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SEVEN CHARACTERISTICS OF CULTS<\/strong><\/p>\n A. #1 They oppose critical thinking instead of allowing people to think for themselves. Critical thinking is objective\u2014it evaluates information received (not the same as a critical spirit). B. #2 They dishonor the family unit instead of insisting on the biblical priority of the family unit. C. #3 They isolate members and reject them for leaving instead of helping them do God\u2019s will. D. #4 They promote inappropriate loyalty and connection to the cult leadership instead of to Jesus. E. #5 They cross biblical boundaries of behavior instead of walking in purity and integrity. F. #6 They separate from the Church instead of promoting a culture of honor toward the Church. G. #7 Emphasizing special revelations that contradict Scripture instead of honoring the Scripture. Source:\u00a0https:\/\/ihopkcorg-a.akamaihd.net\/platform\/IHOP\/759\/211\/20121118_How_To_Recognize_Cults_7_Characteristics.pdf<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,90,124,86,13,147,141,11,122,151,126],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3712","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","category-books","category-cults","category-denial","category-emotions","category-evidence","category-info","category-love","category-scripture","category-spiritual-abuse","category-theology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/ubfriends.org\/ubfriends2015\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3712"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/ubfriends.org\/ubfriends2015\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/ubfriends.org\/ubfriends2015\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ubfriends.org\/ubfriends2015\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ubfriends.org\/ubfriends2015\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3712"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/ubfriends.org\/ubfriends2015\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3712\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/ubfriends.org\/ubfriends2015\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3712"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ubfriends.org\/ubfriends2015\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3712"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ubfriends.org\/ubfriends2015\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3712"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n1. Cults<\/strong>: Their members must accept what the cult leader believes without ever challenging
\ntheir doctrines. They do not want their members to think critically for themselves.
\n2. The Bible<\/strong>: We must all test each teaching that we hear in the light of Scripture. Do not
\nreceive a teaching that you cannot see with your eyes in your Bible. Do not quickly
\naccept new ideas before examining them. Loyalty to a ministry involves humbly
\nchallenging it when needed. Do not say, \u201cOur leaders say\u2026,\u201d but, \u201cThe Bible says\u2026\u201d
\nTest all things; hold fast what is good. (1 Thes. 5:21)
\na. The Bereans only accepted Paul\u2019s teaching when they saw it in the Scriptures.
\nThey [the Bereans] received the word with all readiness, and searched the
\nScriptures daily to find out whether these things were so. (Acts 17:11)
\nb. Christians are exhorted to test the spirits\u2014to discern the spirit behind a teaching.
\nBeloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God;
\nbecause many false prophets have gone out into the world. (1 Jn. 4:1)<\/p>\n
\n1. Cults<\/strong>: Children are taught to be more loyal to the leaders than to their parents. Women
\nare taught to be more loyal to the leaders than to their husbands, and husbands are taught
\nto accept this as normal. The cult leader seeks to take the place of fathers, mothers, or
\nother authority figures. The members are often required to cut ties with their family.
\n2. The Bible<\/strong>: Our first relational commitment is to spouse, children, and parents. Our
\nfamily is far more important than the ministry we are involved in. Teaching that
\nundermines the sanctity of the family unit is unbiblical. Scripture urges us to seek
\nreconciliation and to mend broken family relationships through love, humility, and
\nforgiveness (as far as it depends on us).
\na. Those who obey Scripture will seek to communicate with and honor their families.
\nJesus insists that people honor their parents with integrity (Mark 7:9-13)
\nb. Before becoming responsible adults, children are commanded by the Word to obey
\ntheir parents (Eph. 6:1-3). Yet the commitment to love and communicate with one’s
\nfamily is not the same as needing to receive their \u201capproval\u201d to obey the Scripture
\n(Lk 14:26). However, even if our family disapproves of us doing God\u2019s will, we must
\nstill continue to reach out to them in love and seek to communicate with them. In
\nother words, our obedience to Jesus and His Word has priority over any of our
\nministry commitments, personal agenda, or even our family ties.<\/p>\n
\n1. Cults<\/strong>: They isolate their people from their families, the Church, and society. They reject
\nany who leave and warn them, saying that they will be judged by God and will lose God\u2019s
\nbest if they leave. People are taught to make lifelong commitments to the group. Some
\ngroups teach that their members must get permission to join another ministry.
\n2. The Bible<\/strong>: A leader\u2019s concern is to help people succeed in doing God\u2019s will for their own
\nlives, regardless of whether it means joining another ministry. The foundational value is
\nthat God owns the people, not the leader of a ministry.<\/p>\n
\n1. Cults<\/strong>: Cults seek to connect their members to the cult leader and require loyalty to him
\ninstead of to Jesus. Loyalty is defined as not questioning the leader. It is very dangerous
\nwhen the leader cannot be questioned.
\na. Faithfulness is defined as supporting the leader, rather than obeying Jesus.
\nb. Cult leaders warn their members to not touch \u201cGod\u2019s anointed.\u201d
\n2. The Bible<\/strong>: Our first loyalty and connection is to Jesus (Col. 2:19). Faithfulness is defined as loyalty to Jesus and obeying His Word and will.
\nHolding fast to the Head [Jesus], from whom all the body\u2026grows\u2026 (Col. 2:19)<\/p>\n
\n1. Cults<\/strong>: Cults cross biblical boundaries of behavior, especially in immorality and finances.
\nThey twist the Scripture to validate their impurity and lack of financial integrity. False
\nteachers can be detected by their covetousness and immorality (2 Pet. 2:3-18).
\nBy covetousness they will exploit…14having eyes full of adultery\u2026heart trained in
\ncovetous practices\u202618They allure through the lusts of the flesh, through lewdness.
\n(2 Pet. 2:3-18)
\na. They usually insist on owning or controlling the money and property of members
\nwho \u201cjoin the community.\u201d They often promote unethical ways of gaining money
\n(e.g., lying about collecting money for charities that do not exist).
\nb. Some cult leaders claim that God directed them to have sexual relationships with
\n\u201cspiritual partners\u201d for the benefit of the movement.
\n2. The Bible<\/strong>: Scripture teaches sexual purity and the private ownership of property. In Acts 4:32-35, the disciples laid their money and property at the apostles\u2019 feet as a one-time
\nfree-will offering, not as a permanent economic arrangement.<\/p>\n
\n1. Cults<\/strong>: Cults separate from the wider Church, believing that they alone have a special
\nstatus with God. They criticize the rest of the Body of Christ and often claim to be the
\nonly ones truly saved. They view all other ministries and denominations as being in error.
\n2. The Bible<\/strong>: We love Jesus by loving the whole Church according to that is so dear to
\nHim. We cultivate a culture of honor by loving the whole Church. Loving the Church is
\nnot the same as agreeing with the practices of each local church in the body of Christ. It
\nis biblical to identify compromises being promoted in the Church but without criticizing
\nspecific ministries by name unless going through the biblical process (Mt. 18:15-17)
\na. There are times to bring judgment to ministries that have destructive doctrines and
\nbehavior (Mt. 18:15-17; 1 Cor. 5:1-11; 2 Cor. 11:12-15; 1 Thes. 5:14, 21; 2 Thes. 3:6-
\n14; Rev. 2:2, 14-15, 20). We must do this in the right way and with a right spirit.
\nb. The Bible requires God\u2019s people to take a stand against compromising trends or
\ndoctrines in the Church without dismissing the whole Church as participating in them.
\nIn Revelation 2-3, Jesus identified compromise in five of the seven churches. We
\nmust take a stand against issues that Jesus took a stand against, but we must not
\nassume that \u201centire\u201d denominations or \u201cstreams\u201d in the Body of Christ are in error.
\nMillions of believers worldwide are faithful to Jesus and refuse to compromise.
\nc. We all have deficiencies or weaknesses in ministry, and we need other ministries to
\nexpress the fullness of Christ. We are to bless the budding virtues of other ministries,
\nregardless of their deficiencies (weaknesses), and without needing to point out their
\ndifferences in ministry focus, style, and standards of excellence.<\/p>\n
\n1. Cults<\/strong>: Cults emphasize the special revelations of their leader that contradict Scripture.
\n2. The Bible<\/strong>: We emphasize the infallibility of Scripture as the final authority of truth. We emphasize the main and plain themes of Scripture, such as the supremacy of Jesus, the
\ntwo great commandments, the Great Commission, the Sermon on the Mount lifestyle,
\nprayer, reading the Word, winning the lost, healing the sick, serving others, etc.<\/p>\n