You Are Now Without Excuse!

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you are now without excuse for getting involved in a cult or continuing in one.  The previous 25 blogs have provided you with extensive, reliable, trustworthy information on Truth and where it can be found.  Reading only the Bible will not keep you out of a cult or help you to get out of one you are already in.  All cults use the Bible to justify their "weird and unique" belief systems.  Reading books by well-respected, world-renowned, properly educated Bible scholars will.  Each of these 25 books previously mentioned has a bibliography of resources used to research the book (some very lengthy) which you can also access.  Most or all are available at www.amazon.com.

What should we be striving for as Christians?  It seems to me that our primary concern should be "absolute truth" and where it is being taught.  Surely somebody is teaching absolute truth in our world today or at least someone is teaching what would be considered the closest to absolute truth that can possibly be achieved.  With this purpose in mind, highly respected Bible scholars become a very important resource when it comes to Bible interpretation (hermeneutics).  The Faith Movement/Word of Faith and Victory Churches International do not have even one widely respected Bible scholar in their ranks, including all the television ministries.  That's why they all tell you to read your own Bible and interpret it for yourself.

We should not be willing to accept any teachings we believe to be false by continuing to sit in the pew and participating in any way in the ministry.  No matter how you look at it, churches teaching falsehoods are like a rotten apple in the barrel of Christianity. If we are fully aware that our leaders are engaging in false teachings we need to exit these churches immediately.  Staying in these churches and supporting them with our time and money makes us accessories to the falsehoods.  We will have to answer for that someday!

Now that you have more than enough information available to you to keep you out of a cult, this blog will be focusing in future on specific false teachings which are currently misrepresenting True Christianity to the unbelieving world.  As the upcoming blogs proceed, you will become aware fairly quickly that the primary source of false teachings today is found deeply embedded in the Pentecostal Church.  I believe that the Pentecostal Church is one of the main enemies of truth in our world today.  Almost every major false teaching currently out there can be traced back to the confused and  misguided Pentecostal Church.  Truth mixed with falsehood qualifies the Pentecostal Church as a cult.

Pentecostal, you will find, is a huge umbrella which includes the modern day Faith Movement, Word of Faith and Victory Churches International.  Canada Christian College is to blame for teaching an extremely aberrant form of Christianity and giving out doctorate degrees to people who are not qualified in any way.  Canada Christian College should be put out of business to eliminate the blight they have put on True Christianity.  If you are interested in teaching truth to anyone, do not attend Canada Christian College or allow your children to go there.   What they are teaching is not True Christianity and should not be supported in any way.   All of the above mentioned organizations are deeply rooted in the Pentecostal Church and its ongoing gross misunderstanding of  "The Truth" contained in Scripture.

If you are searching for Truth, make no mistake about it, the so-called truth that the Pentecostals are espousing is based in falsehood and is leading millions of people worldwide astray.  Why would you settle for anything less than the unadulterated truth?  The "Pentecostal Dictionary" shows very definitively that these people and this movement do not know what they believe, why they believe it and they know even less about absolute truth.  They have totally distorted what Christianity is all about.  Proof will emerge in upcoming blogs.  The Pentecostal Church has been one of Satan's greatest tools which he has used extensively to throw Christians off the "tracks of truth" and into the "ditch of falsehood."

You will also learn in future blogs how you can know if you are actually in a Pentecostal Church because most of them are no longer using the word "Pentecostal" in their name.  Community Church, Life Centre, and Victory Centre are a few that have become much more common now.  So, beware!

We say we want God's best for our lives.  What could be better than finding out what is "actually" truth and then "sticking with it"?  Do not listen to anyone who has something to gain from what they are telling you!  This scenario is quite common in today's churches.  Scripture admonishes us not to add anything or take anything away from the "Gospel that was delivered to the Saints".  Looking forward to sharing with you in the days ahead.

ONE VOICE

SHINING THROUGH THE DARKEST NIGHT
STANDING UP FOR WHAT IS RIGHT

Cults & Consequences by Rachel Andres / James R. Lane

From the Back Cover

If you buy only one book on cults, make it . . . 

CULTS & CONSEQUENCES

This definitive resource guide offers an honest, objective and comprehensive look at all aspects of the cult issue.  It answers the questions we are most often asked, including:

• Why do cults continue to attract new members?
• What recruiting techniques should I be aware of?
• Our child has cut us off completely, what do we do?
• My spouse has custody of our child and is in a cult, what are my legal rights?
• I just left a cult, where can I find help?

A comprehensive and potent presentation of one of the most tragic phenomenons of the 20th Century. Anyone who has been touched by cults MUST reach this book cover-to-cover.

Jackie Speier, California State Assemblywoman

Former Aide to the late Congressman Leo J. Ryan

Wounded in Jonestown while investigating the People's Temple

This excellent overview of the entire cult phenomenon draws on the wisdom of experts from every discipline.  It offers useful, practical advice for families and former cult members.  It will be indispensable to those who educate the public about destructive cults.

Marcia Rudin, Director, International Cult Education Program;

Author, Prision or Paradise:  The New Religious Cults

Cults are a threat to individual freedom and family integrity, especially on college campuses.  CULTS & CONSEQUENCES provides invaluable information which could prevent someone from joining a cult.  It will also help those who are dealing with a cult problem.  An essential book to own!

Ron Loomis, Director of Student Activities, Cornell University;

President, Cult Awareness Network

From the Contents

Part 1:  Cults & Society

What is a Cult?

How does it differ from a religion?

What is the difference between a destructive and benign cult?

Cults, Quacks and Nonprofessional Psychotherapies

The Reign of the Religious Fanatic...

Part 2:  Entry

How could I/someone in my family, join a cult?

Why do cults attract?

Who is approached by cults?

Most common places to be approached by cults

The most common approach techniques

 -- Do they work on everyone?

What personality type makes a good recruiter?

What if you are approached by a recruiter?

Ways to stop recruitment in public places

How effective is recruitment?

Part 3:  Staying Put

What is cult indoctrination?

How do cult indoctrination techniques differ?

What is mind control/brainwashing?

Cult leaders -- why do they do it?

How do some long-term members simply walk away?

Part 4:  On the Outside...Looking In

How does it feel?

How can you be sure an organization is truly a destructive cult?

What can parents do when their child becomes involved in a cult?

Are destructive cults physically dangerous?

Part 5:  Getting Out

Deprogramming -- How does it apply to cults?

Exit counseling -- Does it differ from deprogramming?

Why would deprogramming or exit counseling fail?

The legal aspects of deprogramming

What factors influence voluntary departure from a cult?

Part 6:  Staying Out

What is rehabilitation?

Is there a need for rehabilitation?

What happens during rehabilitation?

Part 7:  Looking Back

Former Cult Members Speak Out

From Part 9:  Closing Comments

...Anyone can be recruited into a cult, if that person is caught in a particular way and that person is at a particular point in life.  The desires that lead people to join cults are desires that each of us has:  to feel loved; to be included; to be part of a committed community; working to improve the world; to have a sense of life's meaning; and to feel closer to God.  The major difference between individuals in cults and those outside cults is the way those desires have been fulfilled.  A person may have entered a cult with a profound committment to bettering the world and improving oneself -- without realizing the potential dangers of the path chosen...the pressures that drive individuals to take refuge in religious cults will not abate, since they are, a product of natural desires for social support and religious meaning.

The success of cults must indicate that there is a significant problem to which they are offering a solution...Granted that the cults use deceptive practices to attract members the fact remains that they strike a responsive chord in people when they speak of leading a religious life, a life of adherence to fundamental moral values, a life of committment to community and service.  

This book may be obtained from www.amazon.com.