Cults Are Fanatical

Although most Christians would at times be tempted to lie, cheat, steal, or commit immorality, perhaps most who are so tempted would not yield.  Yet many of these same people who would not yield to carnal temptation could be pushed to other extremes -- to devote long hours to a cause, weaken their ties to friends and families, or develop an elitist mentality whereby they view their group as more spiritual or more favoured by God than other groups.  What they don't realize is that pharisaical fanaticism and extremism are as destructive as the sins of the flesh.  

When I (Dr. Paul R. Martin) belonged to the Great Commission International, a man whom I will call John was also involved.  John became one of the leaders of our movement.  In the early days, some of the leaders and I had observed some problems with the movement, and we would talk openly and freely to John about these problems.  While John agreed with our analysis, he rationalized the team's problems away.  He said that we were young and still learning, that there was no spiritual "action" anywhere else, and that nobody else was doing what we were doing to reach the world.  Every other group seemed dead by comparison.  

In this way, John and countless others excuse excesses and errors of many kinds.  And they were often justified by means of Scripture taken out of context.  "Be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves" (Matthew 10:16) and "wisdom is proved right by her actions" (Matthew 11:19) were two of the most abused verses.

Other groups have protected their pastors from charges of immorality with similar reasoning.  "How could such a dynamic and spiritual soul-winner possibly be wrong?"  I know of pastors that justify their own sexual immorality because they "are not like other men," and that "God knows my special needs."  Some claim their sexual liaisons are the only way they can show the love of God to some of the women (or in some cases, men).  This is how cults and fringe churches justify their practices and excuse their leaders.

(from Cult Proofing Your Kids by Dr. Paul R. Martin)

False Teachings of Barrie Victory Centre from their Statement of Faith:

"Jesus Christ became sin and sickness, thus providing both salvation and healing for all mankind."  Scripture, properly interpreted, does not support this teaching.  Christ died for one reason and one reason alone; to pay the price for our sin.

"All believers are entitled to and should expect and earnestly seek the baptism in the Holy Spirit; according to the command of Jesus Christ...the evidence of the baptism of the Holy Spirit is found in speaking with other tongues..."  There is no scripture to support the belief that Christians should earnestly seek the baptism in the Holy Spirit or that Christians are commanded to speak in tongues.  Scripture has been grossly misinterpreted.  No command of this nature appears anywhere in Scripture.

"Total prosperity is available to every believer, spiritually, mentally, physically, financially and socially."  The Health and Wealth Gospel is man-made theology based on manipulation of Scripture but has nothing to do with Christianity.  

False Teaching By Omission:

"The Bible is the inspired Word of God and the revealed Will of God." Crucial words omitted from this belief are "and contain the complete revelation of God." The omission of these words means that Barrie Victory Centre believes in extra-biblical revelation which is one of the primary marks of a cult.

Glossolalia is learned, addictive behaviour.   Anybody can learn how to do it, including non-Christians.  Glossolalia has nothing to do with "other languages" that were used by God to communicate the Gospel in the early days of the church. Glossolalia is not tongues. 

"He is the same yesterday, today and forever" is falsely used by members of Barrie Victory Centre and Pentecostals in general to justify their practices of speaking in tongues, their belief in all kinds of healings and miracles.  The false teaching here is that this Scripture refers to Jesus' character, not to the things He did while here on earth.  This is total misuse of Scripture.

For complete information on the Faith Movement, which Barrie Victory Centre is involved in, you need to read "Christianity in Crisis 21st Century" by Hank Hanegraaff (available at www.equip.org). 

Extra-Biblical Revelation (Mark #1)

How to cope with the cults? There are so many of them ... all different. Who has time to study all their weird doctrines in order to refute them? Here is a better way. No need to get bogged down in the details of this or that cult. No need to debate fine points in the original Greek and Hebrew. No need to fight over the interpretation of obscure passages of scripture?

Each cult is guilty of one or more certain characteristic doctrinal errors. Once you know what these typical errors are, you can know what's basically wrong with a cult, whatever weird or seemingly rational form it may take. Awareness of these characteristics can help you spot creeping errors among true Christians too...and maybe save you from going astray.

How has God revealed Himself?

The Christian answer to that question is that God has revealed Himself "on many occasions in diverse manners" in days gone by. In these last days however He has revealed Himself fully and finally to us in Jesus Christ as revealed in the Bible, the Word of God (see Hebrews 1:1-2).

The Word of God is, therefore, God's final and complete revelation, and this revelation can be supplanted by no other. The cults have no such commitment, believing in the heretical doctrine of extra-biblical revelation. They claim that God has spoken and recorded words, through whatever medium since He gave us the New Testament Scriptures. They assert that God speaks or has spoken outside or apart from the Bible.

The first and most typical characteristic of a cult is that it claims for its authority some revelation apart from the clear statements of the Word of God. Most cults claim to respect the teachings of the Bible. Many even attribute divine inspiration to Holy Scripture. They then quickly announce their real confidence in some subsequent revelation that in effect cancels the teaching of the Bible in favour of a more authoritative new thing which they claim God has spoken subsequently. They are therefore claiming that the Bible is only a part of the verbal revelation of God and that He has spoken or does speak in a manner that is extra-biblical, apart from Scripture.

Sometimes this extra-biblical revelation comes in the form of a "divinely inspired leader." Many religions have invested divine authority in the person of a visible individual who speaks infallibly, his words have the same or higher authority than Holy Scripture. Some of these religions have made their leaders equal with God.

From "Brother Julius" in Brooklyn to a spiritual temple in Los Angeles, the cults continue to press for a better revelation than the Word of God. William Branham, in his Word to the Bride, said, "One night as I was seeking the Lord, the Holy Spirit told me to pick up my pen and write. As I grasped the pen to write, His Spirit gave me a message for the church. I want to bring it to you...It has to do with the Word and the bride."

The God of the Bible, knowing that this would be the case in the future of the Church, very clearly declares His Word, the Scriptures, to be final and unsupercedable revelation. After giving us 66 books in the Old and New Testaments, the Holy Spirit directed the Apostle John to categorically close the verbal revelation of God at the conclusion of the Bible, saying, "For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophesy of this book, if any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book; and if any man should take away from the words of the book of this prophesy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life" (Rev. 22:18-19).

Clearly then, we have in Scripture a dreadful curse placed upon anyone who presumes to present a new verbal revelation from God.

In a frantic attempt at rationalization, some cultists say, "Well, our revelation did not come from the word of man but from a higher source." The Mormons' claim to the coming of an angel is an illustration of this.

As if foreseeing this the Apostle Paul wrote, "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again. 'If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed'" (Galations 1:8-9).

It is true that in biblical times the Word was carried to man by angels (Hebrews 2:2). We are told, however, that the revelation of Jesus Christ supersedes this. "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds" (Hebrews 1:1-2).

Christ is better than the angels, and all of the angels of God are commanded to worship Him. The final words of Scripture, therefore, "the revelation of Jesus Christ," can never be superseded by the ministry of angels. This is why Jesus Christ advised His disciples and us to "continue in My word" (John 8:31). Our present age is also well advised to heed the words of the Father, "This is my beloved Son...hear ye Him" (Matthew 17:5).

It is a cardinal doctrine of Christianity that final truth, the ultimate word is resident in Jesus Christ. Indeed, the Scripture is itself even stronger than that, saying, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1).

Final truth therefore is the Person, the Word, and the work of Jesus Christ. No subsequent revelation as to the nature of truth can supecede the revelation of Jesus Christ. It is simply impossible for there to be a greater revelation than that of Christ in this universe or any other under the God who made this and all possible universes.

One frequent device of a cult is to lend creedance to its own writings by placing them parallel to the Scriptures and then moving them up to a greater authority. The Krishna cult, the modern followers of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, grasp for authority in the minds of the foolish. They place their arcane and mysterious writings on a par with the Word of God.

A word of admonition is therefore in order. The Christian believes the Bible to be the final and only verbal revelation of God. Believing this, he must give himself to the study of the Word of God with a higher degree of intensity than ever before. "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God" (Romans 10:17)

(from Know the Marks of Cults - The 12 basic errors of false religion by Dave Breese)

Teach Your Children Well!

Following is a list of questions you may ask about a group. Take the time to answer as many as possible to help you identify problem areas and whether the group is a cult or not.

• What is so appealing about what the group offers?
• Does the group make its members feel good, fearful, or guilty?
• Does the group leader have a special charm and persuasion that its people find inexplicable and hard to resist?
• Do the people in the group seem a bit too friendly, loving, smiling, and happy?
• Do the people in the group visit or call and offer to help with almost anything?
• Does the group claim to have a special mission or calling that is unique and not found elsewhere?
• Does the leader claim to have unique powers, vision, knowledge, or other abilities?
• How many leaders have left the group, and for what reasons?
• What is the group's reputation in the community?
• Are there any checks and balances to the leadership and power structure?
• Does the group have a constitution or laws of government?
• How many meetings does the group have each week? Is attendance mandatory?
• Do the people talk about their pastor all the time, as though he were next to God?
• What is the group's view on leadership authority and discipleship?
• What is the group's view on dating and marriage?
• Does the pastor encourage the flock to read different Christian authors, or attend seminars and conferences sponsored by other churches and organizations?
• Is there an isolationist or elitist mentality?
• If the group is independent or non-denominational, to what associations does it belong?
• Have any other local pastors or civic leaders heard any complaints about the group?
• Check with selected religious or secular organizations that keep an eye on such groups. Do they know this group? Have they heard any complaints?
• Is the group affiliated with a larger, well-known and reputable organization?
• What are the credentials of the leader?
• How do your parents, other relations, or close friends feel about the group? Do they have reservations?
• Is the church rabidly separatist?
• What are the finances of the group? Is there secrecy? Does the leader live differently from the followers, drive a better car, take longer vacations, live in a nicer house, than people of comparable education and experience?
• Does the group motivate its members mostly through fear and guilt?
• Who invited you to the group or to the meeting? Was it a total stranger (if so, be very cautious)?
• Have any articles been written about the group? Any books?
• Do you know of any criminal investigations concerning the church or its leader?
• Was there a split in the group and why did it split?
• Are there disgruntled former members?
• Do the disgruntled former members, more or less, tell a similar story of why they left? Did they leave because they disagreed with either the teachings or the practices of the group or its leader?
• How was the disagreement handled?
• Does your "gut level" feeling about this group tell you from time to time that something is wrong?

We must ask and we must teach our children to ask such questions if we are going to cult-proof them and keep them out of the hands of false teachers.

(from Cult-Proofing Your Kids by Dr. Paul R. Martin)