Cults
From the very beginning of time, Satan has inspired people to corrupt God's truth. Almost never do they introduce rank heresy, but instead dribble in false teachings while holding on to the form of truth. The entire Book of Jude and much of 2 Peter are devoted to defending the faith against those who would defile it or water down its teachings. Below we provide brief histories and key teachings of some of the major cults. We want to emphasize that these groups are non-Christian in nature, in that they deny the a least some of the cardinal tenets of the historic Christian faith.
Mormonism
Mormonism traces its origins back to Joseph Smith, who in 1820, claimed to have received special visitations and revelations showing him the true religion. Three years later he claimed another visitation by an angel named Moroni who informed him that a history of the Hebrews existed that supplemented the biblical account. The history, written on tablets in an Egyptian dialect, was located on a nearby hill. Joseph recovered the plates in 1827 and translated them into English by use of "Urim and Thummim," a pair of crystals joined to form special spectacles. Joseph's translation became known as the Book of Mormon, a book held in as high esteem as the Bible itself by Mormon practitioners.
Joseph Smith, through the newly formed Mormon Church, claimed to have restored Christianity to its pristine purity, but also introduced a series of bizarre teachings. The following include some keyteachings of this cult. (Please refer to our Introduction to Apologetics page for some helpful links.)
- God was once a man, with a body.
- Man can become like God.
- The universe includes many gods, ruling their own worlds.
- Jesus and Satan are brothers.
- Jesus is the offspring of a physical union between God the Father and Mary.
- The Trinity is a false doctrine.
- Salvation consists in a combination of belief and good works.
These are but a few of the distinctive beliefs of Mormonism. In addition to visiting other good apologetic sites and reading good books on the cults, readers should study Christian theology, the great antidote for abberant teaching of any kind. This is why Bibletruth exists, to promote biblical and systematic theology so that believers can grow strong in their faith and stand against the currents of false teaching.
Jehovah Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses resemble a sort of Arianism that plagued the early church, denying the deity of Christ and along with it the Trinity. They hold that they alone are the true Christian church and advance some rather peculiar teachings. As with Mormonism, they teach that the church through the ages lost the true teaching of the early church and needed a special prophet to restore the church to its early beliefs. This occurred under their prophet Charles Taze Russell, though some of his teachings have been discarded. Here is a brief summary of their views:
- Denial of the Trinity
- Denial of the deity of Christ
- Denial of the personhood of the Holy Spirit
- Denial of eternal punishment for unbelievers
- Denial of the substitutionary atonement of Christ
This dangereous group specializes in door to door "evangelism," often on Saturdays, where they attempt to distribute or sell their literature. They tend to be highly combative and make little effort to listen to contrary opinions.
These two cults proclaim dangerous teachings, but by no means stand alone in their opposition to historic and biblical Christianity. Please check back often for updates.
Christian Science
Known officially as "The Church of Christ Scientist," Christian Science was begun in 1879 by Mary Eddy Baker, and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. Baker was born in 1821, and suffered from various ailments during her youth. In 1844, her first husband, George Glover, died of yellow fever, and she remarried nine years later to a man by the name of Daniel Patterson. In 1866, after a fall, her doctor gave her the news she would not recover. But after reading Matt. 9:2, she pronounced herself healed and thereafter claimed to have discovered the secret to health.
From there she claims to have developed healing techniques through a largely philosophical scheme of mind science. In 1875, she divorced her second husband and founded the Christian Science Association. She published a book entitled Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, where she sets forth her teachings on health and philosophy. In 1877, she remaried once again to a man named Asa Albert Eddy. In 1890, she founded the The First Church of Christ, Scientist, of Boston. Mary Baker Eddy died in 1910.
In her teachings, she questioned biblical authority and placed her own writings on par with Scripture. She, in part, resurrected ancient gnosticism when she linked God's essence with spirit, and concluded all reality must be spirit as well. Matter was nothing but an illusion, as was illness and pain. She denied the reality of death and other "illusions" of matter, describing them as unreal. Such symptoms of disease can be overcome by altering or correcting our thinking. Since matter, disease, and sin are illusory, then we can overcome such mistaken notions by recognizing our own constitution as "spirit," and our own divinity. Man does not need to "be saved" in the common sense, only enlightened as to his true status as a reflection of "Divine Mind." Our only salvation consists in deliverance from faulty thinking and error. Christian Science denies the Trinity, the substitutionary work of Christ, the need of salvation, and the reality of divine judgment.
As with most cults, Christian Science freely uses Christian terms, but without the biblical substance. It reinterprets biblical teaching to fit into the Christian Science philosophy. Though not as well-known today, Christian Science denies the fundamental doctrines of the historic Christian faith and therefore must be classified as a dangereous cult.