 25th, 2020
I was thinking about The Social Dilemma on Netflix and I somehow got to thinking about another show on Netflix called Explained and specifically the one episode they have on cults (which is also on YouTube). I don’t wish to summarize the episode here, but it was essentially about famous cults, what makes a cult a cult, and how a person may get involved with one, and how they may be able to escape it. One thing that I’ve thought about has been how some religious organizations seem to operate like cults. I just finished watching this TEDx presentation on Youtube: Why I Left and Evangelical Cult by Dawn Smith. In the video, she talks about the experiences of growing up in The Assembly, some of the things she experienced, and how she left. She described her particular cult as an evangelical fundamentalist non-denominational religious fringe group whose charismatic leader could do whatever he wanted. This is an example of a definite cult that uses the Bible as its operating system and there are certainly other “cults” that use the Bible as their operating system. This is most certainly dangerous but makes me think about what other religious institutions are cults. I think most mainstream Christians would agree that Mormonism and Jehovah’s witness seem like cults, but what if the organization they’re engaged in resembles a cult in some way. I tend to think of this cultic-ness as existing on a spectrum. I don’t think we would say that the Westboro Baptist Church or the groups shown in the Netflix documentary American Gospel: Christ Alone (Televangelists preaching the prosperity gospel) are cults per se, but there is certainly a level of indoctrination and exploitation that exists within these organizations that would certainly give discerning individuals pause. A particular thing that has given me pause in my own life is when I’ve attended a worship service where folks are waving their hands in the air and “allowing the holy spirit to move through them”. This is very weird to me and makes me a little uncomfortable, but I’m sure is very normal and natural for the people that are taking part in it. It may be that because I didn’t grow up around this kind of worship it seems unnatural for me and while I don’t think it’s a bad thing in and of itself, it reminds me of the kinds of crazy movements that I’ve seen in some of the cultic and televangelist videos. It seems for me to be a visible sign that someone is wrapped up emotionally in their particular religion and I think that when a person is too emotionally invested in their religion, they may abandon reason and fall victim to the kind of exploitation and indoctrination found in the cultic and televangelist groups. I think there is a fine line when it comes to religion between what is normal and healthy and what is abnormal and unhealthy which is why I feel the need to be vigilant against it. From what I’ve seen and experienced, I feel that some of the popular megachurches may operate somewhat close to this line, and for me, I think coming close to the line is very concerning. I think this is why I want to reject things like fundamentalism and young-earth creationism because I want to stay as far away from that line as possible as I see it as a slippery slope leading to some unhealthy and potentially dangerous behaviors. I think this is why I embrace progressive Christianity because it doesn’t seek to reject what research of the natural world has taught us, but rather seeks to incorporate, reform, and update our understanding of the divine in the context of this new knowledge. Similarly, a progressive Christian does not seem to promote this idea that they have a monopoly on truth the way a fundamentalist Christian might promote it. If I learned one thing in my graduate studies, it is that a wise man knows the limit of his knowledge and does not claim to know anything beyond that. It seems that what I most often think about when it comes to different religious groups is seeing the results of their specific beliefs. Are those beliefs causing harm? If so, what is the root cause? I think in a lot of situations religious fundamentalism/literalism can be seen as the root cause (see this video from the documentary For the Bible Tells Me So which talks about homosexuality). I don’t want to have beliefs that can be pointed to as the root cause of harm in the world. This is why it is so important for me to be a discerning individual and not take what anybody says to be the truth without doing my own investigation and forming my own opinions. Likewise, I want to raise my children this way, which is why I think it important to find the right partner who has not fallen victim hanging on every word their charismatic church leader says. In summary, I’ve found that I get this pseudo-cult-like vibe from some Christians and Christian organizations out there and while I don’t think there is anything wrong with some of these individuals and groups, it concerns me that most of the potential Christian partners I interact with are going to be involved in these groups. Similarly, someone who is not big into Christianity may get those same pseudo-cult-like vibes from me.