This is the kind of ignorance that just frosts me.

[Maat]

We were talking on this board about 'new age,' and I discussed 'new thought.'

I went to 'dictionary.com' to see what they have to say about 'new thought.'

This is what I came up with:

(beginning of quote)
new thought

\New Thought\ Any form of belief in mental healing other than (1) Christian Science and (2) hypnotism or psychotherapy. Its central principle is affirmative thought, or suggestion, employed with the conviction that man produces changes in his health, his finances, and his life by the adoption of a favorable mental attitude. AS a therapeutic doctrine it stands for silent and absent mental treatment, and the theory that all diseases are mental in origin. As a cult it has its unifying idea the inculcation of workable optimism in contrast with the ``old thought'' of sin, evil, predestination, and pessimistic resignation. The term is essentially synonymous with the term High Thought, used in England.
(end of quote).

"As a CULT(capitalization mine)"?

Well, I'm a new-thought-er, and when I saw the word 'cult' in there, I started stewing. I'm a Religious Scientist ( www.rsintl.org ). We are considered to be a mystical belief sytem.

I sent them an email, in which I requested that they correct their abysmal ignorance.

I told them that, in contrast to some other churches that are recognized as members of the Religious Right, and 'legitimate' religions, our church has NO charasmatic leader, no one tells me what to think, no one tells me that any text is inerrant, no one names arbitrary rules by which I must abide, no one tells me with whom I must associate, and per my church, I am responsible for my life and my environment. We are welcoming and affirming, focusing on mental healing, and are pro-reproductive and pro-GLBT rights, in contrast to fundamentalist churches. We honor all spiritualities and paths. Who belongs to a cult, if anyone?

And by the way, we go to the doctor and work with the health system as well as anyone else, and we believe that religion and science are compatible. Moreover, we believe in the evolutionary model and process.

It sounds like the definition was written by Mr. or Ms. Ignorant.

Thoughts?

[TallahasseeGrannie]

1. Thoughts? You mean New Thoughts?

Hmmm... I have no idea what the heck that first definition was referring to! Very odd. Silent and Absent mental treatment? WTF?

Sounds like maybe it is a buzzword in some field (like mental health) that maybe I'm not familiar with?

[Maat]

3. Nope. I have a Master's in Psychology ..

and was in mental health for years. I haven't heart of that either.

"New thought" simply means "as you have a new thought, you have a new experience." It simply refers to availing yourself of the benefits of positive thought. It jives with good cognitive therapeutic techniques.

[LaurenG]

7. There is a form of healing that is called distance healing

and it is used by practitioners of Reiki and possibly others. It involves visualizing the client and working from a remote location to attempt to comfort and or heal the problem. Like praying but with a little more work behind it. Christian Scientists (different from Religious Scientists) also work this way but by repeating prayers and thinking healing thoughts.

[donco6]

2. "Cult" has a bad connotation these days.

But it hasn't always meant what it means to us today. Basically, a cult is simply an identifiable band of people who gather or identify with each other. Today we think of it as the "glassy-eyed followers of some dangerous figure who routinely takes advantage."

But I can see why you would be upset. Anything but Christianity (specifically, Protestant Christianity) is a cult. :sarcasm:

[Maat]

5. Exactly, Donco6.

Certain relatives of mine are Southern Baptists who are told that the Bible is an inerrant text, and that they must abide by the rules therein as interpreted for them by their religious leaders (such as Richard Land and Albert Mohler).

I'm not. I have no spiritual leader that stands by the pResident as he signs anti-reproductive-rights bills, such as the ban of the D&X procedure (I refuse to refer to it as 'partial birth').

They refer to "Christian this" and "Christian that," as if they define Christianity and Christian practice alone.

Sorry for the rant.

:sarcasm:

[LaurenG]

4. Many people are very uneducated about other peoples faith

They don't take the time to enjoy or understand the diversity of faith.

My husband and I were married by a female who used the phrases, oh great spirit and mother-father god. The guests nearly all jumped from their chairs in disbelief. We were approached by some who asked what kind of church we believed in and an assortment of other lovely things. We were married outside in the Colorado mountains under a beautiful sky with such glory all around us and all they could do was worry that this was some crazy new age wedding. Try not to get too upset. Those who are interested in Religious Science won't be deterred by that.

edit clarification

[Maat]

8. Thanks for the kind sentiment.

Sounds like a BEAUTIFUL wedding.

I do love the phrases 'Mother-Father God" and "Spirit." I prefer refer to the Higher Power as "Spirit" or "Universal Consciousness."

And you are quite correct - I am not deterred.

I am making every effort to take my child, not only to Religious Science, but to classes during which she gets to explore such faiths as the Muslim faith and Pagan practices.

Ignorance is destructive and dangerous, in my humble opinion.

[musette_sf]

6. Fortunately people who are led to our ways

aren't using dictionary.com as their guide... I hope :-)

I've never encountered the "High Thought" phrase, either... one would think that since many of the seeds of the New Thought movement were planted in the UK (e.g., Thomas Troward), I would have encountered that one by now in my readings.

Those who are led to find us will find us... and those who need to classify anything but traditional Christianity as a "cult" are just stuck in "Old Thought". It's up to them to get out of the mire... or not.

[Midwest_Doc]

9. Definitions of "Cult"

Traditional Definition: Someone else's religion
My Definition: Everyone's religion

[beam me up scottie]

10. That's funny.

And accurate.
:thumbsup:

[trotsky]

11. Do you believe that "all diseases are mental in origin"?

I'd say that's a cult-ish belief in and of itself, ignoring vast mountains of evidence pointing to pathogens, chemical imbalances, and all sorts of external causes.

[kwassa]

12. Here is a better discussion of the New Thought movement

http://websyte.com/alan/movement.htm

Culturally and organizationally, New Thought is a philosophical-spiritual-religious movement begun in the nineteenth century and continuing today. It is the outgrowth of the healing theory and practice of Phineas Parkhurst Quimby, whose influence was spread by his former patients, the most prominent of whom were: Warren Felt Evans, who wrote the first books in what would be called New Thought; Mary Baker Eddy, who established Christian Science; and Julius and Annetta Dresser, who, with their son Horatio, spread the word about Quimby. Former Eddy associate Emma Curtis Hopkins taught her own version of healing idealism, indebted indirectly to Quimby and directly to her own explorations and to Eddy. Hopkins, the "teacher of teachers," taught founders of Divine Science, Unity, and Religious Science. These groups, along with Religious Science-influenced Seich-No-Ie, are the best-known groups in the New Thought movement.

http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/nrms/Newthoug.html

While New Thought is a loose conglomeration of a variety of individual religious movements, there is an overall sense of unity that delineates the movement and makes a definite distinction between New Thought and Christian Science. The essential difference between the latter two branches of Quimby's ideas centers on the fact that New Thought is "more of a point of view than a movement, or a movement rather than a closely organized institution" like Christian Science. (18) The latter is a religious movement in the more traditional sense since it is characterized by much more specific definitions than can be applied to New Thought. The basic fact that New Thought is not one specific faith but ideally stands for the collective of all religious traditions, on the basis of Quimby's teachings, characterizes the movement. The fundamental institution behind New Thought is the idea of metaphysical healing and the power of the mind over body in relation to the cure of ailments.