Thanks, Peter, an interesting read, for this non-believer that loves US, in all its contradictions. Perhaps there was almost a "self selection" initially, where extremists and malcontents were more inclined to sign up for Jamestown and so on.

For Australians, the key question of the moment: Is Pentecostalism a cult? If like me you believe the answer is a resounding yes, then his looney-tunes Q-Anon mates just seem like icing on the cake.

"Is Christianity a cult?"

What a stupid and insulting question; certainly one that is not worthy of further contemplation.

Christianity is not perfect, but it is better than the rest, and was deemed suitable to base Western civilisation on.

Is Christianity a cult? Well, yes and since Constantine changed it from what it once was into today's pagan ritualistic abomination! Which now needs huge edifices not ever part of esoteric Christain, in remembrance of me, practise.

Where the confessional, marriage ceremonies were not ever subject to esoteric Christian control or practise! One being around 700 years old the other around 300. Nor was there at the altar, sacrifice.

Nor was there great wealth and treasure piling up in Christian coffers!

Nor leaders involving themselves in politics or controversy or priestly pluralistic paedophilia. Albeit, Paul as by all accounts, a self-confessed homosexual.

I'd call it a polyglot abomination and a stye in the eye of God.
Alan B.

ttbn,
I wonder if you would have ventured that opinion in pre reformation days.
David

Apologies, Paul as, should be read as I wrote it, Paul was.
Alan.

I can’t quite fathom the point the author is attempting to make.

Trump had a cult following. I am unashamed to admit I was one, and would be overjoyed, and not alone in the joys of a second Trump coming.

Islam is a cult of Christianity. No mention of that one.

And all the Crusades were not interested in selfish pursuits in their quest for the return of Jerusalem to Christendom. Their enemy was on the most part, the Muslim infidel Now the Jews have it. Didn’t mention that one.

The civil war in the US over slavery was probably less harmful than the modern war between debt slaves and the robber barons, often resulting in a lifetime of servitude to the debt slaves.

I think Christianity adequately adjusted to its historic social connections as history moved on. It offered the West an moral anchor for its peoples and well served it’s purpose, in spite of mad Popes and self serving politicians who were quick to extort it’s virtues for self gain.

Shame about the present loss of purpose and direction in the West which is struggling to find a useful substitute in the decline of the Christian belief system, resulting in epidemics of suicide among the young, and too many other side effects to mention.

This post is actually an anti American rant which blames Christianity as motivation for war, when actually it is greed and advancement of Corporate interest often the prime driver.

Dan

"Paul [w]as by all accounts, a self-confessed homosexual."

That's just plain rubbish. Complete a-historic clap-trap. Little wonder AlanB believes it. I've explained to him before where this anti-Christian meme came from, but facts don't matter if you really want it to be true.

__________________________________________________________________

Is Christianity a cult? By one definition, the most benign, yes.

But this is all part of the bastardisation of the language that Orwell identified. Take a word with positive overtones (eg Gay) and apply it to things you like. Do it often enough and the dull of thought buy it.

Take a word with negative connotations and apply it to things you want to denigrate. Do it often enough and the dull of thought buy it.

"And the beat goes on....."

Of course Christian-ism is a cult. Anyone who suggests otherwise just has not done their homework.
These two related references describe the characteristics of cults and cultism. And in extreme cases the collective insanity of such.
http://www.beezone.com/adi-da/cultism.html
http://www.dabase.org/up-4-2.htm

Is there a definition of a cult which does not at least include some agreement over some ideas among its members?

With about 2,000 different groups which drastically disagree over practically anything, including even about their understanding of the teachings and identity of their central figure, Jesus Christ, at times even warring about their differences, how could any rational person suggest that all of those billions of people form one cult?

NO, christianity is clearly NOT a cult.

But secular, humanist atheism or "scientific" socialism or communism or Leftism or as i call it, Left Wing Religion is absolutely a cult.

Leftism deifies or worships their "Dear Leaders".
Leftism dogmatically drums leftist theology into it's cult members.
Leftists display ALL the symptoms of brainwashed cult members.

The rule of thumb for what is, and what is not, "a cult", Peter Bowden, is that organised religions with millions or billions of adherents are "religions", and new faiths populated by dozens, hundreds, or thousands, many with what most would consider bizarre beliefs, "cults." So no, Christianity is not a cult.

I get from the rest of your spray, that you seem to be another neo Marxist who quite obviously sneers at the right side of politics. My perception of neo Marxists is that they hate white people, since they never stop blaming my race for the dysfunctions of the dysfunctional races the Left now courts as their new electorate. So, I don't take too seriously anything that lefties like you say, although it is interesting to read your thoughts.

As a neo Marxist, it is only natural that you should hate Christianity and sneer at it in this essay you have written. After all, neo Marxism is very much a religion itself as it has it's own ideology it can not prove is right, and it does not want questioned. It also claims to be the protectors of the oppressed, and if it has the power, it savagely attacks anyone as a heretic who opposes it. And though neo Marxism does not promise paradise after death, it promises instead a multicultural utopia in life.

The main problem with neo Marxism is that by promising nirvana in the present life, it has to explain why it failed in every one of the 54 countries stupid enough to adopt it. At least the Christians have to wait until they are dead to realise that they were being had.

As Marxism is now resurgent as neo Marxism and is gaining believers all over the western world, where universities now seem to be the new cathedrals, I would grant both Christianity and neo Marxism the status of "religions."

Yes it most certainly is a cult..
The bible is a dangerous book that preys on the downtrodden and destitute like a pedophile grooms children.
It's full of harmful ideology that will make people lose all sense of themselves.

I'll show you some:

http://www.gotquestions.org/prodigal-son.html

"When our sons and daughters go off on their own—assuming they are of legal age to do so—and make choices that we know will bring hard consequences, parents must let go and allow them to leave. The parent does not follow after, and the parent does not interfere with the consequences that will come. Rather, the parent stays at home, keeps faithfully praying and watching for the signs of repentance and a change of direction. Until that comes, parents keep to their own counsel, do not support the rebellion, and do not interfere"

So basically, if your child does not follow your religion, you disown them and deliberately let them fail, so that they do come home on their knees begging for Jesus.

"If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and who, when they have chastened him, will not heed them, then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city, to the gate of his city. And they shall say to the elders of his city. 'This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious; he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard.' Then all the men of his city shall stone him to death with stones; so you shall put away the evil from among you, and all Israel shall hear and fear."

If your child's stubborn, rebellious, fat and drinks
The bible's quite clear, you need to have them stoned to death;
So that they don't bring shame upon you, in this religious theocratic utopia.

That's not 'Ensuring your child's physical and emotional wellbeing' or 'Having their best interests'.
Which makes it nothing more than a religious cult;

Ethics beats religion EVERY TIME

Hi Armchair Critic:- 100% of the positive ethics that you claim to support are biblical, but you already knew that didn't you? This is how the 100% evil, ruling, left wing elitists operate. They steal your good reputation so they can steal the entire planet.

BTW:- You are quoting from the Old Testament & NOT the teachings of Jesus, but you already knew that didn't you?

Christianity has NEVER killed or injured ANYBODY...

Corrupt leftists however are 100% evil & their death rate over the last 100 years alone makes even the murderous muslim carnage over the last 1,400 years, pale into insignificance, but you already knew that didn't you?

NO Australian child will be safe until ALL leftists are permanently jailed, deported or humanely put down by the RSPCA with the other dangerous dogs.

Traditional Christianity = Positive Ethics.
Left Wing Anti-Humanism = Negative Ethics.

But you already knew that didn't you?

Hi LEGO:- Accurate comment as usual.

I saw just how 'ethical' Christians were during COVID.

Religious people running around ignoring all precautions saying 'Jesus will protect me'.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/aug/01/south-korean-sect-leader-arrested-for-obstructing-covid-19-investigation

"Lee Man-hee is the powerful head of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus which is linked to more than 5,200 coronavirus infections, or 36% of South Korea’s total cases.

Prosecutors allege the 89-year-old conspired with other sect leaders to withhold information from authorities during the peak of the outbreak among his more than 200,000 followers."

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/feb/28/were-treated-like-criminals-south-korean-sect-feels-coronavirus-backlash

"As authorities rush to find the connection between the sect and Wuhan, it has been alleged that the church operated a branch there. A recording has emerged of one of the cult leaders in which he refers to their Wuhan branch. “No Shincheonji member in Wuhan has contracted the virus thanks to their faith,” he says.

After the recording was made public, the sect admitted there were about 300 active members in Wuhan, although there is scepticism about the church’s activities there."

Margaret Court says ‘Blood of Jesus’ protects her church from coronavirus
http://www.outsports.com/2020/3/13/21177973/margaret-court-blood-of-jesus-coronavirus-church
Former tennis player and longtime homophobe ignores science in her statements about coronavirus.

Preacher who claimed Christians immune to virus appears in Myanmar court
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-myanmar-court-idUSKBN22W1BY
"A preacher who said Christians were immune to the coronavirus and then contracted it himself appeared in a Myanmar court on Wednesday to face charges over organising services in defiance of a ban on gatherings."

Greek Orthodox church says 'holy cup cannot carry disease', allows congregations to share spoon
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-14/church-religious-groups-say-coronavirus-cannot-infect-them/12055476
"Greek Orthodox churches across the country will allow congregations of hundreds of people to sip wine from the same spoon during mass because 'the holy cup cannot carry disease,' the Archdiocese said."

[Cont.]
Lockdown protester who claimed ‘Jesus is my vaccine’ dies from Covid-19
http://www.meanwhileinireland.com/lockdown-protester-who-claimed-jesus-is-my-vaccine-dies-from-covid-19/

"The Texas town of Dripping Springs was in mourning today as news broke of the passing of Chuck Fargo.
Fargo was a leading member of the town’s Republican Party and organiser of the town’s Four More Years for Trump campaign.
Fargo, the well-known owner of Chucks Automatic Weapons Gun Shop, was recently involved in numerous protests against the loss of what he considered “My right as an American to drive my pick-up any God-Damn place I choose.”
Fargo and hundreds like him were bitterly opposed to isolation and the restriction of movement due to the Coronavirus."

Do you want anymore examples?
- They're not hard to find -

Do you want to know what 'ethics' actually is imacentristmoderate?

Start with this, repeat after me:
'Everybody has the right to live however they choose so long as it doesn't have a negative or detrimental effect on others'

Seems to me you god botherers haven't seemed to figure that part out yet?
And you know why?
- Because your religion is a cult.
It's flawed and not the be-all end-all path to enlightenment you all think it is.
If it was, you numbskulls might've figured that part out, but you don't.

Armchair Critic. Don't waste your breathe on them. They are all going to end up with the white ants six foot under like the rest of us, sooner or later. Sooner if they don't get vaccinated.
David

Winstom Churchill

Indeed it is evident that Christianity, however degraded and distorted by cruelty and intolerance, must always exert a modifying influence on men’s passions, and protect them from the more violent forms of fanatical fever, as we are protected from smallpox by vaccination. But the Mahommedan religion increases, instead of lessening, the fury of intolerance. It was originally propagated by the sword, and ever since its votaries have been subject, above the people of all other creeds, to this form of madness. In a moment the fruits of patient toil, the prospects of material prosperity, the fear of death itself, are flung aside. The more emotional Pathans are powerless to resist. All rational considerations are forgotten. Seizing their weapons, they become Ghazis—as danger­ous and as sensible as mad dogs: fit only to be treated as such. While the more generous spirits among the tribesmen become convulsed in an ecstasy of religious blood­thirstiness, poorer and more material souls derive additional impulses from the influence of others, the hopes of plunder and the joy of fighting. Thus whole nations are roused to arms. Thus the Turks repel their enemies, the Arabs of the Soudan break the British squares, and the rising on the Indian frontier spreads far and wide. In each case civilisation is confronted with militant Mahommedanism. The forces of progress clash with those of reaction. The religion of blood and war is face to face with that of peace. Luckily the religion of peace is usually the better armed.
—The Story of the Malakand Field Force (1898)

Cmon 'Mr But you already knew that didn't you?'

You Christians think you're so smart, and beyond reproach;
Like the light of Jesus shines directly out your rear ends
How many people have you lot infected with COVID?
- With your 'Pray and let God do the worrying' attitude?

You tell yourselves, 'If God want's to take me then so be it'
- And you really don't give a crap about precautions -
If someone else dies, then that was 'God's Will' too right?
- they're with the Lord now, Let's celebrate!

All hanging out down the church singing Jesus praises
- While you're all coughing on each other -

I saw videos of people coughing on public seating, in lifts etc.
You're no better than those people when the end result IS THE EXACT SAME THING.

The problem I have with you clueless morons is that you don't seem to understand that there's a difference between God's will and Man's will.

Your religion is actually like a celebration of mental retards.

You'll run around with no mask, whinging about lockdowns and restictions.
PUTTING OTHERS AT RISK WITH YOUR CAVALIER ATTITUDE

You don't understand even the first basic concept of harming others.

Blabber on endlessly about 'Good Christian morals'...

It's truly like the blind leading the blind.
Do you know what the difference between morals and ethics is?
- Ethics is 'knowing the difference between right and wrong'
- Morals is 'How you act upon that knowledge'

So you can't have good morals unless you first possess good ethics.
Well where's your good ethics?

All I see is endless examples that you Christians are ACTUALLY DEVOID OF ETHICS ENTIRELY

Hi Armchair Critic...

STEMM was invented by the Presbyterian Churches of Scotland & Holland, but you already knew that didn't you?

Science = Presbyterian Church.
Technology = Presbyterian Church.
Engineering = Presbyterian Church.
Mathematics = Presbyterian Church.
Medical science = Presbyterian Church.

Q, After Australia has been colonised by Communist China & we are living the UCSR dream, will you be?

A-1, Commenting on OLO?
A-2, Working on a chain gang in a labour camp? Or?
A-3, Dead & as you are up against that wall dying, will you have enough brains to say to yourself "imacentristmoderate was right, i should have listened to him"? Or?

A-4, Dead & while up against that wall dying, will you still be believing that communism will work better next time.

BTW:- If you are still alive & inside the labour camp, would you prefer the guards to be Christians or Communists?

Hey imabrokenrecord,

"STEMM was invented by the Presbyterian Churches of Scotland & Holland, but you already knew that didn't you?"

No, I didn't know that, do you have any references for this?

It seems you're saying human beings were as dumb as goldfish prior to the Presbyterian Church;
- I think that's kind-of interesting.

Do you actually pay attention to the things I say to you?
http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?article=21475&page=0#378656
QUOTE>>
- The way my brain works, is to firstly look at the Pro's and Con's of all issues;
- And then I use that knowledge to see flaws in others arguments.<<

Do you by any chance understand the basic concept that I have a computer with internet?
It gives me access to all kinds of info right at my fingertips.

'Flaws in others arguments' - You see that part there?
- Would it help if I wrote it in capitals for you?

So lets say just for argument sake that I typed this into my 'google search engine':
'science in ancient greece'
http://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=science+in+ancient+greece

'The Ancient Greeks made many advancements in science and technology. Greek philosophers began to look at the world in different ways. They came up with theories on how the world worked and thought that the natural world obeyed certain laws that could be observed and learned through study.'

There's more:
'People also ask - What did ancient Greece contribute to science?'
'It emphasized logic and championed the idea of impartial, rational observation of the natural world. The Greeks made major contributions to math and science. We owe our basic ideas about geometry and the concept of mathematical proofs to ancient Greek mathematicians such as Pythagoras, Euclid, and Archimedes.'

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syracusia
'Syracusia was designed by Archimedes and built around 240 BC by Archias of Corinth on the orders of Hieron II of Syracuse. The historian Moschion of Phaselis said that Syracusia could carry a cargo of some 1600 to 1800 tons and a capacity of 1,942 passengers'

- Maybe they built it by tying some sticks together or something?

What's your view on this Mr know-it-all?

[Cont']

Maybe Noah consulted with the Presbyterian Church before he built his ARK?
- Did you forget to read that part of your bible?
- Or maybe he also tied sticks together too?

What the hell do I know;
- I wasn't there...

Thank God for secularism which was originally about stopping Christian sub cults killing each other and disrupting whole societies through 'their values', by accepting difference, shared values and optimism for humanity.

Like other parts of Anglo and European law and culture, the same has been adopted by many nations, including nominally Moslem etc. in the Mid East, for the good of society, while others outside of the mainstream (and too many inside) claim they are victims and martyrs.... being used to leverage ageing, conservative and often religious voters.

Hi Armchair Critic,

500 years ago the PROTEST-ant Christian REFORMATION & ENLIGHTENMENT began. Prior to 500 years ago 2 or 3 children out of 10 "were educated".

A french man named John Calvin, leader of a group of PROTEST-ant Christians named Huguenots, looked out upon French poverty & decided the Catholic church which ran France's education system was creating or maintaining this poverty by keeping the people illiterate.

John Calvin decided to have his preachers in the church Monday to Friday teaching the children reading, writing, mathematics, history, etc.

The Huguenots were persecuted & fled. Scotland & Holland took in many of the Huguenots.

Scotland & Holland through the "REFORMATION of their churches", became Presbyterian.

In Scotland 100% of all education services, health care services, welfare services & social services were provided by the Presbyterian church. When England had 2 universities, Scotland had 5 universities.

Scotland & Holland thanks to the Presbyterian church became the 1st European countries to have education available to ALL. In one generation Scotland & Holland went from "2 or 3 children out of 10 educated", to "7, 8 or 9 children out of 10 educated". But you already knew that didn't you?

Or maybe thanks to left wing dumbing down of our formerly better education system, you were ignorant of the truth.

BTW:- 2 or 3 hundred years ago, what were Presbyterians studying in schools, colleges & universities?

The "CLASSICS" which was "Greco-Roman" history. These PROTEST-ant Christians wanted to understand how these societies rose up & then fell. What mistakes did the Greeks & Romans make?

PROTEST-ant Christians did NOT want to repeat the same mistakes the Greeks & Romans made while setting up modern, western civilisation, or democracy.

Cue John Locke, Thomas Reid, Edmund Burke, etc & many others like them in North America, Australia, Britain & New Zealand who were 100% Christian while writing our constitutions. But of course you already knew that didn't you, unless you had a left wing education?

Is leftism a cult & are you a brainwashed member of the left wing religious cult?

Ok, thanks for the history lesson, but that doesn't mean you're correct when you say Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Medical Science was invented by the Presbyterian Churches of Scotland & Holland.
Clearly human beings had progressed their knowledge in many of these fields a lot earlier than 1536.

You could probably argue that the Presbyterian Church was instrumental in helping bring these thing into modernity, but you can't argue they invented it.

And what of it?
What are you saying the Presbyterian church holds the patent on doing nice things?

John Calvin's theology was derived from Saint Augustine's theology 1000 years earlier anyway.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustinian_Calvinism

Furthermore I think it should be put it into perspective.
And that is that they didn't even have books other than hand written ones until just a few decades earlier.
Metal movable-type printing press was introduced to Europe from China around 1450.
The whole era was the Renaissance, which itself came about from the rediscovery of classical Greek philosophy.
Later we got modern banking, then the French Revolution.

And I don't even know why any of this even matters to be honest...
What does this STEMM have to do with anything anyway?
Why did you even bring it up?
What's your point?

>>The "CLASSICS" which was "Greco-Roman" history. These PROTEST-ant Christians wanted to understand how these societies rose up & then fell. What mistakes did the Greeks & Romans make?<<
- Go read Plato's 'The Republic' and find out.

I'm not sure I'm in the mood right now for Communists and Jacobins
- But you go right ahead.

What You're Not Supposed to Know About America's Founding
http://youtu.be/364cxeR5EAg

The bottom line is that Calvinism still supported Predestination.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Calvin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predestination

And that's the thing that annoys me about Christians.
"Predestination, in Christian theology, is the doctrine that all events have been willed by God, usually with reference to the eventual fate of the individual soul."

What does that mean to me?

Lets go back to Christians saying 'Jesus will protect me from Covid'.
Believing that 'If I do get COVID then that's God's will' so it doesn't matter what I do.
And 'If I get COVID and spread it to others and they die, then that's God's will too.'
These people are in heaven now - Lets celebrate!

This whole 'Pray and let God do the worrying' crap.
This whole idea that it doesn't matter what happens, it's all Gods will.

This whole ignorant selfish attitude, that has no concern of the harm you may do to others.

That's what I hate and the part that shows me your religious ideology is flawed and therefore also a cult.

- And nothing you've blabbered on with changes that.

Hi Armchair Critic, in your zeal to attack a perceived enemy & continue clinging to leftist theology, you have forgotten some things.

1, The "Dark Ages", which followed the "Fall of Rome". Q, I wonder where that came from, or who did it? A, Islamic Jihad is the primary culprit.

2, The Presbyterian Church DOES "hold the patent on doing nice things". IF leftists are copying Presbyterian Church morals, ethics, principles word for word, then claiming good deeds done by the Presbyterian Church as something leftists did. Which BTW is exactly what leftism has been doing for hundreds of years.

3, Please show me where i said in any comment "i was currently a member of the Presbyterian Church". I'm not & i don't believe in predestination either. Many conservative christians DON'T believe in predestination. Just giving credit where credit is due.

4, The Chinese have thousands of characters in their language as opposed to english with only 26 letters in the alphabet. The Chinese were using carved blocks of wood to print a character on the page, just like a "rubber stamp" you might have ordered from a stationary store to print your name & address on the back of a snail mail envelope.

It was Gutenberg who invented the printing press, but you already knew that didn't you?

5, The Renaissance or Enlightenment ALL flow on from the PROTEST-ant Christian Reformation. For 1,500 years there where plenty of decent, honest christians who were complaining about corruption in the Roman Catholic Church. But the RC church controlled the education system & "worked with" the "ruling, leftist elites" of their day.

Gutenberg's printing press allowed Martin Luther's critique of Roman Catholicism to get out to the educated, middle classes.

After the Presbyterian Church began educating EVERYBODY & other PROTEST-ant Churches followed suit, the Reformation & Enlightenment went into overdrive.

ALL christianity, NOT leftism.

6, Why aren't you attacking leftists for continuing with sporting events, yartistic events & leftist rallies which have ALL spread the Communist Chinese virus on multiple occasions ALL over the planet + in this country as well?

"Hi Armchair Critic, in your zeal to attack a perceived enemy & continue clinging to leftist theology, you have forgotten some things."

Do you look at the links I post?

Hey many leftists do you know that post content from The John Birch Society LOL

Hi Armchair Critic, Do you ever actually read what i type & think about it a bit?

I'm well aware of the John Birch Society & i did watch that YouTube video, which contained good information, i already knew about. Here is some more for you along the same lines. Please consider these questions carefully before answering.

Is communism culturally cancerous, or has EVERY tiny detail of left wing theology been carefully designed to destroy EVERYTHING you & i hold dear?

If you had cancer would you want the surgeon to remove 100% of the tumor, or leave 10% of the tumor behind, so that it can steadily regrow & still kill you prematurely, or severely damage your quality of life?

Have you ever followed the breadcrumbs of history further backwards before 1748 to see where left wing theology or the endarkenment originated?

Consider these dates in history carefully...

1648
1748
1848
1884
1948
1984

Do you see a pattern forming here?

Do you think that 500 years ago the left wing authoritarians or 1% of Britain & Europe wanted to just give up feudalism for PROTEST-ant Christian Democracy or give "power to the people"?

What do you think the response was & is feudalism still with us in the form of leftism?

Thank you all, I am the author..
But you did not answer the request to all who commented to give an explanation for this issue:
The question arises then that if the US has generated a high percentage of the world's cults why has it done so, and is this the reason why a very religious country has such inadequate social practices- more killings, more public executions, inadequate health systems?

Two possible explanations are put forwardin the article but commenters are urged to put their own explanations forward.
Peter Bowden

Dear Peter,

«why a very religious country has such inadequate social practices»

Why do you call the USA a religious country?
It is true that as part of their history and culture they have a high rate of participation in churches and church services, but since when has this been an indication of religiousness?

If you are after an answer to the American cults issue, you really need to look at social issues rather than at religion.

So Yuyutsu,go for it,,, What are "the social issues rather than ..religion"?. And why do I call them religious? More of them believe in God than any other nation,,80% vs 40% in Australia, , More of them pray,,, more of them go to church than any other developed country ,,,By a substantial margin,,

So comment with knowledge please

Dear Peter,

As for the social issues in America, I am ignorant, I never studied them and so I urge you to ask others who know more than myself.

Why do you call them religious?

- Because it is a myth, all too common that you fell for it too, as if those who claim to believe in God and pray in churches are supposedly more religious than others.

"By their fruits you shall know them" [Matthew 7:16]

Hi PeterBo,

Why do you think America has produced more religious cults than Australia?

Australia has heaps of radical, extreme religious cults, they're just not Judeo-Christian cults.

100% of all Australians who claim to not be Christian, believe in something else other than Christianity.

Look no further than the radical, extreme zealotry in the comments of people claiming to be secular, humanist atheists, or the cultish behaviour of Extinction Rebellion.

Australia lead the world for producing foreign fighters in the Middle East by a country mile.

I tell you what else makes Christianity a cult.

This whole idea surrounding forgiveness.
Christians are taught to forgive the rapist and the murderer.

- At the funeral, it would somehow be God's will that these things happened
- Instead of separating God's will from Man's will that caused the problem...
Don't people have their own freewill?

Christians are taught to have 'unconditional forgiveness'.
They become so diluted with 'unconditional forgiveness' that they end up inadvertently give all sins a free pass

By the same token it's as though they also expect 'unconditional forgiveness'
No matter what they do wrong, they just pray and let God do the worrying.
There's no need to ask forgiveness from the person they themselves harmed.
Just ask God or Jesus for forgiveness and you're covered for everything, all brand new.

Hi Armchair Critic, The Bible NEVER said anything about forgiveness being "unconditional".

Genuine repentance is also required.

You are speaking about radical, extreme leftist re-interpretation of Christian morals, ethics & principles for the purpose of attacking straw men.

Dear Critic,

«Christians are taught to forgive the rapist and the murderer.»

And how many of them follow this teaching? Perhaps 1%.

I thought that cult-people were supposed to be followers...

«Don't people have their own freewill?»

Indeed they do not. People only EXPERIENCE free will and FEEL it to be their own, but in reality only God's will prevails.

«They become so diluted with 'unconditional forgiveness' that they end up inadvertently give all sins a free pass»

No Christian is expected to give all sins a free pass. While forgiving others is an important tenet, one should never let their own sins pass.

«By the same token it's as though they also expect 'unconditional forgiveness'»

And harbouring such unrealistic expectations is a foolish human weakness, not anything they have been taught.

«No matter what they do wrong, they just pray and let God do the worrying.»

But where does it say that Christians must worry?
If you sin then you will have to carry the consequences - worrying is not ordained and will not help you one iota.
And BTW, no matter how much you pray or what else you do, God will not become worried...