Christian Living

Cult Watch Definition, Modus Operandi and Characteristics

by Rajkumar Richard
09/06/20
Free to Share
Author requests article critique

  Message Writer
  Hire Writer

Tweet

Cults are aggressively deceiving God’s people.

            A cult is a perversion, a distortion of historical Christianity and/or a rejection of the historic teachings of the Christian church, says Josh McDowell. He also cites Walter Martin’s (a Baptist minister and a counter-cultist) definition of a cult: A cult, then, is a group of people polarized around someone’s interpretation of the Bible and is characterized by major deviations from orthodox Christianity relative to the cardinal doctrines of the Christian faith, particularly the fact that God became man in Jesus Christ.¹

            Christians are seduced by cult groups for several reasons:²
            (1) They are ignorant of the Bible (Christian doctrines) because they have not diligently read the Bible and the church they attend does not faithfully teach the Bible.

            (2) Christians do not know why they believe in what they believe.

            (3) Most cults brainwash their followers by telling them what to believe, how to behave and what to think.

            (4) Cults always emphasize their followers to depend upon the group or the leader of the group for their emotional stability so much so that any member of the cult shall not dare disobey the leadership of the cult.

            (5) Cults will devour people going through crisis in their life by offering them love, acceptance and direction.

            (6) Cults provide seemingly authoritative answers to man’s basic questions: Who am I? Why am I here? Where am I going?

            It is not the stupid people who join cults. “People who join cults are not stupid, weird, crazy, weak-willed, or neurotic. Most cult members are of above-average intelligence, well adjusted, adaptable, and perhaps a bit idealistic,” says an article in the Apologetics Index.³

            Cults can be identified by the following characteristics:⁴

            A. New Truth: Many cults promote the false idea that God has revealed something special to them. This is usually truth that has never before been revealed and supersedes and contradicts all previous revelations.

            B. New Interpretations of the Bible: Some cults believe that they alone have the key to interpreting the mysteries in the Bible. The Scriptures are their only acknowledged source of authority, but they are interpreted unreasonably and in a way different from that of orthodox Christianity.

            C. A Non-Biblical Source of Authority: Some cults have sacred writings or a source of authority that supersedes the Bible.

            D. Another Jesus: A common characteristic found in cults is false teaching about the person of Jesus Christ in the light of historical biblical Christianity.

            E. Rejection of Orthodox Christianity: Many cultic groups launch a frontal assault on historical Christianity. One common allegation is that the church (subscribing to historical Christianity) has departed from the true faith.

            F. Double-Talk: Some cultic groups will say one thing publicly but internally believe in something totally different.

            G. Non-Biblical Teaching on the Nature of God (Trinity): Cults will usually teach an inadequate view of the Trinity or they will deny the blessed Trinity. Thus they will have a perverted view of the nature of God.

            H. Changing Theology: Cult doctrines are continually in a state of flux and have no sure foundation on which to anchor their hope. Adherents of a particular cult will learn a doctrine only to find that doctrine later changed or contradicted by further revelation.

            I. Strong Leadership: Cults are usually led by strong and central leader figures who consider themselves as messengers of God with unique access to the Almighty. Since the leader pretends to have such a special relationship with God, he/she can dictate the theology and behavior of the cult.

            J. Salvation by Works: One teaching that will be totally absent from all cults is the gospel of the grace of God. No one is taught in the cults that he can be saved from eternal damnation by simply placing his faith in Jesus Christ. On the contrary, it is always belief in Jesus Christ and “do this” or “follow that.” All cults attach something to the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith. It might be baptism, obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel, or something else, but it is never taught that faith in Christ alone will save anyone.

            K. False Prophecy: Another feature of the cults is they often promulgate false prophecy. They make bold predictions of future events, supposedly revealed by the inspiration of God. When these predictions do not come to pass, these leaders are exposed as false prophets.

            Some famous cults are:
            1. The Church of the Latter Day Saints (The Mormon Church).
            2.  The Unification Church.
            3. Christian Science.
            4. The Way International.
            5. The Worldwide Church.
            6. The Jehovah’s Witnesses (Watchtower Bible and Tract Society).

            Overcoming cults is possible if we know the truth. Learn how to and how not to interpret the Bible.

            Identifying an error is impossible if we do not know the truth, “…develop an intellectual depth to your biblical study. J. P. Moreland argues that two of the great Christian cults were started on the heels of the great American revivals.¹⁷ Because many of these new Christians didn’t know their Bibles very well, they were easily captured by the false teaching of these cult groups. Paul predicted that the false teachers in Ephesus would actually arise from within the church itself (Acts 20:29-30). Therefore, in the modern church, we need to learn how to interpret and read our Bibles with clarity in order to combat false teaching like this… when we have been steeped in the word of God, we become more effective at identifying counterfeit Christianity,” says an article in Xenos.org.⁵ 

           Last but not the least; let us never forget the teachings of the Bible that motivates us to be aware of the cults amongst us in order to reject them.

            “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” ( 1 John 4:1, NIV).

            “But examine all things; hold fast to what is good.” (1 Thessalonians 5:21, NET).

            “For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted…For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds.” (2 Corinthians 11: 4, 13-15, NASB).

            Stay away from the cults. Remain in the Lord Jesus. Amen.  

Endnotes:

¹Josh McDowell & Don Stewart, Handbook of Today’s Religions, p17.

²Josh McDowell & Don Stewart, Handbook of Today’s Religions, p18-19.

³https://www.apologeticsindex.org/265-who-joins-cults-and-why

⁴Josh McDowell & Don Stewart, Handbook of Today’s Religions, p20-25.

⁵https://www.xenos.org/essays/what-cult

Websites last accessed on 2^nd September 2020.