The Cult Problem
Our modern world has been plagued by the cult problem for decades. Thanks to the family-oriented nature of humans, & our need to “fit in”. This need for association has produced good things of course, but the cult appears not to be. Then this problem expands into politics & philosophy – Confucianism, Mohammed-ism, Marxism, Socialism, (Cannabis-ism – if this is a cult, I suspect Lucifer himself is the leader of it.) To be American basically means more personal freedom, but the cult drastically reduces that freedom. I believe tender lonely hearted souls often don’t know how to resist & say no to the cult’s appeals & then don’t know how to break away. They get hooked on the smooth talk & VOICE & persona of an apparent leader & follow, but too often there is no place to go . . . There is something to be learned from lemmings. Common religious cults are Mormon, Watchtower, Christian Scientists, Moonies & others. Typically, a cult is the thinking of one person, but unfortunately these “organisms” grow, become deep rooted, & live for centuries.
One of the main reasons we are all here is to THINK & sort out the messes & choices of life. And obvious falseness in religion gives ALL faiths a “black eye”. Cults start by misrepresenting the nature of God – Father, Son, & Holy Spirit balance is off, or completely altered by going with a totally false god. The creeds of the early church were produced by councils only a couple hundred years after Christ because “cock eyed” doctrines & thought were taking hold even then. Those creeds: Apostolic & Nicene, (340 – 400 A.D.) targeted false doctrine by simply affirming the true Biblical positions. Not many could afford a personal copy of the Bible before the printing press in 1450, so it was much harder then, to “study to shew thyself approved unto God . . . rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15 KJV Today we have abundant cheap Bibles & people are mostly literate, AND we still have the simple creeds. There is not much excuse for falling into a cult.
Now some might accuse “Gospel-notes” of just being another cult. Not so – I point folks to Christ & His Word the Scripture, then His Church. And the Word is very complete in exposing false thought in Christianity. The problem today is the Word has been hammered by liberal thought & villainized by “so called” intellectuals. But it still is what it always was – the revealed mind of Christ. We can TRUST it to illuminate our way:
- “Thy word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Psalms 119:105
- “There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” Proverbs 14:12 Cults can & have killed a lot of people.
- Jesus said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me." John 14:6
*- “If you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9 (This ref. & the one below, are likely the roots of the creeds above, according to some theologians.)
*- “Therefore, I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says “Jesu be cursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit.” 1 Corinthians 12:3
- "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ." Colossians 2:8
To conclude, if the social element of a group is too strong, be careful that it’s not a cult with nothing to offer the individual but a diversion from the proven path, which is Jesus Christ. An old theologian named D.C. Hodge said this, "No road to perdition has ever been more thronged than that of false doctrine. Error is a shield over the conscience, and a bandage over the eyes." Standard Christian churches have something REAL to offer or give. Cults have been known to just TAKE . . . don’t get taken. Choose Jesus & His Word, they are Alive. Also see Imposters link 57.
Other interesting titles: www.gospelnotes.org * * F. J. Stone * *
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