From your link: The word “cult” has many meanings, but in recent decades it has often been used with a negative connotation to point out a group that others would like to see removed from society. This use of the term is expressed by the prominent religious scholar J. Gordon Melton:
"My working definition of a cult is a group that you don't like, and I say that somewhat facetiously, but at the same time, in fact, that is my working definition of a cult. It is a group that somebody doesn't like. It is a derogatory term, and I have never seen it redeemed from the derogatory connotations that it picked up in the sociological literature in the 1930s." (1). Yes, in society today, mostly a pejorative term. The dictionary defines the word more objectively and comprehensively. Using David Orme-Johnson's definition of "It is a group that somebody doesn't like," the TM org could easily be called a cult by those who don't like it! So could so many other things, no? That definition is his own personal definition and not one supported by the dictionary. ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <no_re...@yahoogroups.com> wrote : http://www.truthabouttm.org/truth/IndividualEffects/IsTMaCult/index.cfm http://www.truthabouttm.org/truth/IndividualEffects/IsTMaCult/index.cfm
