Brainwashing -- Why Your Family Won't Listen!

 "Brainwashing is the attempt to change the thoughts and beliefs of 

another person against their will." 

This post has been written in response to two frightening comments that came in 
on the previous post:

". . . his demonic hold over his members. . ." (PM)

". . . he's a brainwashing genius. . . " (PM)

After listening to a couple of his sermons he has posted on-line, it is obvious to me that brainwashing techniques are being employed at BVC on a regular basis.  This heightens the urgency for you and your family to leave BVC.  

How Brainwashing Works?

During the Korean War, Korean and Chinese captors reportedly brainwashed American POWs held in prison camps.  Several prisoners ultimately confessed to waging germ warfare -- which they hadn't -- and pledged allegiance to communism by the end of their captivity.  At least 21 soldiers refused to come back to the United States when they were set free.

The study of brainwashing, often referred to as thought reform, falls into the sphere of  "social influence."  It's the collection of ways in which people can change other people's attitudes, beliefs and behaviours.  For instance, the compliance method aims to produce a change in a person's behaviour and is not concerned with his attitudes or beliefs.  It's the "Just do it" approach.  Persuasion, on the other hand, aims for a change in attitude, or "Do it because it'll make you feel good/happy/healthy/successful."  The education method (which is called the "propaganda method" when you don't believe in what's being taught) goes for the social-influence gold, trying to affect a change in the person's beliefs, along the lines of  "Do it because you know it's the right thing to do."

Brainwashing is a severe form of social influence that combines all of these approaches to cause changes in someones way of thinking without that person's consent and often against his will.  

Because brainwashing is such an invasive form of influence, it requires the complete isolation and dependency of the subject, which is why you mostly hear of brainwashing occurring in prison camps or totalist cults.  The agent (the brainwasher) must have complete control over the target (the brainwashee). In the brainwashing process, the agent systematically breaks down the target's identity to the point that it doesn't work anymore.  The agent then replaces it with another set of behaviours, attitudes and beliefs that work in the target's current environment. 

Brainwashing Techniques

In the late 1950s, psychologist Robert J. Lifton studied former prisoners of Korean War and Chinese war camps.  He determined that they'd undergone a multi-step process that began with attacks on the prisoner's sense of self and ended with what appeared to be a change in beliefs.  Lifton ultimately defined a set of steps involved in the brainwashing cases he studied:

1. Assault on identity
2. Guilt
3. Self-betrayal
4. Breaking point
5. Leniency
6. Compulsion to confess
7. Channelling of guilt
8. Releasing of guilt
9. Progress and harmony
10. Final confession and rebirth

Each of these stages takes place in an environment of isolation, meaning all "normal" social reference points are unavailable, and mind-clouding techniques are typically part of the process.  There is often the presence or constant fear of rejection, which adds to the target's difficulty in thinking critically and independently.

We can roughly divide the process Lifton identified into three stages:  breaking down the self, introducing the possibility of salvation, and rebuilding the self.

Breaking Down the Self

• Assault on identity:  You are not who you think you are.  This is a systematic attack on a target's sense of self (also his identity or ego) and his core belief system.  The agent (PM) denies everything that makes the target who he is.  The target is under constant attack to the point that he becomes exhausted, confused and disoriented.  In this state, his beliefs seem less solid.

• Guilt:  You are bad.  While the identity crisis is setting in the agent (PM) is simultaneously creating an overwhelming sense of guilt in the target.  He repeatedly and mercilessly attacks the subject for any "sin" the target has committed, large or small.  He may criticize the target for everything from the "evilness" of his beliefs to the way he eats too slowly.  The target begins to feel a general sense of shame, that everything he does is wrong. 

• Self-betrayal:  Agree with me that you are bad.  Once the subject is disoriented and drowning in guilt, the agent (PM) forces him (with the threat of the continuance of the mental attack) to denounce his family, friends and peers who share the same "wrong" belief system that he holds.  This betrayal of his own beliefs and of people he feels a sense of loyalty to increases the shame and loss of identity the target is already experiencing.

• Breaking point:  Who am I, where am I and what am I supposed to do?  With his identity in crisis, experiencing deep shame and having betrayed what he has always believed in, the target may undergo what in the lay community is referred to as a "nervous breakdown."  In psychology, "nervous breakdown" is really just a collection of severe symptoms that can indicate any number of psychological disturbances.  It may involve uncontrollable sobbing, deep depression and general disorientation.  The target may have lost his grip on reality and have the feeling of being completely lost and alone.  When the target reaches his breaking point, his sense of self is pretty much up for grabs -- he has no clear understanding of who he is or what is happening to him.  At this point, the agent (PM) sets up the temptation to convert to another belief system that will save the target from his misery.

The Possibility of Salvation

• Leniency:  I can help you.  With the target in a state of crisis, the agent (PM) offers some small kindness or reprieve from the abuse.  He may offer the target a time of rest.  In a state of breakdown resulting from an endless psychological attack, the small kindness seems huge and the target may experience a sense of relief and gratitude completely out of proportion to the offering, as if the agent (PM) has saved his life.

• Compulsion to confession:  You can help yourself.  For the first time in the brainwashing process, the target is faced with the contrast between the guilt and pain of identity assault and the sudden relief of leniency.  The target may feel a desire to reciprocate the kindness offered to him and at this point, the agent (PM) may present the possibility of confession as a means to relieving guilt and pain.

• Channeling of guilt:  This is why you're in pain.  After weeks or months of assault, confusion, breakdown and moments of leniency, the target's guilt has lost all meaning -- he's not sure what he has done wrong, he just knows he is wrong.  This creates something of a blank slate that lets the agent (PM) fill in the blanks:  He can attach that guilt, that sense of  "wrongness" to whatever he wants.  The agent (PM) attaches the target's guilt to the belief system the agent (PM) is trying to replace.  The target comes to believe it is his belief system that is the cause of his shame.  The contrast between old and new has been established:  the old belief system is associated with psychological (and usually physical) agony; and the new belief system is associated with the possibility of escaping that agony.  

• Releasing of guilt:  It's not me; it's my beliefs.  The embattled target is relieved to learn there is an external cause of his wrongness, that it is not he himself that is inescapably bad -- this means he can escape his wrongness by escaping the wrong belief system.  All he has to do is denounce the people and institutions associated with that belief system, and he won't be in pain any more.  The target has the power to release himself from wrongness by confessing to acts associated with his old belief system.  With his full confessions, the target has completed his psychological rejection of his former identity.  It is now up to the agent (PM) to offer the target a new one.

Rebuilding the Self

• Progress and harmony:  If you want, you can choose good.  The agent (PM) introduces a new belief system as the path to "good."  At this stage, the agent (PM) stops the abuse, offering the target physical comfort and mental calm in conjunction with the new belief system.  The target is made to feel that it is he who must choose between old and new, giving the target the sense that his fate is in his own hands.  The target has already denounced his old belief system in response to leniency and torment, and making a "conscious choice" in favour of the contrasting belief system helps to further relieve his guilt:  If he truly believes, then he really didn't betray anyone.  The choice is not a difficult one:  The new identity is safe and desirable because it is nothing like the one that led to his breakdown.

• Final confession and rebirth:  I choose good.  Contrasting the agony of the old with the peacefulness of the new, the target chooses the new identity, clinging to it like a life preserver.  He rejects his old belief system and pledges allegiance to the new one that is going to make his life better.  At this final stage, there are often rituals or ceremonies to induct the converted target into his new community.  This stage has been described by some brainwashing victims as a feeling of  "rebirth."  

Certain personality traits of the brainwashing targets can determine the effectiveness of the process.  People who commonly experience great self-doubt, have a weak sense of identity, and show a tendency toward guilt and absolutism (black-and-white thinking) are more likely to be successfully brainwashed.

This information was taken from a book written by Denise Winn titled The Manipulated Mind, Brainwashing, Conditioning and Indoctrination.  The book is available at www.amazon.com.

The book deals with various topics such as brainwashing, unquestioned beliefs, and the influencing effects of feelings.

For more information on Victory Churches and the Faith Movement, go to the Reference Library.  Click on any book title to get a brief overview of the book.  All books on the list are available through www.amazon.com. 

Ye Shall Be As Gods

Throughout almost two thousand years of her turbulent history, the Christian church has been set upon by many adversaries.  The Apostle Paul, in his great charge to the Ephesian elders in Acts chapter 20, anticipated the threat of heresy, and schism in his own lifetime:

... Savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock.  Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them...

[This is exactly what happened in the formation of Barrie Victory Centre -- talk to the people at Mapleview Community Church and they will confirm that this is how Barrie Victory Centre had its beginnings.  I wonder who the "savage wolves" are in this case?]

It should be observed that Paul mentions two specific categories for the attacks being made upon the Church.  The first category includes overt enemies of the faith; atheists, agnostics, sceptics, secularists, and scoffers.  It also includes non-Christian religions, the cults, and the occult.  But the "savage wolves" are even more dangerous when they are part of the second category:  "Even from your own number," says Paul, "men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them."  [The twenty or so couples who were drawn away from Mapleview Pentecostal Church in the beginning will remember exactly how this happened.]  Today the words of Paul are fulfilled in plain sight as the church is divided by schismatic sheep who mix cultic and occultic doctrine with biblical truth, perverting the Gospel of Christ.

Some, for example, teach that Christians are actually gods.  The Mormons teach that men may become gods by accepting their revelations and by submitting to their authority.  However, this is something that takes place in the future and is designated as exaltation.  Since the Mormons are genuine polytheists (i.e., believing in "many gods") as opposed to monotheists (accepting only one God), they maintain that faithful Mormons can eventually become gods in the same manner and of the same nature as Jesus Christ and His Father.  Mormonism has never been recognized by the Christian church as a bonified Christian faith since its inception in 1830 through the work of Joseph Smith, Jr.

We should not fail to note that Mormons affirm that the divinity of man is to be accomplished after the death of the body, a bad enough departure from the Christian faith but, sadly, there are those who function within the Christian church who do not hesitate to make the claim now!

The "Little Gods" Doctrine

Earl Paulk, Charles Capps, Robert Tilton, Kenneth Copeland, and Kenneth E. Hagen are among the leading proponents of the "little gods" teaching.

Earl Paulk writes "Adam and Eve were placed in the world as the seed and expression of God.  Just as dogs have puppies and cats have kittens, so God has little gods."  But, he says, "we have trouble comprehending this truth."  He adds, "Until we comprehend that we are little gods, and we begin to act like little gods, we cannot manifest the Kingdom of God."

Robert Tilton asserts, "You are . . . a god-kind of creature.  Originally you were designed to be as a god in this world.  Man was designed or created by God to be the god of this world . . .. Of course, man forfeited his dominion to Satan who became the god of this world."

Kenneth Copeland insists that "man had total authority to rule as a god over every living creature on earth, and he was to rule by speaking words.  His words would carry the power and annointing of God that was in him from the time he was first created."

Casey Treat, Pastor of Seattle's Christian Faith Centre, tells us in his taped series "Believing in Yourself" to come to the point where we feel comfortable claiming our godhood:

The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost had a conference and they said, 'let us make man an exact duplicate of us' . . .

When God looks in the mirror, He sees me!  When I look in the mirror, I see God!  Oh, hallelujah! . . .

Kenneth Copeland informs us, "You don't have a god in you.  You are one!"  Others in the worlds of the cults teach variations on the above themes of human divinity.  Herbert W. Armstrong's Worldwide Church of God, for instance, teaches that there is a "god family" in which all Armstrongists will eventually share.  They will become just as much deity as the Father and Son.  (Armstrong denies the personality of the Holy Spirit, as do Jehovah Witnesses.)

Christian Science, the Unity School of Christianity, the Science of Mind or Religious Science, New Thought Metaphysics, and so on, believe that all humans have within themselves the "Christ-consciousness," or "Christ idea," which is allegedly the true divinity of all men.  They maintain that Jesus Christ had possessed this divinity to a greater degree than others which is what sets Him apart, but none of those groups confess the eternal deity of Jesus Christ, the Word of God made flesh, and His unique relationship to the Father as the only "Begotten Son." (see John 1:18; 3:16).

In the mind science cults man is already divine -- in the Hindu - New Age sense of shared deity, or, as Mary Baker Eddy once wrote, "Man as God's idea is already saved with an everlasting salvation."  "God, Spirit, being all, nothing is matter," said the founder of Christian Science.  The Unity School of Christianity confirms that thesis:  "God is not a person . . . but very real, something we call life."  "The Christ, or perfect man . . . is the true spiritual higher self of every individual."

As we have previously noted, these cultic views are expressed by organizations that are recognized as outside the pale of the Christian church.  Nevertheless, the "little gods" doctrine taught by the leaders of the "Faith Movement" is firmly situated within groups generally -- but falsely -- regarded as evangelical.  It is circulated in Christian bookstores all over the United States [and Canada] and is widely disseminated via  Christian radio and television.  The president of Trinity Broadcasting Network, Paul Crouch, has taught this doctrine openly and once spent almost two hours attempting to convince me and three other ministers that we were "little gods."  Many evangelical organizations, consciously or not, are helping "savage wolves" spread such diabolical errors.

[If your church denies being part of the Faith Movement, but at the same time, recognizes the likes of Kenneth and Gloria Copeland, or Kenneth E. Hagen as spiritual leaders in any way, shape, or form, rest assured that you are part of the Faith Movement because your leaders are identifying and connecting with the leaders of the Faith Movement.  There's no denying it.  If Kenneth and Gloria Copeland or any of the leaders of the Faith Movement names appear in your weekly church bulletin for either conferences or reading materials, you are definitely involved in the Faith Movement and consequently, you believe the "little gods" doctrine which is a cultic belief.]


For more information on Victory Churches and the Faith Movement, go to the Reference Library.  Click on any book title to get a brief overview of the book.  All books on the list are available through www.amazon.com. 

The Facts on the Faith Movement by John Ankerberg & John Weldon

From the Back Cover

The growing and much-publicized Faith Movement has captured literally millions of Christians with its seductive claims -- but is it biblical? Authors Ankerberg and Weldon answer key questions about the Movement and its leaders:

• What are the basic teachings of the Faith Movement?
• How powerful is the Faith Movement, and why has it been so successful?
• What characteristics of the Faith Movement concern people?
• Do the Faith teachers misinterpret Scripture?

This booklet carefully separates fact from fiction regarding the Faith Movement's disturbing presence in twentieth-century Christianity.

About the Authors

John Ankerberg is the host of the nationally televised award-winning "The John Ankerberg Show." He speaks internationally and has master's degrees in divinity and the history of the church and Christian thought.

John Weldon has authored and co-authored numerous books on the cults and occult and has master's degrees in divinity and Christian apologetics, and a doctorate in comparative religion.

Section One -- Defining the Faith Movement

1. What are the basic teachings of the Faith Movement?
2. How powerful is the Faith Movement, and why has it been successful?
3. What have respected Christian leaders in the Church said about the Faith Movement?
4. Why is doctrine important?
5. Why is the idea of "unity over doctrine" a false teaching?
6. What characteristics of the Faith Movement concern people?
7. What is faith?
8. Do the Faith teachers claim that their new revelations come directly from God?
9. Why do the Faith teachers misinterpret Scripture?

Section Two -- The Teachings of the Faith Movement

1. What is operation "Caricature"?
2. What are some examples of the unorthodox teachings of Benny Hinn?
3. What are some examples of the unorthodox teachings of Kenneth Copeland?
4. What are some examples of the unorthodox teachings of Robert Tilton?
5. What are some examples of the unorthodox teachings of Kenneth Hagin and Kenneth Hagin, Jr.
6. What are some examples of the unorthodox teachings of Oral and Richard Roberts?
7. What are some examples of the unorthodox teachings of Paul Yonggi Cho?

Section Three -- The Faith Movement, the Cults and the Occult

1. What is the relationship between the Faith teachings and cultic theology?
2. How do angels and the occult relate to the Faith Movement?

Section Four -- The Consequences of the Faith Movement and a Scriptural Corrective

1. How do the teachings of the Faith Movement hinder personal sanctification?
2. What are some other tragedies associated with the Faith Movement?
3. Do the Faith teachers confess that their Faith teachings do not work?
4. How do the Scriptures correct the Faith teachings?
5. Should the will of God not be of concern to Christians?

The True Issue of the Faith Movement

Poverty is an evil spirit (Kenneth Copeland, Prosperity: The Choice is Yours, 4).

And do you know what is going to happen now? I am going to let you in on a little secret. Somebody is going to give me $50,000. Because you can have what you say (Kenneth Hagin, Mountain Moving Faith, 21).

God's riches are laid end-to-end across heaven waiting to be given to you (Oral Roberts, Seed Faith Commentary, 92).

Benjamin B. Warfield, perhaps the greatest theologian of the nineteenth century, commented that, "The curse of the Church has been her apathy to truth ... She has nothing to fear from truth; but she has everything to fear and she has already suffered nearly everything from ignorance."

Faith teachers with satellite communications can literally preach to millions or tens of millions of people. This means that perhaps more than anyone else they have the potential for being a force for either tremendous good or incalculable harm. Because of the Christian teacher's potential to good or evil, God warns, "Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we shall incur a stricter judgement" (James 3:1). If God says this to those who a teach a few hundred, how much more must it be true for those who teach millions?

... But the issue of the Faith Movement is not whether its teachers are sincere or whether they teach some things that are true. The issue is their overall message and its consequences in the life of the Church....

This booklet can be purchased at www.johnankerberg.org..

Twisted Scriptures by Mary Alice Chrnalogar

Introduction

This is important! This book is designed to restore a loved one's ability to think without being unduly influenced by a particular group. For many, this book will break the psychological control exerted by an abusive discipling relationship or controlling church. That is why there is overlapping of information and repetition of ideas. The victim's strongly biased mind needs this repetition if family, friends, or therapists are to be successful in restoring objectivity.

You may be reading this now because someone close to you suspects you are being hurt, rather than helped, by your discipling relationship. It is normal to feel somewhat defensive or resentful when questioned about the possibility of abuse in our own churches or ministries. Remember, the Apostle Paul tells us, "examine everything carefully" (1 Thess. 5:21). I am not asking you to accept my opinion about your church or group. Instead, evaluate what is happening to you and around you. After reading this book, you should be able to decide for yourself if there is reason to be concerned.

Friends and family: If you have a loved one caught up in what you suspect is a controlling ministry, collect information about the group, then ask the victim to read this book from cover to cover, use the checklists at the end of each chapter as a starting point for conversation. Finally, discuss the information with him or her away from the group and with former members if possible.

Freedom exists through discipline and obedience -- obedience not to yourself or another human, but to God. Many disciples think they are being taught the right way of obedience; but they are deceived into giving up their desires, wishes, and goals for those of another mortal being -- their discipler.

From the Back Cover

You joined your church because of it's intensity for God. Like no other place, it's helped you discover the meaning of obedience, of teachableness, of death to self. If there is one problem, it's the confusion that sometimes comes from your own carnal thinking. But God has given you leaders who can lovingly correct a doubting independent spirit and help you choose God's best for your life.

How can you go wrong with a church like that? Easily. What you just read actually fits the profile of many abusive churches. Twisted Scriptures reveals in depth how the Bible can be distorted in ways that rob you of the liberty Jesus died to give you. You might be shocked at what you discover.

This book uncovers the subtle but powerful techniques by which, in the name of truth, controlling leaders manipulate and intimidate countless believers. It also supplies tools for overcoming persuasive, deceptive teachings and practices.

Thousands of Christians have already moved from struggle to true freedom and hope through Twisted Scriptures. If you truly want to grow in everything God made you to be, you owe it to yourself to read this book.

"I did not realize I was in an abusive ministry until I read Twisted Scriptures. I thought the author had followed me around for sixteen years when she wrote this book. It is so accurate." -- former "disciple," Dallas, Texas

"This is controversial...many sheep will be told not to read it. Anyone told this should read it immediately. This is an important book -- not only to help victims break out of bondage but every pastor should be required to read it." -- Edward J. Green, Ph.D., Guerry Professor Emeritus of Psychology, University of Tennessee

About the Author

Mary Alice Chrnalogar, a dedicated Christian, has spent more than nineteen years working to rescue victims who are extremely controlled by leaders or destructive groups. Miss Chrnalogar is a respected international consultant in the field of cult education and has assisted with family interventions throughout the United States as well as in Australia, Canada, France, Israel, and Spain.

Her extensive work with those injured by mind control gives her a valuable insight into the thinking of these misguided persons and knowledge of how they keep themselves from thinking critically and objectively. This book is the foundation of the unique program Miss Chrnalogar uses to break the excessive and improper influences of leaders and abusive discipleship.

Miss Chrnaloger states, "It is one of my greatest joys to receive phone calls weekly from individuals who are so grateful to me for writing this book because the information freed them from an unhealthy church. My favourite thank-you was a message sent to me by an ordained minister. He wrote, 'Chrnaloger's book was a god-send to me. I left an abusive system five years ago but her book has given my life new meaning. The Scriptures that used to haunt me no longer do because Miss Chrnaloger places them in the correct context.'"

The author comments, "My greatest happiness in life is knowing that many will be healed after they read this book that the Lord inspired in my heart."

Chapter Titles Include:

Ch. 1 - The Discipleship Game

Ch. 2 - The Discipleship Disaster

Ch. 3 - Authority Unlimited

Ch. 4 - Beyond Accountability

Ch. 5 - The Language of Enslavement

Ch. 6 - Whose Will Is It?

Ch. 7 - Control in Black and White

Ch. 8 - Vicious Information Control

Ch. 9 - Truth or Consequences

Ch. 10 - Confession Confusion

Ch. 11 - Walling Off the World

Ch. 12 - What God and the Discipler Have Joined Together

Ch. 13 - This Can't Be Mind Control, Can It?

Ch. 14 - Collision With Leadership

Ch. 15 - The New Inquisition

Ch. 16 - Boxes Within Boxes

Ch. 17 - The Way to Freedom

Epilogue - Leader of Heaven's Gate Undermined Free Will

Appendix II - Accountability Groups: A Brief History

Appendix III - A Summary of Abuses (114 Abuses Listed)

Where To Get This Book

www.amazon.com

The Kingdom of the Cults by Walter Martin

Inside the Front Cover

Since the first edition was published in 1965, Walter Martin's The Kingdom of the Cults has been the leading reference work on the major contemporary cult systems. With an emphasis on the active, proselytizing cults, The Kingdom of the Cults is a crucial tool in counter-cult ministry and evangelism.

Inside the Back Cover

Walter Martin is a world-renowned expert on cults and the founder of the Christian Research Institute. He was the original Bible Answer Man, host of the popular syndicated call-in show heard around the country. He held four earned degrees, having received his doctorate from California Coast University in the field of Comparative Religions. Walter Martin is also the author of a dozen books, a half dozen booklets and many articles.

From the Back Cover

In an era of rapid cult growth world-wide, Christians today more than ever need the trustworthy information contained in The Kingdom of the Cults. This comprehensive edition equips readers from every walk of life to use biblical truth to counter the efforts of cults who masquerade as main-stream Christians.

The Grand Poo-Bah says

The Word of Faith / Faith Movement had twenty-two pages devoted to it in the 1997 version of this book. The Grand Poo-Bah was very fortunate to have this version of the book fall into his hands a few years ago. It was the last available copy at my local Christian bookstore and I was told by the vendor that there would be no more copies of this version available in the future. The current version no longer contains this section. In order to read the majority of this now missing information on the Faith Movement, you need to refer to the Archived Blogs between Sat. June 7, 2008 and Wed. June 25, 2008.

"Full Gospel" Rant

In Barrie, Ontario where I live there is a church on St. Vincent Street called the Full Gospel Lighthouse. I have occasion to drive by it numerous times because it is on the way to my doctor's office. Every time I see the name of that church, I want to get a can of black paint and cross out the words "Full Gospel" and change it to the word "One" because in my Bible there is only one Gospel and it is referred to as "The Gospel." I would never do this; but I really really want the name of this church changed. A good name would be The Gospel Lighthouse Community Church. I will probably be delivering a copy of this rant to the Full Gospel Lighthouse in the near future. The use of this term really upsets and angers me as a born-again Christian but I think that is what the term is intended to do, upset people who go to the lesser churches.

Where is the term "full gospel" in Scripture? Answer - nowhere. The term "full gospel" implies by its very nature that there is a partial/half/lesser gospel. This concept is totally foreign to the Word of God. The Pentecostal Church has made up this term to create the illusion for Christians that there is something more when there isn't. The Bible refers to "the" Gospel, meaning ONE. "Full Gospel" implies that there is more than ONE. The world must see Christians as a very confused bunch of people because they have "the Gospel" which is in Scripture and the "Full Gospel" which appears in the names of many Pentecostal churches.

Scripture does not teach that Christians are to seek after the baptism of the Holy Spirit and speak in tongues and it certainly is not a command anywhere in Scripture which some churches teach. This term is very confusing and in serious error. Every time I drive by this church and see this name "Full Gospel Lighthouse" I think to myself that the people who attend there must be a bunch of Christian snobs who think that they are better than the rest of us.

What the Pentecostal Church has done by using the term "full gospel" in any context, they have created a class system within Christianity. There are the first-class Christians who go to the "full gospel" church, and there are the second-class Christians who go to all the other Christian churches. This is snobbery beyond belief and I often envision the adherents of this church walking around looking down their spiritual noses at the rest of us. Other phrases that come to mind are "We are the haves and the rest of you are the have-nots." We are the greater and you are the lesser Christians. We are the powerful and you are the powerless Christians. Some Christians are strong like the "full gospel" Christians and some are weak like the rest of us are made to feel by the use of this term. There are the big larger-than-life Christians who attend the "full gospel" church and there are the little minor insignificant measly Christians who attend all other churches. This term is a threat to my personal self-worth. It makes me feel like I am a lower-quality Christian and nothing could be further from the truth.

This snobbery has a very definite purpose within the Pentecostal Church. Its purpose is to create the illusion that there is something more, that they've got "it" and the rest of us haven't. I find this whole idea highly offensive and the use of this term needs to be stamped out immediately.

Christianity is what it is! Jesus is who He is! For 2000 years, He was the God-man who died for our sins. Now all of a sudden, in the twenty-first century, the Pentecostal Church is trying to tell us that He's somebody very different. Glossolalia/tongues-speakers are now saying that not only is He the One who paid the price for our sins but now He's also the One who provides health and wealth. This is like saying to Jesus, hanging on the cross with nails in His hands and His feet; "What do you mean all we get is forgiveness for sins? We want more! We want health and wealth!" I can just see all the Penetcostals looking up all the Scriptures in the Bible that refer to health and wealth and deciding that all they have to do is quote these Scriptures often and we will be able to make health and wealth part of the reason that Jesus died on the cross (the Atonement).

What do you think God's attitude is towards this kind of thinking? The Bible teaches that nothing is to be added or taken away from "the Gospel" that was delivered to the Saints. There's something new in Penetcostal churches all the time. The history of their church shows that they never ever get to the truth. What was new truth becomes old truth and is quickly discarded to be replaced by the next new truth. This says to me that the "new truths" must be falsehoods if they can be so easily discarded and set aside. Falsehood makes the Pentecostal church a cult and they are full of it.

There is nothing new in Christianity unless you're a Pentecostal or a tongues-speaker. Tongues or glossolalia creates the illusion that there is something more because they are not used in most churches. The reason they are not used in most churches is because it is not Scriptural. Scripture teaches that tongues will cease. If you fall for the ruse of glossolalia, you will most certainly be convinced there is something more when there isn't. Ministers also claim that God speaks to them when the truth is the total revelation of God is contained within the Scriptures. Another way that the illusion of something more is created.

Scores of phony, unverifiable healings also contribute to the illusion there is something more when there really isn't. "Full Gospel" is a very offensive term and is totally confusing for the Christian population in general. What must the world think? Things that come to mind are; What is the matter with Christians? Don't they know what they believe? There seems to be two Christianities. Which one is right? How do I decide which church to go to? And I would hazard a guess that a lot of people thinking this way end up going nowhere rather than make the wrong choice because they both can't be right.

Any church using the term "full gospel" in their name needs to change that name to something else immediately to end the total confusion it's creating in Christendom.

Experience over doctrinal truth - about me

Miracles, signs and wonders - about me

Emotional high / feeling good - about me

Doctrine of subsequence - about me

Health and wealth - about me

Visions - about me

Healings - about me

Speaking in tongues - about me

Annointing - about me

New revelation - about me

Blessings - about me

Spiritual gifts - about me

Mysticism - about me

Glossolalia - about me

Hi, my name is "PENTE." I like it when the world revolves around ME! That's why I left the Baptist Church because not enough was about ME!

More Thoughts

Being totally self-centered you feel very comfortable at the Pente/tongues cult but what does Scripture say? Did God set up the church for our benefit? No! He set up the church to spread the good news about Him. The church was set up for His benefit; not for ours.

It's about Him, His death, burial and resurrection. The only thing about "us" is that we get our slate wiped clean, our sins forgiven. (It is finished.) Any and all tongues-speaking cults feel they must offer "more" to attract constituents. They do it because it works. Large numbers of people fall for it every year.

The tongues-speaking cults exist solely for the benefit and self-worship of its adherents. You need to remember here that just because so many people are being drawn to it doesn't justify it or make it right. Satan has been extra busy since the Faith Movement arrived on the scene in the early 80s. This movement has given Satan a perfect tool to work with to throw Christians off the road and into the ditch. He has had great success with it and will likely continue as long as Christians give him an open door.

We live in a very self-centered world where everything is about "me." The "me" cults play constantly to this weakness in our society. This current generation has often been called the "me" generation and it applies to the church as well. Christ would be appalled at what's going on in the tongues-speaking cults. How will they explain themselves when they stand before God someday to give account for why they totally misread and misunderstood Scripture and worst of all, shared this misunderstanding with millions of people around the world.

Spotting A Cult

As a child, Jane attended a Hebrew school, where she learned all about cults. She was taught how cults recruit new members: by "love bombing," by offering free meals, by "weekend retreats," and by using front organizations that pose as some youth service ministry. She also learned about specific cults like the Moonies, the Scientologists, and the Children of God.

Jane felt prepared for an encounter with a cult. In fact, she had actually received one of the best cult prevention programs available to anyone in a school setting. Yet all Jane's cult education was to no avail, for she joined the Church Universal and Triumphant after having been recruited by a close friend. Later she realized her mistake and came to Wellspring to recover from her involvement with this cult.

How could Jane, of all people, find herself in a cult? This young woman did not realize that cults recruit in a variety of ways. Nor did she realize that even the best books on cults leave out hundreds, if not thousands, of other groups that are cultic in nature. Instead, Jane reasoned, "If it isn't a Moonie or a Way member, or a Scientologist, then I'm not being 'love bombed.' I am not being pressured to attend any special meetings, so it must not be a cult."

Surface Appearances

No one has ever shopped around to join a cult. No one has ever deliberately sought out an organization where they could be manipulated economically, physically, and emotionally. Yet each day, people are lured into cults and fringe groups that promise one thing and deliver another.

How, then, can you spot a cult? How can you get past the initial or surface appearances presented by cults to find out their inner mechanisms? One way is to recognize the chief characteristics of cults.

Your Child Could be Lured into a Cult

NO MATTER HOW SPIRITUAL YOU ARE, NO MATTER HOW STRONG YOUR FAMILY, you could lose your child to the siren call of the cults.

Time and time again, Dr. Paul Martin has seen dedicated Christian young people fall into the trap of cults and fringe churches. Himself a victim of a cultic fringe church, Dr. Martin now reaches out to other former cult members, assisting hundreds of them to find healing.

Now Dr. Martin shares his expertise in the first book about cults designed especially for concerned Christian parents. In Cult-Proofing Your Kids, he advises parents on:

• how to identify a cult
• how to educate children about cults
• why people join cults
• what to do when your child joins a cult
• how to help your child recover from cult involvement

There is nothing more heartbreaking than losing your child to a cult. But with Cult-Proofing Your Kids, you now have the tools you need to prevent that from happening -- or to fight back when it does.

"A very practical tool for parents, counsellors, youth leaders, and anyone else concerned about the potential dangers lurking in today's spiritual supermarket." Ronald Enroth, Westmount College, author of Churches That Abuse.

Paul R. Martin, Ph.D., a licensed psychologist, directs the Wellspring Retreat and Resource Center in Ohio, a counselling center for former cultists. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the Cult Awareness Network and is an advisory board member for the American Family Foundation.

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

Segmented Biblical Attention (Mark #8)

There is no book like the Bible.

Variation and diversities are not marks of error. But herein lies a potentially serious problem. The temptation of groups of serious conviction is to move ever further from the central pale of reason that C.S. Lewis calls "mere Christianity." Because of their emphasis, they begin declaring that "love is everything," or "history is all-important." They take some important but not critical emphasis of Scripture and move it to the exalted position of an imperative doctrine. They move their test of fellowship away from the person of Jesus Christ to some lesser point. Such a group may have started well, but, for want of proper attention to the whole counsel of God, they drift away from vital Christianity into a misplaced emphasis.

It is easy to see how a religious group can move from the true to the false by small steps of defection from the teaching of Holy Scripture. Too often, however, this special emphasis becomes the critical all-important point. When a theological eccentricity moves to the very center of the attention of a group of Christians, that group, often without sensing it, becomes eccentric and potentially heretical.

This "outward bound" direction must always be avoided by the biblical Christian. When a group develops a theological or doctrinal interpretation that touches only minimally on the proper biblical emphasis and lives for the most part outside of that circle, it becomes a cult.

By this we mean that, from a starting point of Scripture, it has moved away from the teaching of the Word of God so that its central emphasis has become a set of human philosophies, ideas, or revelations that can no longer be justified by the teaching of the Word of God. Its attention to an interesting portion of Scripture has been carried to the point where it has isolated this passage of the Word of God from the corrective modifications found in other portions of the Word. Its segmented biblical attention has cut it off from the body of divine truth.

Virtually every cult in existence today has followed the unwise course of segmented biblical attention out beyond the pale of reason into the production of a destructive heresy.

(Read Acts 19:1-6) The disciples of John the Baptist continued faithfully in their conviction of the truth of the message of this humble forerunner of Jesus Christ.

But herein was their problem. They were so taken with the preaching of John that they neglected his major emphasis: namely, that One was coming after him, who would guide them into all truth. They therefore missed the opportunity to hear the Word of Christ. They missed the chance to believe in Him and become true Christians, sharing in the gift of the Holy Spirit given to the Church on the day of Pentecost. Their own testimony was that they had not even heard of the Holy Spirit.

These people did not come to the place where they shared the life of God that comes to every person who is made a new creature in Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul's question to these disciples, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" was a most appropriate way of asking whether they had become true Christians.

Realizing that they were not indeed believers, the Apostle Paul said unto them "that they should believe on Him who would come after him" [after John the Baptist, that is]; they should receive Jesus Christ. The happy conclusion of this story is they did indeed believe on Jesus Christ, were baptized in His name and received the gift of the Holy Spirit.

We may rejoice that Paul was given of God the opportunity to bring to these sincere seekers after truth the final revelation of God in Jesus Christ. It is highly probable that they would otherwise have formed a religious group around the preaching of John the Baptist which, however sincere, would have prevented people from hearing the message of salvation by the grace of God made possible though Christ alone. Their sincere attention to a segmented, non-final revelation would have therefore been a most damnable thing. Their religious belief and practice would have been merely a cult rather than real and vital Christianity.

The lesson for all of us is very clear. While we may be fascinated with the words of one of the personalities of Scripture and with the emphasis of a given book of the Bible, we must not fail to pay attention to the message of the entire Word of God.

The Bible declares about itself that "all Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness that the Man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works" (2 Timothy 3:16-17). It is therefore of great importance that the doctrine by which a Christian orients his faith and his life come from all Scripture. He must remember that the Bible, both Old and New Testaments, was given by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and is vital in its entirety to his understanding of the faith.

He remembers also that Revelation is "progressive!" God presented truth in a cumulative fashion, moving from the basic theistic concepts of the Old Testament to the final revelation of Himself in Jesus Christ. Christ brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel (2 Timothy 1:10); and His doctrine was explained to us by His apostles who wrote the letters of the New Testament.

We must also never forget that the proper interpretation of the Bible must be based on text, context, and greater context. The biblical interpreter must ask "What does this verse mean? In what setting is it given to us? How does it relate to the whole Bible?"

The major deficiency of the cults of our time is that they have neglected to base their faith on the Bible as a whole. One group denies the immortality of the soul because of a statement about death in Ecclesiastes 9:5. They ignore the fact that the final light on the subject of immortality was given to us by Jesus Christ. Paul explains that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (see 2 Corinthians 5:8).

Some find a verse in the Bible about God having given to some prophet a vision. They use this as the scriptural base for a notion that all sound religion is therefore conducted on the basis of God revealing Himself in visions and dreams. Such a notion can cause a person to drift away from the Word of God into a spiritual opium den of his own making. Another leader may greatly encourage Christians by his emphasis on a relaxed and positive mental attitude. While this message may be of value, if taken as ultimate truth, it can cause a naive person finally to deny physical reality. No mental attitude can take away the fact of death or deliver us from the necessity of living in the midst of physical dimensions.

The mature Christian will make none of these mistakes. He will avoid the dread pitfalls of spiritual lunacy that come from going off the deep end on the basis of any one verse from the Bible.

It is a grave temptation for any group to find a verse in the Bible about holiness, the kingdom, law, grace, works, faith, or something else and use it for a substitute for the whole counsel of God. Even zealous Christians have frequently fallen into the trap of segmented biblical interpretation, thereby creating a cultic influence in their system of doctrine.

Christian maturity will save us from all of this.

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

A False Basis of Salvation (Mark #2)

What must I do to be saved? Deep within his heart, virtually every person on earth is asking this question first phrased by the Philippian jailer. Man is born with an unquenchable longing for eternal life and a home in heaven that will never pass away. Millions may never admit to this longing but, nevertheless, within each soul is the constantly pressing desire for a secure eternal reality, a hope that goes beyond the grave.

This longing for reality is the fuel that energizes the growth of most of the cults in existence today. Because they are involved in some form of exploitation, the cults without exception obscure the truth and offer salvation on some other basis than that of a free gift that comes to us by the grace of Jesus Christ.

What is the true basis of salvation?

The clear teaching of the New Testament Scriptures is that eternal salvation comes to a believer solely as a result of faith in Jesus Christ. The New Testament Scriptures declare again and again this sublime Christian truth.

Please read the following Scriptures: (Rom. 5:1), (Rom. 3:25), (Rom. 3:28), (Rom. 4:4-5), (Gal. 2:16), (Eph. 2:8-9).

These and many other clear declarations of the New Testament positively establish the basis of salvation to be the finished work of Christ alone and our faith in that work. By contrast, Scripture teaches that all other forms of supposed salvation, based on human efforts are cursed by God. "For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.' But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident; for, "The just shall live by faith.'" (Galatians 3:10-11).

How wonderful is the message of the Gospel of the grace of God that is presented to us in Holy Scripture! A person is able to come to Jesus Christ without money, without human works, without vast promises concerning the future and accept salvation which was entirely purchased for him on the cross. When he comes in humble faith, he receives the gift of God which is eternal life. And it is exactly this, a free gift. When he believes the Gospel, he receives eternal life and is justified in the sight of God.

To be justified, of course, means to be declared righteous. This is a legal change in the attitude of God toward the sinner and depends on the saving act of Jesus Christ which is entirely independent of the individual experience of the believer. The wonderful change which may result in a believer's life is not itself salvation but rather the human and variable result of that saving faith. Eternal salvation comes to the believer because of imputed righteousness. Imputed righteousness is righteousness that is placed to his account in heaven.

During the course of a Christian's life, he may develop a wonderful degree of personal righteousness. In this, he will have the powerful help of the indwelling Holy Spirit of God. The true believer will work toward perfect holiness in the fear of God under the leadership of the Holy Spirit.

Personal righteousness is not, however, the basis of his salvation. He is saved on the basis of imputed righteousness. This comes to him as a free gift, being purchased by the enormous cost of the finished work of Christ on Calvary's cross. The Christian is saved, not because of his own works, but because of the saving work of Jesus Christ when Christ the Saviour died, the Just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God (1 Peter 3:18). The total benefits of Calvary come to the believer on the basis of grace. It is the grace of God that brings salvation.

No message is more viciously attacked by the cult promoters of our present world than the Gospel of the grace of God. Those who would promote slavish religious systems are infuriated at the gracious offer of Jesus Christ to bring His life into the sin-darkened soul and to do it without any form of payment. It is absolutely maddening to the professional religious promoters that God saves individuals freely, by grace alone.

No false religion in the world can possibly survive unless it is able to destroy the Gospel of the grace of God and introduce or encourage a system of human works as a basis of salvation. There is not room in the same world for the Pauleen message of "justification by faith without the deeds of the law" and the cultic religionist with his perverted gospel. Every cult in the world preaches "another gospel" and is therefore cursed of God.

Nevertheless, the promoters of the cults continue to press their malignant doctrines of some other way of salvation besides faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross.

One of the most popular alternative doctrines of salvation is that of salvation by membership. Armstrong's Worldwide Church of God clearly announces that the only saved people are those who are members of this increasingly shaky religious establishment. Pseudo Christianity in many forms has frequently announced that "there is no salvation outside of the church," meaning of course their religious syndicate. Failure to keep this membership intact incurs the damnation of the the soul.

Others offer even stranger salvation promises such as salvation by sublime association. New Krishna devotees are told to associate with saintly persons who are free from the entanglement of material nature.

Another alternative to the way of faith is the cult doctrine of salvation by works. In many of these religious programs, what a person believes is of little consequence; it is what he does that counts. The versions of this works doctrine are many. Some emphasize years of service, weekly hours spent in work, the giving of money, the practice of strange incantations, the reciting of chants; the list is endless. There is an immense number of possible obligations to which the soul enslaves itself when it turns from the divine offer of salvation by faith alone.

The pathetic followers of the Jehovah's Witnesses are told that the basis of judgment at the end of the thousand years will be solely the works that they perform during the millennium.

The Christian Scientists are asked to believe that salvation consists of being saved from the illusions and delusions of mortal sense...the sense of becoming sick and dying.

In the early days of Mormonism, the Mormon women accepted the staggering involvement in polygamy because they became convinced that their salvation depended on it.

The Unitarians believe in salvation by character, holding that man will find the road that leads to peace and brotherhood through development of "moral values and spiritual insights."

The follower of Theosophy holds that man is saved by working out his own "karma" or law works. What he is now is the result of previous works and what he is to become is the result of his present works.

The list is seemingly endless of those who are pursuing inner light, perfect realization, transcendental thoughts, or other baseless notions as the hope of salvation. All of these human works must inevitably lead to despair.

By contrast to all of this we need to hear again the finality of the words of Paul, "If righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain" (Galatians 2:21). Proud men who still retain confidence in their ability to do good things that will be pleasing to God and produce salvation need again to hear the words of Jesus Christ, "None of you keepeth the law" (John 7:19).

There is no question but that every false cult will lead finally to human despair, death, and hell. Millions could be saved from this spiritual reality if they would turn in simple confidence to the promise of Scripture, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved" (Acts 16:31). Few scenes are more tragic than that of a benighted soul pursuing a false hope of salvation when Jesus Christ offers all of this as a free gift.

(From Know the Marks of Cults - the twelve basic errors of false religion by Dave Breese)

Why Does The World Hate Us?

Two violent events occurring just forty-eight hours apart, stunned the nation during the last weekend of February 1993. First, six people were killed and a thousand injured in New York City when a powerful bomb exploded between the twin skyscrapers of the World Trade Center. (By early May, seven men with ties to Middle Eastern Islamic terrorists groups had been arrested in connection with the bombing.) Then, two days after the bombing, four federal agents were killed during an unsuccessful raid on the Branch Davidian cult compound near Waco, Texas. That led to a fifty-one day standoff between the government and the religious cult which ended tragically when the compound burned down, killing at least seventy-five.

Fanaticism and hateful intolerance played a part in both those stories -- and they are merely two from among many such examples in recent years. Even a casual observer of modern society will find incidents of ethnic bigotry and racial hate crimes in any larger American city. There is also much animosity and contention between groups with competing social and political viewpoints. But none of those conflicts is as significant as the one between Christians and the world.

Because We Oppose The World

First, the world hates Christians primarily because Christians are not of the world. We are not culturally part of the "in group." We move against the main stream secular flow of ideas and practices and stand opposed to wrongs and injustices. We are even eager to urge individuals to repent of their sins and turn to Christ. This final characteristic generates the most intense opposition and hatred from the world.

The term "world" as used in John 15 and elsewhere is translated from the Greek kosmos. In this context it refers to the evil system of sin in the world, as authored by Satan and acted out by humanity. In starker terms, we could say it is the depraved society of wicked human beings that has set itself against Christ, His kingdom, and His people. Is it any wonder that, with Satan at the head of such a system (see 12:31; 14:30), believers should face hateful opposition when they confront that society?

Disguised as an "angel of light" (2 Corinthians 11:14), Satan presents his world system as a false religion. This religion so often presents itself to Christians under the subtle guise of false godliness, which appears to be tolerant of God and Christ, when in reality it opposes the truth and openly persecutes believers if necessary. Such deception often makes Christians think there is no threat or leads to surprise when outward persecution comes.

It was a religious system that hated Jesus so much that it eventually killed Him. The false religionists of Palestine detested Him because He violated their system and rebuked their hypocrisy with His righteousness. Similarly, Abel in Genesis 4 was killed by false religion personified in his brother Cain. First John 3:12 provides us with commentary on what Cain did: "not as Cain, who was of the evil one, and slew his brother and for what reason did he slay him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brother's were righteous."

Because of the nature of Satan's false system over the centuries with it's evil, relentless opposition to God's kingdom, it is important that Christians realize they are not part of the world. God has called us to stand for Jesus Christ in the midst of a sinful society. The system is at once the enemy and the mission field. Paul urged the Philippians to live righteously so "that you may prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world" (Philippians 2:15). This admonition correlates well with what Jesus already said in the Sermon on the Mount: "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how will it be made salty again. It is good for nothing anymore, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by man. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden" (Matthew 5:13-14).

Such exhortations call for Christians to be the conscience of a sinful and perverse generation. If we are obedient and take the scriptural injunctions seriously, we should not be surprised by hostility and persecution. Jesus Himself faced harsh opposition from the people of His day even when He rebuked them more indirectly regarding their spiritual attitude (Luke 4:25-30).

(The Power of Suffering, John MacArthur, Jr.)

The 12 Basic Errors of False Religion

Each cult is guilty of one or more certain characteristic doctrinal errors. Once you know what these typical errors are, you can know what is basically wrong with the 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 save you from going astray.

1. Extra Biblical Revelation
2. False Basis of Salvation
3. Uncertain Hope
4. Presumptuous Messianic Leadership
5. Doctrinal Ambiguity
6. The Claim of "Special Discoveries"
7. Defective Christology
8. Segmented Biblical Attention
9. Enslaving Organizational Structure
10. Financial Exploitation
11. Denunciation of Others
12. Syncretism

Most cults display a number of these characteristics but if your church displays any one of these characteristics, it can be considered a cult.

For more information on the errors of false religion, consult David Breese's book, "Know the Marks of Cults".

Beyond Christianity

We are living in a day when many are trying to move beyond Christianity.

The word "beyond" has a certain appeal. Something that is forever fixed and changeless in the minds of some seems to be stodgy and undynamic. Things must forever progress in order to avoid boredom. We demand new fascinations to feed our ever-shortening spans of interest.

This demand for new fascinations has led many to try to move beyond the faith once delivered to the saints to something newer (and therefore presumably truer) and more exciting. Wise words that apply in this situation are "if it's new, it isn't true; and if it's true, it isn't new."

Christianity should not be thought of as a stone wall behind which we cannot get. It is rather the highest mountain-top beyond which it is downhill no matter which way one goes. There is nothing greater, nothing higher, and certainly nothing more magnificient than the mountain-top of divine revelation in Scripture and in Jesus Christ. To move beyond that mountain-top in the pursuit of something better is to lose ones self in the crags and crevices of the slopes that fall away from real Christianity. Beyond the crevices of heresy are the fever swamps of the cults, where the serpents and the scorpions wait.

Beyond Christianity is death, hopelessness, darkness, and heresy. (David Breese)

Where Are They Now?

It seems a mounting number of evangelical Christian congregations are increasingly concerned over the disappearance from their midst of whole families who have slipped away from the faith into an unheard-of religion. "What strange new cults are assaulting the minds of people?"

A cult is a religious perversion. It is a belief and practice in the world of religion which calls for devotion to a religious view or leader centered in false doctrine. It is an organized heresy.

A cult may take many forms but it is basically a religious movement which distorts or warps orthodox faith to the point where truth becomes perverted into a lie. A cult is impossible to define except against the absolute standard of the teaching of Holy Scripture. When contrasted to biblical truth, a cult is seen to have distinguishing marks by which it can be labelled as being fatally sub-Christian.

There is no question but that one of the most interesting and dangerous developments of our time is the rise of aberrative religions. The promoters of old and new cults are active and their works are growing as never before. Emboldened by easy successes, they have been able to capture new multitudes of followers.

The result is that millions of simple souls are being beguiled into following religious notions that are nothing but false and Satanic cults. The old cults are experiencing a remarkable resurgence, and curious new "faiths" are spawning in profusion.

1 Timonthy 4:1 "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times, some shall depart from the Faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils."