The cults

[10-22-27]

Cult symbols have spread like a plague across the Western world. The world of the occult includes symbols imbued with power by magicians working in conjunction with the demonic spirit world.

The all-seeing eye: A universal symbol representing spiritual sight, inner vision, higher knowledge, and insight into occult mysteries. We find it on our one-dollar bill.

Alchemy: Blending Geometric shapes, elemental symbols, and astrological signs. Each part represents the various elements and forces needed for magical work in the quest for physical transformation, spiritual illumination, and immortality.

Amulets: A magic charm worn to bring good luck and protection against illness, accidents, and evil forces.

Anarchy: Popular among school-aged children, the symbol of anarchy fits the message that pervades the most popular video games, role-playing games, movies, and TV.

Ankh: An Egyptian cross symbolizing a mythical eternal life, rebirth, and the sun’s life-giving power.

Angel: Symbol of good and evil spirits in religion around the world.

Butterfly: A popular tattoo, and necklaces remind Christians of the amazing transformation that occurs through Christ’s redemption and regeneration, as in being born again.

Crystal ball: Used for divination, fortunetelling, and prophecy.

Blair Witch: Five-pointed compound symbol with a center triangle pointing down. A magic symbol or charm among medieval alchemists and wizards.

A circle quartered: A sacred circle filled with a cross, four equal lines pointing from the center to the spirits of the North, East, South, and West.

Masonic Compass: The compass and the T-square symbol represent movement toward perfection and a balance between the spiritual and physical, resembling Egyptian and oriental mysticism.

Crescent moon: A symbol of the aging goddess to contemporary witches and victory over death to many Muslims. In Islamic nations, a crescent encloses a lone pentagram, a five-pointed star pointing down.

The Cross: Both believers and non-believers use the cross as decoration or an occult symbol.

The inverted cross: Representing the apostle Peter’s humility in his martyrdom. He insisted that he be crucified upside-down.

There are hundreds of other symbols used by the cults. The Muslim Brotherhood features the Koran at the top. The Frog, the fish, the Hand of Fatima, the Eye of Horus, The evil eye, Elements, Dragons, Doves, the Two-headed eagle, the Hexagram, the six-pointed star, the Italian horn, Kaballah, etc., all symbols of the occult.

Notre Dame in French means “Our Lady:” Notre Dame is the old French appellation of the Virgin Mary and other structures dedicated to her; the most majestic is the great cathedral in Paris, the Cathedral of Notre Dame that recently caught fire.
Can God’s power be found in any ancient buildings or relics? No, these things have no power! Even if the entire cross of Jesus had been discovered intact, it would have no spiritual value. If Notre Dame stands for another 1000 Years, its stones, timbers, stained glass windows, organ with 8000 pipes, and the altar will save no one.

Relics or buildings do not enable anyone to get closer to Jesus Christ. The bones of a saint are just that, bones! Relics or bones should not be prayed to, kissed, bowed to, worshipped, or used as a bridge to God; these things are nothing but blatant idolatry.

Philippians 2:10, “That at the name of Jesus (alone) every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and those in earth, and those under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” That’s faith!
John 4:24, “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”

The Catholic church possesses many ancient relics associated with Jesus and his apostles. These are usually displayed or placed in vaults throughout their churches, shrines, or the Vatican. Millions come from around the world to see these artifacts, bowing before them, praying to them, kissing them, and expecting some blessing or answered prayer.

In the sixteenth century, one of the great scholars of our time, Erasmus, wrote about the proliferation of relics and the number of buildings that could be constructed from so-called wooden relics claimed to be from the actual cross of Jesus.

The Catholic church claims to possess at least thirty so-called Holy Nails. Also, they possess a cloth called the Shroud of Turin, which is said to have covered the body of the crucified Christ. They claim to have the crown of thrones placed on the head of Jesus. And here’s one for the ages: they claim to possess the “Holy foreskin of Jesus.”

A church in France is said to have a skull on a plate, claiming it belonged to John the Baptist; another, the bones of Peter.
Thousands and thousands of shrines stand to honor and worship the saints of Catholicism, especially Mary.
Exodus 20:4-5, “You shall NOT make unto yourselves any graven image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: you shall NOT bow down yourselves to them, nor serve them, for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God,”

Romans 1:25, “Who changed (exchanged) the truth of God into a lie, and worshiped and served the creature more than the Creator, Verse 26, “For this cause, God gave them up unto vile affections:”
If the cross were discovered intact, it would have no spiritual value. Relics do not, in any manner whatsoever, enable us to get closer to God. The power is in Jesus Christ’s resurrection!
Concerning the making of images of saints, sin does not lie in the making and possessing of these things but in the making and possessing of them to worship them.

Salvation is by faith and faith alone; Christians are to believe in Jesus’ death, burial, resurrection, ascension, and soon return!” We are to love our brethren, pray for our enemies, and get the gospel of Jesus out to a dying world; these things please God.
Acts 10:34, Peter writes, “Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: but in every nation he that fears him, and works righteousness, is accepted with him.”

 

[Mem]

Ok. Your favorite color is now blue. But this actually makes my point. You can say now that your favorite color is blue. But is it really?
In my opinion, Jesus is a poor test case. In His humanity, He asks for the cup to be removed. Do you believe He was asking in His deity? Did He do it for the joy set before Him? Did He delight to do YOUR WILL O God? Being God, wasn't it His own will?

What person is a person if he isn't allowed his own personality?

 

[SoldierofChrist]

This sees be pretty heated.

In my humble opinion.

1. Cults are easily identified along with false teachers. They tend to almost always say that you are saved by faith in Jesus AND....something.

2. A study of the occult reveals a definite modus operandi. They start by holding events in a town or area over a protracted period of time usually years that support their ideas, start a coven of witches (quietly) allowing new carefully selected members from the community. They then begin getting local converts into positions of authority, school boards, county commissioners, local colleges, teachers. Etc. After they have created a stronghold they move on to another area. But leave behind a rear guard of Coven or Covens in the area depending on the size of area. But they are almost always closed to new membership to prevent infiltration.

3. What is interesting is to see all the occult groups working together normally under the mantra: "It's all good".

4. Now the question is why has God allowed us to have so many denominations? I think the best illustration I can give, though not great, is a spider web. If you pluck one strand of the web. (Attack one denomination). It still remains strong and intact. You can attack or pluck multiple strands and it still remains. God has given us a great organizational structure to withstand the onslaught of the enemy in these tumultuous times.

5. Will we continue to attack each other because we have differences of opinion on non salvation issues or because we place more emphasis on one part of scripture? Will you continue to allow Satan to manipulate and divide us?

 

[Cameron143]

What person is a person if he isn't allowed his own personality?

Everyone has there own personality. I was looking more towards its source and cause. To be unique is to be made differently, not to become changed differently.
Your favorite color is what it is. As you experienced different colors it became apparent to you. At least this is my premise. You don't have to accept it.

 

[Mem]

Everyone has there own personality. I was looking more towards its source and cause. To be unique is to be made differently, not to become changed differently.
Your favorite color is what it is. As you experienced different colors it became apparent to you. At least this is my premise. You don't have to accept it.

It seems that you are asking a question of objectivity using a subjective example so, it's sort of confusing. Are your eyes blue? Maybe that is why that is your favorite color. And why is nobody's favorite color brown? I think I will adopt brown as my favorite, especially considering that one of my favorite movies is My Name is Nobody.

 

[Cameron143]

It seems that you are asking a question of objectivity using a subjective example so, it's sort of confusing. Are your eyes blue? Maybe that is why that is your favorite color. And why is nobody's favorite color brown? I think I will adopt brown as my favorite, especially considering that one of my favorite movies is My Name is Nobody.

I'm actually just interested in what people think. I already know what my favorite color is. But one thing is sure, I'm not doing a good job of making myself clear.

 

[Nehemiah6]

I'm not doing a good job of making myself clear.

Yet you say "It's all good".

 

[Cameron143]

Yet you say "It's all good".

You're a pessimist. I'm an optimist. Even my frailty God uses for good...Romans 8:28.
It's always all good.

 

[Mem]

I'm actually just interested in what people think. I already know what my favorite color is. But one thing is sure, I'm not doing a good job of making myself clear.

It's just the nature of communication and the ability to do so above quacks and moos. I think of writing the same way I think of painting. Sure, they say a picture is worth a thousand words but, who can actually capture God in a picture? So, to make up for the difficulty of such a particularly difficult subject matter, I'll too just meep meep, blungalungalunga, occasionally.

 

[Cameron143]

It's just the nature of communication and the ability to do so above quacks and moos. I think of writing the same way I think of painting. Sure, they say a picture is worth a thousand words but, who can actually capture God in a picture? So, to make up for the difficulty of such a particularly difficult subject matter, I'll too just meep meep, blungalungalunga, occasionally.

Nice reference. I need to stop using ACME communications products.

 

[PaulThomson]

Because there is this desire to raise men and women to the throne of God.

is this your definition of a cult?

 

[10-22-27]

is this your definition of a cult?

One of the definitions of a cult is, "Devotion to a person, idea or thing. I believe the rest of all my posts pretty much tell us what a cult is.

 

[Aaron56]

2. A study of the occult reveals a definite modus operandi. They start by holding events in a town or area over a protracted period of time usually years that support their ideas, start a coven of witches (quietly) allowing new carefully selected members from the community. They then begin getting local converts into positions of authority, school boards, county commissioners, local colleges, teachers. Etc. After they have created a stronghold they move on to another area.

With only a few edits this would succinctly describe the church in the New Testament.

But leave behind a rear guard of Coven or Covens in the area depending on the size of area. But they are almost always closed to new membership to prevent infiltration.

Kinda like the apostles identifying elders in a specific region and then moving on? Yeah, very much like that. With a few edits this describes the early church. Also, if the early church had "open doors" like church buildings do today they would have been wiped out. The gospel was shared primarily by the individual saints to others, not during general meetings. It wasn't until after 313AD that the saints, in the Roman Empire, were shielded from persecution.

4. Now the question is why has God allowed us to have so many denominations? I think the best illustration I can give, though not great, is a spider web. If you pluck one strand of the web. (Attack one denomination). It still remains strong and intact. You can attack or pluck multiple strands and it still remains. God has given us a great organizational structure to withstand the onslaught of the enemy in these tumultuous times.

There are not several versions of Truth. The reason denominational structures stand is because they are no threat to the rulers of the world. Opposition might prompt a change in leadership but rarely a dismantling of the institution.

In my study of the characteristics of cults one is found on many lists (everyone has their opinion): "Message templates". That is, predictable messages in all the cult gatherings.

That got me thinking: "You mean like 'The Purpose Driven Life'?" Its popularity jumped because it was essentially a year's worth of packaged sermons for preachers. Forget about knowing your flock and what they need: just preach the next chapter. Consummate cult-like behavior that church paid big bucks for.

The other thing I thought: "Doctrinal templates? You mean like talking about mothers on Mother's Day? Fathers on Father's Day? Self-Sacrifice on Memorial Day? Resurrection near Easter? Virgin Birth, wise men, and salvation at Christmas? Reaping and Sewing at harvest time? How many "inspired sermons" about love or St. Valentine do you think will be preached this Sunday? During an election year? Better preach something about abortion or helping our fellow man. Consummate cult-like behavior erstwhile convincing the audience that they have been fed the "word of God". Why? Because someone read from the Bible.

When belief in Christ became institutionalized in the 380s AD, by the Roman church and the off-shoots of it, it lost the direction of the Holy Spirit. Its message morphed into a message of the people and it ceased to be a message from God to man. As an institutional endeavor it became primarily interested in preserving the institution. If you look at the 5013c filing for any of these places you won't see the names of the saints, you'll see the name of the building and its address. And in the building there is no expectation that the leadership know the people intimately. By design, and by permission of the government granting non-profit status, these messages jive with the ultimate mandate: promoting a good and obedient citizenry.

 

[Magenta]

Reaping and Sewing at harvest time?

Don't you mean, ripping and sewing, or do you mean, reaping and sowing? .

And good morning to you!

 

[Cameron143]

Don't you mean, ripping and sewing, or do you mean, reaping and sowing? .

And good morning to you!

I think he's ripping and sowing.

 

[Magenta]

And here’s one for the ages: they claim to possess the “Holy foreskin of Jesus.”

 

[Aaron56]

Don't you mean, ripping and sewing, or do you mean, reaping and sowing? .

And good morning to you!

I meant "larping" and "saucing".

 

[Aaron56]

Don't you mean, ripping and sewing, or do you mean, reaping and sowing? .

And good morning to you!

Spell Check is great until it's not.

 

[SoldierofChrist]

Oh for crying out loud. Come on people...get a grip. Seriously? The Holy Foreskin? Somebody needs Gibbs Slapped!!!

 

[PaulThomson]

Is man's free will unlimited?

Yes. Men will/want anything they choose. Not being able to get or do what one chooses to want is not a limitation on the will/wanting, but on the getting and the doing.