everyone mentions mormons, jehovah's witnesses, sda's etc of being cults, but nobody calls catholics a cult.
2006-07-13 21:26:43 · 14 answers · asked by sevvy7 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Many people consider the catholic church a cult. It is such a devisive topic though, most people do not like to discuss this subject in public as it is potentially a "powder-keg" type issue. Once we happened to hear a sermon on local TV about this very subject and the preacher was expounding his belief that the catholic church was "evil." For several days following, the local papers printed letters to the editor from people who applauded that sermon and those who were offended. At some point the editor of the paper decided to end the topic as the sheer volume of letters that were received was phenomenal! We hear this issue discussed frequently in our area.
2006-07-13 21:39:36 · answer #1 · answered by beanbag 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
There are some issues that are called cardinal doctrines. The JW's and the Mormons deny those and they deny that they are an element individuals. it is the shortest answer on the cults like those. The Catholic church is somewhat distinct and somewhat better arguable. even as in those different communities, it isn't plausible to be a Christian and a JW or Mormon, it truly is plausible to be a Christian and a Catholic. The Catholic church holds to the cardinal doctrines and has the same opinion with them.
2016-12-01 06:27:23 · answer #2 · answered by tramble 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The definition of a "Cult" is a religious organisation that holds a religious beliefe that goes TOTALLY against the 'Doctrinal' teachings of the original Dogma.
The SDAs, mormons, JW...etc, theire doctrines clearly go against those stipulated in Christianity's teachings. Given that they change the very foundational essence of who christ is and so on, thus they are clasified as cults....
A cult is not neccessarily a group of whacky silly dancers that demand followers to give them all their posessions and cramb them up in a shed to await the messiah to come on a space ship and take them to heaven on some far distant planet.
I hope this helps your question.
2006-07-13 21:47:43 · answer #3 · answered by copticphoenix 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
none of those groups you mentioned are cults - they are denominations or sects. a cult is a radical spin-off usually small.
Catholic means universal - and it's interesting every which way to look for the kind of intrigues you're suggesting because you'll find all kinds of dramas there due to the 2000 year history, but it's not a cult because it is the foundation for the religion - as well as the foundation for offshoots of that religion.
2006-07-13 21:33:43 · answer #4 · answered by Kevin A 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Actualy many do consider it a cult. But they are powerful enough, and there are enough catholics out there to keep it hush hush. But then ppl consider tuppeware a cult too.
2006-07-13 21:32:56 · answer #5 · answered by evil_kandykid 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
It is a cult as are all religions.
the only difference between a cult and a "religion" is that religions have political power and cults don't.
2006-07-13 21:53:53 · answer #6 · answered by Cindy 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Certain religions are incapable of defending their teachings from the bible, so they resort to slander and name-calling against other faiths. In the case of the term "cult", it really is just an insulting synonym for "religion", as you say. Since Catholicism is so easily shown to be unscriptural, its detractors have no need to resort to childish name-calling.
Another tactic of false religion is arguing that another religion is "Not Christian"! For example, many Trinitarians repeatedly pretend that Jehovah's Witnesses are not Christian. Trinitarians use an artificial, trinity-specific definition of the term "Christian" which excludes anyone who does not believe that Jesus is God Himself, rather than the Son of God. Interestingly, pagans in the first century pretended that Christ's followers were Atheists(!) because the Christians had a somewhat different idea from the pagans about the nature of God.
Jehovah's Witnesses teach that no salvation occurs without Christ, that accepting Christ's sacrifice is a requirement for true worship, that every prayer must acknowledge Christ, that Christ is the King of God's Kingdom, that Christ is the head of the Christian congregation, that Christ is immortal and above every creature, even that Christ was the 'master worker' in creating the universe! Both secular dictionaries and disinterested theologians acknowledge that Jehovah's Witnesses are a Christian religion.
The Trinitarian arguments are intended to insult and demean Jehovah's Witnesses, rather than to give a Scripturally accurate understanding of the term "Christian".
In fact, the bible most closely associates being "Christian" with preaching about Christ and Christ's teachings. Review all the times the bible uses the term "Christian" and note that the context connects the term with:
"declaring the good news"
'teaching quite a crowd'
'open eyes, turn from dark to light'
"uttering sayings of truth"
"persuade"
"keep on glorifying"
(Acts 11:20-26) [The early disciples of Jesus] began talking to the Greek-speaking people, declaring the good news of the Lord Jesus... and taught quite a crowd, and it was first in Antioch that the disciples were by divine providence called Christians.
(Acts 26:17-28) [Jesus said to Paul] I am sending you, to open their eyes, to turn them from darkness to light and from the authority of Satan to God... Paul said: “I am not going mad, Your Excellency Festus, but I am uttering sayings of truth and of soundness of mind. ...Do you, King Agrippa, believe the Prophets? I know you believe.” But Agrippa said to Paul: “In a short time you would persuade me to become a Christian.”
(1 Peter 4:14-16) If you are being reproached for the name of Christ, you are happy... But if he suffers as a Christian, let him not feel shame, but let him keep on glorifying God in this name
So why do anti-Witnesses try to hijack the term "Christian" and hide its Scriptural implications? Because anti-Witnesses recognize that it is the preaching work that makes it clear that the relatively small religion of Jehovah's Witnesses are by far the most prominent followers of Christ:
(Matthew 28:19,20) Go therefore and make disciples of people of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy spirit, teaching them to observe all the things I have commanded
Learn more!
http://watchtower.org
http://www.watchtower.org/library/ti/index.htm
2006-07-14 09:52:12 · answer #7 · answered by achtung_heiss 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Those "Cults" are just widespread faiths that stem from Christianity.
2006-07-13 21:43:21 · answer #8 · answered by Chrissie 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
all religions are a cult, in varying degrees. we only notice the small, secretive strange ones. the others are hiding in plan sight!!!
2006-07-13 21:32:57 · answer #9 · answered by ? 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
All religions are cults.
2006-07-13 21:46:08 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋