Beginning of Essay
In as we know it today, many new ideas have been expressed. It is easy to cast judgement on "new" religious ideas because they are not what we have become accustomed to. The First Amendment to the Constitution guarantees us the right to any religious belief no ....

Middle of Essay
.... headlines to describe the events that took place at Ruby Ridge, and Waco. Each of these events has several things in common. In both instances, there were references to secret societies, a religious belief that deviated from the accepted norm, and a strong authority figure at the head. All this has seemed strange to some people, but this type of situation has been going on since before the inception of this country. Today's modern cults have simply borrowed some of their ideas from the past. Society has tended to forget the past, and has oftentimes labeled these "cultists" insane. Webster's dictionary defines the word cult as, "A formal religio ....