“Good day, Ma’am,” says a nicely dressed woman standing at Mary’s door. “We are in your neighborhood today asking people if they know what the Bible says about Jesus. Do you believe in Jesus?”
“Of course,” Mary replies confidently. “He’s the Son of God.”
“Indeed, he is. But do you know what that means?”
Mary thinks a minute, “Well, I’m not really sure exactly.”
The woman pulls a book out a briefcase she is carrying. “Do you believe the Bible?”
“Sure I do,” says Mary.
The woman shows Mary that the book is a Bible. She then turns to Colossians 1:15 and reads it to her. “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.” She then turns to Revelation 3:14, “These are the things that the Amen says, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation by God.” “Those two verses both indicate that Jesus was the Son of God because he was first being that God ever created, wouldn’t you agree?”
“It sure seems like it does,” says Mary. “I guess I don’t know that much about the Bible.”
“Would you be interested in studying the Bible with me?” the woman offers.
“You know,” says Mary. “I think I would.”
And so goes Mary’s first unwitting introduction to one of the largest cult groups in the world: the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Her ignorance of the Bible and its meaning has left her dangerously vulnerable to the deceptive tactics of that movement, and others, to proselytize her and her family.
Most cults have their own unique terminology and use the Bible to draw in naive people and control their members. That’s why Christians, especially, need to understand how cults use language and misuse the Scriptures to gain new converts, and to indoctrinate their followers. In this two part series we examine some of the ways cults manipulate language and distort the Bible for their own purposes. We will analyze some specific examples, and explore ways we can defend ourselves and educate those we know from these deceitful methods.
What is a Cult?
We will begin by defining exactly what we mean by a “Cult.” That word has taken on a number of connotations in people’s minds. Some people immediately think a cult refers to some way-out movement like Jim Jones’ Peoples Temple. However, we define a cult as any organization or movement that has one or both of the following two characteristics.
First, it is any group, church, Bible teacher, or movement which claims to be Christian yet denies or redefines any essential doctrine(s) of the historic Christian faith as found in the Bible and the creeds of the early church. Examples of this principle include the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons/LDS), Jehovah’s Witnesses, Christian Science, Herbert W. Armstrong, the Unity School of Christianity, and Oneness Pentecostalism.
A cult can also be any organization or movement, whether claiming to be Christian or not, which exerts an unethical or abusive control on the behavior and thinking of its adherents. Movements like Scientology, Jihadist Islam, or the Nation of Islam fall into this category. Even some churches that profess orthodox Christian doctrine may fall into this category.
So, that being said, let’s examine first how cults use language to manipulate their followers and prospective converts. In the second installment we will look at how they misuse and distort the Bible.
1. Most Cults Redefine Standard Christian Words and Phrases
Most professing Christians, even those who are only nominal, are familiar with certain terms that are often used in Christian churches and literature. Examples of such common terms are “God,” “Jesus,” “Christ,” “faith,” “atonement,” “grace,” “salvation,” “eternal life,” “justification,” “trinity,” etc. Active Christians probably have a pretty clear understanding of what these words mean. Though they are familiar even to nominal church goers and non-Christians, often these people have no real understanding of their meanings. Thus, cults can utilize those familiar terms to deceive prospective proselytes, or even their own members, into thinking they are, in many ways, a mainstream religion.
For example: When Mormon missionaries explain to people about their church, they will casually refer to God as their “Heavenly Father.” Most non-Mormons assume they mean basically the same by that nomenclature as do other Christian churches. However, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a radically different concept of God than all orthodox denominations. When the LDS members say God – who they regard as an exalted human-being – is their “Heavenly Father,” they mean it quite literally. They actually think he sired them in a pre-existent life with a heavenly mother. (For more information on LDS beliefs see: http://www.marketfaith.org/mormonism-versus-christianity-can-they-both-be-christian-part-1, and http://www.marketfaith.org/mormonism-versus-christianity-can-they-both-be-christian-part-2.)
2. Some Cults Manipulate Logical Language Usage
Some cults will try to prove their doctrinal positions using logic, or what they purport to be logical arguments. By starting with certain presuppositions, they believe they can show reasonably that their ideas are true.
A good example of this is kind of distorted reasoning is Christian Science (CS). Mary Baker Eddy, founder of CS, presented a series of what she claimed are logical syllogisms (a logical argument involving three propositions that are used in deductive reasoning) demonstrating the correctness of her doctrine and philosophy.
They are enumerated here:
1. CS asserts, first, that “God is Good.”
Then they say, “God is All.”
Therefore, since God is Good and God is All, then “All is Good.”
2. They then reassert that “God is All.”
Then they also state, “God is Mind or Spirit.”
Therefore, since God is All, and God is Mind or Spirit, then “All is Mind or Spirit.”
3. This leads to the next syllogism.
CS declares that “Mind is All.”
However, they say, “Matter is not Mind.”
So, therefore, since Mind is All and Matter is not Mind, then “Matter does not exist.”
4. Based on assumptions 1-3, CS says, “God, Good, Mind, Spirit is the only Reality.”
They reason that, since “matter, sin, evil, pain, disease, and death are not good,”
Then, therefore, “matter, sin, evil, pain, disease, and death do not exist.”
Anyone can see the flaws in their presuppositions. For instance, the Bible does not teach that “God is All.” That is a pantheistic idea from the Far Eastern Thought worldview. Yet, Christian Scientists see them as perfectly logical propositions and base their interpretations of Scripture, and their doctrinal tenets, upon them. (For more about CS history and beliefs see http://www.marketfaith.org/2014/01/christian-science-christian-or-science-which-is-it.)
As Christians we must demand that cultists use sound reasoning in their philosophical statements. We must especially expose the flawed thinking and logic that characterizes most false metaphysical movements. Those include CS and other “Mind Science” cults, such as the Unity School of Christianity and Religious Science.
3. Most Cults Often Have Their Own Vocabularies
Psychologists and linguists know that people think in a language. Someone who speaks English will formulate their thoughts in English. If one speaks Russian, they will think in Russian. Linguists say that only when a person trying to learn a new language starts to think in that language have they actually mastered it. Of course, many people are multi-lingual and can think in more than one language. In any case, because of these facts people’s thoughts are conditioned by the language they know and use.
Many cults actually create their own words and languages which they use to psychologically condition their adherents in their beliefs and doctrines. Cult leaders strive to control the communication environment of their followers. They censor the literature their followers read, deliver speeches that only contain and reinforce the cultic terminology, and attempt to filter out words their followers may hear from external sources so they will become immersed in the cultic vocabulary.
A good example of this type of cultic psychological conditioning is found in the Church of Scientology. Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard (1911-1986), created his own vocabulary and glossary of terms to teach his followers. For instance, he introduced the concepts of the “Analytical Mind” and the “Reactive Mind.” The analytical mind, in Hubbard’s system, means that thought process that is reasonable and under a person’s control. The reactive mind is that part of the mind that is irrational and corrupted by bad external mental programming – which he called “Engrams.” He said such engrams need to be expunged from the mind using an eccentric system he called “Dianetics.” Dianetics involves concepts Hubbard created such as “Auditing,” “Clear,” and “Thetan.” Committed Scientologists read Hubbard’s books and listen to his recorded lectures in order to fill their minds with his strange ideas. They also use his cultic words in their daily conversation with one another. (For more on Scientology beliefs see http://www.marketfaith.org/2014/01/what-do-you-know-about-scientology.)
Another movement that has its own unique terminology is the Unification Church (UC). Founded in Korea by Rev. Sun Myung Moon (1920-2012), he created a whole set of new concepts, which his church still uses, to indoctrinate his members. He talked about the “give and take action” of creation, the “Universal Prime Energy” (his term for God), the “Four-Fold Foundation” of human history, the need to “Pay Indemnity.” He said that he and his wife were the “True Family,” and the true “Father and Mother.” He called himself the “Lord of the Second Advent,” and designated the current time as the “Completed Testament” era. Again, his followers were thoroughly immersed in these terms, which naturally conditioned them to accept Moon’s ideas. (For more information on UC history and beliefs see http://www.marketfaith.org/whatever-happened-to-rev-moon. Note, that this article was written in 2011 before Rev. Moon’s death.)
As Christians, we must examine carefully the language that religious movements utilize in their systems. We must help our people, and others, recognize the way cults may manipulate words and phrases to indoctrinate people into the cultic mindset. When we see words that are not used commonly in society, we should ask why they were created, what they mean, and how they are used in the cultic context.
As we have seen, words, logic, and language are very important for understanding cult dynamics. In the next installment we will examine how cults misuse and twist the Bible to deceive perspective converts, their followers, and even themselves to accept false, unorthodox, and unbiblical teaching.
© 2017 Tal Davis
This is a beatiful explanation on CULT system
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