The group is focused on a leader to whom members seem to display excessively zealous, unquestioning commitment. (So zealous that they will dedicate their entire lives to it)
it's called having dedication to do it. how is being a pastor or a religious leader bad? and again, where are you getting all of this?
The group is preoccupied with bringing in new members. ("Witnessing")
the bible has a very clear statement. go unto the world, speak the teachings of God. very simple. this doesn't make anyone part of a cult. it is part of having faith in God. There are people who take it to extremes but certainly the majority of Christians will not take to being excessive.
The group is preoccupied with making money. (pretty common)
so are a lot of people, what's your point?
what does money have anything to do with it? a church has to stay afloat. there are people depending on it. most pastors don't make very much money at all. you don't become a pastor to make money. you do it because you're dedicated to your faith.
Questioning, doubt, and dissent are discouraged or even punished. (very common- esp in catholic branch but even methodist)
can't speak for the catholics or methodists but I certainly know that I'm encouraged to express any opinions or ask any questions I choose to.
Mind-numbing techniques (such as meditation, chanting, speaking in tongues, denunciation sessions, debilitating work routines) are used to suppress doubts about the group and its leader(s). (okay- this is not used- one for the christians as a non-cult)
the meditation referring to Christians is different from meditation you may be thinking of, in reference to buddhists or hindus. Christian 'meditation' is more like studying. Studying the bible, it's message and the implications and applications to life. it's not chanting.
and speaking in tongues is only accepted in certain denominations. in many denominations, it is not practiced and to lump that in means you don't know much about the Christian faith.
The leadership dictates sometimes in great detail how members should think, act, and feel (for example: members must get permission from leaders to date, change jobs, get married; leaders may prescribe what types of clothes to wear, where to live, how to discipline children, and so forth). (Pretty common- huge social pressure to marry in the church- bring children up in the church- etc)
Again, what church are you looking at?! I know Bob Jones University and Pensacola College have a lot of issues with those and the MAJORITY (i'd even dare about 95%) of Christians disagree with Bob Jones and controlling people. I have NEVER been told what to wear, who to date, what job to take or where to live. If you're going to say that leaders do that, you better be able to differentiate between which leaders do and which leaders don't. Not all of them do that, not very many of them do that.
The group is elitist, claiming a special, exalted status for itself, its leader(s), and members (for example: the leader is considered the Messiah or an avatar; the group and/or the leader has a special mission to save humanity). (The leader is dead but otherwise-- check)
On the contrary, one of the fundamental beliefs of Christianity is acknowleging one's own sin and one's own shortcomings. You're saying that Christians worship a leader who is 'dead'. Jesus is God, therefore he does not die. He came to earth as man, died for the sins of everyone, rose again, returned to heaven. Christians don't worship Jesus the MAN, they worship God. Jesus, the man, died. Jesus in his original form, God, can't die.
The group has a polarized us- versus-them mentality, which causes conflict with the wider society. (ye gods is
Again, where are you basing this? where have you found a large number of people who don't welcome non-believers?
I've never been to a church where the congregation kept unbelievers out. Never. We welcome them, not in the 'hey, let's convert them' manner but a lot of times there are people who need help, whether mentally or emotionally and in my experiences, no one is an irrational thinker when they welcome people from all walks of life just because they want to help. I don't know what your experiences have been but you've got it wrong when you say Christianity is ALL about keeping other people out.
I have friends of all walks of life, gay, straight, bi, whatever political stance, whatever religious stance. I understand there are differences between the way we live and believe but I'm not keeping them out of any congregation.
How many people does it take to constitute as a whole? I'd say all of them is what it takes to make a whole. So if you want to say that all Christians are irrational and 'never had a chance' then I'd like to counter that with 'some of them are irrational' but unless you know every single Christian on the face of the earth, you can't assume that all of Christianity is conspiring to keep people out and are irrational thinkers.
Sunday school serves to teach children bible stories (big fish and jonah, feeding of the 5,000, etc) and make crafts. How many sunday schools have you sat in on? You act as if Sunday school teachers are training kids to be assasins.
Saying I never had a chance means that you know me well enough to assume so. You don't know me, don't say that I never had a chance. How do you know? I didn't even grow up a Christian. I've been on both sides.
On what do you base this idea that people who are religious are brainwashed? Seriously, I'd really like to know what you think.
As Peyna said, that verse is in reference to praying in private.
The verse is aimed at Pharisees, the holy men of the city that were arrogant and believed so much in the laws that they thought they had to follow that they pretty much ruined the fun for everyone else. They put themselves on such a high pedestal that Jesus knocked them off and they hated him for it. Jesus was saying, "be proud of your religion and pray out loud if you want, but don't pray in front of people if the reason why you're praying is to show off. do it because you genuinely love God"
and that's what the verse is about, it's not telling people to keep their prayers quiet.
So I'm an unintelligent cult member? I don't know what kind of people you have been exposed to but the ID issue aside, assuming every Christian is not capable of rational thought is a generalization that is horrendous. Have you met a lot of Christians to back up your claims or are you just saying that obviously, since one or two idiots out there happen to claim they are Christian, all of them are?
Irrationality is a human condition, not a religious one. You can get irrational thinking from anyone of any background, religious or none.
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it's called having dedication to do it. how is being a pastor or a religious leader bad? and again, where are you getting all of this?
the bible has a very clear statement. go unto the world, speak the teachings of God. very simple. this doesn't make anyone part of a cult. it is part of having faith in God. There are people who take it to extremes but certainly the majority of Christians will not take to being excessive.
so are a lot of people, what's your point? what does money have anything to do with it? a church has to stay afloat. there are people depending on it. most pastors don't make very much money at all. you don't become a pastor to make money. you do it because you're dedicated to your faith.
can't speak for the catholics or methodists but I certainly know that I'm encouraged to express any opinions or ask any questions I choose to.
the meditation referring to Christians is different from meditation you may be thinking of, in reference to buddhists or hindus. Christian 'meditation' is more like studying. Studying the bible, it's message and the implications and applications to life. it's not chanting. and speaking in tongues is only accepted in certain denominations. in many denominations, it is not practiced and to lump that in means you don't know much about the Christian faith.
Again, what church are you looking at?! I know Bob Jones University and Pensacola College have a lot of issues with those and the MAJORITY (i'd even dare about 95%) of Christians disagree with Bob Jones and controlling people. I have NEVER been told what to wear, who to date, what job to take or where to live. If you're going to say that leaders do that, you better be able to differentiate between which leaders do and which leaders don't. Not all of them do that, not very many of them do that.
On the contrary, one of the fundamental beliefs of Christianity is acknowleging one's own sin and one's own shortcomings. You're saying that Christians worship a leader who is 'dead'. Jesus is God, therefore he does not die. He came to earth as man, died for the sins of everyone, rose again, returned to heaven. Christians don't worship Jesus the MAN, they worship God. Jesus, the man, died. Jesus in his original form, God, can't die.
*shakes head* that is one big menace. how fast do you think he can type in those big gloves?
Again, where are you basing this? where have you found a large number of people who don't welcome non-believers? I've never been to a church where the congregation kept unbelievers out. Never. We welcome them, not in the 'hey, let's convert them' manner but a lot of times there are people who need help, whether mentally or emotionally and in my experiences, no one is an irrational thinker when they welcome people from all walks of life just because they want to help. I don't know what your experiences have been but you've got it wrong when you say Christianity is ALL about keeping other people out. I have friends of all walks of life, gay, straight, bi, whatever political stance, whatever religious stance. I understand there are differences between the way we live and believe but I'm not keeping them out of any congregation. How many people does it take to constitute as a whole? I'd say all of them is what it takes to make a whole. So if you want to say that all Christians are irrational and 'never had a chance' then I'd like to counter that with 'some of them are irrational' but unless you know every single Christian on the face of the earth, you can't assume that all of Christianity is conspiring to keep people out and are irrational thinkers. Sunday school serves to teach children bible stories (big fish and jonah, feeding of the 5,000, etc) and make crafts. How many sunday schools have you sat in on? You act as if Sunday school teachers are training kids to be assasins. Saying I never had a chance means that you know me well enough to assume so. You don't know me, don't say that I never had a chance. How do you know? I didn't even grow up a Christian. I've been on both sides. On what do you base this idea that people who are religious are brainwashed? Seriously, I'd really like to know what you think.
As Peyna said, that verse is in reference to praying in private. The verse is aimed at Pharisees, the holy men of the city that were arrogant and believed so much in the laws that they thought they had to follow that they pretty much ruined the fun for everyone else. They put themselves on such a high pedestal that Jesus knocked them off and they hated him for it. Jesus was saying, "be proud of your religion and pray out loud if you want, but don't pray in front of people if the reason why you're praying is to show off. do it because you genuinely love God" and that's what the verse is about, it's not telling people to keep their prayers quiet.
So I'm an unintelligent cult member? I don't know what kind of people you have been exposed to but the ID issue aside, assuming every Christian is not capable of rational thought is a generalization that is horrendous. Have you met a lot of Christians to back up your claims or are you just saying that obviously, since one or two idiots out there happen to claim they are Christian, all of them are?
Irrationality is a human condition, not a religious one. You can get irrational thinking from anyone of any background, religious or none.