2d ago

Showing who's in charge

94 comments

Cult 101
- Pretty much this. Cults isolate you as their first step. Anything that can be used to make you feel beholden to them, or "fresh/new". They make you think your parents are the enemy, and convince you that your real "family" is inside the cult.
- Had a friend in college who wiped out repeatedly - stumbling down stairs, walking into trees while talking, stepping on his own feet - all through freshman year.
  Everyone started calling him "Trip".
  Which, I guess, implied he'd joined a Cult?
  
  One guy gets a nickname? No problem. You have a guy claiming to be a holy man assigning people names? Then you got a cult
  
  I don't actually believe Jesus ever claimed to be holy or did half the shit he is claimed to have done. I think he was an activist and kind person and the story got twisted over time.
  
  He was a doomsday prophet.
  He claimed God was about to show up and judge everyone for their sins and then start a new world order. But then he got killed by the state and one or two of his followers had hallucinations of him a few days later (more common than you think). They essentially then rationalized WTF him coming back from the dead meant, and that morphed into Jesus being God. The first few decades after his death was a whirlwind of arguing about the "true" nature of Jesus and standardization within the baby church. Over the next few centuries there were more arguments that were less fundamental than turning Jesus into a God, though being a religion, the arguments were insane and fierce. Cue to today and we have a bunch of sub-versions of Christianity and even a whole spin-off religion.
  
  Only the true messiah would deny being the messiah.
  
  You have a guy claiming to be a holy man assigning people names?
  "Simon, you're the most reliable person I know. You're my rock. I'm going to refer to you as My Rock, because you are my most loyal and stalwart friend."
  Huge red flag. Avoid this person at all costs. You are in a ~~profoundly deep, possibly romantic relationship~~ Cult.
  
  Is the guy naming him also claiming to be the messiah? That seems to be the part of the quotation you're missing out on
  
  Is the guy naming him also claiming to be the messiah?
  All while performing bonafide miracles, sure. The pet name for a loved one isn't the problem.
  If, two thousand years from now, the High Priestess of the Church of Getting Your Vaccines So You Don't Spread Illness was referred to as "Saint Cuddlebug" I'd consider that kinda sweet, not cultish.
  
  I'm not abjectly religious but I don't believe Jesus ever called himself the Messiah.
  
  No, but this is pretty culty.. Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
  
  LOGICAL FALLACY - AFFIRMING THE CONSEQUENT.
  If X, then Y does not imply if Y, then X.
  
  LOGICAL FALLACY
  Calling someone a pet name is not a matter of logic.
  
  Of course not. It is your interpretation that having a nickname implies cult membership that is the logical fallacy.
  The argument is:
  If CULT, then NICKNAME
  i.e. If X, then Y
  Your interpretation seems to be:
  If NICKNAME, then CULT
  i.e. If Y, then X
  Which is the logical fallacy of affirming the consequent.
  
  It is your interpretation that having a nickname implies cult membership
  That's OP's claim. My interpretation is that he gave Simon the nickname out of affection not domination
  
  That’s OP’s claim.
  No it’s not.
  OP’s claim is that cults give nicknames. Not that all entities that give nicknames are cults.
  But your second statement makes me realize that you likely have an inherent bias that is preventing you from seeing the logic involved.
  
  OP’s claim is that cults give nicknames.
  Post-Hoc Ergo Proper Hoc Fallacy. "Cults give nicknames, therefore if you give someone a nickname you're a cult" doesn't logically follow.
  you likely have an inherent bias
  Casual Fallacy. The existence of individual bias does nothing to affirm or reject a claim
  If we were weighting on bias, your extreme reaction to a casual anecdote would disqualify your observations immediately.

94 comments