The Mushrooming Of The Cults

by J.K.D. Johnston, Musselburgh, Scotland | Category: Background Glimpses 1888-1988 | Sept 1988

The Athenians in Paul's day were fascinated by the telling or hearing of "some new thing" (Acts 17:21). Men and women today seem to have a similar weakness for new things, a tendency reflected in the proliferation of new cults.

The last two decades have witnessed a virtual explosion of new cults and "isms". In his book, Confronting the Cults, Dr. Gordon R. Lewis states:

At the dawn of the twentieth century the cults were indistinguishable as a tiny atom, but exploding like an atomic bomb the cults have mushroomed upon the American religious horizon (p.1).

The same writer gives the following definition:

A cult, then, is any religious movement which claims the backing of Christ or the Bible, but distorts the central message of Christianity by 1) an additional revelation, and 2) by displacing a fundamental tenet of faith with a secondary matter (Confronting the Cults, p.4).

The older cults were basically movements following perversions of biblical doctrines, and they are still with us. Their promoters are extremely active and surprisingly successful in their missionary activities. The newer cults that have been more recently making inroads into the western religious world are often closely related to eastern religions and to the occult and make no claims of affinity with Christianity. At the present time the old cults are experiencing a remarkable resurgence and new cults are spawning profusely.

Contributors to this magazine have alerted readers to this disturbing and dangerous development which has been gathering momentum in recent years by drawing attention to "The Menace of the Cults" (1970, pp.120,121) and to the "Cult Explosion" (1981, pp.18,19). In 1981 separate articles appeared covering Buddhism, The Mormons, Hinduism, Islam, The Moonies, Christian Science and Jehovah's Witnesses.

Numbered among the major cults which evolved in the nineteenth century are: Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, Seventh Day Adventists, Christian Scientists and the Bahai Faith. Typical of the more recent intrusions into the western world are the following: The Unification Church of Sun Myung Moon, The Divine Light Mission, Krishna Consciousness, Maharishi (Transcendental Meditation),

Scientology, and the New Age Movement.

The apostles in their day were aware of the development and propagation of error that would ensnare many, and issued warnings that are very relevant in relation to present trends.

John wrote:

Beloved, believe not every spirit, but prove the spirits, whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world (1 John 4:1).

Paul wrote:

The Spirit saith expressly, that in the latter times some shall fall away from the Faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons (1 Tim. 4:1, RVM).

Peter wrote:

things ... which the ignorant and unstedfast wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction (2 Pet. 3:16).

A characteristic feature of many of the cults that claim to respect the teaching contained in the Bible is their assertion of the possession of a new thing, an authoritative extra-biblical revelation.

The testimony of Scripture is that:

God, having of old time spoken unto the fathers in the prophets by divers portions and in divers manners, hath at the end of these days spoken unto us in His Son (Heb. 1:1,2).

With the coming of Christ the revelation of God was full and complete. That full revelation is enshrined for us in His teaching which has been transmitted to us in the teaching of His apostles (2 Pet. 3:2), and is for the duration of the present age (Mat. 28:18-20 RVM). The apostle John solemnly warns against adding to or taking away from the words of divine revelation (Rev. 22:18,19).

Although the doctrines of the various cults differ widely there are features common to most of them. They devalue or deny the Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ, they detract from the value of the atoning work of Christ and they preach a gospel of salvation through some form of human effort instead of through faith in the finished work of Christ.

There is a tendency in ecumenical circles to play down the things that divide, emphasizing the things that make for unity, but the common features that can be found across a wide spectrum of the cults are completely at variance with the essential tenets of the Christian Faith. This was commented on in Needed Truth 1981, p.19:

It is particularly noticeable that the Deity of the Lord Jesus, His atoning work, and the eternal punishment of the lost are so consistently denied. All of them advocate some system by which human effort leads to salvation, rather than dependence alone on the finished work of Christ.

To suggest also, as some do, that there are many ways that lead to God is a perversion of the truth. The statement of the Lord Jesus is incontrovertible, "I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life: no one cometh unto the Father, but by Me" (John 14:6).

An example of events that are arranged to bring together diverse groupings under a common banner was the "Global Day of Peace" called by Pope John Paul II on 27 October 1986. At this event, held at Assisi, Italy, 140 different leaders of the world's major religions were present. This event was commented on in this magazine (1987, p.104).

The New Age Movement endorsed the "Global Day of Peace" and has sponsored other events such as the "World Instant of Co-operation claiming that these events are but the prelude to the "Day of Declaration" when "the Christ will appear on Simultaneous television throughout the world". The "Christ" referred to has been identified by them as "lord Maitreya", the fifth Buddha. Indeed, two personalities are said to be in the world today ready to emerge as world leaders to create religious and political unity. This movement is very definitely antichristian and has links with the occult and the religions of the east. It propagates the concept that man is himself a deity who can create his own reality. In such a philosophy there is no place for sin, no need for feelings of guilt, and no need for atonement. Advertisements and media coverage of New Age philosophy are becoming more frequent, a very significant current trend.

One of the main reasons for the success of the cults today is the lack of scriptural knowledge on the part of many. Christians young or old, who have given themselves to the study of the Word of God will not be deceived by the insidious teachings of any of the cults. This is confirmed in the testimony of a young man who was for a while ensnared by cultic heresy (see Needed Truth 1984, p.160). To combat the teachings of the cults, or to be safeguarded from the errors propagated by them, it is not essential to know what they teach, although some knowledge of their teaching would help us present the Word of God to their adherents in a meaningful way, but it is essential that we know our Bibles and have a sound grasp of the fundamental truths of the Faith.

J.K.D. Johnston, Musselburgh, Scotland | Sept 1988
Background Glimpses 1888-1988