Characteristics to avoid

Working with two cult members everyday can be an interesting experience and even a challenge, especially when they are members of the same cult. The most recently hired guy found out (probably form the other guy) which church I belong to, a Calvary Chapel, and with an air of disapproval he sneered and asked. "What kind of a religion is that?"

I responded by telling him that it was just a Christian church, and that he was welcome to come there anytime. To my surprise, he opted not to pursue the subject any further, but seemed pleased with the invitation.

The other gentleman I work with is much more entrenched in this cult, and has begun again recently to take opportunities to try to draw me into discussions regarding his religion, but as the boss has asked me not to do that on the job I have not allowed that to happen. Since, unfortunately this man leaves work before I do, we rarely have a chance to talk about it then.

He's tried convince me that his 'church' is a Christian church, but it is actually a pseudo-Christian church, a cult of Christianity. For his church in particular over the last decade, the push to become accepted into mainstream Christianity has become a major priority. What is disconcerting is that my friend's cultic church has actually made some inroads to their goal, inviting Christian scholars to participate in doctrinal discussions.

While I think having dialogues with cult members, building trust, and using the Bible as a common theological bridge can be a wonderful thing, I have followed some of these discussions and unfortunately, these gentle scholars should have realized that they had a huge bull's-eye on their foreheads.

Every little thing that could be twisted to the advantage of a cult, hungry to gain acceptance in a world ready to be deceived, was twisted. One particular scholar, in what was simply an attempt to be conciliatory in his acknowledgement of the prejudicial and even shameful treatment of this cult by some of his fellow Christians in the past, got a quick lesson in how a person's words can be compartmentalized and misused to validate something false. But then, that's what cults are very good at, and it's one of their best tools. The gentleman had to do some rather quick backpedaling, and make some much needed and more public clarifications about what he'd said.

This cult, like many cults, deceptively says that God has given them 'additional' truth that the rest of us don't have, especially mainline Christian pastors, who they say are the unwitting dupes of the enemy. This additional truth was revealed to the founder of the church and supercedes all previous revelations, including the Bible. That should be a big clue right there.

Cults like to claim that the Bible is okay, but they go on to justify themselves saying that what they have to offer is better than the Bible, which only contains partial inadequate truth.

On the other hand, some cults make no claim to any 'additional' or 'new truth,' but declare that only they have the fundamental ability to interpret the mysteries of Scripture. The Bible is the 'one true book,' but only when interpreted by them. When only one interpreter is allowed, the strange doctrines of the cult can appear to be justified rather easily.

The cult which my co-workers belong to, adheres to a statement by its founder who said, "We believe the Bible to be the Word of God in so far as it is translated correctly. . ." That certainly leaves the door wide open to say what is and isn't correctly translated, and it's a very convenient cultic tack to take these days as long as you ignore the copies of Old and New Testaments in the Hebrew/Chaldee and Greek, which tend to validate the Bibles we have in our laps on Sunday mornings.

Attack the Bible, attack Jesus. That's what many cults do. Really, when you attack one, you're already attacking the other, and false teachings about the Savior is a common characteristic found in every cult. The "Jesus" of cults is always diminished, always a person made less than the Mighty God, the Prince of Peace Who became flesh, lived among us and died in our place and for our sins.

If you know somebody and you're not sure whether the "Jesus" they present to you is the Jesus of the Bible, then you need to read and study your Bible more closely, because whatever the individual beliefs of the different cults might be, the one sinister thing they share in common is a denial of the Biblical teaching on the deity of Jesus, the Christ.

Don't fall for double-speak. A cult can easily say, "We believe in God's Son, Jesus Christ." That gives the public impression that cult members are Christians, because they say they believe in Jesus, but when we comprehend what or who is represented by the name "Jesus Christ," we discover the old "bait and switch" has been made.

We have to be alert to organizations that sell themselves as Christians, but whose "secret" teachings don't line up with the truth of the Scriptures, and when we meet somebody who belongs to one, I think we need to be patient and remember the words of our Savior;

"Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves. Matthew 10:16

Be kind to these people, because some of them are out there going door to door, sweating, for nothing. Know the Word of God, stand up for it and share it with compassion and gentleness.