what is a cult?

Question

im 13 years old soo please try not to make it to confusing

Answer 1

The dictionary gives several explanations: 1) a particular system of religious worship with preference to its rites and ceremonies. 2) a group or sect bound together by devotion to or veneration of the same thing, person, ideal, etc. 3) a group having a sacred ideology and a set of rites centering around their sacred symbols.

The one I think is used most often is: 4) a religion that is considered or held to be false or unorthodox, or its members.

Many Christians consider certain groups like the Christian Scientists and the Moonies to be cult groups, and they even consider Mormons and sometimes, Catholics to be cults. This is because some of their teachings don't conform to the "majority" of the mainstream Christian traditions and teachings. They're different in a lot of areas, but if you think about it, so are the mainstream denominations or else there wouldn't be so many of them.

Fact of the matter is: even the mainstream Christian churches of today were once cults themselves because they broke off from the Roman Catholic Church which had been the universal church for a long time; so they have no justification in calling any others a cult.

True religion as it was in the Bible, was God giving His laws and commandments to men so they would know how to worship Him; and if they did as "He" commanded, they would be guided by the Spirit which they received by the laying on of hands, so that they could live righteously and receive eternal life and salvation.

Even as Jesus was preaching there were those who followed him for awhile, but when they heard something "they" didn't like they walked away and no longer followed him:

John 6: 65 And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.
66 From that time many of his disciples went back, and WALKED NO MORE WITH HIM.

(Notice John 6:66 . . . maybe 666, the sign of the beast, refers to apostates?)

Some of these people started teaching Christ's doctrines (the ones they liked) to others while changing or adding their own interpretations and versions of the teachings they didn't like. This is how other religions started cropping up, and why
Peter rebaptized those twelve men who believed in Christ but who were baptized into one of these other churches. When these men heard Peter preach the "true" Gospel doctrine, they received a witness of the truth from the Holy Ghost, and were then, rebaptized into Christ’s true church by one who "did" have God’s direct line of power and authority.

Since the death of Jesus Christ (and even before) there were many who took some of his teachings and began formulating their own theories and philosophies concerning them. This evolved into a great diversity of Christian sects that spread throughout the known world. Many of these varied branches of Christianity formulated their beliefs based on a mixture of some of Christ’s teachings intertwined with some of the pagan traditions of the Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, etcetera, as well as with the philosophies of the intellectual scholars of those times. These were the false teachers and prophets that the apostles were warning the saints about because they had distorted the truths that Christ had taught in their purity, and had mingled their own thoughts, theories, and philosophies with them in order to “draw disciples unto themselves.”

There were those in Christ's orginal church who didn’t heed the warnings of the apostles, but had “itching ears,” and they listened to all manner of false doctrines and were debating over them, which caused some contention within the church.

The apostles, and even Christ himself, tried to warn the saints to not depart from the true teachings they had learned; to live by the guidance of the spirit which they had received; and to not be led away by these false doctrines that were cropping up everywhere.

Acts 20:29−30
29 For I know this, that after my departing shall grievious wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.
30 Also OF YOUR OWN SELVES shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.

Jude 1:3−4
3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly CONTEND FOR THE FAITH which was once DELIVERED UNTO THE SAINTS.
4 For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 11:1−2
1 Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.
2 Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances, AS I DELIVERED THEM TO YOU.

2 Timothy 4:3−4
3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.


Galatians 1:6−9
6 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:
7 Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would PERVERT the gospel of Christ.
8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you THAN THAT WHICH WE HAVE PREACHED unto you, let him be accursed.
9 As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.

In essence, the apostles were prophesying about the downfall of Christ's original church. People got tired of being told how to live their lives and started following the "easy" path. Religion that was once God giving instruction and guidance to men through His holy prophets, has now turned into men choosing to believe what "they" wanted to believe and worshipping God the way "they" wanted to worship Him. And it has been that way ever since.

Christians use these verses above in Galatians to condemn anyone else that doesn't follow "their" way of teaching Christ's doctrines. They don't realize that they themselves, are following traditions and teachings that were tampered with by apostate groups back in the second and third centuries.

Compare the churches of today to the original church that Christ set up and organized and you'll see so many changes that have been made, especially if you do some thorough research. Even Christian scholars agree with this if you've ever seen the shows on A & E, History, or Biography channels.

So, it's a proven fact, that even the mainstream Christians today, are also cults because they've deviated from the true teachings of Christ; they are no longer one in "sound" doctrine, one in faith, one in spirit and baptism; nor are they of one mind and judgement. If they were, there would only be "ONE" church!

Religion has turned into whatever we want to make of it so we're ALL wrong. Why? Because of these verses which are prophecies that have already been fulfilled:

Isaiah 24:5
5 The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have TRANSGRESSED THE LAW, CHANGED THE ORDINANCE, broken the everlasting covenant.

1 John 3:4
4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for SIN IS THE TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW.

If the ordinances have been changed (which they have; everyone has their "own" versions or they've been discarded completely), then the law has been transgressed. If the law has been transgressed, then we've committed a sin against God. Therefore, we're all wrong.

Wow, I've never come to this conclusion before! Maybe I'll reconsider looking into the Mormons' claims again and do some more research. They're the only ones I know of that "claim" the truth has been restored. If you hear of any other churches that claim this, let me know. Will post again somewhere after I do more research.

Answer 2

There are at least two distinct types of cults, one is generally a break off of a religion that has vastly different beliefs but not enough people in it to qualify as a religion - Mormons and JW started as cults. The other type is typically characterized by have a single charismatic leader that inspires and demands completely loyalty, they tend to be separate from the rest of the world, often donate all their wealth to the leader, resist leaving the group and will use high pressure techniques to retain and bring back members, various examples of these would be Jim Jones, David Keresh etc.

In the general sense, any religion as it starts is a cult, even Christianity was considered a cult through the second century and into the third.

Answer 3

A religious group which denies the essential doctrines of Christianity. The term is usually reserved for groups founded after 1750. An example of a cult would be scientology.

The gothic lifestyle is also a cult, and not a sub-culture as widely believed. They are the most dangerous cult at the moment, whose beliefs include satanism, wicca, hate for God, hate for authority. Since Columbine High massacre we have seen gothic terrorism on a Global scale, with a worrying 99.9999% of all school shootings within the past 10 years being carried out by Goths. They also abuse handicapped children and animals.

Answer 4

When you are taught an all gift sky being created the whole thing in 6 days, made guy from grime, and lady from mans rib, and that girl used to be tempted via a rattling speakme snake and ate off a mystical tree that annoyed that sky being so this God despatched them out into the truly international in which they needed to pay taxes and used to be within the presence of a purple skinned, horned, pitchfork wielding demon that used to be additionally this sky beings construction, after which there used to be a flood and a few different crap, then due to the fact the sector used to be filled with sin, which the sky daddy did not like, he created himself in human type, obtained a virgin pregnant(which turns out impossible) gave start to the son of God, he lived informed a few crap, did a few magic, died on go, CAME BACK alive after 3 days, and is it seems that nonetheless meant to come back again and take us as much as heaven earlier than the top of days. eighty% of America will consider what I simply stated, or are meant to due to the fact they don't forget themselves a follower of that cosmic zombie known as Jesus. Don't get me began at the different ideals, all religions are cults.