What is a cult?

[Pipanella]

In one of the other threads, there is beginning discussion about what is or isn't a cult. There are many guidelines published that define a cult. Here is one of them, from [Only registered and activated users can see links. Either login above or Register Now]:

The Marks of a Cult

One must be careful to distinguish between the sociological position of what constitutes a cult (i.e., which states that whatever is normative to a given culture is not cultic) and the theological position (i.e., which states that only those groups that adhere to the Bible as the basis for all theology and practice are considered normative, and thereby, not cultic).

From the theological viewpoint, any group or religious system, whether it calls itself "Christian" or not, that offers other criteria as equal to or superior to the Bible, including but not limited to erroneous and/or exclusive interpretations of Scripture, should be considered a cult. From the theological position, then, a cult can be best defined as:

A system of religious beliefs and rituals with a body of adherents deeply devoted to an extrabiblical person, idea, or thing; it cultivates worship in a religion that, with reference to its basis for man's salvation, is considered to be unorthodox, spurious, or false, thereby insulating its members against true salvation in Christ. And inasmuch as the central doctrine of Biblical Christianity is the sacrificial death of Christ for man's sin (Eph. 2:8,9), all cultic deviations tend to downplay the finished work of Christ and emphasize the importance of earning moral acceptance before God through one's own religious works.

From the theological viewpoint, all the groups/religious systems included in the Cult section of the Notebook are obviously cults. They are all centered in religious beliefs or practices calling for devotion to a religious view centered in false doctrine -- it is nothing less than organized heresy.

To be classified as a cult, not all of the following characteristics have to be present, but in most cases, in one form or another, all of them will be:

1. Extrabiblical Authority: All cults deny what God says in His Word as true. Cults have shifted their theological point of authority away from God's full and final written Word, the Bible, to their own unique, self-promoting opinions about the Bible; they generally will use parts of the Bible but will have their own unique scripture which is considered to be superior to the Bible. While some cult groups give token respect for the Bible and go through the motions of accepting the authority of Scripture, in reality, they honor the group's or leader's novel interpretation of Scripture as normative.

2. Works Salvation/Legalism: Cults teach that eternal life depends upon something other than the Atonement; i.e., faith in the atoning, finished work of Christ on the cross is deemed not to be sufficient (usually replaced with human works and human responsibility). Rather than relying on the grace of God alone for salvation, the salvation message of the cults always boils down to required obedience to, or abstention from, certain obligations and practices (some even including obedience to the Old Testament law).

3. No Assurance of Salvation: The issue of a cult member's salvation is never settled, but is constantly affected by the changing circumstances of life; in this way, cult leaders are able to produce continued obligation and spiritual bondage, rather than spiritual freedom.

4. Guru-Type Leader/Modern Prophet: The cult leader is looked to as the infallible interpreter of Scripture, specially appointed by God to be a special saint, guru, or contemporary messiah, and thereby, has divine authority that must not be violated. Cultists almost always quote their leader rather than the Bible. The cult's adherents often expound the virtues of the founders and seek to cover the founder's sins and wickedness.

5. Vacillating, Ambiguous Doctrines/Spiritual Deception: In order to gain favor with the public, and thereby aid in the recruitment of new members, cult "doctrine" tends to be characterized by many false or deceptive claims concerning the cult's true spiritual beliefs (e.g., Mormons are not quick to reveal their belief that God was a man, who has now become the God of planet Earth).

6. Exclusivity from/Denunciation of Other Groups: Each cult group, regardless of what other doctrines are taught, will all have this one common idea -- "The Only True Church Syndrome." The members of each specific organization have been taught that their church, organization, or community, is the only true group and that all other groups are false. The group's leaders will explain that it is impossible to serve God without being a member of the specific group. Moreover, when the cult leader announces himself as the true "Messiah," all others are declared to be dishonest, deceitful, and deluded, and must be put down; alternative views are denounced as being satanic and corrupt. Persecution is welcomed, and even glorified in, as "evidence" that they are being persecuted for righteousness sake. Thus, if a member decides to leave the group, they have been told that they are not simply leaving an organization, but rather they are leaving God and His only true organization. Hence, for a member of a cult who has been in a group for any length of time, the action of leaving the group is much more difficult than what most Christians understand. To leave the group is, in the minds of the cult member, tantamount to leaving God.

7. Claims of Special Discoveries/Additional Revelation: Acceptance of new, contemporary, continual revelations that either deny the Bible or are allowed to explain it. The fundamental characteristic of Christianity is that it is historical, not dependent upon private knowledge and secret, unconfirmable relationships, while the almost universal basis of cult religion is the claimed exclusive revelation that one person has supposedly received. Rather than conforming to Biblical rules of evidence (2 Cor. 13:1), cult leader revelations almost always emanate from hallucinations, visions, dreams, private discoveries, etc. These new revelations often become codified as official written "scripture" of the cults (e.g., The Book of Mormon), and are considered as valid as that of the apostles (and even more relevant because they are given in these end times).

8. Defective Christology: Cults always have a false view of the nature of the Person of Jesus Christ; a cult will usually deny the true deity of Christ, His true humanity, His true origin, or the true union of the two natures in one Person.

9. Defective "Nature of Man": Most cults do not see man as an immortal being; instead they see him either as an animal without a soul or as a being which is being perfected to the point of becoming a god. They usually do not see man as a spirit clothed in a body of flesh awaiting the redemption of body and soul.

10. Out-Of-Context Scripture Use as Proof-Texts/Segmented Biblical Attention: Cults tend to focus on one verse or passage of the Bible to the exclusion of others, and without regard for the context in which Scripture is given (e.g., 1 Cor. 15:29 used by Mormons to justify baptism for the dead). In addition, cults have made an art form out of using Christian terminology, all the while pouring out their own meanings into the words.

11. Erroneous Doctrines Concerning Life After Death and Retribution: Covering the gamut from soul sleep to annihilationism to purgatory to universalism to the progression to godhood, cults invariably deny the existence of a final judgment of, and a final "resting" place for, the unrighteous.

12. Entangling Organization Structure: The less truth a movement represents, the more highly it seems to have to organize itself; the absence of truth seems to make necessary the application of the bonds of fear. Cults often demand total commitment by their converts to an organizational involvement that entangles them in a complicated set of human restrictions, giving the impression of passionate and often irrational devotion to a cause.

13. Financial Exploitation: The cultic practitioner strongly implies that money contributed to the cause will earn the contributor numerous gifts, powers, and abilities, and in many cases, outright salvation.

14. Pseudomystical/Spiritistic/Occultic Influence: Occult influence is many times found in either the origin of the group and/or in its current practices.

I will not take any responses to this post personally, if it's understood that I didn't post this to say that this is what I, personally, consider a cult to be.

I'm interested in what others have to say about cults, though! Has anyone here ever been involved in a cult? Are you involved in a cult presently?

[mayor]

This is an excellent list. Let's put a couple religious organizations up against this checklist.

Jehovah's Witnesses - 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,10,11,12,13

Mormonism - 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14

Remember, the fact that people in these organizations are "nice" or "good" people has no bearing on whether or not their belief system is valid or true.

Also, consider this. Satan's job is to keep as many people from coming to salvation as possible. If YOU were Satan, how would you go about doing that? Would you come right out and say, "worship evil!"? Or would you take the truth and poison it JUST enough to make it fatal?

While there are a few people that openly worship Satan (at least they KNOW who they have chosen), I contend that most major cults of the world are used in the latter form, appearing to be wholesome and truthful on the surface, but underneath containing a terrible web of fallacies that keep people from salvation.

Things that make you go hmmm....

Mayor

[Pipanella]

Originally Posted by mayor

This is an excellent list. Let's put a couple religious organizations up against this checklist.

Jehovah's Witnesses - 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,10,11,12,13

Mormonism - 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14

Remember, the fact that people in these organizations are "nice" or "good" people has no bearing on whether or not their belief system is valid or true.

Also, consider this. Satan's job is to keep as many people from coming to salvation as possible. If YOU were Satan, how would you go about doing that? Would you come right out and say, "worship evil!"? Or would you take the truth and poison it JUST enough to make it fatal?

While there are a few people that openly worship Satan (at least they KNOW who they have chosen), I contend that most major cults of the world are used in the latter form, appearing to be wholesome and truthful on the surface, but underneath containing a terrible web of fallacies that keep people from salvation.

Things that make you go hmmm....

Mayor

Yes, hmmmmmmmm........

I've been checking out some of the links from the site I posted. The one about [Only registered and activated users can see links. Either login above or Register Now] is interesting, as is the one about [Only registered and activated users can see links. Either login above or Register Now].

[ShainaT]

Having known people in college in North Carolina who got into a cult I know that cults are very SCARY!! They suck you in slowly and next thing you know, you are a whacko!! (Haha--just kidding!)

They, of course, don't call it a "cult" either. Just like people in Amway refuse to use the word Amway when they come to your house.

[Shainie]

Originally Posted by ShainaT

They, of course, don't call it a "cult" either. Just like people in Amway refuse to use the word Amway when they come to your house.

Pop just about came out of my nose when I read that!

[Rockabillie]

It think it's easier to judge based on a practical day to day life sort of thing rather than getting caught up in their doctrine.

I mean some pretty similar Protestant religions can disagree on doctrine. There's no way to discredit someone on doctrine, 'cause there's no way to prove or disprove--it's all based on faith.

But, any church that interrupts your regular function of life (except helping you stop self-destructive behavior) should be a point of concern.

A cult will not let you contact family or old friends. Any valid religous group will leave you free will to choose your own friends.

That is the main one. YOu can go on and on about other details, but that's a pretty good litmus test.

Remember: a cult exists only to make money for an elite few. It is not to trick people into worshiping a certain god or demon or to control people just for the fun of it. You are falling for thier misdirection and failing to see what they're really doing if you think so. Don't fall for it. It is to get a free workforce raising money to line the guru's pocket. It is only for wealth. You see how those gurus live in splendor while the 'members' live in squalor. They try to trick people into leaving all their money to them. It is all a money scam.

[freesurfer]

What was the cult in Wako, Texas years ago?

[cujo0123]

This is an excellent list. Let's put a couple religious organizations up against this checklist.

Jehovah's Witnesses - 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,10,11,12,13

Mormonism - 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14

Mayor, let me first say that I do not want this to become an argument. I don't think it is right to accuse any religion of being a cult. I realize it is your opinion and thats not the problem. I just think that after reading that statement of what a cult is, it should be left to each person to form an opinion to his or her self. Maybe I took your post the wrong way. I just don't want to see a bashing of certain religions while leaving others alone. We could probably find something in that list that would apply to almost every religion.

A cult will not let you contact family or old friends. Any valid religous group will leave you free will to choose your own friends.

That is what I've always heard. I know there is more to a cult than that. But, that seems to be very common among "cults".

What was the cult in Wako, Texas years ago?

I think it was the Davidians (David Karesh)......I think.

[Twinplets]

Originally Posted by Pipanella

7. Claims of Special Discoveries/Additional Revelation: Acceptance of new, contemporary, continual revelations that either deny the Bible or are allowed to explain it. The fundamental characteristic of Christianity is that it is historical, not dependent upon private knowledge and secret, unconfirmable relationships, while the almost universal basis of cult religion is the claimed exclusive revelation that one person has supposedly received.

When I was younger, I used to wonder why most Christians thought it was wrong for the Mormons to add a book to the Bible, when they had added a whole lot of books to our Bible.

I also used to wonder why it was OK for Christians to have a "graven image" to worship, i.e. Jesus on the cross. I once mentioned this to a Catholic friend of mine, and she said that she used to wonder the same thing.

And "when I was younger" means when I was a child, maybe as late as my early teens, not just a few years ago.

[twonky]

Originally Posted by freesurfer

What was the cult in Wako, Texas years ago?

Branch Davidians. An offshoot of the Seventh Day Adventist church.

[cujo0123]

I don't know if they had anything to do with SDA's but like I've said before, there are extremists in every religion and belief.
Bin Ladin is an extremist, it doesn't mean everyone of that belief is like that and has the same beliefs as him.
Anything can good can be twisted to be evil, thats how the devil works.

[twonky]

Originally Posted by cujo0123

I don't know if they had anything to do with SDA's but like I've said before, there are extremists in every religion and belief.
Bin Ladin is an extremist, it doesn't mean everyone of that belief is like that and has the same beliefs as him.
Anything can good can be twisted to be evil, thats how the devil works.

Cujo... Sorry about that. I didn't mean to make it sound like that. I'm very much aware of the extremists and didn't mean to imply that all of SDA's are like that.

My apologies.

[cujo0123]

ok, no problem.
Sometimes its hard to come across the way you intend to on a board like this.

[freesurfer]

So Mayor is your take on this that JW and Mormons are cult groups?

[Rockabillie]

Alot of sects meet some of those qualifications. That's why I define a cult by their mind control rather than their beliefs. Plenty of people don't like other people's beliefs (like the people who try to discredit the Mormons, Seventh Day Adventists and Jehovah's Witnesses); that in and of itself doesn't make you a cult.

Heck, the Baptist church meets #6:
Exclusivity from/Denunciation of Other Groups: Each cult group, regardless of what other doctrines are taught, will all have this one common idea -- "The Only True Church Syndrome." The members of each specific organization have been taught that their church, organization, or community, is the only true group and that all other groups are false. The group's leaders will explain that it is impossible to serve God without being a member of the specific group. Moreover, when the cult leader announces himself as the true "Messiah," all others are declared to be dishonest, deceitful, and deluded, and must be put down; alternative views are denounced as being satanic and corrupt. Persecution is welcomed, and even glorified in, as "evidence" that they are being persecuted for righteousness sake. Thus, if a member decides to leave the group, they have been told that they are not simply leaving an organization, but rather they are leaving God and His only true organization. Hence, for a member of a cult who has been in a group for any length of time, the action of leaving the group is much more difficult than what most Christians understand. To leave the group is, in the minds of the cult member, tantamount to leaving God.