How to Identify a 21st Century "Religious" Cult | site |
In true Christianity, we do not coerce. We lead. We guide. We teach. We encourage. We edify. We do not coerce.
In true Christianity, we do not give "faith tests". We observe and seek to discern the quality and nature of one's faith; but, we do not administer "faith tests".
In true Christianity, the individual is always free to exercise his or her free will to remain in the congregation (or body) or to choose to freely walk away. We do not "capture" people. We do not "control" people.
In true Christianity, we exercise oversight of congregations, churches, organizations, ministeries, etc. In accordance with the Holy Bible, we "bear rule". Yet, in "bearing rule" we neither bind nor enslave a person. We never imprison a person.
In true Christianity, the worshipper/adherent is free - - totally free. He or she may remain or leave (at any time) on his or her own free will. There is no bondage.
Cults are almost the opposite of true Christianity. Many cults coerce, control, place in bondage and/or require allegiance to some "human" or earthly figure.
There appears to be a proliferation of "religious" cults in the current flow of "spiritual" organizations.
"Religious" cults are dangerous organizations. Their major telltale sign is CONTROL. They want to control the individual.
It is very clear from the Holy Bible that the spirit of control is like the spirit of witchcraft. It is Satanic. It is psychotic (the "controller" has a psychological illness). The controller has a weakness in his or her character and psyche that he or she seeks to overcome by controlling others. In other words, the controller is simply mentally sick (and watching one human being control another human being that way is sickening).
When a person has a psychological problem he or she sometimes seeks to "remedy" his or her situation by abusing others. They do not call it abuse (they rationalize a reasonable-sounding purpose for, and result of, the abuse). Yet, it is abuse nonetheless.
Whenever an adult person's free will is usurped by another person or organization, you may be rather sure that it is abuse.
This is an area that needs to be treaded lightly and carefully. One's free will can lead one into many kinds of unhealthy, unfavorable, and dangerous situations. Wise counsel is most necessary. However, wise counsel and human control are two completely different courses of action.
Wise counsel is both helpful and healthy.
Human control is neither helpful nor healthy.
Wise counsel does not usurp the will of the individual being counseled nor does it impede the individual's opportunity, right or obligation to think and act for himself or herself.
Human control fails at all three of the pristine hallmarks of wise counsel.
The demented mind often veers off the path of sanity. Thus, the controller has taken an irrational path that he or she tries to "justify" as being both correct and necessary. In fact, it is neither.
The demented mind seeks to exploit human weakness. It (the demented mind) seizes on human distress, human frailty, human importunity, human misery, human suffering, human vulnerability, human inability, human need, human isolation, human naivety, human ignorance and human exasperation.
Examine the life stories of people that are in cults. You will normally find that they entered the cult because they sensed a real or imagined deficit in their lives. The deficits can run the gamut from loss of employment, loss of food, loss of shelter, separation from family, substance abuse, etc. The demented mind of the controller quickly recognizes an opportunity to gain an upper hand over the suffering and hurting person. The demented mind slowly lures the individual into the cult's "family" trap and the controlling process begins.
Anyone that seeks to stand between you and Almighty God is not of God.
Anyone that seeks to usurp your human will by breaking you away from your mother, father, sister or brother is not of God.
Anyone that insists that you obey him or her exclusively is not of God.
Now, we must tread lightly here. Almighty God gave man the rule over the woman. The husband has the last word (under God) in the household. The woman is required (by God) to obey her husband or separate from him (if they cannot agree). However, this is not coercion. The woman, at the marriage ceremony, pledges (of her own free will) to obey her husband. Thus, it is a free will decision made by the woman. No controller made her make that pledge.
The situation in the cult is different. Caught in an unfortunate situation, the person entering the cult is "required" to submit to control (such submission under what could be termed "duress" is not submission under clear and full free will). This is a mark of the cult. The requirement to "submit" violates the free will principle.
Cults often try to break a person away from his or her "natural" support group. The family is the number one "natural" support group. A telltale mark of the cult is the advocacy of (and often the requirement of) family breakaway, family estrangement, family separation, family push-away.
The cult tells the controlled person that it (the cult) is now his or her "new" family. The cult verbally denigrates the person's view of his or her natural family. Thus, the cult has broken the natural bond (or at least tried to break the natural bond the person has (or had) with his or her natural family.
The cult seeks to not only become the person's new family; the cult seeks to become the person's new "god". What the cult says is everything. Total allegiance is required. Religion becomes what the cult says religion is. God becomes (to the controlled person) who the cult says God is. The person has been captured. The cult has become the person's god. The person is in danger.
The person's natural family is suffering. The love bond has been attacked by the cult. The entrapment and imprisonment of their loved one is devastating. The need to fellowship with their loved one is denied. The opportunity to freely communicate with their loved one is denied. The loved one is fully entrapped and does not seem to know how to get free. The natural family grieves.
We know cults are not of God because neither Almighty God, Jesus Christ nor the first apostles of Jesus Christ treated new Christians the way cults (as described above) treat their new adherents or "converts". Jesus Christ never imprisoned a Saved person. Jesus Christ never usurped the free will of a Saved person (even when he "ambushed" Saul (our Apostle Paul) on the Damascus road, he (Jesus) gave him commands but did not make him obey the commands. When John Mark decided to leave Saul (Paul) and Barnabas and return to Jerusalem, Paul (though he did not like it) did not imprison him and make him stay with them. John Mark was free to go (and he did go [apparently of his own free will, and later he returned, apparently of his own free will]). John Mark wrote the New Testament book of Mark (apparently of his own free will [under the unction and guidance of the Holy Ghost]).
It is very clear (from the Holy Bible) that the Apostle Paul never imprisoned a Christian convert or required a Christian convert to stay with him. As a matter of fact, near the end of Paul's life on earth he said:
9 Do thy diligence to come shortly unto me:
10 For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia.
11 Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry.
12 And Tychicus have I sent to Ephesus. (II Timothy 4:9-12 - - - The Holy Bible)
It is very clear that the Apostle Paul had not imprisoned any of the people that participated in ministry with him. As a matter of record, Paul goes on to say:
16 At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it not be laid to their charge. (II Timothy 4:16 - - The Holy Bible)
People were able (apparently of their own free will) to forsake the Apostle Paul. Clearly, he did not have them in captivity.
Cults hold people in a state of captivity. Neither Almighty God, Jesus Christ nor the Apostle Paul held (nor hold) people in captivity. That is how we know assuredly that controlling cults are not of God.
Israel's sins caused God to send them into captivity (as punishment for the sins). Yet, it is clear that Israel had the "free will" opportunity to sin (which it did [many times]). The Apostle Paul referred to himself as a prisoner of the Lord but that too was of his (Paul's) own free will.
The number one "illness" of the cult is that it is not of God. Its leaders do not truly know Almighty God. They are not Saved. They develop sophisticated and impressive organizational structures but those structures are merely "human" structures and are often powered by Satan. If they were truly of God there would be liberty.
17 Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. (2 Corinthians 3:17 - - - The Holy Bible)
The activity of Satan always spirals downward eventually. In its very essence, it is rebellion against God. By not truly knowing Almighty God, but acting "for" and "instead of" Almighty God, cult leaders show themselves to be in full rebellion against Almighty God. They are actually practicing a type of witchcraft!
22 And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king. (I Samuel 15:22-23 - - - The Holy Bible).
A final telltale sign of a cult is this: While it claims (and appears) to be doing the work of Almighty God, it is really doing the work of man and the work of Satan.
When all is said and done, cults simply work the works of iniquity.
21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my father which is in heaven.
22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. (Matthew 7:21-23 - - - The Holy Bible)
"Many will say . . . "
"Many will say . . . "
"Many will say . . . "
"Many"
"Many"
"Many"
Not a few, but "many"!!!
Jesus says:
28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:28-30 - - - The Holy Bible)
In conclusion, Almighty God is sovereign. He can call and send whomever he wants whenever he wants (because He is God). He called and sent Moses. He ordained and sent Jeremiah. Being God, He has full right to rule and super-rule. We are not Almighty God.
Author: Pastor Clarence William Page * * * * * * * Copyright © 2016 Clarence William Page
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