And another correction: In this case, it would seem that the TM org and/or MMY followers would qualify as part of a "religious movement" with Melton.
---In [email protected], <emily.mae50@...> wrote : About J. Gordon Melton's work as a cult apologist (according to this article): http://www.apologeticsindex.org/m06.html http://www.apologeticsindex.org/m06.html His views are that organizations such as Scientology, Children of God, Jonestown, etc. are not cults but rather "new religious movements" or in another interview I read with him personally "minority religions." In this case, it would seem that the TM org would qualify as a "religion" with Melton. As an aside, I think this is the basis for how the chanting pundits are allowed into the U.S.—under the category of "religious workers." FFL had a long discussion on this some time ago (when the the pundits organized a protest). ---In [email protected], <emily.mae50@...> wrote : Correction: The definition David Orme-Johnson has adopted from J. Gordon Melton (his own personal definition). ---In [email protected], <emily.mae50@...> wrote : From your link: The word “cult” has many meanings, but in recent decades it has often been used with a negative connotation to point out a group that others would like to see removed from society. This use of the term is expressed by the prominent religious scholar J. Gordon Melton: "My working definition of a cult is a group that you don't like, and I say that somewhat facetiously, but at the same time, in fact, that is my working definition of a cult. It is a group that somebody doesn't like. It is a derogatory term, and I have never seen it redeemed from the derogatory connotations that it picked up in the sociological literature in the 1930s." (1). Yes, in society today, mostly a pejorative term. The dictionary defines the word more objectively and comprehensively. Using David Orme-Johnson's definition of "It is a group that somebody doesn't like," the TM org could easily be called a cult by those who don't like it! So could so many other things, no? That definition is his own personal definition and not one supported by the dictionary. ---In [email protected], <[email protected]> wrote : http://www.truthabouttm.org/truth/IndividualEffects/IsTMaCult/index.cfm http://www.truthabouttm.org/truth/IndividualEffects/IsTMaCult/index.cfm
