DEALING WITH THE CULTS (PART 1)
Text: 2 Timothy 4:3–4
“The time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. . . . They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths” (2 Timothy 4:3–4, NIV).
WHAT IS A CULT?
A cult can be defined as a religious group which teaches doctrines or beliefs which deviate from the broad consensus of orthodox Christian doctrine down through the ages. A cult is any group that claims to be Christian but really is not. It is a religious group, by and large, which looks for its basic and peculiar authority outside the Christian tradi tion (American Culture and Religion, page 92). While most cults make a pretense at correctly interpreting the Bible, they usually have high regard for some supplemental literature without which (they believe) the Bible cannot be properly understood.
A cult will accept the authority of the Bible, but yet they will insist upon the use of these other materials as necessary aids to interpreting the Bible. Cults either distort truth or focus on half-truths.
The small amount of truth which they do proclaim is often mixed with doctrinal error and is therefore dangerous. Cults succeed in deceiving many. As Paul warned, “The time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. . . . They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths” (2 Timothy 4:3–4, NIV). Jesus said, “For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and will deceive many” (Mark 13:6).
CAUSES OF PROLIFERATION OF CULTS
1. POST MODERNISM
Post-modernism promotes privatization of truth. One of the major tenets of post-modernism is that there is no absolute truth; truth is relative. What is true to you may not be true in my case. This gives people the needed galvanization to practice and project their erroneous beliefs.
2. GLOBALIZATION
The world has now become a global village. Whatever goes on anywhere is projected everywhere. People move swiftly from one point of the globe to another within an hour. By a click of the computer mouse, people join others everywhere through the email, Facebook etc. Some cult leaders strategically take advantage of these and heavily advertise themselves in both the print and electronic media to attract large followings.
3. AGGRESSIVE MASS MEDIA
Cult people employ aggressive publicity drive to propagate their erroneous teachings. . They even set up their own publishing houses to churn out materials either for free distribution or for sale at highly subsidized prices, within seconds and are sent to prospective followers within hours by the numerous courier companies. Radio, TV and Satellite broadcasting stations are setup where their so called gospel broadcasts are done to deceive many.
4. GENERAL GLOBAL INSECURITY
The world is now not a safe place to live in. belief in witchcraft and activities of demons have left many people feeling insecure. Cult people exploit this to their advantage by offering security and to their clients. These and many other factors have contributed in no small way to the imminent proliferation of cults all over the world.
5.IMBALANCES IN THE CHRISTIAN WITNESS
Christian orthodoxy is being pushed to the wall. Economic hardships have made many Christian leaders to present truncated gospel messages. We teach more on prosperity on earth than anything about Jesus’ second coming and Heaven. The effect is that holiness is missing with people seeking to get rich quick through every means possible. People without any Christian grounding just start their own churches without any ability to teach, and sooner or later embrace and teach erroneous doctrines mixed with traditional, western and eastern philosophies.
6. ECONOMIC HARDSHIPS
Some people are motivated by the desire to get rich quick. There are instances of certain Christian leaders who started well but have gone astray due to the fact that they have been blindfolded by prosperity. Some resort to selling all manner of anointed materials such as salt, pepper, canes, oil, handkerchiefs lime at exorbitant prices and others duping unsuspecting clients in the name of the gospel.
These and many factors are making orthodox Christianity unpopular. If we can deal effectively with the cults, there is the need for Christian leaders to address these issues. We should also identify the major characteristics of the cults and how they operate in order to arrest this cancer by its horns. May the good Lord give you the insight into these issues and help you to do your part in effecting solutions to problems being posed by the cults. Stay blessed.
Pastor William Boachie-Ansah
The Church of Pentecost
Nsawkaw District, Ghana
boachieansah@gmail.com
www.facebook.com/pastor.boachieansah
“The time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. . . . They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths” (2 Timothy 4:3–4, NIV).
WHAT IS A CULT?
A cult can be defined as a religious group which teaches doctrines or beliefs which deviate from the broad consensus of orthodox Christian doctrine down through the ages. A cult is any group that claims to be Christian but really is not. It is a religious group, by and large, which looks for its basic and peculiar authority outside the Christian tradi tion (American Culture and Religion, page 92). While most cults make a pretense at correctly interpreting the Bible, they usually have high regard for some supplemental literature without which (they believe) the Bible cannot be properly understood.
The small amount of truth which they do proclaim is often mixed with doctrinal error and is therefore dangerous. Cults succeed in deceiving many. As Paul warned, “The time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. . . . They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths” (2 Timothy 4:3–4, NIV). Jesus said, “For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and will deceive many” (Mark 13:6).
CAUSES OF PROLIFERATION OF CULTS
1. POST MODERNISM
Post-modernism promotes privatization of truth. One of the major tenets of post-modernism is that there is no absolute truth; truth is relative. What is true to you may not be true in my case. This gives people the needed galvanization to practice and project their erroneous beliefs.
2. GLOBALIZATION
The world has now become a global village. Whatever goes on anywhere is projected everywhere. People move swiftly from one point of the globe to another within an hour. By a click of the computer mouse, people join others everywhere through the email, Facebook etc. Some cult leaders strategically take advantage of these and heavily advertise themselves in both the print and electronic media to attract large followings.
3. AGGRESSIVE MASS MEDIA
Cult people employ aggressive publicity drive to propagate their erroneous teachings. . They even set up their own publishing houses to churn out materials either for free distribution or for sale at highly subsidized prices, within seconds and are sent to prospective followers within hours by the numerous courier companies. Radio, TV and Satellite broadcasting stations are setup where their so called gospel broadcasts are done to deceive many.
4. GENERAL GLOBAL INSECURITY
The world is now not a safe place to live in. belief in witchcraft and activities of demons have left many people feeling insecure. Cult people exploit this to their advantage by offering security and to their clients. These and many other factors have contributed in no small way to the imminent proliferation of cults all over the world.
5.IMBALANCES IN THE CHRISTIAN WITNESS
Christian orthodoxy is being pushed to the wall. Economic hardships have made many Christian leaders to present truncated gospel messages. We teach more on prosperity on earth than anything about Jesus’ second coming and Heaven. The effect is that holiness is missing with people seeking to get rich quick through every means possible. People without any Christian grounding just start their own churches without any ability to teach, and sooner or later embrace and teach erroneous doctrines mixed with traditional, western and eastern philosophies.
6. ECONOMIC HARDSHIPS
Some people are motivated by the desire to get rich quick. There are instances of certain Christian leaders who started well but have gone astray due to the fact that they have been blindfolded by prosperity. Some resort to selling all manner of anointed materials such as salt, pepper, canes, oil, handkerchiefs lime at exorbitant prices and others duping unsuspecting clients in the name of the gospel.
These and many factors are making orthodox Christianity unpopular. If we can deal effectively with the cults, there is the need for Christian leaders to address these issues. We should also identify the major characteristics of the cults and how they operate in order to arrest this cancer by its horns. May the good Lord give you the insight into these issues and help you to do your part in effecting solutions to problems being posed by the cults. Stay blessed.
Pastor William Boachie-Ansah
The Church of Pentecost
Nsawkaw District, Ghana
boachieansah@gmail.com
www.facebook.com/pastor.boachieansah
DEALING WITH THE CULTS (PART 1)
![DEALING WITH THE CULTS (PART 1)]()
Reviewed by Pastor Boachie-Ansah
on
5:27 PM
Rating:
No comments