Is "Cult" a Four-Letter Word?

Christianity 101 — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 16:54:52 -0700

Mormonism is in the news these days, thanks to Glenn Beck, the highest profile Mormon since American Idol runner-up David Archuleta. Beck's rise to fame has come as a conservative radio and television talk show host and best-selling author, and most recently as a speechmaker for the Tea Party.

His call at a rally on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial for America to turn to God has conservatives and Christians in a lather. Does Glenn Beck speak for America? More crucially, does Glenn Beck speak for God and Christians?

In the interest of bringing clarity to the conversation, we thought it would be useful to do a couple of things. First, since Mormonism is often referred to as a "cult" (a word that sounds pejorative and mean-spirited), we want to explore with you just exactly what a cult is. In a subsequent post, we will outline some of the distinctives of Mormonism so you can answer the "Is Mormonism a cult?" question for yourself.

The word cult comes from the Latin word cultus. Its original definition referred to members of an organization who cared about the same things. The English word culture is derived from the same Latin word.

When used in a religious context, cult defines a group that holds certain ideas and practices in common, but the specifics of its beliefs are either so new or so different that they take it beyond the religion from which it started.

Theologians R.C. Sproul and Tim Couch have identified ten characteristics that typically distinguish groups that fit into the category of a cult. Here is their list, along with our brief explanations.

1. An abrupt break with historic Christianity and its confessions. Cults usually view historical Christianity as being off base until their founder came along to straighten things out.

2. Autosotericism. This is theological lingo for "self-salvation." Cults usually specify that salvation is obtained by following certain rules and regulations specified by the cult.

3. A deficient Christiantiy. Christianity is premised on the belief that Jesus is God; if he is something less than God, then salvation by his death on the cross wouldn't work. Cults, however, take a lesser view of Christ. They might admire Jesus and view him as greater than a human, but they don't consider him as the one true God.

4. Syncretism. This is more theological jargon that simply means the blending of different elements from several religions into one synthiesized belief system.

5. An emphasis on their own distinctives. Rather than stressing the major doctrinal points of Christianity, a cult will put disproportionate emphasis on its distinguishing doctrines. Those beliefs that orthodox Christianity considers to be essential take a backseat to the cult's unique characteristics.

6. Perfectionism. Most cults teach that it is possible for a human to be perfect, a doctrine that flies in the face of Christianity's view that humans are sinful and can never achieve God's standard of perfection. Moral perfection is usually attainable by following the cult's prescribed conduct (doing some things and abstaining from others), and by adhering to the teachings of the cult's fonder and leaders.

7. An extrabiblical source of authority. While many cults recognize the Bible as a sacred piece of literature, they have additional holy books. The other writings usually take precedence over the Bible (or at least they give the authoritative interpretation of the Bible). If there is a conflict between the two, the Bible comes in second place.

8. A belief in exclusive community salvation. A cult teaches that it is the only true church. Unless you believe all of its teachings, you won't be saved. In contrast, a sect of traditional Christianity won't claim exclusive rights to salvation. Most denominational differences don't pertain to the qualifications for salvation. According to the prevailing Christian viewpoint, joining a particular denomination is not a prerequisite to get to heaven. For most cults, however, you won't make it unless you are one of their members.

9. A preoccupation with eschatology. Eschatology is the study of the end of the world. In the perspective of the timeline of Christiantiy, most of the popular cults are fairly new, having been founded in the last 200 years or so. Cults often explain that their founder brought the last word from God to prepare mankind for the end of the world. With this perspective, cults often emphasize urgency concerning the end times.

10. Esotericism. Something is esoteric if it is beyond the knowledge of most people and understood by only a select group of individuals. This is what separates cults from traditional Christianity. Each cult claims that its founder and/or leaders have access to special truth that was previously hidden and is unavailable to everyone else.

In our next post, we will list the distinctives of Mormonism.

jehovah's witnesses

Is "Cult" a Four-Letter Word?