"I am getting sick of apostate bashing in Wikipedia and elsewhere. It seems to be almost be a synonym to liar."

It's supposed to hurt you. That is precisely the intention of propaganda. The negative connotation of the word "apostate" is being used to discredit us—it is a brilliant choice for the cultists, because once their definition of "apostate" is accepted no ex-cultist can ever testify against them and be taken seriously. Since outsiders have little chance of learning the truth unless ex-cultists tell them, the cult is left with no authoritative critics. How very convenient for them.

I guess we have several choices:

1a) We insist we are not apostates, we are something else. We must find a term with a positive connotation: we are whistle-blowers, maybe. We are witnesses for the prosecution. We are ex-patsies. We are those-who-know-where-the-bodies-are-buried.

1b) We respond firmly that this label is intrinsically bigoted. We force a political rethinking, so that "apostate" is categorised with other bigoted labels such as "queer" and "nigger". If they are allowed to refuse the term "cultist" (in the face of overwhelming evidence) then we must be allowed to refuse the term "apostate".

2a) We attack head-on the dogma that anyone who leaves a cult is intrinsically untrustworthy. We point out how convenient this dogma is for every lying, cheating, sexually-exploitative guru who wants to silence his critics. We point out that the ability to change one's mind is as likely to be a sign of objectivity as of intellectual vacillation. We demand to be assessed on our own merits. We demand our day in court.

2b) We force a redefinition, so that an "apostate" is seen for the courageous facer of truth that he usually is—someone who has fought his way past lies and all manner of psychological controls. We point to great men who have been apostates: Emerson, Luther, St Paul.

2c) We point out the cultists who are also apostates—who left one group to join another. We point out the hypocrisy of dismissing apostates.

2d) We set up a web-site, "Apostates United", and wave the apostate banner high and proud. We make apostasy cool.

3) We give up.

Neville B