Sunday, October 09, 2011

What is the difference between a religion and a cult?

About two hundred years!

That was the punchline that a friend in California had whenever he asked that question. And he did ask that question a lot, given his zealous atheist beliefs :)

His other favorite:
In a library, where would you find copies of the religious books?
In the science fiction category, of course!

Was reminded of these with NPR reporting on the brouhaha over Mormons being called a cult, at a gathering of the GOP "faithful."

This flap is evidence, yet again, that to true believers, those who follow religions other than theirs are in a way atheists too.  This is a line of argument that Sam Harris and Christopher Hitchens have explored all too well.

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