Wait, It's A Cult?

Evangelical · 04-17-2017, 07:06 PM

There is a definition of a cult that has not been addressed here so far and the OP fails to mention it -

My definition of a cult:

A cult is a group which is subject to mesmerization and has hypnotic following of a leader or leaders, who have sinister intent. A cult implies a person's own rational and logical free-will being overtaken by mesmerization or hypnosis.

Mesmerization and hypnosis in and of themselves do not define a cult. There must be sinister intent. For example, many religions of the world, including Christianity, practice a kind of hypnosis or mesmerization. The goal however, is not sinister, but enlightenment, improvement, or having spiritual experiences.

With this definition, mormons and JW's, as bad as they are, are not cults, they are sects.

The Bible shows the definition of a church versus a sect:

A church, is a visible, practical and local expression of the Church Universal. All of the assemblies mentioned in the bible are churches. A sub-group of a church is not a church, but a sect.

Today, what most would call churches, baptist "church", Lutheran "church", etc are strictly speaking, not churches, but sects. A sect, is a sub-group of the church, a church within a Church. A sect is the proper label to give all the protestant denominations (see the Catholic encyclopedia).

All the denominations in our eyes are not real churches. They are sects, from which the word sectarian comes. Catholics and Orthodox have similar viewpoint.

Sects may have cult-like traits (as one person here noted, every denomination fits at least 1 or 2 of the categories), but there is a big difference between a sect and a cult.

04-17-2017, 07:06 PM	#11
Evangelical Member Join Date: Aug 2016 Posts: 3,965	Definition of a Cult There is a definition of a cult that has not been addressed here so far and the OP fails to mention it - My definition of a cult: A cult is a group which is subject to mesmerization and has hypnotic following of a leader or leaders, who have sinister intent. A cult implies a person's own rational and logical free-will being overtaken by mesmerization or hypnosis. Mesmerization and hypnosis in and of themselves do not define a cult. There must be sinister intent. For example, many religions of the world, including Christianity, practice a kind of hypnosis or mesmerization. The goal however, is not sinister, but enlightenment, improvement, or having spiritual experiences. With this definition, mormons and JW's, as bad as they are, are not cults, they are sects. The Bible shows the definition of a church versus a sect: A church, is a visible, practical and local expression of the Church Universal. All of the assemblies mentioned in the bible are churches. A sub-group of a church is not a church, but a sect. Today, what most would call churches, baptist "church", Lutheran "church", etc are strictly speaking, not churches, but sects. A sect, is a sub-group of the church, a church within a Church. A sect is the proper label to give all the protestant denominations (see the Catholic encyclopedia). All the denominations in our eyes are not real churches. They are sects, from which the word sectarian comes. Catholics and Orthodox have similar viewpoint. Sects may have cult-like traits (as one person here noted, every denomination fits at least 1 or 2 of the categories), but there is a big difference between a sect and a cult.