Re: Glorantha Digest V2 #335
To pick up Sandy's point and take it a bit further, many religions
don't even improve the lot of their followers in any way at all. The
Shakers, who bred (or rather did not breed) themselves out of existence
are an obvious case, as are the Jim Jones' congregation, the French &
Canadian group that has been suiciding in various countries in the last
few years, and several of the groups cited by Sandy. So I believe that
any "reductionist" approach to religion misses the fact that followers
believe them to be TRUE, and so do their leaders. In fact, the only
difference between a "cult" and a "religion" is that the latter is more
successful over time, and its beliefs, no matter how odd, have come to
be acepted in the
mainstream."
Powered by hypermail