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). 

Uncertain Hope (Mark #3)

The soul that is in distress is also in bondage!

If a person's distress can be perpetuated by a religious promoter, that promoter can be reasonably sure of keeping a distressed soul in continued and ever increasing bondage. The religious charlatan, therefore, must be very careful never to produce a final cure. Rather he must push certainty up into an unrealizable future in order to keep needy souls continually striving today.

We ought not to be surprised, therefore, that a nearly universal characteristic of the cults of our time is their insistence that one can never be sure of eternal life while in this world. The issue of salvation is never settled. The follower lives in constant fear that he has not done enough, given enough, prayed enough, worshiped enough to be sure of salvation.

One suspects that because of all of this that the cults are really not talking about salvation at all, but rather are pushing religious philosophies tied to a set of unrealizable goals in the name of which they can extract every kind of sacrifice from their hapless followers.

The atheist, Robert Ingersoll, came close to describing leadership in programs like this when he said, "A preacher is one who is willing to take care of your affairs in the next world providing you will support him in this one." This is a cynical but apt description of the false religious leader who is not really interested in producing the assurance of salvation. He would be out of business very quickly if he set people free. His support would cease.

The cult promoters being interested only in the fulfillment of their lust for power, money, or satisfaction, are very careful to extract from their followers a response today in return for a promise which can only be fulfilled tomorrow. Uncertainty is a favourite cult weapon. It would hardly be possible to promote a successful cult if one offered the assurance of salvation or any sure hope of eternal life based upon the finished work of another.

The wonderful promise of the New Testament is in contrast to all of this. The Bible promises to the believing Christian that he is the possessor of a certain salvation. "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to His abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. Wherein ye greatly rejoice" (1 Peter 1:3-6).

The Christian is "sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise" (Ephesians 1:13). He is the possessor of hope, both sure and steadfast (Hebrews 6:19).

The cultists make no such promise. Because they are interested in producing perpetual obligation as against spiritual freedom, they keep their followers in the hopeless bondage of a continually insecure relationship with God. For the member of the cult there is always more to do, more to pay, and his hope of blessing in eternal life is a will-o'-the-wisp that can never be certainly realized in this life. A hope so uncertain is hardly a hope at all.

A thoughtful person who examines the preaching and writing of the cults carefully is almost certain to sense a frustrating indefiniteness. He is being strung along, beguiled up a primrose path to nowhere.

A common characteristic of the cults is that they are devoid of a theological structure that offers to anyone a sure salvation. It would be unthinkable for them to ever say in the words of Scripture, "for I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38-39).

What a blessed contrast we have to this trembling cultic fear in the words of this same Apostle Paul, "I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day" (2 Timothy 1:12).

Paul's absolute certainty of eternal life is revealed in the many statements of confidence that he expressed as to his sure hope of heaven.

Please read the following Scriptures: (2 Cor. 5:1), (Phil. 1:23), (Phil. 3:20-21), (Col. 1:13), (Col. 3:4), (1 Thes. 4:17).

By contrast to the obscure future that is the best the cult can offer, Paul brightly tells us that Christ "hath abolished death and hath brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel" (2 Tim. 1:10).

We may be very sure that the promoter of a false religion who is interested in producing dependence upon himself as against freedom that comes through faith in Christ would never pass on to his followers the words of Christ, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand. My Father, which gave them Me is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of My Father's hand" (John 10:27-29).

It is interesting to note that the verse immediately following this promise says, "Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him." Natural men, even in the realm of religious leadership, will do anything to destroy the perfect confidence that a relationship with Jesus Christ brings to a life. The reason is very clear, they traffic in anxiety.

The person who is anxious is also exploitable. To make him fearful is the design of these religious leaders so that they may use fear to create dependence upon the religious view that they are promoting. Cult gathering places are populated by frightened people who live in terror of falling into the disfavour of their religious establishment. Our modern society is not without many tragic wrecks of humanity whose psychic nature has been shattered, their confidence destroyed as a result of a previous total involvement in a false religion.

To any such, we happily repeat the wonderful promise, "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed" (John 8:36).


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