Cult
a group of people who claim identity/membership with an established religion but who, because of their beliefs, are rejected by the members of that religion as being unorthodox
New Religious Movement
In this course the term ‘New Religions’ refers to religious movements that do not claim to be a part of an established religion (i.e. Christianity)
Pick a feature of cult leadership
1) led by people who are self-appointed and persuasive and who claim to have a special mission and/or special knowledge
2) usually a domineering or controlling personality, often characterized as
‘charismatic’
3) often centers attention/veneration upon themselves
Pick a feature of cult structure
1) authoritarian: the leader holds all authority in his/her hands
2) exclusive membership: cult members are ‘chosen,’ or ‘special,’ or ‘select’ and non-members are considered inferior or lesser beings
3) have a tendency towards a double standard of ethics; a high standard when dealing with cult members and a low standard when dealing with non members
Coordinated program of persuasion
1) totalistic in their control of members’ ideas and behavior
2) hold extreme worldviews zealously
3) often require disruption of previous social contacts
4) often require radical changes in lifestyle
Any one of the five areas of core Christian doctrines (describe the doctrine and the way a cult/NRM alters the doctrine)
- The Person of Christ
a. 2nd person of the Trinity, “Son of God”
b. Human and divine natures (“fully God, fully human”)
c. Sinless (implies Virgin birth)
d. Accomplished atonement for human race by death on the cross and resurrection from the dead
Altered by Jehovah Witnesses by saying he is firstborn creation and lesser God – not actually God.
The four implications of the social/cultural dimension for witness
- Living the truth is equally important to defending it e.g. living out our relationship with God
- The importance of our personal testimony and witness of Christ in our lives
a. in areas of victory
b. in areas of struggle - Genuine love for the cult/NRM member
- Providing a Christian cultural context in which to transition
Psychological goals of cults
- Destabilize a person’s sense of self
- Manipulate a person to accept a new version of reality
a. reinterpret past life history
b. interpret present and future experience through grid of new reality - Develop a dependence on the cult
a. acceptance by group
b. achievement of cult’s goals (more knowledge, enlightenment)
Any one of the six means used by cults to accomplish their psychological goals
- Members are kept unaware of cult’s ultimate goals
a. use of double agenda
b. gradual/incremental change - Control members’ environment
a. flow of information/communication
b. contacts with persons outside of cult - Create personal dissonance
a. isolate members from former social networks
b. attack members’ former worldview (assumptions of reality, beliefs, values) - Inhibit former patterns of behavior
a. public confession of past and present behavior/thoughts/attitudes contrary
to cult’s teachings
b. punish aberrant behavior (ridicule, shunning, physical) - Offer a closed system of beliefs from an authoritarian source
a. pseudo-scientific, philosophical, or theological content
b. heavy reliance on personal testimony
c. opposition explained by conspiracy (us vs. them)
d. no questioning or doubting allowed
e. false dichotomies promoted (deal in black/white)
f. elitist ethos - Inculcate new patterns of behavior
a. new language and/or new meanings
b. demand complete adherence to cult’s beliefs and practices
c. reward compliance (praise, promotion, material/physical)
Mormon concept of God
- Creator, eternal, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, loving, holy, just
- has a physical body
- “Heavenly Father” of all people
Mormon concept of the Atonement
faith (in Christ), repentance, baptism, keeping ordinances and commands of God leads to forgiveness of sins and, ultimately, “exaltation”
Mormon concept of Jesus Christ
a. first created person
b. creator of this present physical world
c. savior of humanity
d. model for humanity
Mormon sources of authority
- King James Bible (“insofar as it is correctly translated”)
- Book of Mormon: history of Jaredites and Nephites/Lamanites in America,
- Doctrine and Covenants: various teachings, prophecies, organization of LDS church
- Pearl of Great Price: additional teaching
- Words of the Living Prophets
Jehovah’s Witnesses concept of God
a. Jehovah the true name for God
b. although ‘Jehovah’ has many of the same attributes at orthodox Christianity, there are several significant differences
1) Jehovah has a finite form, a spirit dwelling in a ‘spirit body’
a) Jehovah is therefore not omnipresent
b) Jehovah lives in the heavens (as late at 1928 the star Alcyone in the Pleiades was identified as Jehovah’s location)
2) Jehovah is not omniscient: he chose to operate with only a limited amount of foreknowledge (otherwise he would be guilty of predestining the sinful actions of people)
c. The Trinity is a pagan interpolation: Jehovah is God the Father, but only in the sense that he is the creator of all things, not as a distinguishing designation within the Trinity
Jehovah’s Witnesses concept of Humanity
a. As Adam and Eve, created as sinless beings, then through choice rebelled against God
b. No total depravity; sin is primarily a choice people make when responding to
Satan’s temptations
c. The soul/spirit of a person is not separate from the body, thus physical death ends the existence of a person.
1) there is no conscious existence after death
2) there is no Hell or eternal suffering, only a common grave of nonexistence from which people may be resurrected to life
Jehovah’s Witnesses concept of the Atonement
- Christ’s death pays for Adam’s sin so that people might have the chance to live eternally in an earthly paradise. Christ’s death makes salvation possible, but must be supplemented by good works to show that one’s faith is genuine. Witnessing is an important good work; monthly reports are kept by local church officials
- By responding to Jehovah’s correct teaching mediated through the Jehovah’s Witnesses, people may faithfully serve God and earn a place in the earthly paradise.
Scientology’s concept of Humanity
The basic misconception involving the human condition is that the physical world, including human physical existence, is an illusion which must be overcome through the application of auditing which leads to a proper understanding of one’s true nature
“Space Opera”
Compounding this thetan dilemma is the primordial event surrounding the activities of Xenu, an ancient galactic dictator. These events are described in Hubbard’s Space Opera:
1) 75 billion years ago Xenu tricks then transport billions of thetans to earth and destroys their bodies with hydrogen bombs detonated in volcanoes
2) the disembodied thetans are reprogrammed and regather into the few remaining thetans whose bodies survived the bombs.
3) these ‘body thetans’ are now clustered on the material bodies of people and constitute an additional barrier for people to gain their true identity as thetans
4) Only special, higher levels of auditing can remove the body thetans. The knowledge and auditing techniques associated with this level is known as OT III.
Freemansonry’s definition of itself
Freemasonry is a fraternal organization that “. . . uses the metaphors of operative
stonemasons’ tools and implements, against the allegorical backdrop of the building of King Solomon’s Temple, to convey what has been described by both Masons and critics as a ‘system of morality veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols.’” “Freemasonry appeals to men who want to have fellowship with other men with high ethical and moral values and who acknowledge the importance of God in their lives. It is a popular fraternity that has as its tenets Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth.”
The story of Hiram Abiff
Foundational Freemason beliefs and ritual are based on the story of Hiram Abiff, supposedly one of the three master masons to build Solomon’s Temple, King Hiram of Tyre and King Solomon himself being the other two (I Kings 7:13-14).
Rather than betray the Master Mason’s secret password, Hiram is murdered by three other lower order masons. The murders are caught and punished, and Hiram is given a proper burial.
Contrast between New Age and Neopagan religion
a. New Age tends to focus on changing the individual’s consciousness and
emphasize the future (the Age of Aquarius, hence ‘New Age’)
b. Neopagan religions, on the other hand, focus on the relationship between individuals and nature (albeit often in a personified form) and looks to past pre-Christian religions for guidance
2 of the 7 core beliefs of New Age
a. Monism (all reality is one)
b. Pantheism (the one reality is God)
c. Humanity is God
d. All religions are one i.e. religious relativism
One example of New Age influence in Western society
holistic medicine (yoga, psychic healing), astrology, self-actualization, UFOs, etc
2 of the 4 core beliefs of Neopagan religion
a. May be monotheistic e.g. ‘Mother Earth’ or ‘Great Goddess’
b. Most often polytheistic: often dualities of male/female deities e.g. a ‘Mother
Goddess’ with a male consort such as the ‘Horned God’ (sometimes modeled on Pan) or ‘The Green Man.’
1) Duality of gender may be reminiscent of ancient fertility cults
and celebrate/emphasize heterosexual activity, including
ritualized sexual intercourse
2) This same duality may be used to justify the ‘male’ and ‘female’ believed to be present in all people and justify homosexuality
c. As in New Age, there is a strong emphasis on contact with spirit beings,
largely through home altars or group rituals
d. As with other expressions of Folk Religion, a desire for power to meet a
variety of needs
1) healing: of planet, society, or self (physical, emotional etc.
2) achieve personal goals in a wide variety of areas: business, academic, sexual
