Cult Controversies
Author: James A. Beckford
Publisher: CUP Archive
Published: 1985
Total Pages: 344
ISBN-13: 9780422796309
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The Chaos Of Cults A Study In Present Day Isms
Author: Jan Karel Van Baalen
Publisher: Franklin Classics
Published: 2018-10-15
Total Pages: 418
ISBN-13: 9780343151775
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThis work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
Misunderstanding Cults
Author: Thomas Robbins
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
Published: 2001-01-01
Total Pages: 860
ISBN-13: 9780802081889
DOWNLOAD EBOOKMisunderstanding Cults provides a uniquely balanced contribution to what has become a highly polarized area of study. Working towards a moderate "third path" in the heated debate over new religious movements or cults, this collection includes contributions from both scholars who have been characterized as "anticult" and those characterized as "cult-apologists." The study incorporates multiple viewpoints as well as a variety of theoretical and methodological perspectives, with the stated goal of depolarizing the discussion over alternative religious movements. A prominent section within the book focuses explicitly on the issue of scholarly objectivity and the danger of partisanship in the study of cults. The collection also includes contributions on the controversial and much misunderstood topic of brainwashing, as well as discussions of cult violence, children brought up in unconventional religious movements, and the conflicts between alternative religious movements and their critics. Unique in its breadth, this is the first study of new religious movements to address the main points of controversy within the field while attempting to find a middle ground between opposing camps of scholarship.
Cults, Religion, and Violence
Author: David G. Bromley
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 2002-05-13
Total Pages: 278
ISBN-13: 9780521668989
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThis explores the question of when and why violence by and against new religious cults erupts and whether and how such dramatic conflicts can be foreseen, managed and averted. The authors, leading international experts on religious movements and violent behavior, focus on the four major episodes of cult violence during the last decade: the tragic conflagration that engulfed the Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas; the deadly sarin gas attack by the Aum Shinrikyo in Tokyo; the murder-suicides by the Solar Temple in Switzerland and Canada; and the collective suicide by the members of Heaven's Gate. They explore the dynamics leading to these dramatic episodes in North America, Europe, and Asia, and offer insights into the general relationship between violence and religious cults in contemporary society. The authors conclude that these events usually involve some combination of internal and external dynamics through which a new religious movement and society become polarized.
Opus Dei
Author: John L. Allen
Publisher: Random House Digital, Inc.
Published: 2006
Total Pages: 403
ISBN-13: 0385520301
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThe first serious journalistic investigation of the highly secretive, controversial organization Opus Dei provides unique insight about the wild rumors surrounding it and discloses its significant influence in the Vatican and on the politics of the Catholic Church. Opus Dei (literally "the work of God") is an international association of Catholics often labeled as conservative who seek personal Christian perfection and strive to implement Christian ideals in their jobs and in society as a whole. It has been accused of promoting a right-wing political agenda and of cultlike practices. Its notoriety escalated with the publication of the runaway bestseller The Da Vinci Code (Opus Dei plays an important and sinister role in the novel). With the expert eye of a longtime observer of the Vatican and the skill of an investigative reporter intent on uncovering closely guarded secrets, John Allen finally separates the myths from the facts.--From publisher description.
Cults and New Religious Movements: A Reader
Author: Lorne Dawson
Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
Published: 2003-06-09
Total Pages: 297
ISBN-13: 9781405101806
DOWNLOAD EBOOKWhat is a cult? Why do they emerge? Who joins them? And why do tragedies such as Waco and Jonestown occur? This reader brings together the voices of historians, sociologists, and psychologists of religion to address these key questions about new religious movements. Looks at theoretical explanations for cults, why people join and what happens when they do. Brings together the best work on cults by sociologists, historians, and psychologists of religion. A broad-ranging, balanced and clearly organized collection of readings. Includes coverage of topical issues, such as the 'brainwashing' controversy, and cults in cyberspace. Section introductions by the editor situate the nature, value, and relevance of the selected readings in context of current discussions.
Freemasonry's Cult Abuses
Author: James Robert Wright
Publisher:
Published: 2011
Total Pages: 0
ISBN-13: 9781561845309
DOWNLOAD EBOOKSince this all began as a private issue for me, and the rate at which it has ballooned since, it has become clear and concise that there is a serious problem at hand here. Right after having finished writing this the world witnessed a major terrorist attack in Norway, in which over one hundred lives of mainly children were lost. Most untrained eyes missed the blatant Scottish Rite 32nd Degree symbolic give-away on major network news as the many pictures of the terrorist were streaming on a slide show. This is a cult, this is a problem; these men are indoctrinating, controlling by fear, and making members feel like life outside the cult is bad. These are all proven psychological red flags of a cult, as any basic textbook will reference. Now I hear they are even encouraging and promoting arming members here in Texas via free concealed handgun courses, so now the cult is playing with weapons too. I have heard the audio of the Masonic Trial of another Brother, being tried for coming out of the closet, nothing more, and it is nothing but bigot after bigot taking the microphone and openly spewing hate crime inciting speech, so strongly I actually wept. I have watched countless African-American Prince Hall Masons be referred to as clandestine and not allowed to sit in our Lodge and the blatant disregard for women and disallowment in their ranks. In the times we live in, and with the blatant culture of lawlessness within the upper tier of the men with the top jobs, I shudder to think that more terrorist attacks or ritual abuses are going to occur because these men are drunk with power.
The Jung Cult
Author: Richard Noll
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Published: 1997-06-05
Total Pages: 416
ISBN-13: 0684834235
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThis revolutionary reassessment of Jung's research, conclusions, and character asserts that Jung falsified his key research in developing the theory of a collective unconsciousness. Noll also reveals evidence that Jung founded a profascist religious cult in which he intended to be worshipped as an "Aryan-Christ", propagated racist and ant-Semitic theories, and practiced polygamy for much of his life.
Cult and Controversy
Author: Nathan Mitchell
Publisher: Liturgical Press
Published: 1990
Total Pages: 474
ISBN-13: 9780814660508
DOWNLOAD EBOOKNathan Mitchell has written this book to enrich the Church's understanding of the many theologies and popular customs that have attached themselves to the eucharist over the last two thousand years.
'Cult Wars' in Historical Perspective
Author: Eugene V. Gallagher
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2016-07-01
Total Pages: 195
ISBN-13: 1317156668
DOWNLOAD EBOOK'Cult Wars' in Historical Perspective provides a broad characterization of the shifting religious contours over the past several decades. Offering an assessment of several important topics in the study of new religions, this book explores developments in well-known groups such as the Unification movement, The Family International (Children of God), the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), and the Church of Scientology. Bringing together both insiders and outsiders from various academic disciplines and personal perspectives, this book takes account of the ways in which the cult question is defined and addressed in different countries. It offers a vivid depiction of how the cult wars or cult controversies of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries first took shape; the transformation of deeply entrenched positions on cults and sects as at least some members of new groups, cult watchers, and academics entered into serious and sustained conversations about topics of mutual concern; the shifting foci and concerns of the general public, law enforcement and the courts, and academics in various countries; and the complex histories of individual groups in which many dramatic transformations have occurred despite their comparatively short life spans.
