A Heaven's Gate Scavenger Hunt:
Questions to answer in searching through the Heaven's Gate website
Psychology of Religion
Dr. Michael Nielsen
Georgia Southern University
Access the Heaven's Gate website by clicking on the appropriate link at: https://www.psywww.com/psyrelig/hg/hg.htm. Then answer the following questions to learn more about the group's beliefs.
Do's Intro:
- How does Do (Applewhite) attempt to link his group's beliefs to Christianity? (One place that this theme reappears is in the section "Last Chance to Advance Beyond Human")
- In the section describing why some people might find it difficult to accept Heaven's Gate teachings, Do explains the kind of deprivation that potential converts are most likely to have. What is the nature of deprivations likely to be experienced by Heaven's Gate converts?
Last Chance to Advance Beyond Human
- What task does a "student" face regarding "human-mammalian behavior"? What differences and similarities do you see between Heaven's Gate views on this, and other, more traditional, religions views?
- What does this group think of time (temporal reality)? Can human beings understand time?
To Access our Book Online in its Entirety | Major Offenses:
- How do the group's behavioral guidelines act to emphasize group membership, and de-emphasize individuality and connections outside the group?
- What are 4 (or more) guidelines that you see listed here that are consistent with those found in a more mainstream religion?
To Access our Book Online in its Entirety | Overcomers Classroom Admission Requirements (Section 5-6)
- How do the group's "admission requirements" illustrate theories of religious conversion?
Our Position Against Suicide
- How does the group define suicide?
A General Question to Consider about Heaven's Gate:
- Where would you place this group in Stark's theory of churches and sects? Why?
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