
From the Seabed, Figures of an Ancient Cult - Petiver
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/01/science/archaeology-phoenician-israel-shavei-zion.html
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vanusa
Why is their belief system referred to as a "cult"?

(We already know the answer, of course: A "cult", in the author's definition,
is any belief system with no direct lineage to dominant super-cults -- or that
it to say: "major established religions" \-- of the modern era. Most of which
are or have been at one time or another just as nutty and barbaric as the
author presumes the beliefs of this particular seafaring community to have
been).

~~~
Tagbert
Cult was originally just a “system of religious beliefs and rituals”. The
dismissive meaning of cult is a relatively recent interpretation and not
universal.

