It's a Cult I Tell You!

Let's start off with something big and controversial, shall we?

You'll see a good number of brave souls who are willing to stand up and say they do not believe in God, but not many who are willing to go all the way and say in plain english what is so obvious. God is a fantasy, the Bible is a work of fiction, and millions upon millions of people are a part of a well organized and heavily funded cult.

Woah there! Did I just say what you think I said? Yes I did, my friends, and I'm not just blowing smoke into the wind. I have valid reasons, well thought out and pondered for many years, for believing the way I do. Please, before you storm away or let loose a furious tirade on my comments section, continue reading.

Let's start with something simple. What makes a cult, and how do those signs apply to Christianity?

Cults have:

• A charismatic leader that is believed to be able to lead all the followers to wherever it is they all want to go -- Such as a priest, preacher, or reverend leading their followers to salvation, heaven, redemption...etc
• A strict set of 'rules' or beliefs that every follower must adhere to -- Such as the ten commandments, and the entirety of the Bible
• A handbook -- Such as the Bible, and other religious texts
• An exclusionary belief system that pits followers against the "non believers" -- Every subset of Christianity believes they are the one true religion and that everyone else is damned in some form or another.
• A method of recruitment -- Every form of Christianity teaches their followers that they should be spreading "god's word" and sharing their beliefs with everyone, including trying to get the non believers to attend church/mass etc.

I could go on and on, but the important lesson here is that there is only one aspect of a cult that Christianity does not fulfill. Cults generally operate on beliefs and practices that are outside those held by the majority of society. Since the majority of society in The United States, holds christian beliefs, Christianity is not commonly perceived as a cult. I call bull! Just because "most" people believe it, doesn't make it true, and society as a whole has proven this time and time again. In Galileo's time it was commonly known that the Earth did not revolve around the sun, and the moon revolved around the Earth. They were all wrong. In 1692 nineteen men and women were executed because the majority of Salem Massachusettes believed that the very real physical illness of a group of children was caused by witchcraft. They were all wrong.

The Bible is a tremendous work of fiction. I say tremendous, not because it's a great read, but because of it's longevity and power within both the Christian and secular world. The full text of the Bible wasn't divinely spoken to Moses on Mount Sinai, the Bible didn't magically appear whole and intact as if given by the hand of God. It was written by men. Not only was it written by men, but many different versions were written, calling into question the belief that any one version could be true or accurate even *if* one believed the story of Moses. The various religions basically just picked a version they liked and ran with it. You might as well be basing your entire life on a play written by Shakespeare.

So why do I care if people want to live on faith and believe in Christianity? I don't! What I do care about is when the law mirrors fantasy beliefs just because they are held by the majority of society. What I do care about is being lectured and preached to when my beliefs or lifestyle choices do not reflect those of the majority of society, even though my choices and beliefs do NOTHING to harm anyone else. More people have died and been killed in Christ's name than have died or been killed in any other manner, yet we continue to let the most violent and zealous cult man has ever known rule our country, simply because the majority believe in it.