OK, so I got laughed out of Chabad in '88: "You'll starve," one member of their crew at 824 Eeastern Parkway said (National Committee for the Furtherance of Jewish Education). But I know there are homeless shelters, even kosher soup kitchens etc in Manhattan. I even helped run one at the now defunct 8th Street Shul. So why wasn't I directed to such places? And wh
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Chabad Lubavitch does outreach to non-Jews as well as to Jews. It's part of their "sheva mitzvahs B'nei Noach" program. (Seven commnandments of the sons of Noah). Basically, they believe that all of the world's populace, as sons and daughter of Noah, are obligated to keep 7 of the ten commandments. (An exception is keeping the Sabbath which is only for Jews). An
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoteClaire Beyond influences of upbringing, I think there is something intrinsic within us that prefers the golden calf to the invisible God. Actually, I think I'm on the level this time. I'm not kowtowing to anyone elses contingencies on how I have to deal with them on their level and not mine. The last time I got involved or rather reinvolved with Chabad and the Carlebach
Forum: Destructive Churches

Israel is where 3 major faiths originated at least spiritually. And as such, Israel, particularly Jerusalem, attracts lots of unstable people. And many of them are on Israel's welfare system, "Bituach Leumi" so they don't have to work and be connected to reality as most of us know it.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoteClaire I think you need to just search things out on your own with an honest heart. I studied other religions, went to college, got books on biblical criticism. I got away from organized religions. I can see some of what they say, but I can't buy the whole enchilada of any major religion. Or minor ones either. And if you mess up your life, don't expect some guru, priest, rab
Forum: Destructive Churches

What do you think these Moslem terrorists are attacking? Our pop culture, our mostly Christian religious population? And how great are Moslem countries? In other words, why don't they just work on reforming their own countries and not attack us?
Forum: Terrorist and Extremist Groups

Ester Jungreis, another Jewish "outreach worker" who has a group called "Hineni" not to be confused with Jews for Jesus, said that the Torah had to be true because they wouldn't have been able to convince the first Jews into it. I say that's not true. All you have to convince people is that there's something in it for them to do it.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Some of the Chabad literature states how much a grown adult male Jew should have a beard. You're not a "real Jew" otherwise. They made a big deal about how they were among the first Jews not to shave their beards in this country. Ever try to find a job in this country wearing a beard and a yalmulka? Chabadniks usually are self employed or work for other Jews.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

My sister has ties to Chabad and my nephew was Bar Mitzvah'd by them. Worse, my uncle does or did some work for Chabad and he thinks they're wonderful. Personally, I just distanced myself from all of them. Especially, my uncle. Everytime I'd talk to him, all of a sudden he'd tell me to go to Lubavitch. When I got my job at AT&T years ago, I got it just i
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

I found out that the yoga positions used during meditation are actually based on prayers to Hindu deities. So that may cause some cognitive dissonance for some people.
Forum: Celebrities associated with "cult-like" groups

I found a whole bunch of sites about spiritualism. Many of them are Bible based in least in part and have beliefs in angels and demons mentioned in the Old and New Testament. One person says, "I've successfully worked with the angels Michael, Rafael, Uriel, and Gabriel for 9 years." How could this be verified? Personally, I'm not much of a fan of the Bible or the New T
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

If you read Lloyd Graham's book, "Deceptions and Myths of the Bible," he goes into the idea of the creative principle. I see it as a facet of God's spirit. Conversely, there's the destructive principle, which is identified with the Satan (that's my take on it). In Hinduism, there's the trimurti or 3 powers, Vishnu (the preserver), Brahma (the creator), and Sh
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoteVTHokie And once those breakthroughs are made, a lot of religious doctrine will either go out the window or be altered Possibly although science has a habit of changing over time. The whole global cooling vs global warming debate is a perfect indication of that. And remember, you can't prove a negative. You can only prop it up. When science states a fact, there will always be so
Forum: Coercive Persuasion and Undue Influence

I remember reading the Jewish Press several years ago and some columnist was complaining that someone took concepts from different religious sources (like I do, but I try to make them agree and take the common points that make sense to me), and put them together like Choulent or Goulash. Well, does any one nation have a corner on the market when it comes to invention, science, math, chemis
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

This concept, is basically related to Karma (Asiyah in Hebrew). The idea is that a person inherits a ball of wax that he can improve on. Based upon a life of Godliness, higher aspirations, human service, a person can make the world a better place, or go in the opposite direction like some people are bent on doing. Some people have an innate ability to get things done and this is related to
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Since I spent 5 years with Hickman, 4 of which were unknown to my parents, a lot of ill will was generated. And as I mentioned elsewhere. my ties to the Jewish community were strained. Currently, I live miles away from a strong Jewish Kehilla and I'm not involved in any type of worship service. All of this has left me jaundiced towards religion, especially from the battle between Jud
Forum: Destructive Churches

Aryeh Kaplan wrote books on Kabbalah and claimed that the Kabbalah was a system of logic not of mysticism. His beginner book is "Inner Space". I used to have the book. He also translated the Book of Formation (Sefer Yetzirah) which was supposedly written by the Patriarch Abraham about 3,800 years ago. The book "Etz Chaim" (Tree of Life) by Rabbi Chaim Vital, a disciple
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

I think the crux of the matter is that these therapies are rooted in religious traditions that don't have scientific back up and verification. Perhaps the systems have some good ideas but, it all has to be quantified and qualified before actually using the systems to any extent and I wouldn't go to a holisitic healer to set a bone, or cure my soul. A lot of these systems had root
Forum: Abusive and Controlling Relationships

Karma actually means "action". Basically, from your actions you sow the seeds for your future. In addition, your ancestors to some degree sowed the seeds that shaped you at birth, ie, you were "dealt a hand of cards." It's up to you to play that hand well. I reject the "tabula rasa" or "blank slate" theory in psychology. To me, any person come
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Now the Yetzer Hara, which according to classical Jewish sources works with the animal soul, or the Nefesh Habahamis is counterpointed by the Yetzer Tov which works with the Nefesh Elokis (corresponding to the Atman). These forces pull in opposite directions. As the Nefesh Habahamis tends to be concerned with the lower part of human nature: security, food, lodging, pleasure - it can be so
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

I think science is on the verge of breakthroughs in many areas. And once those breakthroughs are made, a lot of religious doctrine will either go out the window or be altered.
Forum: Coercive Persuasion and Undue Influence

I had this book called "Phillip Birnbaum's Book of Jewish Concepts." And in the book he talks about a convert away from Judaism and goes on to say, ".... what vile being forsakes the religion of his youth to follow another...." Now wait a minute. When non-Jews convert to Judaism, that's frequently protrayed as deep and holy and due to much critical reflection
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

I found that after I left Hickman, it still caused me problems. My reputation suffered in the Jewish community. One time I was in a Jewish bookstore on LI, NY and someone still thought I was in the group (a lot of Hickmanites used to go to that store), they talked behind my back and said something about how they wished we wouldn't shop there and they didn't need us. And at
Forum: Recovery from Destructive Cults and Groups

A few years ago, I infiltrated the ICOC and got a musical gig together with some people there. I made it clear to my partner that "spiritual was in, Jesus stuff was out." At first he agreed. Then, he went back on his word in rather quick fashion too. One of my friends predicted he'd do it quicker than I was expecting. Eventually, we split. I reported all of what happen
Forum: Celebrities associated with "cult-like" groups

A number of years ago, A.L. Williams has a scheme as a so-called cheaper way of paying off your mortgage, etc.. They claimed you saved hundreds of thousands of dollars on an average mortage by paying off you're mortgage twice a month. the truth is you didn't save one penny according to the Net Present Value theory of how money multiplies. As I have a Master's in Management and a
Forum: Multi Level Marketing and Commercial Schemes

Religion has always wrestled with the problem of evil. And while Judaism recognizes an external enemy called the Satan or "adversary", it is more concerned with the Yetzer Hara, the "evil impulse" or the internal devil or enemy. Jewish religious literature goes into it in depth and Chabad acts like they have a copyright on all of that but it's really worth checki
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

There's a principle in Hinduism and also in Buddhism that says that there's a part of a person's soul that is a part of God or Brahmin incarnate in the person. It's the reflexive principle of the soul. Judaism also says a person has a part of the "divine throne of God" inside. The Hindus refer to Atman and says it's a level of a person that's unchan
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoteVTHokie I can't take seriously the idea that we are descended from fish. That doesn't mean it isn't true. It is either true or false regardless of what I believe. If Jesus is God, walking on water isn't that difficult considering He made Heaven and Earth. We differ in our axioms and therefore come to different conclusions. I believe that Jesus was a mere mort
Forum: Coercive Persuasion and Undue Influence

This is an age-old war. There's basically a schism between religion and science. Religion has strong roots in the supernatural and science only believes that the natural world. You'll also notice that many scientific advances, like cloning, heart and other organ transplants, flight, etc, were originally blocked by various religious organizations. I believe if put in proper pers
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoteOriginally posted by VTHokie Jessica Hahn toppled Jim Bakker after he raped her. I'm going to have to research this one for the name of the prostitute, but Profeta was also brought down. Sexual indescretions in the religion business tend to be dealt with pretty severly. And his problem was also in the news, but he's not as widely known as Baker, because Baker made use of mas
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"