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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.
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Sounds like you escaped a violent theocratic cult.
If some of the pastors there had their way, that's exactly what power would control this country.
No, cults are small religions, this is a big religion
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.
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.
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.
Yes, because controlling a group's behavior, information access, thoughts, and emotions is completely acceptable. Autonomy be damned.
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.
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?
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That's an interesting and informative response. I'll be sure to preface "cult" with "abusive cult" next time. Thanks!
I mean, no real surprise here bud.
Mental illness is supernatural? What does that mean?
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.
Ah, that's messed up.
Send my regards to Jim Bob.
Name the network? As a Christian I find this disgusting
Jimmy Swaggart Ministries
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They were wearing tshirts with the ministry's logo, because Jan 6 was for American Jesus.