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CULTS
Cults are everywhere. Some are
mainstream and widely accepted. Others are isolationist and hide from
examination at great expense. They are growing and flourishing. Some cause great
suffering while others appear very helpful and beneficial. Which ever group it
is, the ultimate end is their destruction when the Lord returns to claim His
own.
What is a cult?
Generally, it is a group that is
unorthodox, obscure, and has a devotion to a person, object, or a set of new
ideas.
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New Teaching
- has a new theology and doctrine
-
Only True Teaching
- often considers traditional religious systems to be apostate and it alone
possess the complete truth
-
Strong Leadership
- often an individual or small but
powerful leadership group holds control of the group’s teachings and practices
-
Asset Acquirement
- often requires tithing and/or property transfer to the religious system
-
Isolationist
- to facilitate control over the
members physically, intellectually, financially, and emotionally
-
Controlling
- exercises control over
the members; sometimes this is through fear, threatening the loss of salvation
if you leave the group; sometimes through indoctrination
-
Indoctrination
- possesses methods to reinforce the
cult’s beliefs and standards where opposing views are ridiculed and often
misrepresented
-
Apocalyptic
- to give the members a
future focus and philosophical purpose in avoiding the apocalypse or being
delivered through it
-
Experience
- various practices
including meditation, repetition of words and/or phrases, and ‘spiritual’
enlightenment with God are used as confirmation of their truth
-
Depravation
- sleep and food
deprivation which weakens the will of the subject; this is uncommon, though
practiced by more severe cults
-
Persecution
- predictions of being
persecuted and often combined with claiming any opposing views demonstrated
against them as a form of persecution;
-
Non-verifiable belief systems
- they would teach something that cannot be verified. For example: “A space
ship behind Hale-Bop comet” (or) that God, an alien, or angel appeared to the
leader and gave him a revelation that the members are seeded angels from
another world, etc. Often, the philosophy makes sense only if you adopt the
full set of values and definitions that it teaches. With this kind of belief,
truth becomes unverifiable, internalized, and easily manipulated through the
philosophical systems of its inventor.
The Leader of a Cult:
Often charismatic (fascinating) who is
considered very special for varying reasons:
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The leader has received special
revelation from God
-
The leader claims to be the
incarnation of a deity, angel, or special messenger
-
The leader claims to be appointed by
God for a mission
-
The leader claims to have special
abilities
-
The leader is often above reproach
and is not to be denied or contradicted
Cult Ethos (culture):
-
Usually seek to do good works;
otherwise no one would join them
-
They are usually moral and possess a
good standard of ethical teaching
-
Many times the Bible is used or
additional “scriptures” are penned
-
The Bible, when used, is always
distorted with private interpretations
-
Many Cults recruit Jesus as one of
their own and redefine him accordingly
Variations in Cult groups:
-
From the ascetic to the promiscuous
-
From esoteric knowledge to very
simple teachings
-
From the rich and power to the poor
and weak
Who is vulnerable to joining a cult?
-
Everyone is vulnerable
-
Rich, poor, educated, non-educated,
old, young, previously religious, atheistic General Profile of Cult member
(some or all of the following)
-
Disenchanted with conventional
religious establishments
-
Intellectually confused over
religious and/or philosophical issues
-
Sometimes disenchanted with society
as a whole
-
Has a need for encouragement and
support
-
Emotionally needful
-
Needs a sense of purpose
-
Financially needful
Recruitment techniques:
-
They find a need and fill it. One of
the ways they do this is called
-
“Love Bombing” - Constant positive
affection in word and deed
-
Sometimes there is a lot of physical
contact like hugging, pats on the back, and touching
-
Cult group members will lend
emotional support to someone in need
-
Help them in various ways.
..whatever is needed; the person then becomes indebted to the cult
-
Compliment them, reassure them, and
make them the center of attention
-
Many Cults use the influence of the
Bible and/or mention Jesus as being one of their own; thereby adding validity
to their system
-
Scripture twisting - Those that use
the Bible take verses out of context. Then mix their misinterpreted verses
with their aberrant philosophy
-
Gradualism - Slow altering of
thinking processes and belief system through repeated teaching. People usually
accept cult doctrines one point at a time. New beliefs are reinforced by other
cult members
Why would someone join?
The cult satisfies various needs:
-
Psychological
- Someone could have a weak
personality, easily lead
-
Emotional
- Someone could have recently
suffered an emotional trauma
-
Intellectual
- Someone has questions
that this group answers
-
The cult gives them approval,
acceptance, purpose, and a sense of belonging
-
The cult is appealing for some
reason. It could be Moral Rigidity, Purity, Financial security, Promises of
Exaltation, Redemption, Higher Consciousness, or a host of other rewards
How are they kept in the cult?
-
Dependence
- People often want to stay because the cult meets their psychological,
intellectual, and spiritual needs
-
Isolation
- Outside contacts are
reduced and more and more of the life of the member is built around the cult.
It then becomes very easy to control and shape the member.
-
Cognitive Reconstruction
(Brainwashing) - Once the
person is indoctrinated, their thinking processes are reconstructed to be
consistent with the cult and to be submissive to its leaders. This facilitates
control by the cult leader(s).
-
Substitution
- The Cult and cult leaders often
take the place of mother, father, priest, teacher, and healer. Often the
member takes on the characteristics of a dependent child seeking to win the
approval of the leader and or group.
-
Indebtedness
- The member becomes indebted to the
group emotionally, financially, etc
-
Guilt
- The person is told that
to leave is to betray the leader, God, the group, etc. The person is told that
leave would mean to reject the love and help the group has given.
-
Threat
- Threat of destruction
by God for turning from the truth. Sometimes physical threat is used, though
not often. Threat of missing the apocalypse, or being judged on judgment day,
etc
How do you get them out?
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The best thing is to try not to let
them get trapped in the first place
-
If you are a Christian, then pray.
But, to get a person out of a cult takes Time, energy, and support
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Teach them the truth
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Give them a true replacement for
their aberrant belief system
-
Show the cult group’s philosophic
inconsistencies
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Study the group and learn its
history seeking clues and information
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Try and get them physically away
from the cult group
-
Give them the support they need
emotionally
-
Alleviate the threat that if they
leave the group they are doomed or in danger
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Generally, don’t attack the leader
of the group.. that comes later. Converts often feel a loyalty and respect for
the founder of the group. Confront them when needed
Hopefully, this basic outline will
give you information to see how Cults work and how to avoid them. If you have
someone who is lost in a cult, you need to pray and ask the Lord to remove them
and give you the insight and tools needed. It can be a long and difficult task
and very often ends in failure. This is not an easy ministry.
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