I’ve heard the accusation all my life: “Isn’t that a cult?” “[So-and-so] is a cult organization.” “Yeah, that’s just a cult.” To be honest, I’m sick of it. How is a cult defined? Why is this accusation thrown around so easily? It seems that when one side doesn’t have any logical argument to make, they just pull out the tried and true “that sounds a lot like a cult” line, and their opponents just cower and back off. Excuse me? *sigh* I’m just tired of hearing “cult” all the time. Let’s at least define it properly. That’s part of the problem. “Cult” is a word that can be loosely defined to mean whatever the user wants it to mean.
Here is an article that illustrates this, from Ken Ham’s blog.
Believing in a Literal Adam and a Literal Fall Makes Us a Cult? | Around the World with Ken Ham.
2 responses to “The Accusation”
I’m not sure if this will help you in discussions with non-believers or Christians who are suspicious, or even that it’s an original concept, but had heard a sermon ages ago that used “math” to help think through whether or not something is a “cult.” Do they:
Add: to Scripture?
Subtract: from the deity of Christ?
Multiply: the requirements of salvation?
Divide: the loyalty/affiliations of its members?
(again this is from memory, and it’s pre-coffee, so apologies if this doesn’t track!)
Thanks Heidi. That’s a pretty good formula. :o)