"Cult--a system of religious or secular veneration and devotion directed toward a particular person,belief system or object:"
Everyone I'm sure has at one time or another heard the word cult directed towards a particular religious group. The picture below is of a cult called the Children of God. It was founded by David Berg(aka Moses David). The Jim Jones group was also a cult that gained noteriety with the death of several hundred of its devotees at th...eir commune in Guyana many years ago.
As you can see from the opening definition, a cult does not necessarily have to be religious in nature. However, in this post I will be addressing what constitutes a religious cult that identifies itself as being Christian.
There is some confusion as to what exactly are the indicators of a "Christian" cult. It is not really all that hard to identify one.
Here are the indicators:
1.The organization or leader says they have( and know) THE way to eternal life and the other Christian faiths don't. Also, they claim to have been given an understanding of Scripture that other Christian denominations haven't.
Now, I should add that this group may not come out and say this right away but as you get into their teachings and literature, they will proclaim this lie. A quick note, cults love to make available lots of literature and books that cherry pick Bible verses that seek to validate their heretical teachings.
All this literature as a tendency to keep the readers more focused on the organization's literature instead of their Bibles.
More often than not, a group's special "understanding" of Scripture will not square with what the Bible says.
The Mormons and Jehovah Witnesses are famous for this.
2. If you are not a part of this particular group or leave it, you are damned and going to hell. Once again, this is something you don't hear initially. It is my guess that they don't want to scare off potential converts until they have been properly indoctrinated.
Even the seemingly benign Amish espouse this falsehood amongst themselves.
So, that's it. Those are the two big indicators as to whether or not a group is a cult or not.
The off-shoots of the original Worldwide Church of God, the Jehovah's Witnesses and the Mormons are a few of the biggest and most notable cults around today. There are many more.
Remember this, believing that a cult is something where the follower is not physically allowed to leave is extremely rare these days. Indoctrination of the mind and a fear of eternal damnation is a far more powerful restraint than anything physical.
Read your Bibles, daily! Have such a depth of Biblical knowledge that you will be able to discern false teaching when you hear it.
Everyone I'm sure has at one time or another heard the word cult directed towards a particular religious group. The picture below is of a cult called the Children of God. It was founded by David Berg(aka Moses David). The Jim Jones group was also a cult that gained noteriety with the death of several hundred of its devotees at th...eir commune in Guyana many years ago.
As you can see from the opening definition, a cult does not necessarily have to be religious in nature. However, in this post I will be addressing what constitutes a religious cult that identifies itself as being Christian.
There is some confusion as to what exactly are the indicators of a "Christian" cult. It is not really all that hard to identify one.
Here are the indicators:
1.The organization or leader says they have( and know) THE way to eternal life and the other Christian faiths don't. Also, they claim to have been given an understanding of Scripture that other Christian denominations haven't.
Now, I should add that this group may not come out and say this right away but as you get into their teachings and literature, they will proclaim this lie. A quick note, cults love to make available lots of literature and books that cherry pick Bible verses that seek to validate their heretical teachings.
All this literature as a tendency to keep the readers more focused on the organization's literature instead of their Bibles.
More often than not, a group's special "understanding" of Scripture will not square with what the Bible says.
The Mormons and Jehovah Witnesses are famous for this.
2. If you are not a part of this particular group or leave it, you are damned and going to hell. Once again, this is something you don't hear initially. It is my guess that they don't want to scare off potential converts until they have been properly indoctrinated.
Even the seemingly benign Amish espouse this falsehood amongst themselves.
So, that's it. Those are the two big indicators as to whether or not a group is a cult or not.
The off-shoots of the original Worldwide Church of God, the Jehovah's Witnesses and the Mormons are a few of the biggest and most notable cults around today. There are many more.
Remember this, believing that a cult is something where the follower is not physically allowed to leave is extremely rare these days. Indoctrination of the mind and a fear of eternal damnation is a far more powerful restraint than anything physical.
Read your Bibles, daily! Have such a depth of Biblical knowledge that you will be able to discern false teaching when you hear it.
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