Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 2, No. 2, 2003, Page 168
The primary ―suicidal‖ behavior among early Christians entailed a sometimes unnecessary
embrace of martyrdom. I refer here not simply to a refusal, once the all-important question
was put to an arrested Christian, to disavow Jesus or to sacrifice to the emperor, but to a
phenomenon whereby obscure individuals who would ordinarily have escaped seizure
merely by lying low and keeping quiet deliberately called attention to themselves and
stridently put themselves in harms way.32 There was other self-destructive behavior. The
great third century theologian Origen appears to have castrated himself. ―He showed ..his
ascetic and extreme temperament by taking Matt 19:12 [plucking of one‘s own offensive
organs] literally, an act not altogether unusual even among the orthodox of the time.‖33
Parenthetically there seems to have been an arguably ―cultic‖ quality to early Christianity.
For Celsius, the pagan apologist and anti-Christian writer, Christianity ―was not a matter of
souls being saved ....but an attempt to subvert society, to destroy family life, and to sow
disaffection among the subjects of the Empire.‖34 According to Celsius, when manipulative
Christian proselytizers ―get hold of children in private, and silly women with them, they are
wonderfully eloquent, to the effect that the children must not listen to their fathers, but
believe them and be taught by them.‖35 ―There was,‖ W. H. Frend affirms, ―an element of
truth in Celsius‘ remarks. Proselytization was one of the causes of Christian unpopularity ..
..In times of stress families were driven apart, and the women members who were
Christian sometimes found their worst enemies in husbands, fathers and brothers who had
been shamed by their action.‖36 For many Christians such as the outstanding writer
Tertullian, commitments to Jesus demanded rejection of the world which was governed by
Satan. ―We turn our back on the institutions of our ancestors,‖ wrote Tertullian.37 One can
imagine what would be the response in some quarters if such a statement were made today
by a ―Moonie.‖
We do not here argue that persecution explains all wild sectarian behavior and associated
apocalyptic notions. Indeed, early Christianity was apocalyptic from the outset. We do
maintain that persecution is a salient factor. Destructive extremism in unconventional
groups may not always be a function of persecution and hostility from the environment, but
these phenomena, if present, cannot simply be ignored. Extremist behavior cannot be
treated as simply intrinsic to a particular movement as a ―cult‖ or ―destructive cult‖ without
an examination of context—a flawed approach, which John Hall terms ―cult essentialism.‖
Conclusion
In a study of early Mormons, Grant Underwood concludes that, ―the single greatest factor in
propelling a movement to emphasize a rhetoric of apocalyptic judgment and vengeance
seems to be the persecution from those around them.‖38 Apocalyptic millenarians may use
―frightening and vindictive rhetoric‖ but they generally do not see themselves as ―midwives
of the millennial kingdom,‖ i.e., they generally prefer to be left alone. Mr. Rosedale might
justifiably respond that intramovement abuses may certainly transpire in a group which is
―left alone,‖ although I feel that Rosedale may have an overly broad conception of
insupportable abuses, i.e., subtle psychological pressures and not merely beatings, etc. In
any case, Professor Underwood‘s view suggests that the apocalyptic orientation, which may
be related to internal abuses and extreme behavior, is itself influenced by a perception of
environmental animus.
Absent severe Chinese persecution, would there have been suicides in Falun Gong? Did
some alleged suicides take place in prison? Are prison suicides all that uncommon anywhere
and are not Chinese prison conditions rather harsher and oppressive (and thus more likely
to produce despair) than American prisons? Given the brutal persecution of Falun Gong a
handful of suicides do not appear to be either shocking or evidence of a sinister intrinsic
destructiveness. On the other hand the controversial tumult characterizing the
The primary ―suicidal‖ behavior among early Christians entailed a sometimes unnecessary
embrace of martyrdom. I refer here not simply to a refusal, once the all-important question
was put to an arrested Christian, to disavow Jesus or to sacrifice to the emperor, but to a
phenomenon whereby obscure individuals who would ordinarily have escaped seizure
merely by lying low and keeping quiet deliberately called attention to themselves and
stridently put themselves in harms way.32 There was other self-destructive behavior. The
great third century theologian Origen appears to have castrated himself. ―He showed ..his
ascetic and extreme temperament by taking Matt 19:12 [plucking of one‘s own offensive
organs] literally, an act not altogether unusual even among the orthodox of the time.‖33
Parenthetically there seems to have been an arguably ―cultic‖ quality to early Christianity.
For Celsius, the pagan apologist and anti-Christian writer, Christianity ―was not a matter of
souls being saved ....but an attempt to subvert society, to destroy family life, and to sow
disaffection among the subjects of the Empire.‖34 According to Celsius, when manipulative
Christian proselytizers ―get hold of children in private, and silly women with them, they are
wonderfully eloquent, to the effect that the children must not listen to their fathers, but
believe them and be taught by them.‖35 ―There was,‖ W. H. Frend affirms, ―an element of
truth in Celsius‘ remarks. Proselytization was one of the causes of Christian unpopularity ..
..In times of stress families were driven apart, and the women members who were
Christian sometimes found their worst enemies in husbands, fathers and brothers who had
been shamed by their action.‖36 For many Christians such as the outstanding writer
Tertullian, commitments to Jesus demanded rejection of the world which was governed by
Satan. ―We turn our back on the institutions of our ancestors,‖ wrote Tertullian.37 One can
imagine what would be the response in some quarters if such a statement were made today
by a ―Moonie.‖
We do not here argue that persecution explains all wild sectarian behavior and associated
apocalyptic notions. Indeed, early Christianity was apocalyptic from the outset. We do
maintain that persecution is a salient factor. Destructive extremism in unconventional
groups may not always be a function of persecution and hostility from the environment, but
these phenomena, if present, cannot simply be ignored. Extremist behavior cannot be
treated as simply intrinsic to a particular movement as a ―cult‖ or ―destructive cult‖ without
an examination of context—a flawed approach, which John Hall terms ―cult essentialism.‖
Conclusion
In a study of early Mormons, Grant Underwood concludes that, ―the single greatest factor in
propelling a movement to emphasize a rhetoric of apocalyptic judgment and vengeance
seems to be the persecution from those around them.‖38 Apocalyptic millenarians may use
―frightening and vindictive rhetoric‖ but they generally do not see themselves as ―midwives
of the millennial kingdom,‖ i.e., they generally prefer to be left alone. Mr. Rosedale might
justifiably respond that intramovement abuses may certainly transpire in a group which is
―left alone,‖ although I feel that Rosedale may have an overly broad conception of
insupportable abuses, i.e., subtle psychological pressures and not merely beatings, etc. In
any case, Professor Underwood‘s view suggests that the apocalyptic orientation, which may
be related to internal abuses and extreme behavior, is itself influenced by a perception of
environmental animus.
Absent severe Chinese persecution, would there have been suicides in Falun Gong? Did
some alleged suicides take place in prison? Are prison suicides all that uncommon anywhere
and are not Chinese prison conditions rather harsher and oppressive (and thus more likely
to produce despair) than American prisons? Given the brutal persecution of Falun Gong a
handful of suicides do not appear to be either shocking or evidence of a sinister intrinsic
destructiveness. On the other hand the controversial tumult characterizing the
