Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site fortune.UUCP
Path: utzoo!utcs!lsuc!pesnta!amd!fortune!polard
From: polard@fortune.UUCP (Henry Polard)
Newsgroups: net.philosophy
Subject: Re: cults
Message-ID: <4980@fortune.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 7-Feb-85 15:31:57 EST
Article-I.D.: fortune.4980
Posted: Thu Feb  7 15:31:57 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 8-Feb-85 05:17:31 EST
References: <647@ecsvax.UUCP>
Reply-To: polard@fortune.UUCP (Henry polard)
Organization: Fortune Systems, Redwood City, CA
Lines: 18
Summary: 

In article <647@ecsvax.UUCP> hes@ecsvax.UUCP (Henry Schaffer) writes:
>I heard an authority on cults/brainwashing/deprogramming speak
>recently.  The main way he distinguished between a cult and an
>ordinary religious group was that a cult has a living (or recently
>deceased) leader whose word over-rides all else.

Sounds like a cult to me! (oh, all right -  :-))

BTW, from that point of view the Catholic church is a cult, 
a class in a school is a cult, and most governments are cults.

The real distinction between a religion and a cult is that the person
who uses "cult" disagrees with the group he or she labels as a "cult."
-- 
Henry Polard (You bring the flames - I'll bring the marshmallows.)
{ihnp4,cbosgd,amd}!fortune!polard
N.B: The words in this posting do not necessarily express the opinions
of me, my employer, or any AI project.