Could it really be true that Roman Catholicism is a cult?

Question

I have been sincerely trying to resist this conclusion time and time again – wrestling in my spirit.
Sometimes, I begin to think that it is not important whether it is…and feel I should just dismiss it and simply focus of sharing the Gospel.

But then I question: is it important for the multitude of common people (laity) that are lead astray by Catholic teaching?

And the words of Jesus echo in my mind:
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves!”

The Mormons come to mind…as well as the Jehovah Witnesses.
And I see Catholic’s condemning both of these as cults:
http://www.catholic.com/library/noncatholic_groups.asp
As well as Protestants:
http://www.carm.org/index.html
-

BUT, then I see stuff like this regarding Catholicism:
http://www.carm.org/catholic/grid.htm

…and it HAS to make you wonder…

-

Of course as a former “pseudo-Catholic” that became and atheist…and then sat down to read the Bible to prove it wrong…and then had God reveal Himself to me through His Word, I have NO strong affiliation to ANY denomination – but by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ, I am a Christian.

And I am compelled by the love of Christ to share the ministry of reconciliation - the Gospel of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ - to others, so that they, too, can be FREE of oppression, free of sin, free of condemnation.

Cults tend TOWARDS oppression and condemnation.

Christians speak about the Gospel and how and what salvation IS…and the FREEDOM they have.
…freedom, though a “servant” of Christ

Catholics, on the other hand, talk about their “Church” and how to become a “Catholic” and all the things you must do.
…no freedom, and a slave of Catholicism.

See for yourself, at THEIR own website:
http://www.catholic.com/library/salvation.asp
-

So, if it looks, acts, and quacks like a duck…?
-

I am NOT condemning all Catholics, nor am I saying that all Catholics are doomed for hell.
…but if I were a Catholic, I would make a SINCERE effort to investigate these things!

Again, I LOVE Catholics…much of my own extended family are Catholics!
…and my heart absolutely aches for them and other Catholics…

So what are your thoughts and how can you help bring people to the light?
Could it actually be true that Roman Catholicism is a cult?

-

Answer 1

cults remove personal freedom.

remove:
freedom of thought
freedom of expression
freedom of choice

Note that these are states of mind and not states of the body.
A person may have a great deal of "liberty" but not freedom.

A cult through fear, much of which is guilt, shame, or abandonment removes much freedom of the mind but may in outward appearance leave liberty intact.

In the US many religious groups act as cults securing not the freedom of Christ but enslave through doctrine and fear.

Does the Roman Catholicism impose shame, guilt, fear, and a sense of abandonment if a member does not follow their teachings and contribute to the group?

Through the beatitudes Jesus Christ packages freedom of the mind in simplicity. When a group mouths words but in effect does the very opposite of what Jesus teaches then this is hypocrisy. Jesus condemns hypocrites.

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 the various cult groups have assigned entirely different meanings to these terms.
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 churches, and you need the deliverance! Therefore, 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 Christian, 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 denomination would claim that they alone and their members have salvation exclusively, but the cults (the counterfeits) do.

Answer 3

I am not RC, I am a Confessional Lutheran.

To answer the Question. The RC Church is NOT a cult. When I have attended Catholic Churches for weddings, funerals, and as a guest, I hear the Gospel read, the Psalms prayed, and sermons preached that expand on the message of the Gospels.

Most of the Liturgy of the Mass is taken directly from Scripture, and the Eucharist Is the Gospel, as it is in our Church.

I along with the rest of the Confessional Lutherans DO have a problem with the non-Biblical stuff that man has introduced into the RC Church. That's why there is a Lutheran Church.

The doctrine of our Church, taken from Scripture tells us that there are two Churches. One visible. One invisible.

The visible Church is the one that we see. It is made up of ALL the denominations, and consists of both believers and non believers.

The invisible Church consists of all believers in Christ, both living and dead (the communion of Saints) regardless of denomination. This Church is not ruled by men, but by Christ alone.

However, I do believe that the Mormon and the Jehovah's Wittiness organizations are cults. My reasons are twofold:
1. Both have willfully altered Scripture to fit their doctrine.
2. Both deny the divinity of Christ.

Faith in Christ is paramount to salvation. In order to know and believe we have only the true and un-adulterated Scriptures to instruct us.

Many denominations have deviated from or misinterpreted Scripture,(most protestant and reformed denominations think we Lutherans have) but they have not altered it.

True faith saves us dispute ourselves, our Church doctrine and polity, and our sinful nature.

Your friend in Christ,

Mark

Addendum:

I have read your additional details. I must still stand by my answer. I think, rather than "cult" the best term would be "heterodox". I think that's what the RC's call us too.

Mark

Answer 4

Well, first of all, your page is wrong.


Images of God, or Jesus, or Mary, etc.
Used in worship in churches


No Catholic has ever worshiped Mary or any Saint. We merely ask them for help, as you would ask a priest for help.So if you go ask a priest for advice, you are worshiping him?

Also, no one has ever said Mary has godlike abilities. And since these two points are the only cult-like aspects of your website, I would have to disagree with you.

If you give some correct information, however, we can further debate the issue.



Also, if you look in your history books, the Protestant Reformation happened because the Catholic Church was doing VERY scandalous things, like selling indulgences, it had nothing to do with praying to Mary. At the time, it was something that was needed to clean up the Church. However, it's time has come and gone. Please tell me where in the Bible it says that we are not allowed to use other sources for information?
Also, why don't Protestants use the whole bible?
You are saying there are no rich and powerful protestants?


One more thing: Your page says that Protestants believe:
All who are saved by grace through faith are in the true church

And Catholics have faith, yet you are claiming that we are not part of the true Church? I am so confused.



---Anyway, I HAVE studied these things, and I have decided that Catholicism IS the closest form of a Church that Jesus had in mind, but also that anyone who acts the way Jesus did (whether they have faith in Him or not, that's right, I said it) has a shot to go to heaven. After all, did Jesus only reach out to the Jews? Of course not! I find it very hard to believe that God would refuse heaven to a good soul simply because they were not raised to believe in Jesus.

Answer 5

It is if your sources of information about what we believe are false.

As far as "condemning" other cults, "condmening" is an innacurate word. We teach, accurately (unlike yourself) about what these religions believe, and where exactly the flaws are, and why we should not be led astray by them. Not to say that these religions are evil, just the elements of them are false. In general I think religion produces good people, despite what the athies on R&S would like you to think. Once you can accurately describe what we believe then you can begin step two.

The scripture you quoted about pharisees seems pretty irrelevant to your point. Could you explain further? Provide examples?

I love you too, and my heart aches for you. Hopefully you'll come home one day.

Answer 6

One lady my Mother knew who truned away from Catholic faith said that the Catholics actually are led to worship a Jesus that is not the same Jesus of the gospel - some
might indeed worship the real Jesus in spirit and in truth, but Jesus is covered up a lot - convoluted or watered down
so that the meaning and power of Jesus changes dramatically.

Answer 7

ANY group of people that believe their leader speaks FOR God is a cult.

JW--believe the Watchtower organization is God's voice on the earth today.

Catholics believe the Pope is God's spokes person on earth today.

Both are cults, both are teaching ANOTHER GOSPEL. Both follow EXTRA biblical doctrine that are based on nothing more than their beliefs, rather than basing them on the truth in the WORD OF GOD.

Just because a group appears "nice" or even sincere--doesn't mean they're not sincerely wrong.

Anything thing which brings the focus to something other than God the Father through Jesus the Son is a CULT!

Stop looking to your leaders, stop looking to man's doctrines, stop calling upon the dead (necromancy which God FORBIDS) and call upon the ONE TRUE GOD from the scriptures.

I pray the deception is lifted from their minds.

Revelation 18:4, "And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues."

Answer 8

I think you had it right when you said, " and feel I should just dismiss it and simply focus of sharing the Gospel."

But God does put things into our hearts, we just need to be open to Him with that. If you have the skill and gift to bring to light certain issues apparent in the Roman Catholic Church, it may be that God has a plan with you for that.

However, I think that we are all in cults. I can simply say with truth, " I am in a cult."

Cult -
–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.

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


It's not such a bad word. I think it a good thing to expose people to the definitions of words because they typically rely on only one!

Answer 9

Could it be true? Sure. I don't see Catholicism as being a cult. I am a Christian, one of Jehovah's Witnesses. I see it as simply being another faith.

Meanwhile, I will give you a litte tip, websites along the line of Carm are simply one man's opinion on others. Do independant research. Also always get information from the horses mouse as to what they believe.

Answer 10

When I was in Bible college, I did take a course called "Major Cults", and, yes, we did devote time to Catholicism. It does fit the key elements that define a cult. However, for the purpose of persuasion, you may not want to open too many conversations this way if you want them to see what you see.

Edit: By the way, I do want to commend you for your question. FYI time: Also, a cult is, simply stated, a perversion of biblical Christianity, therefor true Christianity, itself, cannot be a cult. (That was for those of you who like to put the label "cult" on everything.)