10 INDICATIONS THAT YOU ARE INVOLVED IN A CULT MOVEMENT
By Joseph Mattera, Op-ed Contributor Sunday, February 11, 2024,.LUIS ROBAYO/AFP via Getty Images
Due to the lack of biblical wisdom, many branches of Christianity fell prey to them.
The "Watchtower", also known as" Jehovah's witnesses", is one of the most popular heretical religions with many of the characteristics mentioned above.Many also include deviant religious entities such as Scientology, founded by L. Ron Hubbard, and many more are too numerous to mention here.
However, some entities known as churches and Christian movements also act as cults. (If your church or movement does things like this, don't participate!)
The branch of the Christian Cult recently received a new, younger participant. It is a group affiliated with it that has all the characteristics of a religious sect. The purpose of this paper is to help parents, family, and friends discover the signs and characteristics of cults.
There is no need for any truly Christian and biblical group to use this extreme strategy to recruit and retain followers. True Gospel-centered Biblical churches do not take part in the coercive manipulative practices mentioned below.
These are ten characteristics:
- They kill vulnerable teenagers
On campus, sects often use mobile outreach tactics to target fearful and insecure teens who seek friends and identity for emotional stability.
College officials are often alerted to worship tactics incompatible with traditional (religious) campus clubs, so outreach strategies are mobile or temporary. (They have to go so that they are unknown and closed!).
- Love attack
The term" love bombing " was used to describe the sect's early efforts with would-be converts by fostering strong emotional bonds with them. Included in the initial contact, they constantly show them a lot of care and affection, give them words that strengthen them, and throw the words "community" and "love".
A convert no longer needs to assert when they can control him. Therefore, the love bombing ends and is replaced by scare tactics, mind manipulation and various forms of abuse. The goal, of course, is to encourage potential converts to adopt this new group as their primary family identity. Thus, they will replace their church affiliation or biological or spiritual family.
- Isolated from others
They were burdened with various religious activities and gatherings after the new innovations entered into their religious community, so they did not have time for other activities or affiliations.
In addition, they are given a mentor or spiritual leader who will prevent them from getting involved with others, help them avoid outside relationships and provide long-term loyalty because they will only have other sect members for a few years. (So, leaving him means leaving all their relationships.)
- Brain control and programming
The result of long meetings, incessant activity, tactics of social exclusion, constant indoctrination, and micromanagement of their social lives is a form of mind control and social programming.
- They declare that their religious community (or church) is the only true church.
This is the biggest red flag ever. When any new church or movement, especially one that has no history from the first few centuries of Christianity, claims to be the only true church, it is delusion and deception by the founders of that religious group because Jesus has built his true church.for more than two thousand years since its return.
- Ignoring church history
Along with the previous point, religious cults often have distorted views of church history that cannot be supported by respectable, mainstream, and historical Christian scholarship. This distorted view usually attacks mainstream historical classical Christianity and points to this new movement as the only movement that has actually occurred since the original Church of the Apostles in the first century.
- Absurd doctrine
Most cults not only have deviant mind control practices, but also support some kind of heretical doctrine of important biblical doctrines such as salvation, the divinity of Christ, the person of the Holy Spirit, and the existence of hell.
Many heretical groups, such as Jehovah's Witnesses, believe that Jesus is a created being and not God the son. They also believe that the Holy Spirit is power and not the third person of the Triune God, that lost souls are annihilated in hell, and that salvation is through good works. Members of the Watch Tower organization were forced to testify and go door to door to become one of the few people who
- An idol for the leader
Religious leaders, both deceased and living, are often idolized and worshiped as great prophets or Saints.
- A large number of former members have told traumatic stories of abuse.
In most religious sects, many testimonies of former members regarding mind control, social isolation, mental and spiritual abuse, and other manipulative practices that led to traumatic experiences can be found on social media, YouTube, and web pages. People who leave the cult usually need several years of therapy, prayer, and sometimes even deliverance from evil spirits.
- Lack of clarity about finances
Governance, membership records, leadership protocols, and expenses of religious organizations are protected.
Many cults do not often disclose how their donations are spent. Instead, most legitimate churches hold annual business meetings, where members receive an annual "profit and loss" statement to view their functional budget.
His decision
Beware of targeting strategies: sects often prey on vulnerable people, such as teenagers who are in a transitional stage of life and looking for community.
Beware of love bombings: don't be fooled by groups that use flattery, affection, or promises that are too big to attract the attention of those around you.
Beware of isolation: pay attention to groups that demand excessive involvement, so that people cannot participate in other activities and relationships.
Be informed about Church History and Doctrine: skeptics should be approached with a group that claims to be the only true church.
Seek transparency and accountability: legitimate organizations must make their leadership, governance, and financial practices transparent.
I pray that this article helps people break free from the bonds of sects and enter the true spiritual freedom of the body of Christ.
Check out my book Poisonous Power to read more about this topic.
Dr. Joseph Mattera is a world-renowned theologian, writer and consultant whose mission is to influence the leaders of the cultures that influence them. He is the founding pastor of the Resurrection Church, and he also leads various organizations, such as the U.S. coalition of Apostolic leaders and the Covenant coalition of Christ.
Visit JosephMattera.org to order his book or join the thousands of people who subscribe to his newsletter.
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