Am I In A Cult?

Five Warning Signs That Indicate Danger Ahead

When watching documentaries about cults and their leaders, I often wonder how people get caught up in dangerous religious communities. Truthfully, each of us is susceptible to being led astray by a charismatic communicator. We long for spiritual family and a sense of purpose that connects us to eternity. These desires are good but also make us vulnerable. Many people have been led away from the truth and into error, only discovering their mistake after experiencing deep pain and loss.

I have often thought about how I could help people be more discerning when it comes to their religious activity. What warning signs should you look out for when deciding which spiritual community to join? If you are connected to a “church” that checks all the boxes below, there is a high likelihood that you are involved in a cult. I pray you have the courage to see the truth, talk to a trusted friend outside your community and get some help.

What warning signs should we look for?

1- A different Jesus. Orthodox Christianity has distinguished itself from the beginning based on a common understanding of the person of Jesus. The Jesus of the New Testament (and historic Christian orthodoxy) is the only eternal Son of God, fully God and fully man in the incarnation. He lived a sinless, perfect life, died a sinner’s death on the cross, and rose from the dead in a resurrected, physical body. He ascended to the Father’s right hand where He reigns on high and will return to judge the living and the dead. Every cult has a slightly different Jesus from the Jesus of Scripture and church history. When a religious group says “we believe in Jesus,” you have to ask a very important follow-up question: which Jesus are we talking about? Cults will twist the identity of Jesus to fit their own purposes. He will become a little less than God or a good moral teacher or a great prophet or a spiritual being without a body. All of these views (and many more) are distortions of the real Jesus. If you are part of a group or church or religion that has a different Jesus than the Jesus of the Bible, run away as fast as you can. There is only One True Jesus. Jesus Himself warned us about false messiahs (Matthew 24:24), so we should not be surprised that cults promote a new Christ. We must be discerning and avoid religions that teach a different Jesus.

2- New revelation. I immediately see red flags when I hear a preacher or teacher say they have found a new truth about God that no Christian in history has discovered. The arrogance of this statement should stop us in our tracks. Now, of course, we are always discovering new applications of old truths (as our cultural context changes). But this is very different from claiming we have received a new revelation from God that is on par with Scripture itself. If your spiritual leader is claiming that they are the first person to really understand the Bible, run. If your spiritual leader is claiming that God “told” them something that is contrary to the Bible, get far away. Cult leaders claim authority for themselves that belongs to God alone. Our goal in Christian ministry is to correctly interpret and apply the Word of God, not to create new revelation that aligns with the desires of our hearts. Avoid religious leaders who claim to have a direct line from God, and avoid religious systems that add to or take away from the Word of God (see Revelation 22:18-19).

3- Controlling leaders. Because cults are rooted in new revelations received by charismatic leaders, they tend to manipulate their members in an attempt to exert high levels of control. All kinds of organizations can have controlling leaders, so what makes cults different? The level of control is so intense that people feel like they can’t leave the group without serious reprocussions to their livelihood and relationships. The main tool for exerting this level of control is fear. Cult leaders use their communication gifts to emotionally manipulate their members. Fear of personal loss and disappointing the leader causes people to stay in unhealthy environments. If you sense that you can’t leave a religious group without losing all of your relationships, think carefully about what that means. One sign that you may be in a cult is that the leader has made the community all about their fame and honor, not your growth and development. In Matthew 20:25-28, Jesus calls His shepherds to not lead for power and control, but to lead to serve and lift others up.

4- Making tertiary issues primary. Christian denominations typically divide over secondary issues while maintaining agreement over primary doctrines. At our church, we identify several doctrines as secondary issues (spiritual gifts, marriage and divorce, church government, gender roles, and modes of sacraments). We have strong convictions on each of these issues, but we understand that other Christians who love Jesus and honor the Bible have different convictions. When we get to tertiary issues, we understand that Christians within our church have different opinions. This includes things like eschatology, politics, philosophy of educating your kids, and worship preferences. What I have noticed about cults across history is that they tend to make primary issues tertiary (“Can’t we just agree to disagree on the Trinity?”) and they make tertiary issues primary (“Real Christians must worship this way.”) Because of this tendency, most cults are very legalistic, allowing very little freedom of conscience for the individual believer. This is one way that cults maintain control. They emphasize a small doctrine or religious behavior and make people think that their way is the only faithful way to do it. If you are in a religious environment that is emphasizing a tertiary doctrine as having primary importance in your community, stay on alert. You are in the danger zone.

5- Deception. In practice, cults are intellectually dishonest. They can’t acknowledge their differences for what they are because people will see that they are leaving historic Christianity and creating a new religion. So, they hide their distinctives under the cover of Christian language and behavior. Be very careful here. Just because someone mentions “Jesus” or talks about the “Bible” or encourages “faith” doesn’t mean they are promoting orthodox Christian belief. Remember, words are containers for meaning. You could be attending a home group that uses Christian language, but they don’t mean what you think they mean. They have filled up Christians words with different meaning. You have to ask clarifying questions and read doctrinal statements. Many cults throughout history have considered themselves to be Christian, but church leaders have disagreed with that assessment. From the Gnostics to Marcionites to Montanists to Docetists, cult leaders used Christian language deceptively. They wanted to be accepted as Christian but didn’t want to adopt orthodox Christian doctrine. Be on guard for religious leaders who use Christian language but reject biblical theology.

I hope these warning signs can help you be more discerning about the churches you join and the religion you embrace. No one intends to join a cult when they get connected to a new faith community. Everyone is looking for love, acceptance, guidance, and hope. But we have to be careful. The enemy of our soul can use our spiritual needs to lead us away from truth and into error.

If you consider these five warning signs and decide you inadvertantly joined a cult, please talk to a Christian friend or leader who can help. My prayer is that you walk in the light and not in darkness. That you follow the true and living Jesus, who gave Himself for you and rose from the dead to give you eternal life.