Cults and language clarity

Respectful of Otters has a post on how fundamentalist Christians are trying to redefine the word cult to any church that doesn't require its members to devote themselves thoughtlessly to a reactionary reading of the Bible. In fact, it seems some fundies are trying to argue that the more a church encourages thoughtfulness in its followers, the more cult-like it is, demonstrating that fundies are learning Newsspeak well from their political bedfellows.
To those of us who have no religion whatsoever, fundamentalist Christians who want to define everyone else as "cultists" are clearly projecting. Their religion is a cult, it's just a big one. I myself don't see any difference between the cult members of Heaven's Gate believing that aliens were coming to whisk them away and the belief in the Rapture, for instance. Rivka has a link to a list of defining traits of a cult, and fundies fit the vast majority of these traits. Pretty much the only trait that separates fundie Christians and outright cults is the presence of a charismatic leader, but they've propped up Jesus, redefined him as more warrior-like and use him in that way.