Heavenly Gates Essays - Cult, Pejoratives, Religious Persecution

Heavenly Gate's Recently I read an article about the Heavens Gate Cult, and I wondered why on earth would someone get involved in a cult whose purpose seemed so ridiculous. How can you make sense out of the suicide of 39 people? How can you explain behavior that seems so strange? Should we just assume that people who follow this kind of cult are weirdoes, stupid, insane, evil, or is there something more to it? I did a little research to find out a little more about cults. I found out that cults are really not all that uncommon, and that almost anyone can fall victim to a cult. Most people do not set out to join a cult. They get involved with a group of interesting people. These groups usually promise to fulfill a persons individual needs or to compensate for societies failures. These groups may promise to heal sickness, foretell the future, or enhance a persons life in some way. The leaders of these cults usually promise to have all the answers to whatever problems these people have. These groups become cults when they are seen as deceptive, dangerous, or they oppose the basic values of society. Usually people get involved with cults when they are at a vulnerable period in their lives. People who are at a transitional period in their lives, like people who recently lost a job, or someone who just moved to a new area may be susceptible. Another reason why people get involved with these groups could be that they are unsatisfied with their religions, their education, or their social lives. The cult seems to fill the void of whatever is missing in a persons life. People find instant friendships, a caring family, an identity, safety, security, and an organized agenda for every day life. Most people who are recruited into cults are recruited by people they feel they can trust in a setting that is familiar. Family, friends, neighbors, co-workers or teachers often do the recruitment. Recruitment often takes place in familiar places like school, home, work, churches, workshops, or even over the Internet. This makes the cult feel safe and comfortable. People dont feel like they are getting involved in a cult instead they feel like they are joining the crowd. Cult leaders offer simple answers to the complex problems of everyday living. They claim to know a simple path to happiness, to success, and to Salvation. . People who follow their simple rules and simple lifestyle will be on this path. Cult leaders give members very simple directions on how to think, act and feel. In return a member gets all those things that may be missing from their lives. What these leaders claim to know seems so simple and easy, that some people feel they can participate with little hesitation it seems like a perfect solution for those people who feel that they are powerless in their lives. Each new member contributes to a leaders power by trading their own freedom for the illusion of security that each group has. The madness of a cult leader becomes normalized as members embrace it. It becomes a members belief system. There are many different kinds of cults around. Some cults can be more dangerous than others. Some are money or power oriented, while others are spiritual centered. A money, or power-centered cult can become dangerous when it manipulates members into contributing large amounts of money or personal sacrifice. A member may be asked to spend large amounts of time earning money for the cult. They may be asked to beg, borrow, or steal money. A spiritual based cult can also become dangerous. Theses religious cults claim that they know all of lives unanswered questions. Typically members of these cults become isolated from the world around them. They are expected not to talk to anyone who is not a member. Is there anyway we can prevent cults from forming? I guess to answer that we would have to look behind the messages behind cults. Usually cults form because there is something missing from society. We would have to find a way to make our society make up for everything that is missing. We would

Definition Essay Sample on Gender The Role of Men and Women

Definition Essay Sample on Gender The Role of Men and Women Introduction The English dictionary defines gender as a word that is commonly used to refer to the quality of a human being either masculine or feminine. However, the word gender in modern times is used to refer to the debate on the role of both male and female members of society. In the past years the roles of both men and women were clearly defined with the men being the breadwinners while the women were the care providers for both the children and the men who were their husbands. Why I want a wife However, with the structure of society having changed so drastically in the past few years, the clear line that defined the role of both men and women has now been blurred as their roles have overlapped with time. It is no longer sufficient to classify the male gender as the provider for the family or the female gender as the caregiver for the family. The definition of both male and female sexes is no longer clear with members of both sexes performing roles that were initially reserved for the other gender. Men are no longer the sole providers for their families as women have been economically empowered and are now running big companies competing with their male counterparts. Women are also not the sole caregivers for their children as more men are now opting to become stay at home dads so that they can take care of their children. What are men good for? The primary role reserved for men as providers was the defining role that has been the guiding principle in society with regard to what society expects of the male population. However, this role has been usurped by women in modern society who now work and also provide for their families. The time for women to stay at home while their men go to work is long past as women hold top positions in many big organizations worldwide. Women have proven themselves as able workers who are able to deliver at the workplace and in many cases have even performed better than men in positions such as customer service representatives and even as secretaries. However, the transformation of women from housewives into corporate leaders has not been without struggle as women have had to fight for their position in society as equals with men. The initial discrimination they faced in past decades as most employers preferred male employees to women has been eroded through a fighting spirit and determination t o prove to society that they too can work. In the current society we have many women who have top leadership positions in big corporations, and these companies have succeeded even under female leadership tom prove that women are just as good as men if not better. In the past it was the role of the women to be the primary caregiver to the children, who also included taking care of their husbands, however, this role, is no longer reserved for women as more men choose to become stay-at-home dads so that they can care for their children. These men who stay home and take care of their children take on a role that has been shunned by men for centuries as it was believed that men did not possess the quality of nurture. It was strongly believed that only women could nurture children, especially during their formative years when they are fully dependent on their care givers. However, many men are now taking over the role of nurturing their children and research indicates that they are excelling at this role. This means that men too can nurture a young child and give it the same care that a woman would give to the same child. Although men may not be able to breastfeed a child, which was the main reason that most of society believed that only women coul d care for infants, they can provide care in many other ways. It is now evident that men too can nurture a young child as the primary caregiver and that this role is not only reserved for women, which is another changing face of gender. A third role that was designated for women was that they were supposed to be subservient to men, attending to all the needs of their husbands and supporting them. This role included things such as washing their husband’s clothes, cooking for their husbands, cleaning the house as well as washing the children’s clothes. It was clearly defined that the husband had executive power in the household and that his every wish was to be obeyed without question. However, this power has shifted greatly in recent years as women no longer have the lesser role in relationships, but are considered as equals with men. Most relationships are nowadays extremely consultative where the opinions of both partners carry equal weight and no partner has authority over the other partner. Men are no longer the masters while women are relegated to being their servants, in many situations, men will be found carrying out some of the chores such as cleaning the house or even doing the laundry. Why is it so hard for men and women? In conclusion, it is clear that the roles of both the female and the male gender in society are changing significantly as has been demonstrated above. Men are no longer the sole providers as more women are now working and have top leadership positions in major companies, which mean that women are also acting as providers for their families. It is also clear that women are no longer the sole caregivers for their children as more men are choosing to become stay at home dads so that they can take care of their children. It is clear now that the definition of gender has evolved greatly over time. Do you need an original custom definition essay on this topic? Our essay writing service can write a high-quality non-plagiarized definition paper for you.