(Something I wrote a while ago, this doesn't just need apply to Christianity and it's sister denominations but all faiths as a whole. I hope you enjoy.)
Constantly many so-called ‘true Christians’ claim to follow the correct path laid down by God and that anyone who doesn’t follow their form of belief is a Cultist and follower of a Cult. Well what is wrong is the usage of cult in this term. Yes it has been thrown about in context. The original meaning of cult was a term used to mean ritual worship but today it is a narrower, derogatory sense of the word and is a product of the 20th Century, especially since the 1980s, and is a result of the anti-cult movement, which uses the term in reference to groups seen as authoritarian, exploitative and possibly dangerous. Catherine Wessinger (Loyola University New Orleans) has stated that the term "cult" represents just as much prejudice and antagonism as racial slurs or derogatory words for women and homosexuals. She has argued that it is important for people to become aware of the bigotry conveyed by the word, drawing attention to the way it dehumanises the group's members and their children. Labelling a group as subhuman, she says, becomes a justification for violence against it. At the same time, she adds, labelling a group a "cult" makes people feel safe, because the "violence associated with religion is split off from conventional religions, projected onto others, and imagined to involve only aberrant groups." This fails to take into account that child abuse, sexual abuse, financial extortion and warfare have also been committed by believers of mainstream religions, but the pejorative "cult" stereotype makes it easier to avoid confronting this uncomfortable fact.
The term "cult" first appeared in English in 1617, derived from the French culte, meaning "worship" or "a particular form of worship" which in turn originated from the Latin word cultus meaning "care, cultivation, worship," originally "tended, cultivated," as in the past participle of colere "to till the soil". In French, for example, sections in newspapers giving the schedule of worship at Catholic churches are headed Culte Catholique; the section giving the schedule of Protestant churches is headed culte réformé. The meaning "devotion to a person or thing" is from 1829.
If we use Cult in the derogatory form that it takes on today then all Christianity is a cult of Judaism but I know many would throw a hissy fit at me suggesting that. See many Christians think of themselves more special, as holier than thou, people that can do no wrong as they follow the one True God. Now I believe the God of Israel is the true God and Jesus the Christ was His Son sent down to save our souls. But Jesus will say to many at the last days ‘I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. Luke 13:27 (KJV)’
Many people listen to preachers when they preach upon certain faiths and say how they are cults and how their way is the truth, most of them find their information though anti websites and not from the actual faith they are preaching upon. These people then use what they have heard without looking up scriptural evidence or information. Remember no matter what any man tell us, only God’s Word is correct, if it is not contained within Scripture then it does not exist. To listen and take the words of a certain preacher or a certain denominations view of Christian theology is nothing but ‘Cultist’ and in many cases is distorted. If you truly want to found out what a certain faith teaches go and ask them, you would not ask a Ford dealer on what is the best Honda is. But now I hear you say does it not say in 2 John 1 “10 If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed:’, this verse does not forbid us to allow those who we think to be wrong to enter our house to witness unto us. It does mean not allowing false teachers a platform to preach on, like say in a church. As in the early days there was no central church building but believers met in their own houses. So if we find that after them witnessing that they are wrong, all you need to do is say I’m sorry but I believe you are wrong. No need to be nasty or anything, just explain to them that you are ok where you are and allow them to leave.
Many descriptions of a cult go like this:-
A distorted view of God and Jesus, denying the Trinity laid down by the church. If you actually read the Bible there is no reference to the Trinity, this is even admitted by the Catholic church, ‘In Scripture there is as yet no single term by which the Three Divine Persons are denoted together....The Vatican Council has explained the meaning to be attributed to the term mystery in theology. It lays down that a mystery is a truth which we are not merely incapable of discovering apart from Divine Revelation, but which, even when revealed, remains “hidden by the veil of faith and enveloped, so to speak, by a kind of darkness” (Const., "De fide. cath.", iv). (Joyce G.H. The Blessed Trinity. The Catholic Encyclopaedia, Volume XV Copyright © 1912 by Robert Appleton Company Online Edition Copyright © 2003 by K. Knight). Rom. 8:11, 2 Cor. 4:14, Gal. 1:1, Eph. 1:20, 1 Tim 1:2, 1 Pet. 1:21, and 2 John 1:13 these passages teach a Binitarian view of the Godhead.
Authoritarianism,Accepting a head, council etc as leaders of the church. But does not the Catholic church accept the Popes word’s as though God spoke them? Or does not the Protestant church accept the words of the Archbishop? All churches accept authority figures, many say they act for Christ and they are Christ’s representatives on the Earth. But as we are told in Isaiah 29:13 ‘Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:’. Remember we can always tell if a preacher is of God by their works.
Exclusivism, Many of those Christians preaching against cults say that ‘Cults think they are the only way’ but does not all Christians believe that Christ is the only way? Does this not mean that all Christianity is exclusive?
So by these traits, which a government of men has decided is the description of a cult, it would seem that all Christian and in fact all other Religions are indeed a Cult.
We should actually think before we start to attack those of other sects within Christianity. They are our Brothers and Sisters, they believe in Jesus the Christ. Who knows maybe they have the right view, test all knowledge against God’s Word and that Word is Christ (John1), ask the Holy Ghost to testify to whether what you are hearing is correct (Rev 22:16-18). Don’t shout horrible names at each other, Love your neighbour as yourself (Matthew 19:19) it’s not the way God or Christ would have us do it.
Constantly many so-called ‘true Christians’ claim to follow the correct path laid down by God and that anyone who doesn’t follow their form of belief is a Cultist and follower of a Cult. Well what is wrong is the usage of cult in this term. Yes it has been thrown about in context. The original meaning of cult was a term used to mean ritual worship but today it is a narrower, derogatory sense of the word and is a product of the 20th Century, especially since the 1980s, and is a result of the anti-cult movement, which uses the term in reference to groups seen as authoritarian, exploitative and possibly dangerous. Catherine Wessinger (Loyola University New Orleans) has stated that the term "cult" represents just as much prejudice and antagonism as racial slurs or derogatory words for women and homosexuals. She has argued that it is important for people to become aware of the bigotry conveyed by the word, drawing attention to the way it dehumanises the group's members and their children. Labelling a group as subhuman, she says, becomes a justification for violence against it. At the same time, she adds, labelling a group a "cult" makes people feel safe, because the "violence associated with religion is split off from conventional religions, projected onto others, and imagined to involve only aberrant groups." This fails to take into account that child abuse, sexual abuse, financial extortion and warfare have also been committed by believers of mainstream religions, but the pejorative "cult" stereotype makes it easier to avoid confronting this uncomfortable fact.
The term "cult" first appeared in English in 1617, derived from the French culte, meaning "worship" or "a particular form of worship" which in turn originated from the Latin word cultus meaning "care, cultivation, worship," originally "tended, cultivated," as in the past participle of colere "to till the soil". In French, for example, sections in newspapers giving the schedule of worship at Catholic churches are headed Culte Catholique; the section giving the schedule of Protestant churches is headed culte réformé. The meaning "devotion to a person or thing" is from 1829.
If we use Cult in the derogatory form that it takes on today then all Christianity is a cult of Judaism but I know many would throw a hissy fit at me suggesting that. See many Christians think of themselves more special, as holier than thou, people that can do no wrong as they follow the one True God. Now I believe the God of Israel is the true God and Jesus the Christ was His Son sent down to save our souls. But Jesus will say to many at the last days ‘I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. Luke 13:27 (KJV)’
Many people listen to preachers when they preach upon certain faiths and say how they are cults and how their way is the truth, most of them find their information though anti websites and not from the actual faith they are preaching upon. These people then use what they have heard without looking up scriptural evidence or information. Remember no matter what any man tell us, only God’s Word is correct, if it is not contained within Scripture then it does not exist. To listen and take the words of a certain preacher or a certain denominations view of Christian theology is nothing but ‘Cultist’ and in many cases is distorted. If you truly want to found out what a certain faith teaches go and ask them, you would not ask a Ford dealer on what is the best Honda is. But now I hear you say does it not say in 2 John 1 “10 If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed:’, this verse does not forbid us to allow those who we think to be wrong to enter our house to witness unto us. It does mean not allowing false teachers a platform to preach on, like say in a church. As in the early days there was no central church building but believers met in their own houses. So if we find that after them witnessing that they are wrong, all you need to do is say I’m sorry but I believe you are wrong. No need to be nasty or anything, just explain to them that you are ok where you are and allow them to leave.
Many descriptions of a cult go like this:-
A distorted view of God and Jesus, denying the Trinity laid down by the church. If you actually read the Bible there is no reference to the Trinity, this is even admitted by the Catholic church, ‘In Scripture there is as yet no single term by which the Three Divine Persons are denoted together....The Vatican Council has explained the meaning to be attributed to the term mystery in theology. It lays down that a mystery is a truth which we are not merely incapable of discovering apart from Divine Revelation, but which, even when revealed, remains “hidden by the veil of faith and enveloped, so to speak, by a kind of darkness” (Const., "De fide. cath.", iv). (Joyce G.H. The Blessed Trinity. The Catholic Encyclopaedia, Volume XV Copyright © 1912 by Robert Appleton Company Online Edition Copyright © 2003 by K. Knight). Rom. 8:11, 2 Cor. 4:14, Gal. 1:1, Eph. 1:20, 1 Tim 1:2, 1 Pet. 1:21, and 2 John 1:13 these passages teach a Binitarian view of the Godhead.
Authoritarianism,Accepting a head, council etc as leaders of the church. But does not the Catholic church accept the Popes word’s as though God spoke them? Or does not the Protestant church accept the words of the Archbishop? All churches accept authority figures, many say they act for Christ and they are Christ’s representatives on the Earth. But as we are told in Isaiah 29:13 ‘Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:’. Remember we can always tell if a preacher is of God by their works.
Exclusivism, Many of those Christians preaching against cults say that ‘Cults think they are the only way’ but does not all Christians believe that Christ is the only way? Does this not mean that all Christianity is exclusive?
So by these traits, which a government of men has decided is the description of a cult, it would seem that all Christian and in fact all other Religions are indeed a Cult.
We should actually think before we start to attack those of other sects within Christianity. They are our Brothers and Sisters, they believe in Jesus the Christ. Who knows maybe they have the right view, test all knowledge against God’s Word and that Word is Christ (John1), ask the Holy Ghost to testify to whether what you are hearing is correct (Rev 22:16-18). Don’t shout horrible names at each other, Love your neighbour as yourself (Matthew 19:19) it’s not the way God or Christ would have us do it.
