In a fast-paced world that survives on fact-packed news bytes, people easily satisfy their hunger for power, pomp, and prosperity by use of a little prediction. For people in a country like Uganda, someone who ‘taps’ into the spiritual realm comes in handy. And when our worlds spin faster than light, we have no time to pause, ponder, or even pray. We ‘receive’ whatsoever our apps bring, without stopping to deliberate and decide wisely.
But as those who drive know, when one moves at high speed, a little turn of a wheel, a slight oversight can cause a deadly crash. And if this is true of replaceable automobiles, how truer is it for our irreplaceable lives?
The world of fast-foods and fast-facts has its downsides. We trade wisdom for relevance and hop onto a hell-bound bus without questions. But maybe not all of us, or for long. Perhaps you are at that place where you are about to say ‘Kondakita nvaamu,’ but you are not sure if it is the right stage. You could be pondering whether that fellowship you belong to is actually en route heaven or not.
How do you know that you are part of a Biblical church or fellowship? Can you tell whether you are not part of a soon-becoming cult, if not an ‘already’ one at that?
As we drive on roads, there are helpful signs that tell us it is okay to move forward, to wait, or to stop. These signs do save us when observed, but when not, we risk losing our lives. As Christians, the Bible gives us warnings and safety signs about proper doctrine and healthy communities that may shepherd us in Christ.
There are several indicators that a religious group or fellowship is tending towards a cultic status. Among them are:
Elitism: When a group claims special, exalted status for itself and/or its leader as if the leader is of a different class of beings through whom God speaks in an unusual manner, watch out.
In Acts 14:15, God healed a disabled person by the hand of Paul and Barnabas as they ministered at Lystra. On seeing this extraordinary act, the natives turned their amazement into idolatry. They sought to worship the Apostles. Paul and Barnabas, however, did not accept their cult-hero status calling it mere ‘honor,’ but they instead rejected such attention insisting that God alone deserves such.
The Apostles in effect flattened out their importance by saying: ‘we also are men with the same nature as you.’ We are all servants of God and mere men like others.
When a leader is spoken of by men as a hero, unprecedented, and in super-human terms, this cult-hero worship is a warning sign that, perhaps, Christ is no longer exalted in the group’s midst.
Special knowledge: Here, the fellowship claims to have a secret to the spiritual realm that others who do not belong to the group do not supposedly have.
From the beginning of Christianity, the Church wrestled with the Docetists and Gnostics who claimed to have special revelation from God which the rest of the community lacked.
The early church rejected these groups, stating that the teaching of Jesus and the Apostles was public, and could be attested to by all who heard them openly.
When a group or fellowship claims to hold exclusive insights into the teaching of scripture, be careful and watch out for your soul. The humble heart knows that God’s truth is eternal and has always been. The same old Truth taught by the church and rejected by men is what we still preach. Nothing new.
Ours is to ask ourselves what this truth once and for all delivered to the saints is (Jude 1:3), the truth that has been believed by all, through all generations. Ours is a universal Church, not an exclusive club.
Fear-Factor: This follows from the claim to superior knowledge. In a cultic group, questioning, doubt, or dissent are clamped down. You cannot disagree with the teachings of the group, whether publicly or privately. You are prohibited from saying for example that you do not speak in tongues. You cannot say that you do not have transport to take you back home from the fellowship or that you are sick because you will be told that you lack faith.
If you find yourself in this situation, tell the driver to stop the bus and exit. Remember that God has not given us a Spirit of bondage again to fear (2 Tim 1:7). If being in a fellowship forces you to deny the reality and pain you live with, this is a warning sign for you. Be concerned for the health of your soul my brother/sister.
Avoidance of critical thinking: Here, reasoning and logic are discouraged, and somewhat mystical experience is promoted. You are not allowed to ask challenging questions, and you cannot question the logical consistency of the claims made by the ‘man of God’ without being called ‘carnal.’
But my brother/sister, remember that God calls you to love Him with your mind (Matt 22:37). ‘For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind (2 Tim. 1:7). Do not go to a fellowship where critical thinking is not encouraged.
Emphasis on power more than character: The whole goal of the Christian walk is conformity to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29). When the Bible speaks of maturity, it always speaks regarding character, rather than external demonstrations of power through miracles.
But cultic groups always emphasize power and miracles above the transformation of the heart. It is not that miracles are not proper. The problem is where the emphasis lies. If the fellowship you belong to emphasizes power, pomp, and prediction, watch out, and get off the train as soon as possible.
Persecution complex: This is when a group adopts a ‘us versus them’ mentality. If anyone disagrees with the group, the group thinks they are being persecuted by the ‘Pharisees’ and the ‘Religious’ or the ‘licentious and unspiritual.’
Lack of Accountability: The leader is not accountable to any authority other than himself, and usually such groups have no elders to hold the ‘man of God’ ‘in check.’ What the ‘man of God’ says goes without question, and to disagree with what the leader says is to ‘hate the church’ or to be ‘divisive’ and ‘unloving.’
Lack of expository preaching: Often the leaders of this movement have no biblical training, and thus have no skills in handling scripture. Here, of course, lies the foundational problem. These preachers do not read, and when they do, they do not study any book about expository preaching, church history, or systematic theology.
When they step on the podium, it is rhetoric and big-sounding words that lead them through, as well as a subtle, deceptive tongue. They speak as though the Church has had all things wrong since the days of Paul until God sent this ‘man of God’ down to us in this generation.
If you see these signs, delete the app of the ‘man of God,’ tell the bus conductor to stop, and vacate. There is no wrong time to get off a wrong-headed bus. The stage is now, and here. Leave, and be ready for insults, ridicules, and castigations! But it is better for you to lose your friends and dignity than lose your soul.
I hope you find this write-up helpful for you. For further reading about the same, consider this article, as well as this.
Remember, you can always send me your thoughts at theprincejose@yahoo.com