The Cult Church
by Marlene Jones-Skurtu
Cults seem to be the scourge of the nineties. Though they were existent
in the seventies and eighties, an estimated 5000 cults in the United States
hunger for our youth, worship, and money. One in twenty people are somehow involved
in cult activity.<
Visions of David Koresh's Compound burning down or of suicidal hundreds in
Jonestown may come to mind when the word "cult" is mentioned. Or,
one may connect cults with witchcraft, covens, and blood sacrifices.
There is, however, one type of cult that is often overlooked. This one is
hidden down the block, under a steeple, and behind a pulpit--The Cult Church.
What most people don't understand is that false prophets may have been true
prophets, full-blown cults may have been cult churches, and cult churches may
have been normal churches at one time. David Koresh and his Branch Dividians
started out as Seventh Day Adventists. David (Moses) Berg of the Children of
God started out with the Missionary Alliance Church. And Jim Jones with his
"People's Temple" used to be a Bible-thumper.
Scary, isn't it? This puts new meaning to what Jesus said, "For many
shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ, and shall deceive many." (Matt.
24:5) A person can proclaim Jesus as Christ and still deceive his followers.
Many Christians are being and will be deceived. And the victims of this "spiritual
abuse" have more life-long bad effects than that of physical or sexual
abuse.
How does this happen? Let us first look at the Christian leader, gone astray.
- Special Son Mentality
All the leaders of the cults, from Joseph Smith of the Mormons to Sun Myung
Moon of the Moonies, feel that they were chosen by God to do some special
task or to know some hidden meaning of Scripture, or to become some cherished
savior of mankind
In the beginning they are innocent. They open the Bible one day and it
"speaks out" to them in a way that hasn't been heard before (but
cannot be confirmed by other Scriptures). Or, on the subjective side, "God"
speaks to them, telling them something remarkable.
Now, every preacher has Scripture revealed to them in order to prepare
sermons and many people hear from God in one way or another. But that is
where the false prophets start straying. They do not stay accountable to
Scripture nor to other preachers in their discoveries.
Eventually, these leaders believe not only that they have a corner on
truth, but believe they have special privileges that are above everyone
else. They can have more than one wife, various sexual encounters, complete
control over finances, or can live in luxury while their followers struggle
and sacrifice.
- A Spirit of Control.
In every situation, though in varying
degrees, these leaders will have a spirit of control over individuals or
the total group. Barbara Ancheta, a young woman with three children who
was involved in a Cult Church for about six months, tells of the intimidation
that was felt in their small group.
"We studied two and a half hours per session, four times a week,
with our Bibles and Concordances open," she reports. "Brother
Alby would close his eyes and receive a Scripture reference that we would
look up and it would always relate to the new doctrine we were studying."
(It was never in context of Scripture, though.)
"If you had a doubt, he would read your mind and tell you what you
were thinking, and then begin to rebuke and reproach you in front of the
others." This would keep people from questioning what was being taught.
"If you needed to travel, you needed to ask him if it was God's
will. One time when I needed to go to a family get-together, he reminded
me that I hadn't asked him first and that I could possibly get into a car
wreck or something. He did give me permission to go," she says, "But
only after I backed down in my spirit to submit to his counsel."
This spirit of control also prohibits anyone from discussing doubts on
doctrine or the set of rules their particular church inflicts upon them.
David Johnson, in his book, The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse,
says, "The most powerful of all unspoken rules in the abusive system
is what we have already termed the "can't talk" rule...If you
speak about the problem out loud, you are the problem. In some way you must
be silenced or eliminated. Those who do speak out are most often told, `We
didn't have all these problems until you started shooting your mouth off.
Everything was fine before you started stirring things up.'"
- Sins and Hurts in Life
. The majority of these power-hungry leaders are trying to make up for sins
in their own lives or for the past traumas and hurts they have experienced.
When his wife was pregnant with their third child, David Berg was thrown
out of the Missionary Alliance church that he had physically built, over
a racial issue.
Richard Dortch, the former president of the scandalized PTL network,
has written a book call Fatal Conceit to explain the causes behind
Jim Bakker's and his own downfall. He says, "Often these people have
unresolved issues in their own lives, but they refuse to deal with them.
It's often these unresolved sins or problems, however, that drive them to
be in positions of power over others...When a person living in sin or with
deep hurts and insecurities arrives at a place of power, his objectivity
is clouded. Instead of dealing rationally with issues that confront him,
he is always on the attack. With every encounter, he is actually dealing
vicariously with his own problem."
Now, let us look at the victims. Most people believe it cannot happen
to them. Yet Barbara, whom we quoted earlier, was raised in a strong Christian
home with a deep relationship with the Lord and a working knowledge of the
Word. In fact, deeply spiritual people and those who want to make a difference
are the ones most vulnerable to join a cult or a cult-like church.
- The Walking Wounded.
Many times the same weaknesses present in the leaders are present in the
followers: sins and hurts. Many have grown up without a father or with a
perverted view of authority with their father being too busy, too hard,
or too passive. Many have been hurt by the Church or by church organizations.
Then they look for a "new father" or "new family" in
the false church.
- Scripturally Lacking.
Though usually coupled with other reasons,
a person can get deceived when he doesn't know the Bible in its context.
Sunday morning service alone usually will not provide this. Only by study
of the Word, books about the Word, and listening to various preachers can
one get the balance he needs to be aware of false doctrines.
- Involved in a Cause.
Built within every individual is a need
to be needed and a need to be loved. Cults and cult churches always bring
in their disciples through strategic "love bombing". Combined
with having "a cause", which is of great appeal especially to
baby boomers, they not only win them, but keep them for many years, if not
forever.
Whenever a person has a doubt about doctrine, they compromise their doubts
by believing the souls their church has won, or the prophecies it has understood,
or the some other such "cause" proves the validity of everything
that happens
Or, if the church has a real family atmosphere, the person cannot bring
himself to leave since he has not maybe seen such "love" anywhere
else.
Neither can we ignore the "mob mentality". It is difficult
to stand up against someone (or what they say) when all your friends believe
every word he says. After all, you would be "gossiping" or "disobedient
to leadership" if you disobey the "can't-talk" rule. And
if it works for the Jones's , who are so spiritual, it must be you that
has the problem. You're just not spiritual enough to understand it all
How can a person prevent themselves from being deceived?
From the beginning there has been a Cult Church. In the Book of Revelation,
Jesus commends a church for hating the deeds of the Nicolaitans. (2:6) Judaisers,
Gnostics, and "those of the circumcision" desired to bring early
Christians into bondage to their beliefs.
Paul warned, "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ
hath made us free and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage."
(Gal 5:1)
Also, a person needs to be aware of their weaknesses. If they grew up
without a father or had a lot of abuse, they will be inwardly seeking that
father relationship that can only be fulfilled in Father God.
And, as described above, if they meet a group or church with a charismatic
leader, an exclusive attitude, and "new revelations" that the
rest of the Body of Christ doesn't know, they should put their brakes on
and perhaps check out another church in the area!
You can reach us by e-mail at: sword@post1.com
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