CULTS: BEWARE!
Introduction
Cults exist, beware of them! All over the globe, there are numerous altered sorts of cults with millions of adherents and while mostly are devout in character, others emerge as social organizations that perhaps demonstrate various pious environment. The spiritual wounds wreaked on individuals who detached affairs with cults are extensive. Countless are ignorant of this strain experienced by these individuals. The rationale of this write up is to give knowledge about the contemporary cults that are functioning in the globe. It is also to create awareness for readers to comprehend people that are into cults, and help them understand the basic premise of cults with the effects they have on those.
1. Annotation of Cults
The word “cult” comes from ancient Latin term “cultus” meaning “cultivation, grow, care.” In 1617, the term referred to “worship” first appeared in English, and the meaning “devotion to a person or thing” is from 1829. As such, Walter Martin in “The Rise of the Cults,” defines cult as “a group of people polarized around someone’s interpretation of the Bible and is characterized by major deviations from orthodox Christianity particularly the fact that God became man in Jesus Christ.” While Daniel Cohen notes, “Cult leaders claim near god-like wisdom and power. They also see themselves and their followers being horribly persecuted by an evil outside world.” Just about, 20 million individuals have been involved with cult a bit in their life, since 1970s. Cults centred on person’s verdict claiming to be God’s prophet, if not God Himself has been reincarnated via them. Jesus’ divinity are seldom cited in a cult, if cited, He is not set the recognition that He truthfully worth. Cults activate on a dictatorial leadership approach, linking the adherents to be subjected to their authority only and are not given the chance to query leader’s word or even articulate personal views.
2. Cults in Biblical Epochs
The reality of cults, authorized religious groups, and false religions has weighed down the world, since Biblical epochs. On various junctures, Jesus warned of false Christs and false teachers that would crop up. In Matthew 7:15, Jesus also warned of false prophets, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.” On various incidents Jesus candidly faced the Scribes and Pharisees and their human-based legalistic explanation of God’s Law. At a number of points, Apostles warned the Early Church to beware of heresies, false teachings, false doctrines, false gods, idol worships, false prophets, and those who would endeavour to lead the faithful away from the truth and into fault. Paul also deals with problems in which the Gentile cultic custom of the believers clashes with the loyalty of believers to Christ. Afterwards, in the New Testament, there appears the reality of the Judaizers, Gnostics, Nicolaitans, Docetism, Montanism, Adoptionism, Sabellianism, Arianism, and Pelagianism, all of which endeavours to push people away from the Gospel truth and into various wayward religious submission.
3. The Rise of Cultic Movements
Obviously, one cannot cover all the cults. However, some of the recognizable cults having received wide media interest and made headlines around the world comprise:
a) Charles Taze Russell, founder of Jehovah’s Witnesses, taught that Jesus returned in 1874 invisibly, ultimately changed his mind and decided that 1914 was the date of Christ’s return and the end of the world. They reject Trinity’ doctrine, deny Jesus Christ’s Deity, teach that the Holy Spirit is only an active force and hell is non-existent.
b) Mary Baker Eddy, founder of Christian Science denied the reality of matter, sin, suffering and death. Its version of the Lord’s Prayer began: “Our Father-Mother God.”
c) John Thomas, founder of Christadelphianism, taught that Holy Spirit is simply the Power of God; it is not a separate person, but is rather “an unseen power emanating from the Deity” The soul is not immortal and Hell does not exist as a place of eternal torment; it is rather the state of non-existence in the grave.
d) Ras Tafari Mokonnen was crowned king of Ethiopia in 1930 and called himself Emperor Haile Selassie, Conquering Lion of Judah’s Tribe, Elect of God and King of Kings of Ethiopia. His followers are called Rastafarians.
e) The Church of Scientology was founded by L. Ron Hubbard in Washington, in 1954. Its concept of God is vague and it does not say anything about Jesus, Spirit, sin, or salvation.
f) The People’s Temple of the Disciples of Christ whose founder, Jim Jones in 1975 convinced his followers to drink poisoned Kool-Aid.
g) In 1997, members of the Heaven’s Gate cult committed mass suicide, believing their souls would be transported to a celestial spaceship trailing the Hale-Bopp comet.
h) The Church of Almighty God, established in 1991 by Zhao Weishan, teaches that a woman named Yang Xiangbin is the female reincarnation of Jesus.
i) The Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God, Joseph Kibwetere on 17th March, 2000, in Uganda, many were murdered or committed suicide in a church fire. Then, mass graves were found, totalling 778 deaths.
j) Yahweh Ben Yahweh, he has been dubbed The “Black Christ” and founded the Nation of Yahweh. He was released from prison in 2001 after serving jail time for ordering the murder of those he dubbed as “white devils.”
k) Warren Jeffs, leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS), who has 60 wives, was on the FBI’s 10 most wanted and was arrested in Las Vegas on 28th August, 2006. He is currently serving a life sentence. To go to Heaven, FLDS teaches that men must have at least three wives.
l) Jose Luis de Jesus Miranda, before he died in 2013, he had 666 on his arm, as did many of his followers. He claimed to be Jesus and the Anti-Christ, whom he said was misunderstood by Christians. His organization-Creciendo en Gracia (Growing in Grace) has headquarters in Miami with thousands of followers. He claimed that there is no more sin and devil, and no more need for prayer. In response, he asked for loyalty and tithes.
m) On 11th October, 2015, New York after the Word of Life church service, a 19 year old teen named Lucas Leonard was beaten to death in a long “counselling session” in which six church members, including his parents, were trying to get Leonard to confess his sins. His brother, Christopher, was also beaten. The parents, Bruce and Deborah, were charged with homicide. Four more members with the boy’s half sister were charged with assault.
n) Sun Myung Moon, The Unification Church or Moonies manipulated people through “love bombing” and used “heavenly deception” to raise money.
o) Jim Roberts, The Brethren lured in idealistic youth and demanded that they cut off all ties with family.
p) Joseph Smith, founder of the Mormonism, teaches that God the Father has a body of flesh, male mormons can each become gods and rule their own planets someday, Jesus evolved into becoming a god, Satan is the spirit brother of Jesus, Jesus was born through physical sex with Mary, and the blood of Christ was not sufficient for a number of sins.
q) Warren Jeffs, former leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints whose criminal activities landed him in federal prison.
r) New Age Movement teaches that there is nothing else but God-only God exists. All is God and because all is God, there is no God.
s) Christian Identity Movement, groups like the Aryan Nations, Ku Klux Klan, or Phineas Priesthood promote white supremacy by twisting Scripture. Their serpent seed doctrine says that Satan had sex with Eve to produce Cain, and again Satan had sex with Rebekah to produce Esau. Descendents have no souls.
4. Detection of Cults
It should be noted that there are others such as: Jim Jones, founder of The People’s Temple; Herbert Armstrong, founder of the Worldwide Church of God; David Koresh, founder of the Branch Davidians; George Barker, leader of Father Divine; Lyndon Laroche, head of the Laroche followers; and Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, leader of the Maharishis Movement. There are also others, such as: Pseudo Christian Cults and Movement: Seventh Day Adventism, Unity School of Christianity, Word Faith movement, and Children of God. New Age Cults and Movements: ‘I am’ Movement, Theosophy (Theosophical Society), The Way International, Communism (Marxism), Humanism (Modernism), Transcendental Meditation (Yoga), The Tarot, The Hare Krishna Movement, The Divine Light Mission, Apocalyptic Cults, Uniterial Universalism, Bahaism, and Hajaneeshism (Osho Community). Detection of the cult is imperative, while not inevitably for the concrete designate of the group. However, in recognizing where the cult falls short of the Biblical paradigm. Syncretism continues regardless of diverse endeavours and the key reason is ignorance on the person of Jesus Christ in members’ faith. Clearing up the Biblical truths and Jesus Christ’s divinity, inerrant Scripture’s uniqueness, salvation’s theology, and church’s work can aid establish trust’s source in this counseling bond. This method will strengthen the orthodox point on these matters that in all-purpose, are those most damaged in cults and false religions.
Conclusion
Beware of Cults! Each of cults founding members was able to persuade massive individuals that they alone had received a divine revelation of how to conquer the world. They were able to influence their followers that they were the chosen ones and their path was the right one to pursue. Countless even endure to this date and whereas numerous are still mixed up in these derivative cults, favourably countless are seeking way to detach. At this juncture, helping them to comprehend and restore their spiritual personality is a must, through counselling methods such as encouragement, acceptance and progressing forward.
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