Oh, re; the blood-drinking, if that's even real... euw. But hey, people are out there having unprotected sex. Bad idea, but not illegal.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

I see what you're saying Sparky. But I don't see it as a real problem. E.g. we've had evil, nasty, destructive space aliens in pop culture and funny, kind, helpful space aliens, and nothing bad came of it, other than maybe some people wasted their time and money. Acutally, you could pick pretty much any group (gender, race, religion, nationality, sexual orientation, etc) and t
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Oh dear. This researcher isn't worth his salt if he thinks people got interested in vampires in the 1970s. Bram Stoker's "Dracula" was published in 1897, and it wasn't the first vampire tale (I think Stoker kind of cribbed it from folklore etc). "Nosferatu", one of the first, if not the very first, vampire movies, came out in 1921. Ever since then vampires
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Also try googling "you create your reality".
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Here's one thread I found: Try searchs for "law of attraction" too - it's basically the same rubbish.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Further reflections on BK and ET... I have no direct experience of either, in fact I think I had heard of them only peripherally until I came to this forum. I really had no idea what they were about, good or bad. However, I have DEFINITELY come across these BK/ET ideas and principles in everyday life. I suppose they are part of the general mix of pop psychology in our culture, along with
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

More scary stuff that shows the mainstreaming of the The Work and its ilk. Notice the complete lack of emprical research? Just a few anecdotes, and bingo! proof this therapy works. I guess it can never NOT work. This from a director of a university student counselling centre. Yikes.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

The problem I see is with using this approach across the board, for every situation. Yes, it's healthier to calm oneself rather than flying off the handle just because someone cut you off in traffic or the waitress got your order wrong or whatever. But if someone's dealing with a major problem - bereavement, divorce, victim of crime, serious illness, etc - then mindfulness is only
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

There are definitely some red flags there. But rather than determining whether this church fits the definition of a cult, trust your instincts. It sounds like you are not comfortable with this church. There are plenty of other churches, so why not try those instead? I'm inclined to think that if a situation makes you uneasy enough that you find yourself registering and posting on a c
Forum: Destructive Churches

Just an example of how this BK/ET nonsense is infiltrating the (supposedly) qualified community of professional mental health practitioners. Scary.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

"I dont have any proof of this" Right. Without proof, or at least very strong evidence, no one should allege that any group is a cult. Not to mention the other terrible things that have been alleged on this thread like nazi sympathizer and child molester. "here are worrying trends though, and I dont find dissent along the lines of questioning Anthrop. or homeopathy say, at
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Right now I'm watching a documentary on the Alberta Tar Sands on CBC Newsworld. One interviewee discussed the issue of depleting supplies of oil worldwide, and the high cost of obtaining oil. It now takes the energy equivalent of one barrel of oil to extract two barrels of oil from the Tar Sands, according to the documentary. Is the CBC a cult too?
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Oh, one other thing: Transition Towns and groups like it are part of an international movement.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

"As I have said before on this thread, TT and the Peak Oil people are not the only groups, not the first groups, concerned about the issue of oil dependency, diminishing supplies of oil, etc. Other groups are less concerned about setting a date, they just want to move towards using less oil and thereby reducing the ill effects of using oil, like pollution. " -Yes, but this is a thre
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

So the evidence that there is a connection between Transition Towns and Steiner is that one of the TT founders went to a Steiner school for two years. The link to Triodos bank is that they are willing to fund these types of projects. That doesn't prove anything. It's not even suggestive of anything. Going to a Steiner school for two years doesn't make someone a Steiner true
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

"1) The whole point of transitioning away from oil is so that it's not a shock or an emergency, there is no collapse of the social order and so on. The transition would happen over a period of 30-50 years (I thought up that figure, it's not from TT or any other group). In that scenario, emergency response agencies etc aren't necessary." -But according to the Transers
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

"Because I was envisioning something along the lines of emergency response/civil defense, I expected to see representatives from Red Cross, FEMA, EMTS, fire departments, local government officials, law enforcement, community leaders, that sort of thing, as well as concerned citizens like myself. These "authorities" were conspicuously absent--why? One would think these would be pre
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Quoterrmoderatormargarets: "Most people don't know about this forum let alone read it, so get your message out there"? If that's so then why are you so concerned about posting here? I'm not. I'm participating in the debate. And making the point that there are other avenues of communication that will reach more people than just this one thread on this one f
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

I occasionally take yoga classes at the Sivananda yoga centre in my city. There are some odd folks around the school who seem really, really into their yogic lifestyle. The word "cult" crossed my mind before I'd ever come to this forum. There's a culty "vibe", to be sure. But, after five years of going there off and on, I can't honestly say anyone has ever b
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Oh, just to clarify, I didn't say that everyone at the TT meeting I went to was white, just that they were all the same race. However, it was not a homogenous group - several different nationalities were represented there. I think the race distribution at this meeting is just how things worked out and I'm positive that truly anyone from any racial or ethnic background would have been
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoteshaktiQuotemargarets It's tough to find a spokesperson who will appeal to everyone. Sometimes you have to go with what you've got. I think you can do better than that, Margaret. Nice try, though. "Nice try", as comebacks go, is pretty weak. And you ignored my other points. But anyway, you have strong views on the subject, you could always be the spokesperson for
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

A reply to shakti: -I'm aware of Hubbert. However, he is not the main public face of "Peak Oil". I think that's because he's dead. Or at least very, very old. -Heinberg is. And he is a weird dude and a believer in Velikovsky. If the organizations espousing "Peak Oil" want to gain more credibility, they need to can that dude. Yet nearly every article
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Oh, and for what it's worth, I have a degree in urban planning. I've done my homework on this stuff, especially re: sustainable urban design.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

"Well put. That sums up the problem exactly. They are taking industry at face value and not looking at what scientists are saying. Bottom line: if the Oily Peakers were legit, the first things out of their mouths would be "read this book from so-and-so, petroleum geologist at Harvard". Instead, they go to... Heinberg." No. The Peak Oil concept originated with M. King Hu
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

I went a Transition Towns event in my city tonight. It was co-hosted by a neighbourhood climate action group. The event was held in a neighbourhood bistro that was specially booked for the occasion. About 25-30 people came. After some introductory chit-chat, we watched a documentary about local responses to oil dependency. The first 5-10 minutes were about the peak oil concept; the rest
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Whoa. Let's take a few steps back. The Peak Oil concept was developed in 1956 by M. King Hubbert, who was an expert on oil and geology, and an award-winning scientist. It's a totally legitimate concept thought up by someone who knew more about the subject than pretty much anyone. Richard Heinberg is a journalist who has made his career on peak oil and related issues. Very
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

"You see, I thought that Transition was interested in practical solutions to the issues facing our communities, such as how does one get around in a mostly rural area when there is little or no public transportation; how does one shop for clothes when the nearest clothing store is 10 or more miles away, if we can no longer take our cars for granted. And so these were the kinds of questions I
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Hey! I just found out that TT is active in my city! It's very new, and this city is kind of overloaded with environmental groups, so it will be interesting to see how they compete for 'market share'. I will go to some events, see what they're like, and report back.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

A google search on "transition town" and "cult" yielded some interesting results. It's hard to know whether those saying TT is a cult are perhaps covert climate-change-deniers or oil-industry advocates, and they are trying to undermine the movement. Or whether people are using the word 'cult' in the full-on, culteducation.com sense, or just in the sense of &q
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

You're right Hope. After I posted last night I thought about how, on the surface, groups like these appear quite harmless, but then again, cults always do - on the surface! Frankly, this is just the sort of thing that could potentially draw me into a cult. A religion or a personal development course, not so much. Since there are so many TT groups near me and I'm interested in
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"