Why do cults appeal to some seekers?

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sparkman

Guest
#1
Hello All,

I have been thinking about the question of why cults appeal to some seekers, and why they end up as cultists.

As a young seeker, I was drawn into a Sabbath and festival seeking cult called Worldwide Church of God (Armstrongism). Worldwide Church of God no longer exists, but many splinter groups that teach the same doctrinal error exist.

My mother was a member of WCG so that probably gave them more credibility than they would have had otherwise. However, that wasn't the only reason they appealed to me.

Here are some of the things I've come up with in terms of reasons why they appealed to me at the time.

One, the Christian church is full of incompetent pastors and teachers. As I write this, I want to be careful when I say this, as I think that most of those who are incompetent and teach foolishness are tares and goats, and not true believers.

For a seeker whose only view of Christianity is the television set or Youtube, though, they are assaulted with all kinds of truth claims from "teachers" who claim to be Christians, yet hold the craziest theologies. TBN is a good example of that. There's little intellectual content to much of what they teach. For individuals who value well-reasoned teaching, some of the cults are more appealing as they provide "answers" to important questions regarding faith, even if their "answers" are wrong.

If such seekers were exposed to sounder teaching, such as that of RC Sproul, John MacArthur, David Platt, Tim Keller, Francis Chan, Ravi Zacharias, and many others, they would not develop a caricature of Christianity like some of the more extreme charismatic and Word of Faith elements present. They would be less attracted to bad sources of information like the cults.

Two, the theology of cults appeal to human pride and vanity. One of their doctrines was that those who were members of WCG would be kings and priests in the Millennium. In addition, they would be God beings in the resurrection.

I realize more and more as time goes on that my intellectual pride and vanity had a role in my entrapment into Armstrongism. That is a factor that the Christian church cannot eliminate, as intellectual pride and vanity is part of our own psyche, so I have to take the blame for that one.

Three, I believe that Christian teachers are inflexible when it comes to some issues which are peripheral and this creates opportunities for cults to use those issues to their advantage. For instance, take the subject of eternal torment versus annihilationism. I take no position on this issue, as I see arguments for both sides. The annihilationist reads the scripture and sees language such as "perish", "death", and "destroy" and this indicates finality for him. The traditionalist looks at the same scriptures and sees Lazarus and the Rich Man and references to eternal torment such as "gnashing of teeth" that indicates suffering, as well as the weight of church history on this topic.

Cults are quick to use disputable topics like this to make accusations about other Christian teachings. They convince the seeker that their position on this issue is correct, and use that to gain credibility with the seeker. They then seek to discredit other doctrines, which are solid and indisputable, such as the Trinity. If the Christian church was more yielding on peripheral issues, this opportunity for using them as a lever would not be present.

Four, I believe there is a sincere desire amongst some young seekers to follow God as fully and devotedly as they can, and these cults are extreme. For example, it was basically required for me to attend weekly Bible study, Sabbath services, and a mens' club, as well as singles activities whenever scheduled, despite a 35 mile drive each way. So, groups like this demand participation. For a young person who is seeking to serve God, this is appealing in a way. Their youthful energy and enthusiasm is exercised within such groups. Spending a lot of time together develops camaraderie unlike many churches have (although I have attended some orthodox churches that have the same camaraderie and activity level..the funny thing is they get accused of being cults too by some).

Five, the morality level of some within the Christian church is lower than it should be, and this leads to accusations or insinuations of antinomianism by cults. Works oriented cults will accuse Christians of being "loose livers" because of their position regarding salvation by grace through faith alone. They insinuate that this focus results in immorality. If they view the church as a whole, they see statistics which seem to prove their point, however they do not realize that these statistics reflect a lot of tares and goats.

The more rigid lifestyles that some of these groups impose appeals to those who are seeking to pursue a moral lifestyle. However, the reality isn't as ideal as their portrayal of themselves. The sin may not be as visible, but it's still there. For instance, I remember a story about some students at Ambassador College, WCG's college, who were having a party and ordered pizza. They were very indignant when the pizza guy brought pizza with pepperoni on it, which would have violated the clean/unclean meat laws. Never mind that they were engaged in various levels of fornication prior to his arrival.


These are just a few thoughts I have when comparing cultic groups with the Christian church. I think there is some room for improvement within orthodox Christian circles on these points. I don't want to be too critical as the church has wheat and tares, sheep and goats in its midst and I might be addressing the behavior of tares and goats more than genuine believers.
 
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purgedconscience

Guest
#2
I think that everybody who is born into this world has an ingrained desire to be a part of something bigger than themselves or to fit in and even cults offer a community type atmosphere. I also think that a lot of people are drawn to cults because they preach what their itching ears want to hear and believe.

That said, I personally stay as far away as I possibly can from two of the people you commended in that I believe them to be false teachers themselves. I'm not naming names. I'm just saying.
 

jsr1221

Senior Member
Jul 7, 2013
4,265
77
48
#3
We want to feel accepted. Cults make people feel accepted. They know exactly what to say and how to say it. It's pretty much that simple.
 
F

flob

Guest
#4
What drew your mom into it?
 
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sparkman

Guest
#5
What drew your mom into it?
I am not really sure. I know she was exposed to Herbert Armstrong's teachings earlier in her life, as a child or teenager. His publications were used for more appropriate use in the outhouses where she was raised in the Appalachias. I remember her talking about reading them while in the outhouse.

I think she became convicted of the Sabbath by his literature and got drawn in by that hook. In addition, a childhood friend was involved with Worldwide Church of God.
 
Dec 12, 2013
46,515
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#6
Being lost, gullible, blind, insecure, ignorant of truth, outcast by society, easily persuaded etc. all lend to being indoctrinated into a cult........
 
B

BettyAnn

Guest
#7
I think a good part of it is people who are fundamentally unhappy and/or have a hole in their walk and instead of going to Jesus to figure out why that feeling is there they try to fill it themselves; and that often less to unBiblical doctrine in the guise of righteousnes. Not knowing the Bible is a big part too.

Our experience with a cult -

When husband and I were Adventist it was from a mix of Biblical illiteracy and tricks. Our Biblical questions were answered so convincingly and so snaketongued that neither of us had any warning flags pop up. And the doctrine was very close to other Biblical churces except for the belief in prophecy and signs and Ellen White was talked about to in passing but not in the doctrinal statements. The preacher there was replaced after about two years and the new preacher was the one who brought the standard SDA doctrines in, that's when bullying and namecalling began against many of us because we were expected not to raise questions. I was still covering my head at the time out of conviction rather than fear of salvation issues and had only stopped after much prayer and searching the Word; that's when the preacher noticed and yelled at me from the pulpit one sunday demanding I cover because God told him that I was meant to cover because my sins aren't forgiven and called it a new revelation. And people started babbling and dancing,shouting,rolling on the floor after that,doing tongues. The rest of us just looked at each other all confused, some of us scared and crying. It was very scary. I didn't know what to do so I sat there like a rock a while before my husband grabbed my hand and quite literally pulled me away. It was a very awkward time in the car trying to come to grips with what we saw.

The doctrine and focus had shifted so slowly and subtlety even an intelligent man like my husband didn't pick it out until it went crazy. Neither of us was ready for the harassment all of us who left faced. I had gone through life in a cult before when I was Amish so I felt doubly stupid for failing back in to another and my husband was fretting for a while because he was the one who originally wanted to go. It took much time,Word and prayer to heal.

I think plenty of good and faithful believers get sucked in to cults and for plenty of reasons, but I think most of it (especially in my case) was a focus on past mindsets and habits and/or wanting the Word to say something we want rather than letting Him mould us as He wants.
 
Mar 12, 2015
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#8
There are men in the pulpit that are atheists. Spong is an example of a heretic: Bishop Spong is well known for ordaining practising homosexuals, denying the bodily resurrection and virginal conception of Christ, and for deriving his moral code from modern human experience rather than the Bible. He believes Jesus was adopted by God!


What's Wrong With Bishop Spong? - creation.com
 

mailmandan

Senior Member
Apr 7, 2014
25,453
13,394
113
58
#9
Cults have a way of making people feel accepted, special and exalted above the rest. They tickle the ears and feed the pride of their members.
 

Budman

Senior Member
Mar 9, 2014
4,153
1,999
113
#10
Well, some folks like having someone tell them how to live. They can't handle the responsibilities of their lives.
 
S

sparkman

Guest
#11
@BettyAnn,

I appreciate you sharing your story.

I live about 20 miles from a major Amish settlement in Northeast Indiana. I am wondering if you think most Amish people would accept a small Bible as a gift at a public gathering? Do you think they need it and would use it?

We have a flea market here and I've considered giving out Bibles to them before. I imagine they could simply buy one themselves but I don't know if they would be seen buying an English Bible.

Worldwide Church of God was affected by Seventh Day Adventist teachings indirectly. I have some Seventh Day Adventist family members and friends.
 
B

BettyAnn

Guest
#12
@BettyAnn,

I appreciate you sharing your story.

I live about 20 miles from a major Amish settlement in Northeast Indiana. I am wondering if you think most Amish people would accept a small Bible as a gift at a public gathering? Do you think they need it and would use it?

We have a flea market here and I've considered giving out Bibles to them before. I imagine they could simply buy one themselves but I don't know if they would be seen buying an English Bible.

Worldwide Church of God was affected by Seventh Day Adventist teachings indirectly. I have some Seventh Day Adventist family members and friends.
Most Amish own a Bible,usually a Lutheran in German or an approved English version. It's truly not a matter of owning a Bible but rather how it's read.

Every bishop is different in strictures and expectations, most will also tell the community which parts are off limits for reading and usually there are restrictions against private study for fear of personal interpretations.

Giving Bibles are wonderful to make a connection and jumpstart mutual respect. But a tract aimed at Amish audience would work better as long as it's gentle in nature as far as tone.
 
Dec 9, 2011
14,102
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#13
Everyone wants to identify with something they feel good about and something they feel makes them normal and accepted in society but what makes a person free is knowing that there is someone that knows everyone of their faults and loves them still and loves them truly and everyone feels accepted when they know someone knows all about them and still loves them.

JESUS gave his life for us.
 
S

sparkman

Guest
#14
There are men in the pulpit that are atheists. Spong is an example of a heretic: Bishop Spong is well known for ordaining practising homosexuals, denying the bodily resurrection and virginal conception of Christ, and for deriving his moral code from modern human experience rather than the Bible. He believes Jesus was adopted by God!


What's Wrong With Bishop Spong? - creation.com
Yes..another example of tares and goats.
 
J

JesusIsAll

Guest
#15
A lot of interesting answers here, a subject complicated. I'd maybe add people have two very blinding traits: inner fear and big egos. Somebody with a lot of fear finds comfort in a cult, that somebody else has all the answers and is tending to their salvation, as it's most fearful and difficult for some to even confront that they're utterly helpless and lost, at the mercy of God. It also appeals to the ego, to be among the chosen few, everybody else ignorant fools. Yet it's really just sanctification of self, being of a splinter group, separated not of God, but of false religious doctrines that tickle the ears, "cunningly devised fables."

People like to think they have some control, the worst people must control, as they're so afraid of everything and others.

Then there's simply the big ego, being a control freak or a plethora of other persons, that is the sinful, old man they don't want to give up, not wanting to come to the light and be exposed, to others and themselves, that they put their pants on no better than anybody else. That they need to grovel before God, as the publican of Luke 18:13, repentance being in agreement with God who's who, and it's not us, as we are. Since the Garden, people want to buy the lie of Satan they are their own gods, people with such a god having a blinding vanity problem, as if epoxy glued to their hearts. Self is the Satanic religion of all tares.
 
Nov 14, 2012
2,113
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#16
Hello All,

I have been thinking about the question of why cults appeal to some seekers, and why they end up as cultists.

As a young seeker, I was drawn into a Sabbath and festival seeking cult called Worldwide Church of God (Armstrongism). Worldwide Church of God no longer exists, but many splinter groups that teach the same doctrinal error exist.

My mother was a member of WCG so that probably gave them more credibility than they would have had otherwise. However, that wasn't the only reason they appealed to me.

Here are some of the things I've come up with in terms of reasons why they appealed to me at the time.

One, the Christian church is full of incompetent pastors and teachers. As I write this, I want to be careful when I say this, as I think that most of those who are incompetent and teach foolishness are tares and goats, and not true believers.

For a seeker whose only view of Christianity is the television set or Youtube, though, they are assaulted with all kinds of truth claims from "teachers" who claim to be Christians, yet hold the craziest theologies. TBN is a good example of that. There's little intellectual content to much of what they teach. For individuals who value well-reasoned teaching, some of the cults are more appealing as they provide "answers" to important questions regarding faith, even if their "answers" are wrong.

If such seekers were exposed to sounder teaching, such as that of RC Sproul, John MacArthur, David Platt, Tim Keller, Francis Chan, Ravi Zacharias, and many others, they would not develop a caricature of Christianity like some of the more extreme charismatic and Word of Faith elements present. They would be less attracted to bad sources of information like the cults.

Two, the theology of cults appeal to human pride and vanity. One of their doctrines was that those who were members of WCG would be kings and priests in the Millennium. In addition, they would be God beings in the resurrection.

I realize more and more as time goes on that my intellectual pride and vanity had a role in my entrapment into Armstrongism. That is a factor that the Christian church cannot eliminate, as intellectual pride and vanity is part of our own psyche, so I have to take the blame for that one.

Three, I believe that Christian teachers are inflexible when it comes to some issues which are peripheral and this creates opportunities for cults to use those issues to their advantage. For instance, take the subject of eternal torment versus annihilationism. I take no position on this issue, as I see arguments for both sides. The annihilationist reads the scripture and sees language such as "perish", "death", and "destroy" and this indicates finality for him. The traditionalist looks at the same scriptures and sees Lazarus and the Rich Man and references to eternal torment such as "gnashing of teeth" that indicates suffering, as well as the weight of church history on this topic.

Cults are quick to use disputable topics like this to make accusations about other Christian teachings. They convince the seeker that their position on this issue is correct, and use that to gain credibility with the seeker. They then seek to discredit other doctrines, which are solid and indisputable, such as the Trinity. If the Christian church was more yielding on peripheral issues, this opportunity for using them as a lever would not be present.

Four, I believe there is a sincere desire amongst some young seekers to follow God as fully and devotedly as they can, and these cults are extreme. For example, it was basically required for me to attend weekly Bible study, Sabbath services, and a mens' club, as well as singles activities whenever scheduled, despite a 35 mile drive each way. So, groups like this demand participation. For a young person who is seeking to serve God, this is appealing in a way. Their youthful energy and enthusiasm is exercised within such groups. Spending a lot of time together develops camaraderie unlike many churches have (although I have attended some orthodox churches that have the same camaraderie and activity level..the funny thing is they get accused of being cults too by some).

Five, the morality level of some within the Christian church is lower than it should be, and this leads to accusations or insinuations of antinomianism by cults. Works oriented cults will accuse Christians of being "loose livers" because of their position regarding salvation by grace through faith alone. They insinuate that this focus results in immorality. If they view the church as a whole, they see statistics which seem to prove their point, however they do not realize that these statistics reflect a lot of tares and goats.

The more rigid lifestyles that some of these groups impose appeals to those who are seeking to pursue a moral lifestyle. However, the reality isn't as ideal as their portrayal of themselves. The sin may not be as visible, but it's still there. For instance, I remember a story about some students at Ambassador College, WCG's college, who were having a party and ordered pizza. They were very indignant when the pizza guy brought pizza with pepperoni on it, which would have violated the clean/unclean meat laws. Never mind that they were engaged in various levels of fornication prior to his arrival.


These are just a few thoughts I have when comparing cultic groups with the Christian church. I think there is some room for improvement within orthodox Christian circles on these points. I don't want to be too critical as the church has wheat and tares, sheep and goats in its midst and I might be addressing the behavior of tares and goats more than genuine believers.
IMO, some here at CC are so against organized religion that they call them all cults just for the fact they are organized
 
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purgedconscience

Guest
#17
IMO, some here at CC are so against organized religion that they call them all cults just for the fact they are organized
haha.

You might be right.
 
Mar 12, 2015
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#18
Walter Martin's warning against the "semantic jungle" through which cults attempt to envelop the believer with confusing terminology should not be heard as just a warning against blatant cults "out there somewhere". It is a strange curiosity that those Christians who are most adamant that ours is the generation that will see the Lord's return and end-time deception and apostasy associated with his return look for signs of this deception outside the church, in such conspiracies as the New Age movement, and such cults as Mormonism, Jehovah's Witnesses, and Christian Science. Admitedly, those movements pose potential threats to the church, but perhaps we would do better to look for deception of the end-times where Jesus and the New testament predicted it would occur: within the church, within groups that call themselves "Chrisitans" but which actually preach a different gospel.

(A Different Gospel, D.R. McConnell, Fifth printing updated version, November 2009)
 
S

sparkman

Guest
#19
IMO, some here at CC are so against organized religion that they call them all cults just for the fact they are organized
Yes, that's an extreme. The word should be reserved for those groups that deny core doctrines of Christianity.

Particularly ones that claim they have "the truth" and that others are unsaved or spiritually inferior in some way...less obedient to God than they are.

It's pretty apparent that God expects us to be involved in a fellowship where we are held accountable, else the verses on church discipline would mean nothing.
 
Nov 14, 2012
2,113
4
0
#20
Yes, that's an extreme. The word should be reserved for those groups that deny core doctrines of Christianity.

Particularly ones that claim they have "the truth" and that others are unsaved or spiritually inferior in some way...less obedient to God than they are.

It's pretty apparent that God expects us to be involved in a fellowship where we are held accountable, else the verses on church discipline would mean nothing.
Yes,,I agree