why is your religion the 'right' one?

You are a non believer in the existence of God but a believer in the non existence of God.------------------
-chris

messenjaH responds to me:

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Atheists BELIEVE there is no God? Making them believers?

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No.Atheists have no belief in god. This makes them people without belief.Why is this so difficult?Belief in ~A is not the same as ~Belief in A.------------------
Rrhain
WWJD? JWRTFM!

messenjaH responds to crashfrog:

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You are a non believer in the existence of God but a believer in the non existence of God.

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Incorrect. Those two are not the same thing.A non-believer in the existence of god is not the same as a believer in the non-existence of god.In general, if you ask atheists, you will find that they say they have no belief in god, not that they believe in no god.At the very best, it is rude to misquote atheists when trying to describe their positions.------------------
Rrhain
WWJD? JWRTFM!

Seriously, Messenjah, this isn't a Zen koan. It's pretty simple. There's a difference between having a belief about something - including believing it doesn't exist - and not having any belief about something.Atheism isn't belief in the absence of God. It's an absence of belief in God. Atheists aren't believers, we're knowers.

Ok I'll stop, but could atheists be considered a cult because there are alot of them and they all have no belief, or as I would say, belief in the non existence of a creator. What would exactly constitute a religion as a cult?------------------
-chris[This message has been edited by messenjaH, 10-19-2003]

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Ok I'll stop, but could atheists be considered a cult because there are alot of them and they all have no belief,

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LOL!Sorry, but you really can't get more opposite to a cult than Atheism.

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or as I would say, believe in the non existence of a creator.

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You saying it doesn't make you correct.A=without
theism=belief in GodAtheism is lack of belief in God.You have been told over and over by Athiests that you are misrepresenting them. Please stop twisting their worldview into something that it isn't.

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What would exactly constitute a religion as a cult?

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Here are some characteristics of cults:http://www.csj.org/infoserv_cult101/checklis.htmThe group is focused on a living leader to whom members seem to display excessively zealous, unquestioning commitment.

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The group is preoccupied with bringing in new members.

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The group is preoccupied with making money.

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Questioning, doubt, and dissent are discouraged or even punished.

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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).

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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).

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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).

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The group has a polarized us- versus-them mentality, which causes conflict with the wider society.

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The group's leader is not accountable to any authorities (as are, for example, military commanders and ministers, priests, monks, and rabbis of mainstream denominations).

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The group teaches or implies that its supposedly exalted ends justify means that members would have considered unethical before joining the group (for example: collecting money for bogus charities).

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The leadership induces guilt feelings in members in order to control them.

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Members' subservience to the group causes them to cut ties with family and friends, and to give up personal goals and activities that were of interest before joining the group.

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Members are expected to devote inordinate amounts of time to the group.

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Members are encouraged or required to live and/or socialize only with other group members.

Ok, ok.

Does anyone find it interesting that, with minor changes to some, you could apply most of those descriptions to a religious group of any size? Most of them don't really set cults apart from mainstream groups....

Not really suprising, as most every religion out there at some point was thought of as a cult by the then majority religion. Christianity was most definitely a cult in the beginning!!

How so? Jesus said give your money to the poor etc. etc. I realize why you blatently attack christianity but please, give it a rest.------------------
-chris

And for essentially any Christian denomination, you can readily find at least three other denominations that denounce it as a cult. Hell, I guess even the Episcopals are a "gay cult" to half of fundyland now.

Not all religions and sects denounced as cults were after their follower's money. I'm not attacking the cult of Christ specifically. You are still very young and haven't had time to learn much history yet. I suggest you study the history of religions (not just Christianity). After even a brief study it should become rapidly apparent that man creates religions and that he's created a whole bunch of them! Historically, whenever a new religion or a new sect forms, it is then rabidly denounced as a cult by the mainstream/majority religion or cult. A little education could open your eyes wide to the world as it is, not the world as you want it to be.

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Not all religions and sects denounced as cults were after their follower's money. I'm not attacking the cult of Christ specifically. You are still very young and haven't had time to learn much history yet. I suggest you study the history of religions (not just Christianity). After even a brief study it should become rapidly apparent that man creates religions and that he's created a whole bunch of them! Historically, whenever a new religion or a new sect forms, it is then rabidly denounced as a cult by the mainstream/majority religion or cult.

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You state things I already know. I know man creates religions.
You label Christianity as a cult and yet you give no evidence as why it is one. I know of many cults and can discuss them with you. I know some of the history of religions also.

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A little education could open your eyes wide to the world as it is, not the world as you want it to be.

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Take your own advice.------------------
-chris

I think it would be more accurate to say that Christianity was considered a cult early in it's history. Maybe it was one, maybe it wasn't, but a lot of people thought it was. Were they right? I doubt it. I don't ascribe cult status to Christianity. But dictionary games are always up to interpretation.

I agree with Crashfrog's post that follows yours. Christianity was considered a cult when it was young. The older a religion/sect is and the more followers it has, causes it to not be considered a cult anymore. That being said, I don't see how anyone can honestly choose a modern religion over an ancient one, or any religion for that matter as they are all man made. I can see choosing to live by a code of behavior, and much of the teachings of Christ are a good way to live IMO. I just don't see the need to believe in any sort of divine creature(s).--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A little education could open your eyes wide to the world as it is, not the world as you want it to be.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I gave you this bit of advice because you are young and seem to be naive. I'm neither and I'm quite aware of how the world is.