I'm not saying it was Aliens ...

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I have a suspicion they infiltrated the FBI here in the US to secure their status as a legitimate religious organization and bypass investigation as a cult.

Unlikely they will lead their followers to a mass suicide though. They and the LDS will battle it out in the event of a government collapse to assert themselves as the new power system.

There are actually a number of religious groups that would infact qualify as cults.

The Bahais are a peaceful loving community who have many virtues but their readings teach them that god will make all humanity bahais one day, so if you interact with them they tend to be creepy because they are trying to convert you.

A lot of christian groups (not just the scientologists) such as mormons , 7th day adventists etc all have cult like qualities.

The Bahai are fine though. I've visited their gardens in Haifa, IS and met plenty while I lived there. It is the legitimate religion of peace - they blanket accept all messengers of the divine Moses, Buddha, Jesus, Muhammed without any ranking system for any one message being truer than any other. They tend to want to discuss religion I think for 2 reasons, 1 in Israel they are not allowed to convert people so I feel like it's a positive PR campaign they want to make sure they're creating a good brand and 2 people who become Bahai are just the kind of people who would want to talk religion and philosophy. They can be a little woo woo but there is no supreme leader who deifies himself and controls his followers. There's no system of abuse where people are separated from their families and told this was is the only way. It's really just the most Swiss religion of all religions.

LDS is definitely pretty culty. But they're such nice people no one really minds. At least not here in the US. They have all of Utah and they generally improve the areas they congregate in. Joseph Smith definitely fit the mold of your classic charismatic cult figure. The organization now though, not sure it's truly a cult. It does function just like an organized religion. The main differentiator is does the organization dispossess its people of their finances? LDS has a mandatory 10% tithe but aside from that, no. Does it separate people from their family? On the contrary LDS is perhaps the most family friendly group there is. If a person leaves are they excommunicated? Not to the extent as a person leaving a legitimate cult, ie there are no threats to the person's life, there may be a twinge of negativity from former members as would be expected from leaving any other established religion. Is there a central figure who is godlike? The do consider their president to be appointed by god but not god himself. Is questioning discouraged? Yes and no. Study of their scriptures and dialogue js considered a healthy aspect of the faith. All and all the LDS movement is an example of a cult turned religion, probably thanks to Joseph Smith not ordering his followers to commit massive suicide and developing a functional institutional structure from which they could scale and become a legitimate force in the world.

Want a hug?

I love how you put things. I tend to find all religions are a little "woo woo". I'm waiting for an innocent 5 year old who is told the "facts of life" to ask their religious parents "if my imaginary friend is not real, then why do you believe in somebody you can't see"

I guess all religions have a small dose of schizophrenia

I always need a hug

I haven't studied them.
I heard it said that scientology was created because of a dollar bet, by Ron Hubbard. lol
They won't get you to suicide, but they will kill your bank balance.

If true, it shows how stupid/gullible people can be.

{{{{{{{{{{adromedanblackhole}}}}}}}}}}

I guess a kiss on the cheek is out of the question, with covid and all, right?

L Ron Hubbard is quoted on more than one occasion stating that starting your own religion is the quickest way to mega wealth, I'm paraphrasing of course.

He was also a famed science fiction writer and elements of his openly fictitious work appeared in his "religion" as well. His followers are required to lie about their beliefs to the uninitiated. The name Xenu is denied and denied and denied until I believe you reach their cruise ship secret knowledge package for $200,000 where you learn that this is the name of the alien that came down here as a god or whatever blah blah psychobabble nonsense they believe.

The Mormons believe we can perfect ourselves to a level where we will also achieve a godlike status and be allowed to lord over our own planet. They also deny and deny and deny. But oops nope that's the secret knowledge you learn only after a few hurdles and status advancements in their group.

Oh the imaginaro virus, I tremble in fear over the imaginaro virus

You do?
I didn't think you were the trembling kind.

Do not question the imaginaro virus
Do not leave your home
Do not congregate with others
Do not sing in the privacy of your home, it upsets the imaginaro virus and makes it more lethal

Thus spake Your Global Fear Mongers

I think if we were a seeded form of intelligent life planted by an alien race 100,000 years ago

then perhaps we are just a form of caretaker for the planet
so that the other forms of food doesn't get out of hand

i think we are probably all food
for someone or something

3 billion years is a heck of a long time to grow food!

I am certainly a delicacy for the bed bugs in my apartment. No argument there!

I generally agree with this - the exact window of time I have no idea. But it seems just a touch odd how we went from apes to people. Could also be a great mystery we simply don't understand.

I'm generally comfortable with the idea that humanity is a fuel source for a global industrial machine that has a tiny itsy bitsy fraction of the human population at the highest rung who are the "drivers" of this machine. I'm also comfortable with the idea that these people aren't people at all. Or if they are people they are on a very low level of consciousness and lack what could otherwise be referred to as a soul. I'm comfortable with the idea that this industrial world's job is to essentially rob humanity of their soul. What I'm not comfortable with though, is if this is true how few in number are the people that know.