Signs of a Cult

What are some signs and practices of a cult?

by Matt Slick

Matt Slick is President and Founder of the Christian Apologetics

and Research Ministry. Matt earned his Bachelors degree in

Social Science from Concordia University, Irvine, CA, in 1988. He

earned his Masters of Divinity degree from Westminster

Theological Seminary in Escondido, CA, in 1991. He now resides

in the Boise, Idaho, area with his family. He is ordained. Matt

started CARM in October of 1995 to respond to the many false

teachings going on.

There have been many serious studies on the dynamics of cults

and behavior of people within those cults. Following is a

representative list of characteristics common in cult groups. Not

all cults hold to every item.

We have to be careful when assigning cult-like behavior to any

group. Just as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so too, cult-

like behavior is subjective. Generally, it takes a trained person

who can identify unhealthy patterns and teachings as compared

to healthy ones and can then identify a cult. Furthermore, cult-

like behavior is more commonly identified through excessive

control, manipulation, and esoteric teaching of a group where the

group's members are often isolated and indoctrinated into special

teachings and practices.

Social aspects of cult-like behavior

For a group to be a cult in the social sense, many of the following

characteristics would have to be present. For a group to be a cult

in the doctrinal sense, essentials (in this case of the Christian

faith) would have to be violated. Some of the characteristics are

listed below.

red = witnessed black = neutral green = scripture - Truth (I

added this)

1. Submission:

1. Complete, almost unquestioned trust in the leadership.

2. Leaders are often seen as prophets, apostles, or special

individuals with unusual connections to God. This helps

a person give themselves over psychologically to

trusting someone else for their spiritual welfare.

3. Increased submission to the leadership is rewarded

with additional responsibilities and/or roles, and/or

praises, increasing the importance of the person within

the group.

2. Exclusivity

1. Their group is the only true religious system, or one of

the few true remnants of God's people.

1. (1 Corinthians 12-14)

3. Persecution complex

1. Us against them mentality. Therefore, when someone

(inside or outside of the group) corrects the group in

doctrine and/or behavior, it is interpreted as

persecution, which then is interpreted as validation.

4. Control

1. Control of members' actions and thinking through

repeated indoctrination and/or threats of loss of

salvation, or a place to live, or receiving curses from

God, etc.

1. 1 John 4:17-19

5. Isolation

1. Minimizing contact of church members with those

outside the group. This facilitates a further control over

the thinking and practices of the members by the

leadership. Creating isolation.

1. Proverbs 11:14, 15:22

6. Love Bombing

1. Showing great attention and love to a person in the

group by others in the group, to help transfer emotional

dependence to the group.

7. Special Knowledge1. Instructions and/or knowledge are sometimes said to

be received by a leader(s) from God. This leader then

informs the members.

1. The BIBLE - it’s from God to His children not just

for some but for everyone! Results of the Bible

only being for some: The Crusades (exploited the

commoners who did not have access to the truth),

slavery (white land owners oppressed the blacks

using God’s Word). The KKK, Mormonism,

Johavas Witnesses, The devil is a master at

deceiving. 2 Corinthians 11. (11:13-15) but read

the whole chapter…

2. The Special Knowledge can be received through visions,

dreams, or new interpretations of sacred scriptures

such as the Bible. (constantly pulling scripture out of

context)

8. Indoctrination

1. The teachings of the group are repeatedly drilled into

the members, but the indoctrination usually occurs

around Special Knowledge.

9. Salvation

1. Salvation from the judgment of God is maintained

through association and/or submission with the group,

its authority, and/or its Special Knowledge.

1. John 3, Ephesians 2:4-10, Romans 10:9-13,….

2. Do you think that I am in sin or walking with the

Lord?…..

10.Group Think

1. The group's coherence is maintained by the observance

to policies handed down from those in authority.

2. There is an internal enforcement of policies by

members who reward "proper" behavior, and those who

perform properly are rewarded with further inclusion

and acceptance by the group.

1. Proverbs 11:13, Galatians 6, Matthew 18

11.Cognitive Dissonance1. Avoidance of critical thinking and/or maintaining

logically impossible beliefs and/or beliefs that are

inconsistent with other beliefs held by the group.

2. Avoidance of and/or denial of any facts that might

contradict the group's belief system.

1. Proverbs 11, John 1

12.Shunning

1. Those who do not keep in step with group policies are

shunned and/or expelled.

1. Proverbs 11:13

2. John 10

13.Gender Roles

1. Control of gender roles and definitions.

1. Disassociated from the freedom, peace and

harmony that God intended.

2. Severe control of gender roles sometimes leads to

sexual exploitation.

14.Appearance Standards

1. Often a common appearance is required and

maintained. For instance, women might wear prairie

dresses, and/or their hair in buns, and/or no makeup,

and/or the men might all wear white short-sleeved

shirts, and/or without beards, or all wear beards.

Please I urge you to read whole chapters of what I have cited,

whole books keep it in context. Seek the Truth and you will find

it. Jesus Christ is the Way, Truth and the Life. No one comes to

the Father except through Him. Jesus is the only way. A pastor

is not the way and when they claim to be that should be the

biggest red flag as a believer. If you were rooted in the Lord

before attending Petra International you must question is this the

voice of my Shepherd. Read John 10. Jesus is the Good

Shepherd and He loves you so much he is going after you to bring

you back into safety. You believe that the road is narrow, yes I

do too. But you believe you are the only ones who know God, no

I do not for I believe God’s Word and the importance of His

instruction to pursue unity amongst the saints. Ephesians 4:2-6

“I beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you werecalled, with all lowliness and gentleness, with long suffering,

bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity

of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one

Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one

Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is

above all, and though all, and in you all.” My God is great and He

is mighty, the enemy has done a work but my God is bigger, He is

faithful, He is zealous for you, His children. He burdens my heart

for you at the wee hours of the morning to pray for you, to pray

with fervency a pleading of the inner Spirit. Romans 8:26-27

“Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not

know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself

makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be

uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind

of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints

according to the will of God.” I fought for my husband and

pleaded with him. What it came down to for me was buckling

down in to doing things God’s way. I forgave and I forgave again

each new thing as God began to reveal what was being done in

the darkness with His wondrous light. I meditated in His Word

morning, afternoon and night because God was all I could cling

too (my refuge, my fortress). God gave me a real love towards

my husband after choosing to do it His way and not in my own

way during one of the darkest times of our marriage and in

experiencing God’s love understanding came, restoration came,

refinement came. God pulled my husband out of the depths of darkness

and lies and restored him into a man of deeper faith, discernment

and a freedom from the fear indoctrinated into him while

attending Petra International. Our God is mighty and He alone by

the working of the Holy Spirit within us transforms our hearts.

He does not use condemnation for His children but for the wicked,

He does not use fear (the unhealthy kind it is different from the

fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom) because perfect love

casts out fear, He does not use manipulation because we are

heirs through Christ. God allowed these things to happen to us

because He is equipping us for the work of His kingdom. My trust

is in God for you my brothers and sisters and when he lights up

the darkness wickedness and perversion no longer can hide. We merely share what we have witnessed Jared points the finger at

our sins that God has already covered by the blood of Christ so

that you will look elsewhere and not at him. We don’t need to

defend ourselves or justify anything God is quite capable of

revealing truth. I am only burdened by God to speak this truth to

you. The Holy Spirit convicted me of my own sin that I might be

right before God the Father so that I could see clearly in the

presence of evil. God cared so much for my very soul he

awakened me out of my slumber so that I might see how the

truth is being used to cover up under workings that the enemy is

up to. I would expose them to my husband and without knowing he

would relay them to Jared and that is why I was kicked out

because of fear that I would share truth with you of that which I

saw going on that was not right and it wasn’t from God. John 10

is my prayer over you. My heart longs for you and there is peace

in God. Confusion is how I would explain our time at Petra and

scripture is clear that confusion is from the enemy. Jared loves to

quote this because if you hear it from his mouth you try not to

question the things that he is saying and doing. Confusion didn’t

leave our household until we made the decision to no longer

attend Petra. Confusion didn’t leave my husband for another two weeks

who had been manipulated for 4 months with one on ones with

Jared. But when peace hit and God renewed a right spirit within

him then healing began taking place, hope was evident. God

reminding us both of who He is through His Word and through the

wonderful counsel of Godly men. This whole thing is one of the

biggest growing pains in our faith so far and we apologize for not

reaching out sooner. We were forgiving so that we might not sin

in our anger. We were waiting on the Lord and discerning how to

share what happened in love which only comes from God. God’s

timing is magnificent as we are in tune with His Spirit and I have

been burdened by God to pray, to write, to share His gospel and

hope in salvation.