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Originally Posted by jwh400  If being saved or guided is the value you're talking about then I guess you're correct. But in reality the only thing of value in a cult or a religion is the leader's point of view. They establish your thinking and your behavior, what is right and what is wrong. I feel it is the weak that needs someone to determine these things for them. If I choose to smoke a pipe, I do so knowing that it's self destructive. If I join a cult that says pipe smoking is wrong then I give up pipe smoking but I do so because I have let it be determined for me. |
I didn't say that I see value in it. I said the followers do. Just dismissing them as 'weak' is ignoring the entire mechanism that goes on. As an outsider, I see them being led around like sheep just like you said. But then, I think 95% of the population is being led around by mainstream groups rather than crazies. What's the difference? I claim the difference is only in the intent of the leader.
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As bns said;
"We all want to be "special." So we do something that's unusual. Pipe-smoking or linux or whatever"
While taking up either of these you're certainly joining a community but ultimately you've made the decision for yourself which is why I say that this different from joining a cult since what you do in a cult is done to the satisfaction of the cult leader who will tell that you're a better person for it but it takes a weak person to believe this. The tech writers who call me a moron because I'm not using Linux in a manner that satisfies them are irrelevant to me because this is not a cult and they're not my leaders.
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I certainly see that the two communities are very different. But I'm suggesting that the psychological reason for joining the group is similar, though the resulting groups are as different as they can be.