Church cults

How can you tell if a church group has become a cult?

Just wondering. Any survivors want to tell their tale.

I was reading about Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple. That was some scary cult. And it had the veeneer of christianity. Jones was definitly a wolf in sheeps clothing.

For those that had no idea just google Peoples Temple, Guyana, mass suicide.

EEk.

Any Church teaching another Gospel than the Gospel of Jesus IMO is a cult.

Sadly, there are a lot of "cults" out there today. Most of them fly under the radar, and Christians are not aware of just how much damage they are doing to our children, and even adults seeking spiritual growth.

When any denomination puts their name above others due to differences in doctrines, and the differences are imparative in order to remain with that assembly, it is a cult. Therefore any named denomination may be considered a cult if it does not allow any variance fro wht that denomination teaches.

We are of the faith of Abraham..........

PS Sorry, that is not the name of any denomination simply what Jesus Yeshua teaches. We beleive God.

I assume when you say "cult" you mean destructive cults. The word cult is being removed from the vocabulary and being replaced with "new religions" in an attempt to legitimize some religions that aren't Christian or don't conform to Biblical Christianity, and who aren't destructive.

My definition of a cult is any group that isolates people, is abusive or controlling, or who has a charismatic leader who believes he or she has discovered the ultimate hidden truth of scripture.

I was involved for a short time with a group called Twelve Tribes. They were a Jewish roots group. They didn't isolate anyone really, at least not geographically; but they try to get you to leave everything and join them. Of course, they had the only true revelation and interpretation of scripture and they try to brainwash you. I'd call them destructive because I became very confused about what I believed for a long time after leaving.

People's Temple was definitely destructive. Unfortunately, it wasn't a mass suicide, it was murder plain and simple. Most of those people didn't want to kill themselves but Jones brainwashed them, and armed guards stood by and forced people to do it. He compared Jonestown to Masada where everyone committed suicide rather than being taken captive by the Romans. He had a persecution complex and believed Jonestown should make a stand similar to that of Masada.

well IMHO it was murder but Jim Jones couched it as 'revolutionary suicide'. I dont know if the same thing really happened at Masada whether they had a leader similar to Jim Jones or they all just decided individually to kill themselves. I am not sure HOW those at Masada died, where they all drinking poison as well or jumping off cliffs or something?

I would just call a cult a cult...why make a new name for them? Horrific.

mY observation is a church becomes a cult if you decide you want to leave THEM and they dont let you or come after you and harasss you if you try.

The Peoples temple had them all go to live in a commune in Guyana and when JOnes joined them he was totally controlling, and if anyone tried to leave he got crazy. Only a few people wanted to leave but that hurt his ego I guess and plus he was paranoid that the govt or whatver was out to get him!

I see a few threads on here where it sounds like people are rather paranoid about govts and then I think hmm are the posters part of some kind of cult?

Then I think abusive marriages are also kind of like a cult, a cult of one family. Where the leader (usally the husband) is so controlling that if the wife or any of the family actually left him, he would go after them and kill them.

I don't know. I think Jones was being melodramatic. To invoke Masada and compare what he did to a revolutionary suicide is just dishonest on his part. It was only him playing out his obsession with control to the bitter end.

well I tried to look up what happened in Masada but there is no real evidence that they all killed themselves in a siege.

It seems they might have turned on each other (or the Romans DID get there) and not actually killed themselves as Jewish laws are against suicide anyway. So it might just be a myth!

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/MAGAZINE-is-the-masada-tradition-true-1.5472686

i have always questioned it myself...like really?! In the Bible, the Jews were taken captive a couple of times. They were never instructed by God to kill themselves.

Yes, I think Josephus is the only source on the suicide story.

There are many church cults out there because a cult is about tradition and religion practice, they are very diligent about these things and are well versed in scripture but there is no fire in them there is no spirit.
For instance I have gone to many different churches some God used me in and some I knew I had to leave. one time I was visiting a church I never beenn to before the pastor was in essence very generic he had a well planned sermon structurely sound had plenty of scripture talking points but when I looked around at the people listening the whole place seemed dead I can walk into a room and sense the spirit as I am very sensative to his presence and voice but this church was dead

To be honest if the holy spirit is not alive then in my opinion that church has become a cult they are very religeous study and practice but lack that fire and passion they lack the life that only the spirit gives

I think when teachers part from scripture like jim Jones did it’s a sign for sure

one day he threw the Bible in the floor and told his church they no longer needed it they had him

when a person becomes the focus on isn’t Jesus Christ and Gods word it can never lead to God. Whether Jim jones or the popular authors of today who sell doctrines that erase the gospel

Excellent point.

I think a lot of churches are becoming political cults, that's what I have noticed.

Exactly. And politics don't save. They are stepping away from God's Truth for man's truth

I’m glad you found some value I thought it had some also God bless

I don't know exactly what I consider to be a cult. There are some really nice people in some... wrong places. Even leaders that even though I'm pretty sure they are wrong about a lot of things, they still have... something.

I feel like God is present where 2 or 3 gather in his name... even if the other 20-300 or whatever aren't really gathered there for him. It's very complicated.

Funny. I see people that blindly trust government and think the same thing.

God's wife left him and he sent angels and armies of gentiles to slaughter thousands of his children. Men really are made in his image.

New age thinking has crept into the church so all saints be warned and warn against it.
That positive energy thing. Only associate with positive people, positive thinking.
Be aware it's in a lot of sermons lately,

I dont believe many people will blindly trust their govt otherwise they would never have elections every three years. The countries that only have one form of govt and its the same people that get elected every single time, would be a bit suss. Or maybe they are PART of the govt itself.

That might extend to churches as church leaders never say anything against their own office if they are themselves on the board lol.

I don't use a modern definition of "cult". I use the first one I found, probably in some old dictionary. It said a cult is "any religious group that has doctrines and traditions without an entity to support them" (or something to that effect).

So, whether it be some tribe in Africa or some denominational group in the USA, I may listen to their doctrines and see their traditions but what I'm really wondering is "where is their god". If you can find teachings and traditions but not God...it's a cult by the definition I use, no matter how popular or publicly accepted it is.

IMHO, a person should not take "finding God" lightly because most people just find doctrines and traditions in a church, but fall short of finding God....partly because they don't know how to tell the difference between 'religion' and 'God'. I think a good starting point is to ask "What is the difference between doctrine...and God... And which do I truly have?". Then be honest about the answers.

Love in Jesus,
Kelby