Thursday, November 02, 2006
Mormons And The Word "Cult" - In The End, It's Attitude That Matters
Take a moment, clear your mind, now say to yourself "CULT" -- What images flash through your thoughts? My guess is it is not a pretty sight. Depending on your age, it may be Jim Jones, or David Koresh, or the Heaven's Gate group in San Diego. These are all images of pure, unadultered evil, worse, some of it in God's Holy name.
When confronted with such evil, we all have natural reactions of repulsion and disgust. Our instinct is to destroy the evil. This is a natural, and I think even Godly, reaction to genuine, irredeemable evil.
But here is the problem, when a word conjures up those impulses and reactions, on a very deep level, it is extremely difficult to use that word in other contexts and with other meanings.
As we have discussed, "cult" is a word with many, many meanings. Some of those meanings are quite useful, particularly in academic settings. Other meanings are generally pejorative, and it is understandable that groups that do not rise to the level I described above would not appreciate bearing such a label.
In the end, I think we as Christians have to be very careful in our use of the term. Despite its usefulness in purely academic settings it creates, for most, the negative reactions I cited above. Now I ask you, are these reactions, revulsion - disgust - destruction, reactions that are typically considered Christian when we are not confronted with genuine irredeemable evil? We cannot we forget Christ was indeed revulsed at the Temple as He tore through the money changers, but He responded to so many more that were merely lost or wrong with a very different attitude. He was a friend to sinners, and chastised for His reaching out to societies less-than-desirables.
So, when it comes to Mormons and the use of the word "cult" - we need to ask ourselves, what attitude is appropriate for us to have when we approach them? If it is the revulsion and disgust worthy of true evil, then a word which conjures those reactions and attitudes in us would be appropriate. However, if our attitude is to be that of Christ towards the prostitute or tax-collector, then indeed another word should be what springs to our mind when we think "Mormon."
Some may argue that their now-banished practice of polygamy warrants a strong reaction. I argue strongly the other way. Firstly, the CJCLDS no longer practices polygamy and in fact reviles it. But more, what is polygamy save a sexual sin? Christ clearly had a loving attitude towards sexual sin, while wrong, it does not rise to the level of irredeemable evil. (As an aside, polygamy as currently practiced by some polygamous groups is pure evil for it is more enslavement than marriage - but they are not the average Mormon you will meet on the street - they are break away sects that live in shelterd, highly secluded communities)
Some may argue that it is acceptable to use the word "cult" concerning Mormons in academic discussions where the innocuous meanings are understood and granted. My response to that is maybe so, behind closed doors in the halls of academia. But we must remember, in this Internet age, our journals and writings are far more public than ever in history. When we discuss the issue on blogs, or it is published in a journal that goes on line - the use of the term is no longer limited to participants in the conversation, or the limited subscription list of the journal. It is now available to the general public. In such instances our use of the term, though understood innocuously by the "target" audience, will be grossly miscontrued by the casual observer and we will be guilty of fostering the kind of revulsion that is unworthy of the people of Christ.
Words are powerful things - far more powerful than those of us that use them well realize. Words are often more than merely defined. They are often evocative of imagery, emotion, even an action-based response. We who have tamed words for ourselves are responsible for the evocation the words we use produce in others, and sometimes even in ourselves.
Christ did not come to merely transform our thinking - He came to transform us into beings in His image, beings whose thoughts, actions, attitudes, and utterances are all like His. In such an instance, can we afford words that create other than such in ourselves or others?
Related Tags: cult, words, actions, evocation, attitudes, Mormon
When confronted with such evil, we all have natural reactions of repulsion and disgust. Our instinct is to destroy the evil. This is a natural, and I think even Godly, reaction to genuine, irredeemable evil.
But here is the problem, when a word conjures up those impulses and reactions, on a very deep level, it is extremely difficult to use that word in other contexts and with other meanings.
As we have discussed, "cult" is a word with many, many meanings. Some of those meanings are quite useful, particularly in academic settings. Other meanings are generally pejorative, and it is understandable that groups that do not rise to the level I described above would not appreciate bearing such a label.
In the end, I think we as Christians have to be very careful in our use of the term. Despite its usefulness in purely academic settings it creates, for most, the negative reactions I cited above. Now I ask you, are these reactions, revulsion - disgust - destruction, reactions that are typically considered Christian when we are not confronted with genuine irredeemable evil? We cannot we forget Christ was indeed revulsed at the Temple as He tore through the money changers, but He responded to so many more that were merely lost or wrong with a very different attitude. He was a friend to sinners, and chastised for His reaching out to societies less-than-desirables.
So, when it comes to Mormons and the use of the word "cult" - we need to ask ourselves, what attitude is appropriate for us to have when we approach them? If it is the revulsion and disgust worthy of true evil, then a word which conjures those reactions and attitudes in us would be appropriate. However, if our attitude is to be that of Christ towards the prostitute or tax-collector, then indeed another word should be what springs to our mind when we think "Mormon."
Some may argue that their now-banished practice of polygamy warrants a strong reaction. I argue strongly the other way. Firstly, the CJCLDS no longer practices polygamy and in fact reviles it. But more, what is polygamy save a sexual sin? Christ clearly had a loving attitude towards sexual sin, while wrong, it does not rise to the level of irredeemable evil. (As an aside, polygamy as currently practiced by some polygamous groups is pure evil for it is more enslavement than marriage - but they are not the average Mormon you will meet on the street - they are break away sects that live in shelterd, highly secluded communities)
Some may argue that it is acceptable to use the word "cult" concerning Mormons in academic discussions where the innocuous meanings are understood and granted. My response to that is maybe so, behind closed doors in the halls of academia. But we must remember, in this Internet age, our journals and writings are far more public than ever in history. When we discuss the issue on blogs, or it is published in a journal that goes on line - the use of the term is no longer limited to participants in the conversation, or the limited subscription list of the journal. It is now available to the general public. In such instances our use of the term, though understood innocuously by the "target" audience, will be grossly miscontrued by the casual observer and we will be guilty of fostering the kind of revulsion that is unworthy of the people of Christ.
Words are powerful things - far more powerful than those of us that use them well realize. Words are often more than merely defined. They are often evocative of imagery, emotion, even an action-based response. We who have tamed words for ourselves are responsible for the evocation the words we use produce in others, and sometimes even in ourselves.
Christ did not come to merely transform our thinking - He came to transform us into beings in His image, beings whose thoughts, actions, attitudes, and utterances are all like His. In such an instance, can we afford words that create other than such in ourselves or others?
Related Tags: cult, words, actions, evocation, attitudes, Mormon
