Truth or Cult? | Previous Challenge Entry

how it works

TITLE: Truth or Cult? | Previous Challenge Entry
By Dalyn Woods
02/11/09
LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE
SEND A PRIVATE COMMENT
ADD TO MY FAVORITES

The morning light began its slow crawl across the open fields, spawning shadows cast by the trees in the orchard. It moved over the small clearing until it stumbled across the pavilion floor. At first it seemed to illuminate a peaceful sight, people lying on the floor resting, waiting for the dawn to begin their day’s activities; but then it became apparent that these were just bodies, their souls lost to eternity, stolen by a thief. It is the morning of November 19, 1978 in a remote outpost in the jungle of Guyana, South America. On the previous day 918 people had lost their lives, 909 of them by suicide.

The country of Guyana is located in the northeast corner of South America between Venezuela to the northwest, Brazil to the south and Suriname to the southeast. The official language is English. That alone makes it a minority on this continent where all of the other countries speak either Spanish or Portuguese. Most people know very little about this country, but they do know about its single-most infamous event – the suicides at Jonestown.

So were the people at Jonestown martyrs for their beliefs or were they duped by the devil himself? More importantly how does one tell the difference? What exactly is a cult?
Webster's New World College Dictionary defines "cult" as:
1a. a system of religious worship or ritual
1b. a quasi-religious group, often living in a colony, with a charismatic leader who indoctrinates members with unorthodox or extremist views, practices or beliefs
2a. devoted attachment to, or extravagant admiration for, a person, principle or lifestyle, especially when regarded as a fad [the cult of nudism]
2b. the object of such attachment
3. a group of followers, sect

Reading some of these definitions, one could come to the conclusion that Christianity is a cult and, to the Jews at the time of Christ, it probably seemed just that. Consider a group of people willing to give up their profitable careers, leave behind their families and all earthly possessions to follow a man who claimed to be God. Would you let your child join a group that vowed to close itself off in a room waiting for “the comforter”? What would you call an organization whose members sold all their possessions and gave the proceeds to the group so that all could share and share alike?

So how does one discern truth? Timothy admonishes us to “study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needed not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” II Timothy 2:15 KJV. Therefore, we must learn to decipher God’s word for ourselves, and not blindly trust others to do it for us. Certainly it is good to listen to others preach and teach, but we have a responsibility to determine that what we’re taught is biblical and to pass this skill onto our children.

Secondly, we need to internalize God’s word and His principles. The psalmist proclaimed, “Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against thee.” Psalm 119:11 KJV. From childhood to adulthood we need to continually memorize scripture so that pure living is a lifestyle.

Thirdly, we need to know and be able to clearly state what we believe, “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:” I Peter 3:15 KJV. When confronted about our values, beliefs and faith, many of us can only answer “that’s the way I was raised”. That’s not good enough!

Finally, we need to be aware of subtle attacks on our faith. Matthew 7:15 KJV states “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.” We may not be asked to renounce our faith, but may be reasoned into believing that a loving God would never punish mankind or God wouldn’t want you to suffer or God doesn’t really expect you to give up something or someone you love. Will you recognize the watering down of the gospel?

A day may come when we will be hard pressed to answer these questions for ourselves and our children. When orthodox Christian beliefs are held to by the minority rather than the majority, which side of the fence will you be on? Will you know the truth from cult?

PREVIOUS ENTRY | NEXT ENTRY
SUBMIT YOUR ENTRY FOR THIS WEEK'S CHALLENGE

The opinions expressed by authors may not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.

If you died today, are you absolutely certain that you would go to heaven? You can be right now. CLICK HERE

JOIN US at FaithWriters for Free. Grow as a Writer and Spread the Gospel.