Religion versus Cults - Pastor Joseph Clark
“NXIVM ‘sex cult’ Was Also a huge Pyramid Scheme, Lawsuit Says.”
― New York Times
“Jonestown Massacre Takes the Lives of Hundreds in a Mass Suicide Murder Under the Direction of Leader Jim Jones.”
― New York Daily News
“Woman Confesses to Stabbing Mom, Blames Satanic Cult.”
- CBS News
So, what is the difference between a religion and a cult? They are virtually identical in most ways. The difference is that a religion will not oppress or impede one’s free will. A cult will.
Are there Christian cults? Yes. Sadly, there have been and there still are.
An article written by Boze Herrington in The Atlantic on June 18, 2014 states:
“Several years ago, the founder of IHOP, Mike Bickle, created a list of seven ways to recognize the difference between a religious community and a cult. Written down, the signs seem clear:
1. Opposing critical thinking.
2. Isolating members and penalizing them for leaving.
3. Emphasizing special doctrines outside scripture.
4. Seeking inappropriate loyalty to their leaders.
5. Dishonoring the family unit.
6. Crossing Biblical boundaries of behavior (versus sexual purity and personal ownership).
7. Separation from the Church.
There is no criminal code legal definition of a cult. The justice system does not legislatively differentiate between a cult and a religion. It preoccupies itself with any activity that constitutes the cult operating as a criminal organization.
The secular view of a cult seems to be any organization that impedes or interferes with your legal rights and freedoms to well-being.
The Christian view of a cult seems to be any organizational leader or body that distracts, impedes, or distorts one from receiving Christ’s way, truth, and life, and glorifying God in true accordance with the Gospels.
In closing, God speaks to us through his Word and his Word is non-complex and cannot be confused as being cultic:
“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.”
- Luke 10:27
“ If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
- Romans 10:9
“NXIVM ‘sex cult’ Was Also a huge Pyramid Scheme, Lawsuit Says.”
― New York Times
“Jonestown Massacre Takes the Lives of Hundreds in a Mass Suicide Murder Under the Direction of Leader Jim Jones.”
― New York Daily News
“Woman Confesses to Stabbing Mom, Blames Satanic Cult.”
- CBS News
So, what is the difference between a religion and a cult? They are virtually identical in most ways. The difference is that a religion will not oppress or impede one’s free will. A cult will.
Are there Christian cults? Yes. Sadly, there have been and there still are.
An article written by Boze Herrington in The Atlantic on June 18, 2014 states:
“Several years ago, the founder of IHOP, Mike Bickle, created a list of seven ways to recognize the difference between a religious community and a cult. Written down, the signs seem clear:
1. Opposing critical thinking.
2. Isolating members and penalizing them for leaving.
3. Emphasizing special doctrines outside scripture.
4. Seeking inappropriate loyalty to their leaders.
5. Dishonoring the family unit.
6. Crossing Biblical boundaries of behavior (versus sexual purity and personal ownership).
7. Separation from the Church.
There is no criminal code legal definition of a cult. The justice system does not legislatively differentiate between a cult and a religion. It preoccupies itself with any activity that constitutes the cult operating as a criminal organization.
The secular view of a cult seems to be any organization that impedes or interferes with your legal rights and freedoms to well-being.
The Christian view of a cult seems to be any organizational leader or body that distracts, impedes, or distorts one from receiving Christ’s way, truth, and life, and glorifying God in true accordance with the Gospels.
In closing, God speaks to us through his Word and his Word is non-complex and cannot be confused as being cultic:
“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.”
- Luke 10:27
“ If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
- Romans 10:9
Religion versus Cults - Pastor Joseph Clark
“NXIVM ‘sex cult’ Was Also a huge Pyramid Scheme, Lawsuit Says.”
― New York Times
“Jonestown Massacre Takes the Lives of Hundreds in a Mass Suicide Murder Under the Direction of Leader Jim Jones.”
― New York Daily News
“Woman Confesses to Stabbing Mom, Blames Satanic Cult.”
- CBS News
So, what is the difference between a religion and a cult? They are virtually identical in most ways. The difference is that a religion will not oppress or impede one’s free will. A cult will.
Are there Christian cults? Yes. Sadly, there have been and there still are.
An article written by Boze Herrington in The Atlantic on June 18, 2014 states:
“Several years ago, the founder of IHOP, Mike Bickle, created a list of seven ways to recognize the difference between a religious community and a cult. Written down, the signs seem clear:
1. Opposing critical thinking.
2. Isolating members and penalizing them for leaving.
3. Emphasizing special doctrines outside scripture.
4. Seeking inappropriate loyalty to their leaders.
5. Dishonoring the family unit.
6. Crossing Biblical boundaries of behavior (versus sexual purity and personal ownership).
7. Separation from the Church.
There is no criminal code legal definition of a cult. The justice system does not legislatively differentiate between a cult and a religion. It preoccupies itself with any activity that constitutes the cult operating as a criminal organization.
The secular view of a cult seems to be any organization that impedes or interferes with your legal rights and freedoms to well-being.
The Christian view of a cult seems to be any organizational leader or body that distracts, impedes, or distorts one from receiving Christ’s way, truth, and life, and glorifying God in true accordance with the Gospels.
In closing, God speaks to us through his Word and his Word is non-complex and cannot be confused as being cultic:
“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.”
- Luke 10:27
“ If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
- Romans 10:9
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