Where in the OFFICIAL DEFINITION of "CULT" does it say: "A group that does NOT believe that Jesus is God"?

Question

If no one can find in the OFFICIAL DEFINITION of the word "CULT" that says that it is: "A group that does NOT believe that Jesus is God", then please do not bother to answer with your own personal OPINIONS.

Answer 1

Another approach to the same question is: what is the definition of a "Christian"?

Definitions of a Christian:

American Heritage Dictionary
Chris·tian
....

n.
1. One who professes belief in Jesus as Christ or follows the religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus.
2. One who lives according to the teachings of Jesus.
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American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition

Christian

A follower or disciple of Jesus; someone who believes Jesus is the Christ or Messiah. The New Testament mentions that the followers of Jesus were first called Christians within a few years after his death.
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Merriam-Webster's On-line Dictionary

1 a: one who professes belief in the teachings of Jesus Christ

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Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary

Christian
noun
someone who believes in and follows the teachings of Jesus Christ
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Encarta

Definition:

1. believer in Jesus Christ as savior: somebody whose religion is Christianity

http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/DictionaryResults.aspx?refid=1861597089
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So a Christian, by definition, does not have to be one who believes Jesus is GOD.

Answer 2

I don't know much about the specifics of the group. I know this is a hot topic for a lot of jews though who don't like the fact that they use the term "jews" in their title. Personally I don't see what the issue is. The groups are always very clear that they are messianic, which of course, makes them different from them saying they are just plain jews and then springing the Jesus thing. To me, "messianic jew" means a christian who keeps many of the tenants and traditions of the torah, whereas regular christians do not. So I think the jews who have the problem with the term "jews for jesus" or "messianic jew" are over reacting.

Answer 3

A cult is defined by what it stands for, not what it does NOT stand for!

A cult is a following of some people after (usually) another person. Therefore the first Christians were those in the cult of Jesus Christ.

Unfortunately the word 'cult' has become a term of abuse with nothing but negative connotations about the people deemed to be in it. I would suggest that religionists claiming to be Christian but who refute the doctrine of the Trinity should be called pseudo-Christian groups. (That would include Mormons because although they claim to believe Jesus is God, their idea of god-hood is sheer polytheism and does not square with the Bible's teaching on the deity of Christ.)

On the Day of Judgment, nobody is going to be asked if they believe Jesus is God, but whether they trusted only in Christ to save them from their sins.

Answer 4

Main Entry: cult
Pronunciation: \ˈkəlt\
Function: noun
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: French & Latin; French culte, from Latin cultus care, adoration, from colere to cultivate — more at wheel
Date: 1617
1: formal religious veneration : worship
2: a system of religious beliefs and ritual; also : its body of adherents
3: a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious; also : its body of adherents
4: a system for the cure of disease based on dogma set forth by its promulgator
5 a: great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement, or work (as a film or book); especially : such devotion regarded as a literary or intellectual fad b: the object of such devotion c: a usually small group of people characterized by such devotion

The word "cult" however has taken on a negative connotation. So like many things in the English language, people percieve words differently. I don't think it has to do with jesus, persay, but just that it's a "bad" thing to be in.

Answer 5

Under the definition of cult -all religions apply to it.
They have their own leaders.In my religion Jesus is the leader thru Jehovah God.

Answer 6

1. a particular system of religious worship, esp. with reference to its rites and ceremonies.
2. an instance of great veneration of a person, ideal, or thing, esp. as manifested by a body of admirers: the physical fitness cult.
3. the object of such devotion.
4. a group or sect bound together by veneration of the same thing, person, ideal, etc.
5. Sociology. a group having a sacred ideology and a set of rites centering around their sacred symbols.
6. a religion or sect considered to be false, unorthodox, or extremist, with members often living outside of conventional society under the direction of a charismatic leader.
7. the members of such a religion or sect.
8. any system for treating human sickness that originated by a person usually claiming to have sole insight into the nature of disease, and that employs methods regarded as unorthodox or unscientific.
–adjective 9. of or pertaining to a cult.
10. of, for, or attracting a small group of devotees: a cult movie.



http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/cult

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/cult

Answer 7

The ones that like to use the word "cult" so much, are actually the ones in a cult. It seems that a lot of the Judas Class follow a certain "Walter Martin."

Answer 8

The Ecumenical Creeds (http://www.lcms.org/pages/internal.asp?NavID=582) are an objective, biblical standard by which a church body is considered Christian; or not Christian (heretical or a cult).

The Athanasian Creed especially would clearly speak to what you are talking about.

That said, my church body, the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, according the historical & biblical Lutheran Confessions (an objective standard) considers some denominations or church bodies to be heterodox. That is, they may confess the Ecumenical Creeds, but in addition teach other heterodox doctrines or dogmas.

As I understand it, the Roman Catholic church, according to its documentation & statements of belief & practice, considers the Lutheran Church to be heterodox. This confusion is explained by the Roman Catholic departure from Christ--the Living Word--as the first & final authority when it comes to theology, to the Church/Pope as the final authority on matters of faith & doctrine.

Answer 9

I would be curious where you find an official definition of cult. I sure hope there is no such thing.

Having said that: It is clear to me that the term cult has lost all usefulness and has been reduced to a term of abuse.

Answer 10

dictionary.com.

cult /kʌlt/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[kuhlt] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun 1. a particular system of religious worship, esp. with reference to its rites and ceremonies.
2. an instance of great veneration of a person, ideal, or thing, esp. as manifested by a body of admirers: the physical fitness cult.
3. the object of such devotion.
4. a group or sect bound together by veneration of the same thing, person, ideal, etc.
5. Sociology. a group having a sacred ideology and a set of rites centering around their sacred symbols.
6. a religion or sect considered to be false, unorthodox, or extremist, with members often living outside of conventional society under the direction of a charismatic leader.
7. the members of such a religion or sect.
8. any system for treating human sickness that originated by a person usually claiming to have sole insight into the nature of disease, and that employs methods regarded as unorthodox or unscientific.
–adjective 9. of or pertaining to a cult.
10. of, for, or attracting a small group of devotees: a cult movie.


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[Origin: 1610–20; < L cultus habitation, tilling, refinement, worship, equiv. to cul-, var. s. of colere to inhabit, till, worship + -tus suffix of v. action]


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in short Christianity is a cult too.

Answer 11

cult (plural cults)
noun
Definition:

1. religion: a system of religious or spiritual beliefs, especially an informal and transient belief system regarded by others as misguided, unorthodox, extremist, or false, and directed by a charismatic, authoritarian leader