"Throughout the old and New Testament we are warned of false teaching and teachers...Just about every book of the Bible mentions a warning of error and falsehood.
There are two ways a cult operates in falsehood. Theologically and sociologically.From belief and practice. Some are theologically dangerous others are sociologically dangerous. Not all cults are harmful to someone’s physical well being, but they are harmful spiritually if they mislead someone in their relationship to God through another gospel. They will all have control or manipulation over people in some fashion. They will hold the person to this particular group or church often with fear convincing them that there is no where else to go, no one else has the truth like they do.
When the term cult is used by the secular world they mean any religious group viewed as strange or what may be considered dangerous. Christians point to major errors in core doctrines for justification in using the word cult. Cults contain deviations from the doctrines of historic orthodox Christianity.
When we hear the word cult we envision people held against their will confined away from society, working with little or no pay, or abused. They are unable to think for themselves having been changed into religious robotic zealots. While these descriptions are possible and have occurred in extreme circumstances they are often unlikely. Someone once said a cult is everyone who disagrees with your belief. This is essentially what the leaders of these groups will state. If someone does not agree with their particular interpretation of the Bible or of God they are against God. This is their exclusivism at work. The word 'Cult' does have a stigma attached to it and has been thrown around too easily and can be a mislabeling if not understood or explained. So we want to explain what are the common practices that the majority of Cults share to help you identify them. We need to understand that a cult (or a aberrational group) can be identified into two categories. By theology and or sociological behavior.
There are two categories of cults, non-Christian and Christian cults. The Christian cult claims to have the truth of Christ and salvation but they deny one or more of the core doctrines of the Christian faith. To simplify an identification of a Christian cult it would be noticeable in several categories. Who is Jesus, the way of salvation, what is your final source of authority and how they relate to others. They want to call themselves Christian without adhering to the tenets of the historic "doctrinal " faith. They change the major core teachings to mean something other than they are defined in the Bible and by the history of the church. The cults do not agree with the historic (Biblical) Christian faith."
http://www.letusreason.org/Cults1.htm
What do I believe the definition of a cult to be? My personal definition is still fuzzy. I grew up believing I was a Christian while being taught the doctrine of the Trinity was error. Therefore, it would be easy for me to feel guilty about using this different understanding of the Godhead as a reason to categorize a group as a cult if there were no other characteristics present. But that is not the case. And the doctrine of perfection is a denial of the sufficiency of the cross, which I believe to be the central tenet of Christianity.
I believe God's grace is sufficient to cover a confused understanding of theology (yours and mine). However, taking theology completely out of the equation, this movement has many harmful sociological characteristics of a cult which cannot be denied.
Prior to coming to faith in Christ, I grew up in a cult that practiced not being forthcoming about their very unorthodox doctrine. Although I have been out of this group for around 10 years, I recall at the time that former President Clinton was lying under oath, how outraged many in this group were at the time. Well, recently a case of sexual abuse cover up was settled out of court by this same group. The Pastor lied in his deposition that was made public. There doesn't appear to be the same outrage. It breaks my heart as I still have family who I love in this group that are apparently willing to justify this because of their bondage to the false system that I was once a part of also...
http://spurgeonbaptist.blogspot.com/2009/07/lying.html
10And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
11And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
12That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
There are scriptures forever implanted in my mind because of growing up at CGT. I think every Christian has a verse deeply seared into their hearts, but the ones that stick to people who grow up in cults are usually a little different. Most cling to verses like John 3:16 or John 1:1. Instead, we have verses like 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12 or Revelation 18:4 [And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.] These verses are wonderful, but don’t quite stir the popularity following as the others.
I remember this particular verse. I discovered it in high school and it sunk in deeply. To me, it was proof that the religious world, the Babylon of Revelation 18 was strongly deluded because they didn’t love the truth - the truth revealed to the leaders and false-apostles of the group I was in. It was at this same time that Bill Clinton was being elected to his second term in office. I remember a special prayer the service before the election because of the seriousness of the next week’s election. It was suggested that God could do a miracle and prevent another Clinton presidency. Sure, it looked like Bob Dole was out for the count, but maybe, just maybe, God would do a miracle and let the GOP pull one out.
He didn’t. Instead, he allowed President Clinton another term and the country another impeachment. Clinton testified and made a mockery of the truth. The particular line I remember most vividly was, “it depends on what the meaning of the word ‘is’ is.” I remember outrage aimed at the President within CGT. I remember a conversation with a current trustee in which he told me he believed America would be judged on electing a man like Clinton twice.
2 Thessalonians isn’t about covering child abuse. It is about rejecting the truth of the gospel. But in it, there is a principle God has put into motion in his world. Truth should be loved. Like Pilate, we can mock it. Like David, we can twist it. Like the blind Pharisees, we can hate it. When we do, and we all do, we’re in deep danger of believing a lie. And when people believe lies, they are on the verge of strong, irredeemable delusion...
"The sole purpose of this website is to provide information concerning the mishandling of sexual abuse within Christian Gospel Temple, Cross Plains, Tennessee..."
