Should the label of Cult be defended?

 CGI, on their Armor of God program today, attempted to defend the word 'cult' while also deflecting its use from themselves. The host of the show used the basic and benign definition of the word, which is just a group with a shared ideology, to defend against its use as a pejorative. Interestingly, he also felt the need to claim that HWA wasn't a cult leader and the hatred expressed against him (HWA) and by extension Armstrongism only exists because he challenged the religious status quo with the actual teachings of the Bible. 

There are a few problems with this sentiment that spring to mind; 

1. The benign definition of Cult is not the 'correct' definition to explore in this context. Words change and have meaning regardless of what 50 year old dictionaries say. When people use the word cult today, almost never do they mean the benign version. The street definition of a cult is a group with a shared ideology, enforced mental or social boundaries and the curtailing or suppression of individual freedoms. When people label a church a 'cult' it has almost nothing to do with theological disputes, it almost always has everything to do with mind control.

2. HWA cannot be defended as just another good person who is undeservingly hated, to do so is to willfully ignore the evidence and facts, and accusations. He was a conman and a showman who bought his way into the company of heads of state, and lied about being invited. He was an egotistical cult leader who lived an extravagant lifestyle funded entirely by the diminished livelihoods of his membership who often times couldn't afford to change the tires on their cars while he upgraded jets. He was hated because he devoured widows houses. He was not hated for his theological differences, which were not his but blatantly plagiarized from Charles Russel, Joseph Smith, William Miller and a dozen other lesser known 1800s theologians, he was hated because he controlled people and made rules for some sets of people but not for others. He was hated because he set up a class system in the church. He was hated because he literally destroyed families in the name of God. He was hated because he used his editorial department to redact and edit his false statements and destroy evidence. He was hated because he repeatedly raped his daughter and he used the hierarchy of the church to hide it. He was hated because he repeatedly set dates for prophecies that never happened and then lied about his setting of dates. He was hated because he was a false prophet. He should not be defended as a good church leader, and certainly not as a man of God. 

3. Rather than try to deflect accusations or use the wrong definitions of words, maybe try to consider the charges. There wasn't any 'maybe we DID have some bad practices', or 'maybe we STILL HAVE some bad practices', it was just like the line from Toy Story where Sid's sister is telling on him for breaking her toys and he yells out "she's lying! Whatever she says it's not true!". One of the many reasons people don't trust churches and call them cults is because of this very problem; they never admit their faults. Hypocrisy is a staple of churches. Somehow they can spot hatred, wrong, evil and malice with eagle-vision in their accusers, but never find a shred of such in their own fold. In this program the host disparages the author of a book on cults as 'a self proclaimed expert on cults' then disregards the thousands of hours of research done in it because he, (the host), being a member of Gods church is automatically more informed. Has the host spent thousands of hours in study and research and interviews, conducting surveys to see the details of what causes groups of people to isolate from society? That doesn't make the author of this book correct on all points mind you, but that SHOULD warrant some sincere contemplation, not base-level dismissal because of a theological disagreement. When your numbers are falling, your impact weakening, your reach shrinking and people are leveling accusations against you, MAYBE, just MAYBE you should actually consider the accusations.

...and for goodness' sake don't defend the word Cult, it doesn't need your defense. 

Seth Forrestier 9-10-22