this post was submitted on 09 Jul 2023
1216 points (98.9% liked)

Ask Lemmy

27258 readers
2077 users here now

A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions


Rules: (interactive)


1) Be nice and; have funDoxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, and toxicity are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them


2) All posts must end with a '?'This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?


3) No spamPlease do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.


4) NSFW is okay, within reasonJust remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either !asklemmyafterdark@lemmy.world or !asklemmynsfw@lemmynsfw.com. NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].


5) This is not a support community.
It is not a place for 'how do I?', type questions. If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email info@lemmy.world. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.


6) No US Politics.
Please don't post about current US Politics. If you need to do this, try !politicaldiscussion@lemmy.world or !askusa@discuss.online


Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.

Partnered Communities:

Tech Support

No Stupid Questions

You Should Know

Reddit

Jokes

Ask Ouija


Logo design credit goes to: tubbadu


founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] confluence@lemmy.world 107 points 1 year ago (7 children)

I worked as a pastor and professor for a global, evangelical television ministry/college. They knowingly conceal scholarship on the Bible and punish their pastors for asking any questions that undermine their most closely held traditions (including anti-evolution, mental illness is supernatural, etc.). They tell their US viewers that they can't call themselves Christians if they don't vote Republican, while still enjoying tax-exempt status. They use pseudohistorians to inspire Christian Nationalism over their network, and are one of the largest propaganda networks for the Religious Right. A U.S. Capitol police commander told me his men were fighting people who were wearing the network's brand.

[–] _ak@lemmy.world 12 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Sounds like you escaped a violent theocratic cult.

[–] confluence@lemmy.world 13 points 1 year ago

If some of the pastors there had their way, that's exactly what power would control this country.

[–] HardlightCereal@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

No, cults are small religions, this is a big religion

[–] vaultdweller013@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I feel like there are minimum two definitions of cult, that being a high controll group like say jones town and to a lesser but still damaging extent seventh day adventists for example and just a smaller religious grouping.

[–] confluence@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

This place would 100% meet the BITE standard of cult classification.

Thats what I was thinking of but couldnt remember the name, maybe I need to watch more telltale content again.

[–] HardlightCereal@lemmy.world -3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The BITE classification was invented in order to justify hatred of small religions, by taking a word that already had a meaning (cult) and attaching a second, pejorative meaning to it. It's like if I write a fantasy novel with a species of evil creatures called jews. Jew is already a word, and it's a horrific act of religious persecution to take a pre-existing word for marginalised religions and spin it into an unrelated negative.

[–] confluence@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Yes, because controlling a group's behavior, information access, thoughts, and emotions is completely acceptable. Autonomy be damned.

[–] HardlightCereal@lemmy.world 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I didn't justify the abusive behaviours described by the BITE model. In fact I was very clear that I disliked those behaviours, and their association with an important religious term. You should work on your reading comprehension so you can stop seeing enemies everywhere.

[–] confluence@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I apologize for misunderstanding. Can you provide a source or reasoning why you think the BITE classification itself was intended to make "cult" a bad word?

[–] toothpaste_sandwich@feddit.nl 6 points 1 year ago

I mean, no real surprise here bud.

[–] Doodoocaca@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Mental illness is supernatural? What does that mean?

[–] confluence@lemmy.world 17 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

To them, it means if you're depressed, schizophrenic, or otherwise incapable of controlling your emotions or perceptions, you're being either possessed or "oppressed" by demon spirits.

[–] Doodoocaca@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago

Ah, that's messed up.

[–] Flax_vert@feddit.uk 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Name the network? As a Christian I find this disgusting

[–] confluence@lemmy.world 1 points 2 months ago

Jimmy Swaggart Ministries

[–] Bushwhack@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

Send my regards to Jim Bob.