I am not talking about evolutionary religions, like a new kind of protestant church. I am talking about truly revolutionary religions, which diverge significantly from old faith systems. Just an example, Mormonism, Scientology, and Islam were all started by men who used their church to create a morality system that made it OK for them to sleep with lots of underage girls, take lots of money from others, and live in luxury while their followers suffered to give them their fabulous lives.

It's almost as if religions are created by complete sociopaths who lie and make things up for their own personal benefit at the expense of their followers. Unless their really is a God telling them to do this, then I would have to say that that God is also a sociopathic being. Actually, that kind of makes sense.

It takes one to know one.

God is full of the attributes of a sociopathic being......those who profess to talk with him and speak for him (such as J. Smith, B. Young) are just enforcing the sociopathic penalties on their followers.

(PERFECT response! )

It is certainly the case of the other major American prophet, William Griffith Wilson, who started the other great American religion, after having visions of god while under the influence of LSD and claiming 2 million members.

He also left a substantial sum from the royalties of his book and organization to his mistress Helen Wynn, while leaving his wife penniless.

"I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do, because I notice it always coincides with their own desires."

David Koresh is another good example. He created the Branch Davidians, and like Smith, had sex with lots of underage girls, organized an arsenal, and wrote books purportedly inspired by god. In another time and place this sociopath could have been as successful as Smith in starting a new church.

In 1981 Vernon Wayne Howell (later renamed David Koresh) connected himself with the group after being disfellowshipped (excommunicated) from the SDA church in Tyler, Texas, for moral reasons.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Branch_Davidian#Vernon_Howell.27s_.28David_Koresh.27s.29_affiliation_with_the_Branch

The Branch Davidians (also known as "The Branch") are a Protestant sect that originated in 1955 from a schism in the Davidian Seventh Day Adventists ("Davidians"), a reform movement that began within the Seventh-day Adventist Church ("Adventists") around 1930. The majority of those who accepted the reform message have been disfellowshipped due to the Adventist church rejecting it.

Have you noticed the strong correlation between these religious leaders and dictators?

"sleep with underage girls, take lots of money from others, and live in luxury while their followers suffer..."

Joe Smith, Brigham Young, Sadam Hussein....the only difference is in the details. One uses soldiers, one uses brain washing. Both use fear.

It's the same today, dictators are falling, we can only hope that their correlation with religious leaders will continue.

If you get on cult-watch websites, you can read that cults aren't necessarily religious. They can also be political, among other things. Therefore, they'd have many of the same characteristics as a religious cult. Because it's about using mind control to obtain power, whichever circle you do it in.