Sometimes I feel like "being nice" and polite to people "of faith" as they call themselves. As long as it is a casual encounter politeness and kindness is natural for me.

But sometimes this invites them into the notion that you are a person who they might be able draw into their religious notions or cult.

Yes, I see it as a cult. Religion is a cult.

I feel like sometimes I am too hard on nice people who only claim to be wanting to "share" their beliefs. But the term "sharing" is basically a scam. They really want to "spread" their beliefs.

If you have ever heard of Multilevel marketing (MLM) you probably know someone who was quite over-bearing trying to get you to come to one of there "meetings" or "share" their over-priced products with you. (Which you can get cheaper if you sign into their cult--- er I mean into their MLM company.)

Don't say "share" when you are trying to sell something. A religion, a product, etc. Be up front about what you are doing.

Then non-belief is a cult as well. A religion is merely a collection of people that share similar beliefs. It doesn't make a person who they are. People of similar beliefs gather together because of just that, similar beliefs.

People are put into a "religion" category because of the beliefs they have. These religions don't make these beliefs, these beliefs create the religion.

So why is it so many "Faiths" believe they have to save us from ourselves?

I don't need to be saved. I don't want to be saved. So why do some people insist I must be saved?

Its hard to disagree with 'being upfront.'

The breakdown in communication is interpreting whether or not someones intentions are as they say they are.

I love my family very much. I think family support is one of the most important things in the world. In a FAMILY thread I may go on and on, in fact, about my experiences and my reality about the significance and blessing of family.

I would be doing it because I am passionate about it, or because it is such a natural and real part of my reality, but still people might PERCEIVE That Im trying to persuade them to feel the same way.

noone can know anything but their perception...

wow, Im having a serious deja vu moment,, didnt we have this same exact discussion last year,,,,,,.....


weird,,,

Honest preachers will confess that their beliefs are indeed faith-based. Most honest preachers will also confess that they themselves have difficulty in "keeping their faith".

It's really the dishonest religious zealots that you are addressing here. The self-appointed Paper Popes who use religion to boost their own egos by convincing themselves that they are doing "God's work" and that they speak for God.

But in truth, they adulterate the very God, and religion, that they claim to be supporting. Most decent honest followers of the very same religion rebuke those arrogant egotists as well.

Unfortunately though, decent honest folks are sometimes sucked into the adulterated ways of a religious zealots. They have a desire to support the "religion" and thus they loose site of the fact that just because someone claims to be speaking for the religion it doesn't make it so.

Anyone who acts like they have a handle on the mind of God is to be highly suspect. That's just arrogance gone berserk.

i agree with both JB and Cowboy here... i can see where certain faiths could/can be considered a cult, but it is not really the sheeps fault, they are being led by the sheepherder. the church used to be a place of worship, and still is in some degree, but when the preacher tells the people to spread the word, i think it is for money reasons more than anything else. not that it is always a bad thing, but certain preachers make all of them look bad.

What????

Explain how non-belief (in anything) is a cult.

Okay I'm going to ask you the same thing.

Explain how "non-belief" (in anything)is a cult.

Note:
When a person uses the term non-belief, I would like to request what they are talking about that is being non-believed.

example
(Cowboy is a non-believer in aliens)

It takes at least two people to have a cult. Personal belief does not fit until that belief is shared and somewhat organized some how.

People choose to be put into the boxes of their choosing.

If you claim that Zeus is God, then you put yourself into that box.

If you claim that Jesus is God, then you put yourself into that box.

Some spiritual philosophies don't even required such narrow-minded beliefs. They have no well-defined boxes. And therefore some people will argue that they don't even quality as "religions" since they are actually just quite abstract philosophies.

It's usually people who claim to be "religious" who demand that everyone be put into a "box". That way they can exercise their religious bigotries based on which "box" someone is in.

Take away the "boxes" and the religious bigots no longer have a means of keeping track of their religious bigotries.

Same way you're claiming Christianity is a cult.

Definition of cult:

Obsessive, especially faddish, devotion to or veneration for a person, principle, or thing.

An exclusive group of persons sharing an esoteric, usually artistic or intellectual interest.

i can't speak for cowboy, but non belief would be atheists, IMO... everyone believes in something, whether it is magic, ghosts, or aliens coming from a comet... heavens gate, does that ring a bell?
charles manson... "cult" is just a label, just a way of classifying peoples and their beliefs...

"Spreading the word" is not the problem. It's how a person goes about spreading the word that matters.

Don't even think about religion. Just apply it to anything.

Say that you buy a new computer and you're really excited about it. So you go around telling everyone about your new computer and suggesting that they too could be happier if they bought one.

That's fine and dandy. You're spreading the word about something you like.

However, if you run into someone who says that they don't use computers and have no interest in computers and you harp on them until you are blue in the face trying to convince them that they should buy one anyway, then you are just being obnoxious and you are no longer "Spreading the word". You're just being annoying.

Well, the same thing applies to anything else, including religion.

Even Jesus taught his disciples to kick the dust from his feet and move on if no one is interested in hearing what they have to say.

Therefore anyone who continues to try to "spread the word" after being told that no one is interested is actually spitting in the face of Jesus. Their evil works reveal that they aren't working for Jesus, but rather they are out to appease their very own personal ego.

That's when "religion" becomes a false personal vendetta to spread religious bigotry in the name of someone like Jesus.

So what you are calling non-belief is not simply non-belief in Jesus but non-belief in any God at all?

I believe in God. But I am still called a "non-believer" (In Jesus) because I am NOT a Christian.

So when you say Non-belief or Non-believer you need to also state what it is you expect them to believe in to be called a "believer."

I am a believer in God.
I am a believer in Aliens.

I resent Christians calling me a non-believer to my face. They logically can only call me that when speaking about me to people who are in their particular cult.

i don't know who is right or wrong... the Jews seem to think they are right, while the Christians seem to think they are right... i don't worry about who thinks i am wrong, because right and wrong is different to everyone.

It's not really about labels at all. It's about religious bigots trying very hard to use their religion to pass bigoted judgments on everyone who hasn't yet joined their cult.

It's all about religious bigotry and a concept of a jealous God who supposedly throws immature temper tantrums is he isn't being worshiped.

The Christian religion is indeed a CULT by every imaginable definition of the word. It's an organization that has traditionally belittled everyone who isn't a member and goes out of its way constantly to try to coerce new members to join. It even threatens them with death should they choose to leave. Maybe not physical death, but it certainly make threats of spiritual death.

It's basically an evil religion created by evil men.

The cult Eckankar had a living master who they claim is the living representative of God.

They also dropped hints that if you left the cult that you would experience tons of karma and probably have to spend a lot longer in the cycle of the wheel of 85 (incarnations) in order to find your way back to the path to God. They did not claim to be the only path, but they claimed to be the fastest path to God.

I began feeling very oppressed in the group meetings when I would hear talk from people about what was expected. The cult seemed to be tightening its grip around the throats of the members. I backed out of it real fast.

Later I learned that Paul Twitchell had plagiarized most of his books and made up a lot of stories about an unbroken chain of ascended ECK masters. That was after I had left the cult. It was totally exposed. Believe it or not it still exists.

Your write up made no sense.

What are you referring to?