How to avoid becoming part of a mind control cult.

It’s frightening to see the effect that the power of persuasion can have on the human mind. It seems that there are more cults around than ever before.

The Family Leader: Charles Manson

As a member of the church and as a Christian I am often accused of being ‘brainwashed’ or indeed being a ‘brainwasher’ (I would like to point out that most who say this have never actually come to my church) it would be good to look at the aspects that cult organisations hold. If you are a Christian – this should help you make sure that you and your church aren’t falling into the ways of cults. If you are not a Christian and are thinking of coming to church. Or if have been to church but are unsure. Or even if you have no interest in coming to church due to preconceptions about Christians, this should be of great interest to you.

The demands and techniques that ‘cults’ hold should not occur in true Christianity. I have tried to list a few of the things that a true Christian and/or a Christian church should avoid.

• Lies; you should always be able to find out exactly who you are speaking to or listening to. They should seek to tell you exactly what it is they do, in church our aim is to worship God and to glorify him. Anything that strays from this we should be wary of.
• When you become a Christian there are no false promises. I once heard someone say that 99% of the benefits of the Christian life come after you die, and if you don’t believe me ask me in a million years.
• Avoid gimmicks and free gifts. There is one free gift – Salvation from your sins. All other things are irrelevant and pointless. The gift of salvation is not from man it is from God. The church and ‘Christians’ cannot give you Salvation or ‘life-improvement’ or any long lasting good; of course God uses Christians to lead people to these things but it’s all about God.
• Christians should not make unbelievers rush into anything. However, from a practical point of view; we could die at any moment thus it would be wiser to ask for Salvation before it’s too late – but of course a blind leap of faith would be pointless and most likely ungenuine.
• If questions are discouraged then alarm bells should be ringing. Questions are good! Jesus spent a large part of his ministry answering questions, he himself says that if we seek we will find. How can we seek without asking questions and exploring?
• A good church should be welcoming, however this welcome is not to lead the visitor into a false sense of security or safety – it is purely to diffuse any discomfort or nervousness or to answer questions or to tell you a bit more about God. If the kindness you find that you once experienced when you first came to church eventually wears off or suddenly changes; then that is another alert. Christians will never intentionally withhold affection to anyone in order to manipulate them.
• Any controlling of behaviour is also an issue for concern. The Christian message is freedom; there are no specific rules about what you wear, what you eat, where you go, who you see, what you see, what you do. However when you become a Christian, every part of your life is affected, BUT it is not the part of Christian people to sort this our for you, if you find people telling you where to go, what to eat or what to wear – you should get away!
• Authority is a big issue. If anyone or anything is claiming to be an authority above God, for example a leader who wants you to confess your sins to him or a traditional ceremony which must be fulfilled, or a man or woman who must be worshipped; run!
• Steer clear from dancing, spinning, over-breathing and chanting. Also take care with any musical part of the service – singing and musical devices can easily fool our emotional senses; take care.
• Any meditation is a danger zone. By meditation I mean a focused exercise on emptying your mind, if your mind is empty – anything can get in!
• Any encouragement to separate from family, friends and the outside world is wrong.

Do try visiting a Church, if you see any of these bad qualities lurking then steer clear! The best thing I can recommend is that you pray to God, he does hear you and is the one truly reliable person. Reading the Bible is also good, you will then have an unbiased look at what Christians believe without any so called ‘Christians’ telling you what it means.

If you want to try a church, you would be welcome in Childs Hill, the link is on my side bar.

True Christianity and cults are not the same.

At first glance, this appears compellingly true to think that they are because of the religious nature of both, but this is also simply not true. Cults demand submission to their authority structure, preach that their revelation or insight is the only Truth that will enlighten or save the world, and develop doctrinal positions completely contradicting historic Christian claims – mainly that one must earn God’s grace by their cult-mandated works. The orthodox Christian Gospel clearly points to a relationship with Jesus Christ, “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6), as the only way to enter into right relationship to God, and not a trust in any organizational association or personal labors within them. While the moral absolutism and exclusive nature of Christian truth claims are mimicked by cultic religion, it is far from being the same as the Christian admonitions to faith in Jesus alone.