What is a cult? And, do
you consider Christianity a cult?
When it comes to defining a cult, context is everything.
Sociologically, a cult is a group of people controlled by a strong leader in virtually every dimension of their lives. This can be a religious or non-religious group that places supreme loyalty to its guru, and is galvanized through physical and/or psychological intimidation tactics.
Theologically, a cult is a pseudo-Christian organization that claims allegiance to Christianity, but compromises, confuses, or contradicts essential, historic Christian doctrine. Like a sociological cult, a theological cult is loyal to a guru, and may also be galvanized/brainwashed by various tactics.
Secularly, a cult is any group of people centered on a religious belief or structure. They get the idea from the Latin word for cult, which simply means to worship a deity.
There are more ideas about cults than what I have written here, but it goes to show that in dealing with cults, one must be diligent in defining terms. And to directly answer your question, I do not think Christianity is a cult!
When it comes to defining a cult, context is everything.
Sociologically, a cult is a group of people controlled by a strong leader in virtually every dimension of their lives. This can be a religious or non-religious group that places supreme loyalty to its guru, and is galvanized through physical and/or psychological intimidation tactics.
Theologically, a cult is a pseudo-Christian organization that claims allegiance to Christianity, but compromises, confuses, or contradicts essential, historic Christian doctrine. Like a sociological cult, a theological cult is loyal to a guru, and may also be galvanized/brainwashed by various tactics.
Secularly, a cult is any group of people centered on a religious belief or structure. They get the idea from the Latin word for cult, which simply means to worship a deity.
There are more ideas about cults than what I have written here, but it goes to show that in dealing with cults, one must be diligent in defining terms. And to directly answer your question, I do not think Christianity is a cult!
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