How do you know when a particular religious organization crosses the line to fanatic cult?

Question

Having watched the show on Jim Jones last night (Jonestown, mass suicide/murder in the name of the religious group they were a part of, late '70s) I wonder about the people who just kept going along with it even as the group/leader slowly slid into crazy cult status. I realize it's easy to just follow the crowd. So, how could those people have seen and understood that this cult activity was beyond both Christianity and reason? How do you know? At what exact point did they cross the line and what keeps you going well beyond the line?

Answer 1

When someone starts worshiping & following a MAN rather than God it's a cult. When the leaders of the "church" want the members to sever all ties to their families and friends and turn over complete control of their finances to them, it's a cult. When the leaders prefer that members live with them on a compound rather than allowing them their freedom, it's definitely a cult. God does not require that we sell everything we own & live in a group to follow Him. He does not require us to submit to a man in a leadership position. One of the reasons Jesus died on the cross is so that we would each individually have a direct link to God Himself. Jesus Christ is our intercessor. We don't need a man to do that job for us anymore.

Answer 2

Counterfeit Christianity is probably the best description I can give for a cult. Counterfeit Christianity is an imitation of real Christianity. Bible terms like "Jesus Christ, Resurrection, Salvation, and Atonement" are used by the Cult, but entirely different meanings have been assigned to these terms by the various cult groups.
Like counterfeit money which is sometimes difficult to detect, so it is difficult to detect counterfeit Christianity, since it looks like the real thing. Experts examining counterfeit money often hold it up to a strong light and look for identifying marks. Counterfeit Christianity also has identifying marks which can be seen when held up to an even stronger light, the light of God's word, the bible.
We are at an advantage if we know what to expect from a cult. Cultists are very well trained to appear "Christian", and indeed believe they are the true church, and you need the deliverance! Therfore, be bold and ask the question, "Do you believe the group you represent is the only true church on the face of the earth?"
If they reply that they are, or if they are evasive, making remarks like "Well, every church has a measure of truth but...", you have made an early detection of a Cultist.
Every true Chistian, if asked the same question, regardless of his denomination, would reply that the true church is comprised of believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, and HE (not some organization) is THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE, (John 14:6). No legitimate denomonation would claim that they alone and their members have salvation exclusively, but the cults (the counterfeits) do.

Answer 3

When the messenger became more important than the message, that's when cults are born. When the teachings of man usurps the teachings of God, then you have a cult.

From a christian standpoint, there are certain people who simply have weak minds and follow doctrine according to how the wind blows. Instead of reading the bible themselves they took the word of man and did not test it. They were duped because of their own foolishness.

To quote scripture (let the thumbs down begin!):

2 Timothy 4:1
1 I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: 2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, 4 and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. 5 But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

Matthew 24:24
"For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.

Answer 4

Be wary when someone starts claiming authority (either political or moral) from a divine being that will punish you for not believing in it or following its will (which can be construed to be anything).

Cults are the least of your worries. Organized religion is responsible for death and destruction on an order of magnitude far higher than some group that decides to drink the magical cool aid.

Answer 5

Support from others in the same situation is what keeps it going. This is how religion has survived this long. As long as they're surrounded by people who assure them that everything is normal, gullible people will believe them. Those that speak out are ostracized. And those that don't want to be ostracized are therefore afraid to speak out.

It's amazing what you can get used to.


Edit - As noted above, Christians often say "If the leader sets himself up as a god-figure, you know it's a cult..."

Hmmm... you do realize that uh... that's exactly what Paul did with Jesus, right?

Answer 6

Pastor Scott Bailey defined a cult to me this way:
1.A leader who claims to be devine/the messiah himself
2.Rejection of all other churches
3.Control over members activities and friendships
4.A special diet for it's members
5.Chants using religious words and phrases
6.Sleep deprivation
7. No privacy
8.Overpowering demonstrations of love
9.Control over members finances
10. leadership that does not tolerate honest questions.

If a group has one or more of these traits, it may be a cult.

Answer 7

When they start asking for money. Oh wait, they all do? Oh, well.

Seriously, any religion based on a cult of personality surrounding one figure is especially suspect. That one person, who at first might be visionary, is susceptible to allowing the veneration of his followers lead to adoration and deification. At that point, all bets are off.

Answer 8

It wasn't too many years ago that this kind of christina was the norm, especially in america. People were killed for such beleifs as "round earth rather than flat earth .
Not beleiving the earth was the center of the universe could get you killed by the church.
having a birthmark or odd numbers of toes could get you killed by the church ect.
The islamic church is still in this murderious stage in that women and girls are considered property in most muslim countries.
Islamic teachings are so ranked with reasons you can kill your neighbor or family that it now should rank as the cult of cults in it's still murderious stage.

It took law to get christians out of their cult stage and still were we to relay those laws regarding us the jim jones, oral roberts, billy grahams of the christian world would still enslave us all in their mythiccal godliness.

Answer 9

If the leader is trying to sell you an idea that is not from God's word, be wary. If they are not following the teachings of Christ, and it is not in the Bible- you don't need it. The Bible warns against following the word of man over the word of God.

Well said, Pamela.

Answer 10

Being an Atheist keeps me from crossing the line...

Jones had armies of men armed with guns to stop those that figured out the scams from escaping. Also, being trapped in a remote jungle landscape in Guana makes it kinda hard to up and leave....look at what happened to the Senator who went for a visit....