Cult

[Times]

A cult is a religious sect whose followers are controlled by strong leadership in virtually every dimension of their lives.

That would include believers, since Jesus asks us to submit every area of our lives to His strong lorship

No sir, Jesus gives us a free will. A cult leader does not.

[Guest jckduboise]

There is also the factor of secrecy in cults..cults do everything they can to keep the public out of the circle.

[Times]

There is also the factor of secrecy in cults..cults do everything they can to keep the public out of the circle.

Yes this is true, and who controls the secret?

[EricH]

A cult is a religious sect whose followers are controlled by strong leadership in virtually every dimension of their lives.

That would include believers, since Jesus asks us to submit every area of our lives to His strong lorship

No sir, Jesus gives us a free will. A cult leader does not.

A cult leader does not have absolute sovereignty. Individual who enter cults do so freely. He cannot control them like puppets. He may exercise extreme manipulation, but at the end of the day, people are there becasue they decided to be there.

God on the other hand is absolutely sovereign.

That is why I don't think this definition is sufficient.

[Times]

A cult is a religious sect whose followers are controlled by strong leadership in virtually every dimension of their lives.

That would include believers, since Jesus asks us to submit every area of our lives to His strong lorship

No sir, Jesus gives us a free will. A cult leader does not.

A cult leader does not have absolute sovereignty. Individual who enter cults do so freely. He cannot control them like puppets. He may exercise extreme manipulation, but at the end of the day, people are there becasue they decided to be there.

God on the other hand is absolutely sovereign.

That is why I don't think this definition is sufficient.

There is a difference between sovereignity and control.

[Guest jckduboise]

What is a cult?

most churches come to mind.

ouch

[David from New Bern]

Why would some listings of cults include Freemasonry, Seven Day Adventism, and World-Wide Church of God and others don't? ...I think I just got whiplash from being escorted to the Controversial issues forum

[tah]

I was certain that I understood what a cult was..

with so many different views the next time I hear someone say some group is a cult I am going to have to ask them to elaborate ..

[Guest jckduboise]

There is also the factor of secrecy in cults..cults do everything they can to keep the public out of the circle.

That is true. There are often secret beliefs they hold to that they don't want outsiders to know about, because if they did, they wouldn't be able to hook them in. I am leary of any group that is overly secretive or that claims that the only ones that can properly interpret scripture are the leaders in the organization.

amen

[tah]

I have visited some of the web-sites that tell you what organizations are cults and often disagree with their conclusions. Everyone has a differen't standard when it comes to this question.

so I was thinking on this some more..

If someone calls a group a people who are "different " a cult...

but the group holds to the same statement of faith I found on this site , which I agree with,

then I can look at their opinion as wrong and not take what they think or say about the group seriously..

pretty much not to give their "opinion" any credence....

The reason I am thinking about this is there are folks I know personally that it used to really bug me they were called a cult as I just do not see how anyone could say such an ugly thing about them...

They hold to the standards of this boards statement of faith..

I will not feel offended for them again if it is such a broad meaning...

in effect, the word cult is reduced to a "I don't like the way you worship"....

somehow, I am not happy with that definition...it seems wrong...