[In seeing to stay clear from cults]:
1. Avoid groups that reject or twist the Bible.
2. Avoid groups that demean or dilute the Bible.
3. Avoid groups that treat exotic or emotional experiences as the main feature of Christian life.
4. Avoid groups that idolize their human leaders.
5. Avoid groups that try to cut you off from your family.
6. Avoid groups that try to mix Christianity with other religions.
7. Avoid groups that try to mix Christianity with occultic practices.
Excerpted from How to Stay Christian in College by J. Budziszewski copyright 2004, p. 140-141. Used by permission of NavPress (Think Books) – www.navpress.com. All rights reserved. Get this book!
A cult…is a religious movement that claims to be a Christian group but that deviates significantly from or outright denies the teachings of Scripture and the historic creeds on crucial points… These groups develop their doctrine through a combination of Scripture-twisting and extrabiblical revelation.
Final Word, © John MacArthur, 2019, p. 15-16.
Teaching about the various cults in our churches is undoubtedly a useful enterprise and helps Christians understand the errors that are so prevalent in our own day. But it is ultimately positive teaching about the Christian faith that will serve as the best protection against heresy, for we can never cover all the possible errors that false teachers might come up with.
2 Peter and Jude, Zondervan, www.zondervan.com 1996, p. 138.
