Cults Essay Example for Free

Cults Essay The word cult is often thrown around in todays society as a derogatory term towards religions that are not well known or have aspects that are contrary to mainstream religions. According to mainstream media, cults have been responsible for massive pact suicides, and their followers are incestual and polygamous. The mass media shows the leader as a manipulative person who controls his/her believers as they blindly follow, not knowing the trouble that will certainly find them . cult has become little more than a convenient, if largely inaccurate and always pejorative, horthand for a religious group that must be presented as odd or dangerous for the purpose of an emerging news story. (3) Douglas Cowan and David Bromley show the harsh reality of the way the majority of the media likes to portray cults, probably for better ratings. There are several main cults that are often referenced when researching the topic. The first being The Peoples Temple, the founder Jim Jones had a following of 912, that all died (including him) by cyanide laced drinks in 1978. This was known as the Jonestown Massacre, controversy surrounds it as it is debated hether or not it was a mass suicide or murder. Another commonly referenced cult is Heavens Gate, a UFO doomsday religion that ended in a 39 member suicide in 1997 when the group was attempting to leave earth because they believed it was about to be recycled. To learn and understand what a cult is, I will be define a cult, what features make a cult and who the people are that Join them, as well as discuss the founders of these religions. What is the definition of a cult? Depending on the intent of the author defining the word cult proves a difficult task. The scholars on the ubject of cults seem to have two different approaches when studying this topic. There are those who are a part of the anticult movement and often use the word cult in a negative fashion towards any religion that has formed in recent history. Those apart of the anticult seem to skirt around the subject of defining a cult or explaining what a cult exactly consists of. We are given the feeling as though they do not want to define it as they may cast an umbrella over other mainstream religions that have a similar form. It is even often used to describe popular trends that will upposedly not last, veganism is a term that has been described as a cult fad. You can see how it is almost always used negatively, or as something that has no real substance and will not stand the test of time like other religions have. In contrast, there are those who do not use the word cult but prefer the term New Religious Movements. These scholars have a more objective opinion, and use New Religious Movements to represent fascinating glimpses into the way human beings construct religious meaning and organize their lives to give shape to religious experience. (Cowan, Bromley, 3). It is important to be subjective when using the word cult and for purposes of this paper I will define cult in my own words and state that there is a difference between cults and New Religious Movements. A cult is a form of religion that is deceitful towards its own members with the leader abusing their powers. Although there have been many mainstream religions that have had a leader abuse their powers, it is necessary to point out the ditterence, which is that in a cult the head of the religion is the source of all their religious knowledge and do not have other ways of getting to know the religion without them. In comparison, mass religions have many leaders, many forms of knowledge and you can attain religious beliefs through many forms, not only the one source. Keeping in mind that using the word cult subjectively is imperative to this process, it is still easy to find movements that can be categorized under my own definition of the word cult. These would include the previously mentioned religions of The Peoples Temple and Heavens Gate. When looking at these and other cults there are often many characteristics that they do have in common. It is typical for the cult to have only one leader, .. ho claims divinity or a special mission entrusted to him from Above. (Harrison, 19) A lot of cult leaders use the money from the followers for personal profit. There is a major sense of belonging that comes along with being a part of a cult. There are many religions that also share this but cults often want their members to have this feeling with them alone, and discourage involvement with others who are not in their religion. One author that I found that was willing to at least describe a cult relationship for the purposes of her book was Singer. SHe says there are three actors to cultic relationships, using that term better describes his viewings of interactions that go on in cults. The three factors are as follows: 1. The origin of the group and role of the leader 2. The power structure, or relationship between the leader (or leaders) and the followers 3. The use of coordinated program of persuasion (which is called thought reform, or, more commonly, brainwashing) (7) You can see from the quote that this cultic relationship isnt Just solely related to religion alone, Singer includes cults that are formed around doctrines, theories and pr actices, but states that other esearchers may not identify this exactly as she does. According to the scholars of new religious movements, .. roups that are labeled cults often closely resemble a variety of conventional organizations in which these same characteristics are accepted as legitimate or necessary: communes and intentional communities, convents, monasteries, and other high-commitment religious societies, multilevel marketing organizations and armed forces training and combat units (Bromley, Cowan, 5). There could be many reasons why a person would Join a cult, they could e the same reasons one Joins any faith based group; a person is looking to belong, or meet others with similar morals. A prime reason why a person would Join a cult is that they are not doing this knowing that what they are becoming apart of is in fact a cult. Cults often are established off of a Christian based structure with similar values, and practices. A person may attend a cult thinking it is another sect of Christianity. Members of a cult learn ways to recruit new members, a typical form of recruiting is called love-bombing, where members seek out non-members and shower them ith many forms of attention and affection. Basically, being extremely nice to others with the intent on conversion. Anticult members are quick to let the public know that recruiting for cults can happen anywhere, on campus, on buses and trains, or on the street, letting us know that we can be recruited literally everywhere. In actuality it looks as though most recruitment for cults is done through family members or close friends. When seeing that it is family and friends who do the majority of converting it is easy to see now people would Join. It is not as though the trusted group are trying o harm others by recruiting, they are trying to help and see that others are also going to find the truth in a sense. It is similar to the common practice of missions trips that many Christian religions take part in where they travel to underdeveloped parts of the world, converting people to Christianity and also helping the community in some way. The difference being, hopefully no abuse of power or deceitfulness by the religion. It isnt always understood why one does Join a cult but it is probable to say each individual has their own personal reasons why, and somehow in a way that eligion is giving them whatever it is they may be looking for. Friends? Belonging? Maybe they dont agree with morals of other religions and this cult matches up with the lifestyle that they lead. There is a lot of information pertaining to the large numbers of youth attending cults and New Religious Movements, particularly between the ages of 18 and 22. Lorne L. Dawson describes the demographic of youth as the typical All American boy or girl. A profile of the typical cult member reveals that he or she is white, middle or upper class, with at least some college education and nominally religious upbringing. 85) It might seem surprising that a lot of followers come from this kind of back round, but when looked at a little more in depth you see that often these young adults have either parental issues or have had some sort of middleclass failures. Those with problems in communicating with their parents often look to the leader of the cult for guidance and use them as a parental fgure. Those have failed according to middle class norms seem to be searching fo r validation. A lot of followers Join the cults in times of vulnerability and much needed support from others. While you can say that almost everyone has come from back ounds where they have felt vulnerable at points and needed the support of others, it seems imperative that cults cling on to those who have these types of issues going on as well as the added factor of age to convert potential members. The time of young adulthood is when most people are beginning the process of learning who they are and to have a supportive, flattering, group surround them can be very influential to their life. For most cults there is only one leader although this is not always true, using the examples from earlier, Heavens Gate had two leaders; Marshall Applewhite nd Bettie who liked to be called Ti and Do. Often the leader(s) starts this religion after some form of miraculous religious conversion where they may have had a near death experience or a vision, there are many different stories of leaders getting the call to prophecy. The leaders of cults are always charismatic, and seem to have all the answers. In a time in peoples lives when they are looking for affirmation it is easy to be drawn to someone who knows it all, and can give the yes and no answers. The leader forms very personal relationships with his followers, which sometimes turns sexual. As cults grow the leader is not always able to be so intimate with each member, and this can become problematic for the cult. In response when cults members become larger, the leader will start to segregate himself from the following, only allowing access to certain members who have earned that right. The leader becomes a sort of local celebrity in the eyes of the followers, and like celebrities, their fans stand by them even when arguments against their religious beliefs become even more valid. It is hard to say why a person may start a cult, money could be a huge contributing factor. Or the idea of a group of followers hanging onto every word d by the tounder may be exactly what a true narcissist is looking tor. Out ot all the New Age Religions it is hard to exactly pin point out which ones can be classified as a cult, in history, different Christian denominations have been labelled as cults and paid a price for it. In the nineteenth century The Salvation Army was labelled as a cult and its members were stoned, now it is viewed as a respected and legitimate faith base. So to stamp a religion that hasnt been researched to its full extent can be harmful, and not fair to its members. To be close minded to the idea of new religious movements could erase the idea of religion altogether, as many religions are stuck in the past and not embracing the progressiveness of the times. If a religion is not abusing their powers or being harmful to its members who is to say that it cannot be fulfilling for someone who is looking for more in their life and doesnt connect to mass religions? It is important to teach people to be able to question ideas and to critically think on new and old perspectives, hopefully by doing so people will not so easily be a part of such self-destructive religious groups. I work in the field of homeless and mental health and have met many clients who see themselves as closer to God than the rest of humankind so it is very plausible to me for cult leaders to truly believe that what they are doing is the right way to live, and the only way to live. All religions have outsiders who will say anything to bring that religion into a bad light, it is with great importance that we carefully and kindly dissect the true intent on all religions, not Just new age religions.

Economics :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The economic problem is simply the process of providing for the material well- being of society.(Heilbroner) In my own words, I feel that the economic problem is simply that there are to many jobs and to many people that are not qualified for the â€Å"right† job that they can perform. This then leads to people who do not have the â€Å"right† job for them to not work, because they feel that that is not the job for them. This could be a huge problem that eventually leads to unemployment. Also as technology improves we will no longer need people to do the job but machinery.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Tradition is particular rules that have been adapted to society. This is simply being handed down the family business. There are advantages and disadvantages to this. One advantage is that you are set in a business and really do not have to worry what you are going to do when you get older. But on the other hand there is a disadvantage, being handed down the family business, you are set in that business for basically life and and there is a lack of progress. And progress is the origin of new goods and services.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When dealing with command there is always going to be someone who is in charge, the one with all the power, the one who says you do this. Command and slavery are tied together. Central authority can help economic progress. Markets are systems that allows individuals to make their own decisions.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are two dimensions of production and distribution. One being, to organize a system to assure the production of enough goods and services for its own survival. According to Robinson Cruso this means to be able to live are your own. By doing everything by yourself as opposed to a society working together. And the second dimension being, to arrange the distribution of the fruits of its production so that more production can take place. I think that this basically means to spread the wealth so that

The Consumer Guarantees

The Consumer Guarantees Act is a cornerstone piece of legislation. Its role is to protect consumers. Under the Act, your consumer rights are expressed as a series of â€Å"guarantees† that a seller automatically makes to you when you buy any goods or services ordinarily purchased for personal use.In this guide, we explain what those rights are, and what to do if you think your rights have been breached. The Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 A Summary Introduction: The Act came into force on 1 April 1994 and does not apply to any contract for the supply of goods or services made before this date (Section 56). It is a significant piece of legislation and is aimed at imposing guarantees in contracts for the supply of goods and the performance of services for the consumers benefit. It provides a right of redress against suppliers and manufacturers in respect of any failure of the goods or services to comply with the guarantees. Definitions: Certain terms are defined in the Act itself (Section 2). These definitions are important in determining in what circumstances the Act will or will not apply. The Act defines â€Å"Goods†, â€Å"Service†, â€Å"Supplier†, â€Å"Manufacturer†, â€Å"trade†, and other terms. The key definition in the Act is â€Å"Consumer†. This is defined to mean a person who:- (a) Acquires from a supplier goods or services of a kind ordinarily acquired for personal, domestic, or household use or consumption; and (b) Does not acquire the goods or services, or hold himself or herself out as acquiring the goods or services, for the purpose of: (i) Re-supplying them in trade; or  (ii) Consuming them in the course of a process of production or manufacture; or (iii) In the case of goods, repairing or treating in trade other goods or fixtures on land.† The definition of â€Å"Consumer† is unusual and difficult. The focus is the ordinary use for which goods or services are acquired rather than the use intended by the acquiring purchaser. By way of example a contract for the supply of crockery to a company that owns a restaurant will be a contract of supply of goods subject to the Act because although intended for commercial use, crockery is ordinarily acquired for personal, domestic or household use and consumption. As far as the services supplied by travel agents are concerned it would be best to proceed on the basis that virtually all of the services will be viewed as a kind ordinarily acquired for personal or domestic use or consumption with the consequence that the Act will apply to those services. Guarantees: The Act establishes one set of guarantees which apply in relation to the supply of goods and a different set of guarantees which apply in relation to the supply of services. This summary deals only with the guarantees which the Act imposes in relation to the supply of services. TAANZ also has a summary of the guarantees which are imposed by the Act in relation to the supply of goods and if a member has a problem involving the guarantees applicable to supply of goods the member can obtain a copy of that summary by contacting the TAANZ office. Guarantees in Respect of the Supply of Services Where services are supplied to a consumer there are four guarantees provided by Part IV of the Act. These are:- (i) Guarantee as to Reasonable Care and Skill (Section 28). A guarantee that services will be carried out with reasonable skill and care. This guarantee restates in statutory form the existing common law obligations on Travel Agents to exercise the skill and care of a reasonable competent professional travel agent in performing their services. The guarantee does not extend the existing legal obligations of a travel agent to act with reasonable skill and care in the performance of their function on behalf of their customers. Travel Agents had these obligations before the Act was passed. (ii) Guarantee as to Fitness for Particular Purpose (Section 29) A guarantee that the service, and any product resulting from the service, will be reasonably fit for any particular purpose, and of such a nature and quality that it can reasonably be expected to achieve any particular result that the consumer made known to the supplier. This, the second guarantee, is significant and establishes a new liability on travel agents in relation to the performance of services for customers. The Section (Section 29) requires the consumer to have made known his or her purpose to the travel agent at or before the time of making the contract for supply of services for the customer. The difficulty with this particular guarantee is that it is possible that travel agents may be liable for the actions or defaults of other suppliers of product where the other suppliers fail to perform at the levels expected of them. By way of example, if a customer makes known particular needs in terms of a holiday, for example, a resort which contains a golf course and tennis courts, and the travel agent recommends a particular resort as being able to provide those services and facilities, if the resort (for whatever reason) fails to provide those facilities then the travel agent may be liable. Accordingly, this particular guarantee has the capacity to extend the liability of the travel agent to include failures on the part of the suppliers of the actual facilities of travel accommodation. This particular guarantee is modified in part by Section 33 of the Act which states that there shall be no right of redress against a supplier under the Act in respect of a service or any product resulting from a service which fails to comply with that guarantee only as to fitness for particular purpose if it fails to comply with that guarantee only because of any act, or default, or omission of, or any representation made by any person other than the supplier or an agent or servant of the supplier. TAANZ members should nevertheless take special care when they are dealing with a customer who has specified a particular purpose or that the arrangements which are made for him are to have a particular nature or quality or to achieve a particular result. In such cases the travel agent should be aware that if the customer complains that the programme or plan prepared by the travel agent did not satisfy the particular purpose or provide the facilities of the nature and quality specified by the customer then there is considerable potential for the customer to take action against the travel agent pursuant to this particular guarantee. This guarantee will not apply where the circumstances show that the consumer does not rely on the suppliers’ skill or judgment, or, it is unreasonable for the consumer to rely on the suppliers’ skill or judgment. TAANZ members should also ensure that their professional indemnity policy will cover them for breaches of this guarantee in circumstances when they have not been negligent. A more detailed analysis of this section is contained in the case studies which appear at the end of this summary. (iii) Guarantee as to Time of Completion (Section 30) A guarantee that the service will be completed within a reasonable time in any case where the time is not fixed by the contract nor a method for calculating the time provided in the contract. This guarantee is not likely at a practical level to create problems for travel agents. Travel agents do not have problems completing their tasks with a reasonable time frame. Modern technology enables travel agents to carry out reservation and booking work virtually instantaneously and the consumer is frequently advised at the time of enquiry as to whether seats or accommodation are available at the relevant time. (iii) Guarantee as to Price (Section 31) A guarantee that the consumer is not liable to pay to the supplier more than a reasonable price for the service in any case where the price is not fixed in the contract nor a method for calculating the price provided in the contract. When there is failure to comply with this guarantee the consumers right of redress is to refuse to pay more than a reasonable price. Here again the nature of the services provided by travel agents and the basis on which they are remunerated mean that from a practical point of view this guarantee is not likely to be one which affects travel agents in any significant way. Rights of Redress Against Suppliers In Respect of Supply of Services Where the supplier of a service fails to comply with the guarantees a consumer may exercise certain remedies depending on whether the failure can be remedied or not (Section 32). Where a failure can be remedied the consumer may require the supplier to remedy it within a reasonable time. If the supplier neglects or refuses to do so within a reasonable time a consumer may have the failure remedied elsewhere at the suppliers’ cost, or, cancel the contract for the supply of service in accordance with the requirements of the Act. Where a failure cannot be remedied or is of a substantial character the consumer may cancel the contract in accordance with the requirements of the Act or obtain damages in compensation of any reduction in value of the product of a service below the charge paid or payable by the consumer. â€Å"substantial character† is defined in the Act (Section 36). In either situation (can be remedied; cannot be remedied) the consumer can claim damages for any loss reasonably foreseeable as liable to result from the failure. The exception is that no right of redress is available against a supplier in respect of a service or any product resulting from a service which fails to comply with the guarantee as to fitness for a particular purpose (Section 29) or the guarantee as to time for completion (Section 30) if the cause is independent of human control or caused by an act or default or representation made by any person other than the supplier or servant or agent of the supplier (Section 33). Right to Cancellation: Once the right of cancellation has arisen Section 37 of the Act sets out the rules applying to cancellation. Cancellation does not take effect until made known to the supplier, or where it is not reasonably practicable to communicate with the supplier, by means which are reasonable in the circumstances. Cancellation may be made known by words or conduct (Section 37). However, where there is a provision in the contract of supply requiring notice of cancellation in writing this provision will apply (Section 37(3)). Where a consumer cancels a contract for the supply of services the consumer is entitled to a refund of money or other consideration paid less any amount the Court or a Disputes Tribunal orders that the supplier may retain (Section 38). Contracting Out: Section 43 deals expressly with contracting out of the Act. The Act is to have effect notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in any agreement (Section 43). To purport to contract out of the Act is deemed to be an offence under the Fair Trading Act 1986 (a false representation) and fines of up to $200,000 for corporations and $60,000 for individuals may be imposed. The principal exception to the prohibition against contracting out is where the supply of goods or services is to a consumer who acquires the goods or services for business purposes. Where this criteria is satisfied an agreement to contract out of the provisions of the Act must be in writing and record that the supply is for â€Å"business purposes’

Sarbanes Oxley Act , And The Portion Of Domestic Antitrust

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