QuotekathWere there a lot of 'donations?' :shock: I was led to believe so. That said I was never offered figures, however several older, more affluent, members allegedly donated quite large sums of money to her. The items you get from her store aren't exactly worth the $ they cost either (think 20 sheets of A4 paper folded in half and stapled for the 'books'). However
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoterrmoderatorEudaemonium: It is important to stay focused on the topic of a thread. You can start a new thread focused on another topic though. The topics here have general categories outlined from the main page of the message board. Acknowledged and accepted; I apologise. It won't happen in future.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoteJack Oskar LarmGood point. As you state, many 'pagan' cultures believed that everything had a soul, ie trees, rocks, a single thread in a tapestry, the knife that cut the bread, etc. A healthy dose of worship was spread around to those things that were part of one's life. I suppose it was about respect for the world around you - the world that sustained life. As we distanced o
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

And thank you, Kath, for the welcome :) I guess what ultimately persuaded me to leave was the insane level of corruption among the upper clergy (something one is not truly capable of realising unless one is IN the clergy, as most of it takes place in closed, private forums). Even with the Nazism, I could always try and provide a moderating voice in the groups (as myself and Dann effectively *r
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Well, your statement is, in some way, a valid point. technically *anything* can be elevated to the level of deity. I mean, if we go back way-back-when, generally natural occurences such as thunder, lightning, rain, earthquakes were considered to be either deities in themselves or the acts of deities. Take for exmaple the japanese notion of 'kami' - though often translated as 'go
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Greetings all! I've just recently joined this forum, and thought I should post under this topic. Mainly because I am the former Reverend Jon (I wrote two of the articles on ex-High Priest Dann's JOS expose, though that was a long time ago so I feel they are likely so somewhat low quality). I am not a member of SiJOS or any anti-JOS board, I preferred to distance myself from them enti
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"