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My history teacher last year had said that he believed that some Christians were of a cult. Not all, but some who were extreme with their beliefs and such. He was one who explored a lot of religions. He grew up as a Roman Catholic, but went through various phases of changing. He said that the religion he has liked the most is Taoism. That is what he still is. He practices that and everything. He doesn't have a problem with anyone's choice of religion. Just as long as they don't shove it down anyone else's throats. ^^ He said if one of us was a Satanist, it wouldn't bother him. Just as long as we didn't make any human sacrifices during class. xd And then everyone looked back at me. -.-

by that definition, the early followers of Christ would clearly be a cult.

to me it is simply politics.

if you are small and weak enough, and the more powerful belief groups fear or dislike you, you're a cult.

that's what it all boils down to.

I was once in a cult myself. It's not a really famous one, alot of people don't know about it and most of em are in the Arkansas and Oklahoma states here in the U.S.
They call themselves Free Holiness and there's nothing free about it at all!

They made it where the preacher would have full control of situations that happen in the church, over the council or board of trustee's (the people who talked about money situations and things they needed to do to the church house and so forth) and he could say whatever he wanted, tell you that you was a sinful person and going to hell right in the middle of a church service and you couldn't say anything back or you felt like you was going to be struck down dead by God.

They actually made rules that you had to sign and say you would live by or you couldn't be part of the church and you was officially not in their best graces and they believed you weren't in Gods good graces either.

The rules were: Women couldn't wear makeup of any kind for any reason either.

Women couldn't wear pants.

Women couldn't cut their hair, couldn't wear jewelry and couldn't act indecent in any way (their terms of indecent behaviour)

We couldn't watch television or have the internet. Couldn't go bowling, playing pool or going to the theater.

We couldn't learn about different religions at all!

Let's just say we couldn't have anything to do with the world at all.

It was very pressuring cuz if you fringed on the rules at all, you felt like you was going to die on the spot and go straight to hell.
But gladly, we got out of there and now me and my family go to a great church ( a Assembly of God church) and we are not pressured at all and everything just feels lots better.

But cults are really small sects of people who lure you in with kind, very nice words about how they love and support each other and how what they are doing is for everyone's greater good and for yours also.
It is usually one person's idea about something that is pushed on others and they have to believe or else or it's a distorted version of a certain religion.
And they try to keep you away from the world, away from society and say it's evil and make you do certain things, rules and they try to brainwash you and make you think a certain way.

If they try to push their personal beliefs and rules that do not apply to the bible or any other holy book then yeah, it's most likely a cult and there's a bunch out there