Modern Day Cults |
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Modern Day Cults This is a work in progress. If you know of any groups or teachers today that you think should be added to this list, or have questions about a particular group or teacher, please contact Pastor Brian with your comments and questions. For a good overview of cults click here overview Modern Christian Cults How would you define what is a "Christian Cult?" First of all, strictly defined; a cult is a group of followers that adhere to a particular set of doctrines taught by a particular leader that is not what would be considered to be "orthodox historical Christian dogma." One universal statement made by every so-called Christian cult has been the following statement; "We have been raised up by God to bring back or correct what the historic church, after the death of the Apostles, has changed or ignored." They also believe in a type of "Progressive Revelation." They believe that they can add to the Bible and Christian dogma. We have seen perfect examples of this in the cults of the 1800's with Mormonism, Jehovah Witnesses, Millerite movements, Adventists movements and Christian Science. Accordingly; are there any groups today that would be considered a "Christian cult" in the 20th and 21st centuries? Maybe two extreme examples in recent history that come to our mind would be the "Peoples Temple" cult led by Jim Jones or the "Branch Dividian" cult led by David Koresh. Both ended in the death of its leader and most of its members. But are there more subtle cults today? All Christian cults use the Bible as their scripture, but they add to it through their own interpretations of it and promote their writings as "must have" in order to understand the Bible. They do not adhere to the historic Christian faith. Are there more subtle cults today that we need to be aware of. Questions "What is your opinion of the "health and wealth Gospel" led by people like Benny Hinn, Oral Roberts, Kenneth Hagen, Kenneth Copeland, Jessi Duplantis and Joyce Myers?" "Would the "Left Behind" series and its writers like Tim LeHaye be considered a cult influenced by the cultic adventist movements of the 1800's?" "Have you heard of a man named Arnold Murray and the Shepherds Chapel?" What is your opinion about the above questions? Let me know what you think. Pastor Brian Judaism Kabbalah means "to receive" or "to accept." It is believed that when Moses brought the Ten Commandments from Mount Sinai he also brought with him oral law or hidden meanings, or Kabbalah. Today you hear of Kabbalah which has been popularized by movie and television personalities. Is it a cult? First of all, historically speaking, it is considered to be a form of Jewish mysticism that has been compiled some say from Moses and others say it was compiled anywhere from the 1st to the 12 century AD. So let's look at some of its teachings. Click on the links below. Kabbalah Kabbalah Kabbalah Center The New Age movement. First of all, there is nothing new about the New Age movement. In the New Age movement, there is no one new age religion. It is a compilation of many philosophies that have existed for centuries that have been reintroduced or reformed. They claim that "the time of rationalism and materialism and atheism is gone... now it is the time of "pure spiritualism"... but a spiritualism away from Judaism, because the "age of Aries" is gone; and away from the dogmatism of Christianity and Islam, because the "age of Pisces" is also gone... it is the "age of Aquarius", the age of new beginnings, where "intuition" rules..." To learn more about this movement click on the link below. One of the interesting connections of the new age movemnet is its ties to the religious thought of Gnosticism. Another interesting movement that is also connected to Gnosticism is the "Feminist Movement." For more on Gnosticism and Feminism click here Gnosticism For a study on Gnosticism check out the following links: Gnosticism
Other Websites Encyclopedia of Religions-Cults For a list of heresies through the centuries click here: heresies For a list of cults click on the following: Alphabetical List of Cults and Religions Chart of percentages of religions
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