Cults Test Flashcards

Question

Three Periods of History

Answer 1

*Creation * The Fall (Vertical and Horizontal) * The Restoration

Answer 2

*Because new members are brainwashed, their testimony is worthless * Conversion is done by the brainwashers, not the brainwashed * The brainwashed should be de-programmed by their families

Answer 3

*If brainwashing works, it should be more effective * Brainwashing takes expertise, but recruitment is mostly by inexperienced members * Brainwashing techniques should improve over time * If brainwashing works the cults should be more effective

Answer 4

*People who have left the cult and family members of cult members are biased * So, only listen to members of the cult

Answer 5

*It is a cult because Dictated thoughts, actions and feelings including who to date, what clothes to wear, etc, group is focused on bringing in new members, and Unquestioning commitment to its leader. * It is a religion because the unseen order is for the restoration of the world.

Answer 6

The Family International is an example of a new religious movement unjustly maligned for alternative sexual practices.

Answer 7

*David Brandt Berg / Mo-Founder of the family international in the 1960's. Berg claimed to be God’s End time Prophet. And the most controversial revelations he has proclaimed have had to do with revolutionary sexual practices. * Jane Miller / Mother Eve- David's first wife whom people called mother eve. * Karen Zerby / Maria- David's second wife he took in order to represent the new church. * Peter Amsterdam- A man that Maria had been in a long-term relationship with Berg’s blessing took over control of the Church after Berg's death.

Answer 8

*Evangelical Christianity- A sector of Christianity the church closely related to. The values held bye this group are Trinity, creator God, fall of humanity, substitutionary atonement through the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross, required conversion and acceptance of Jesus as savior. * The Mo Letters- Berg directed the Church through letters which he would threaten to withhold from errant homes * Flirty Fishing- People were given “full physical love” and of these more than half accepted Jesus as their savior. * Litnessing- Distributing comics for small donations. * Law of Love- Christians should love one another as the greatest commandment. Led to physical intimacy with other Family members, and applying the Law to proselytization with strangers.

Answer 9

*This group is a cult because of their us vs. them mentality, Unquestioning commitment to its leader, and group focused on bringing in new members. * This group is a religion because their unseen order is to save your soul because end times are near.

Answer 10

*Seventh-Day Adventism -William Miller: He was the beginner of early Seventh-Day Adventism. -The Great Disappointment: Expected an imminent return of Christ. * Victor and Florence Houteff- Victor was kicked out of the SDA because he believed the SDA had abandoned its original focus on the imminent return of Christ and needed to return to it. He moved to Waco, where he established a self-sufficient, isolated community. This community took on the name Davidian Seventh-Day Adventists to secure conscientious objector status in 1942. Florence declared the date of the end as April 22, 1959 and many members left. * Benjamin and Lois Rode- Benjamin would take over the church following the death of victor, and he predicted the end would come once the elect had purified and perfected themselves. Following his death his wife Lois fought to get control and told the group that the Messiah was to be a woman.

Answer 11

The medias portrayal of new religious movements may be biased.

Answer 12

*David Koresh -King David and Cyrus the Great = Messiah but not divine -Revelation: He claimed to understand the revelation and would say he himself was the one who would reveal the mysteries of the endtimes and bring them about. -New Light Doctrine:As the endgame revealer it was his job to create a new lineage. *Privilege- People would chose the voices of members over former members and the families of members

Answer 13

* It is a cult because there is an unquestioning commitment to it's leader, members only socialize with other members, and teaches ends justify the means. * it is a religion because the unseen order is that you must perfect yourself for the end to come.

Answer 14

Not all New Religious Movements are alike.

Answer 15

*Bonnie Lu Nettles- One founder of the Heavens Gate movement. Eventually she and Applewhite would believe that they were two members of the Kingdom of Heaven ...incarnated into two unsuspecting humans...” * Marshall Herff Applewhite Jr.- He was the other founder of Heavens Gate. He began hearing voices and this is how he met Nettles. * Ti and Do- These are the names that Nettles and Applewhite are referred to as. Their first statement explained their notion that leaving the material body was the way to reach the next level of existence. This transition is reached through education, not religious faith. * Hale-Bopp comet- This was the sign that they were to leave their bodies behind and continue their spiritual journey on another plane of existence, and they would take new bodies upon a spacecraft and become members of its crew

Answer 16

*Two Witnesses in Revelation- The first moment in the development of Heavens Gate. They were the Two Witnesses described in Revelation, who as prophets will be assassinated and then ascend to Heaven in a cloud (which they understood to be a spaceship). * Kingdom of Heaven- Nettles would be Applewhite's link to the kingdom of heaven once she died. * Next Level-This is how you reach the next level of existence. There was no death, but another level.

Answer 17

*Heaven Gate has characteristics of a cult including unquestioning commitment to the leader, using guilt and shame to control, and an us vs. them attitude. *This is a religion because the unseen order is going to the next level.

Answer 18

Despite the fact that Paganism and Wicca are incredibly benign, anti-cult Christian groups attack them as Satanic.

Answer 19

*Three principles -Sacredness of nature -Immanence of divinity -Ability to manipulate the energies of the universe *Sabbats (8)- A seasonal festival. Solstices and equinoxes and midpoints - Cycle of death and rebirth -Open to outsiders * Esbats (13)- A lunar gathering. 13-month lunar cycle. -Regular meeting times of many covens -Only for insiders

Answer 20

*The Great Goddess and her consort the Horned God -Drawing Down the Moon: calling the power of the Goddess (embodied as the Moon) to enter into the High Priestess. -The Great Rite: the sacred marriage of Goddess and God, re-enacted by the High Priestess and High Priest or as part of an initiation ceremony. *The Wiccan Rede- Rede = rule, “An it harm none, do as thou will”, and An = if. * The Rule of Three- Whatever a person puts out into the world will return threefold.

Answer 21

*Gerald Brosseau Gardner- credited for making the religion public. -Dorothy Clutterbuck: Initiated Gardner into a coven. -Operation Cone of Power: Hitler's planned invasion of England Gardner claimed to prevent with magic. -Doreen Valiente: She Created the Guardian Book of Shadows. -Gardnerian Book of Shadow: Text for many modern witchcraft covens. *Covens and solitaries- Covens are groups that contain elder witches teaching younger witches. Solitaries are by themselves trained through books and the internet. *Satanic Panic- People began to believe that witches were in league with Satan. Wicca is “one of the more seductive deceptions Satan has ever come up with”. People were consumed with the idea that Satanists were sexually abusing children, women were held as breeders to have children for rituals, and Christians were opposed to Wicca, pentagrams, Halloween, and Harry Potter. *Images of witches and witchcraft were often seen in pop culture in Charmed, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Many witches come from well-educated, middle-class backgrounds, revere nature, and have an ethic of non-violence, making them much more acceptable than most new religious movements.

Answer 22

* 1)They are all dangerous and destructive * 2) They are all in league with the Devil * 3) They are all brainwashing organizations

Answer 23

*Us vs. Them mentality *Mind-altering practices *Preoccupied with making money and bringing in more people *Members are expected to devote an inordinate amount of time to the group and group activities

Answer 24

* 1) All historical religions have murky origins * 2) All have developed over time * 3) Many have begun with a charismatic leader who challenges the established practices and beliefs * 4) People are associated with the groups in a variety of ways –members, students, practitioners

Answer 25

*Beginnings as a rural devotion to a folk saint (maybe) *Rival of the roman catholic church and saints such as St. Jude *Denounced by the RCC as illegitimate and satanic * Popular among those involved in drug trafficking and those opposed to drug trafficking

Answer 26

* A festival that is more spiritual than religious. *A long tradition of events where social conventions are turned upside down.

Answer 27

* Considered "Unchurched Harrys" *Traditional, conservative, evangelical Christianity directed at men who live lifestyles not conducive to traditional churches.

Answer 28

*Atheist Church * Social support and community * “Elevate the human experience” * Compare Reconstructionist Judais

Answer 29

*Religious groups using psychoactive substances (“drugs”) in religious ceremonies * Think Indigenous practices with peyote * Also, Rastafarian use of cannabis

Cults Test Flashcards

(53 cards)