OACS Admissions Resource Booklet IV

Sects, Cults, and the "Electronic Church"

OACS Church Relations Committee June 1996

Contents

Introduction ....................................vii

I Cults............................................................................................................................. l

Definition of the Term Cult

Types of Cults

Characteristics of Cults

Cult Leadership

Reasons for Cults

Cults and Sects Masquerading as Christian.

II Sects............................................................................................................................ 5

Definition of Sects

Characteristics of Sects

Sect Practices

Human Rights, Sects, and Cults

Sectarianism

III Some Prominent Sects and Cults.........................................................................................11

Jehovah's Witnesses

Bahaism

Christian Science..

Worldwide Church of God (WCG

Mormonism

IV The Electronic Church.......................................................................................... 20

Religious Television Personalities

Charts and Statistics

David Mainse

Benny Hinn

Commentary

V The " Faith in Faith" Movement............................................................................ 24

Historical background

"Faith in Faith," New Thought, and Christian Science

Evaluation

VI The New Age Movement (NAM).......................................................................... 29

Introduction

Historical Background

Impact of NAM

Suggested Reading

VII The Occult.............................................................................................................35

Introduction

Definition of the Occult

Witchcraft and Satanism in Canada

Biblical Evidence

Reasons for the Rise of the Occult

Characteristics of the Occult

Occult Practices

Appendix A - Characteristics of Sects and Cults

Appendix B - A Comparison of Basic Tenets

Bibliography

Acknowledgements

The Ontario Alliance Church Relations Committee would like to thank Rev. Johan D. Tangelder, B.Th., DRS. TH., for the contents of this publication. His efforts have made this compilation possible. Rev. Tangelder is a pastor with a varied denominational, pastoral, and teaching background. He received his Bachelor of Theology from Central Baptist Seminary in Toronto, ON, attended Calvin College and Calvin Seminary in Grand Rapids, MI, where he completed his ministerial preparation, and later studied at the Free University of Amsterdam in The Netherlands. He served as pastor in Vernon, BC, Wellandport, Strathroy, and Williamsburg, ON, where he retired in 1993 for health reasons. Drs. Tangelder also taught at the Christian Reformed Seminary and Bible College in Bacalod, The Philippines for two years, and has been an occasional part-time instructor in world religion at Redeemer College, Ancaster, ON. He is a frequent contributor on theological, political, and ethical topics to magazines and journals, and is currently working on a major book on the ethics of politics. top

Introduction

This is Document IV of the series dealing with denominational and other influences on the character of Christian schools and Christian education. The first three are Canadian Protestant Church Traditions, Denominationalism, and The Interdenominational School (available from the OACS).This unique compilation provides excellent information in order to help administrators, admission committees, board members, and teachers in Christian schools understand some of the growing number of cults and sects. They cannot be ignored.One young woman, having been rescued from a cult by her family and having undergone deprogramming, said: "Dad, if I had ever heard a lecture on cults in a high school assembly, or a college lecture, or engaged in a discussion of cults in a psychology or sociology class and written a term paper on the subject, or listened to a sermon on cults in our church, or discussed cults around our dinner table-in other words if I had ever been enlightened or warned, I would never have accepted the first invitation to meet a bunch of neat guys and girls and would never have been psychologically hooked. In part, I blame the institutions and their silence." (Swope, 1983, p. 16)What perplexes many Christians is that the cultists they confront often seem to voice harmony with evangelical positions. They quote the Bible, profess devout reverence for Christ, and use the same evangelical cliches. What the bewildered Christian fails to understand is that the cultist redefines orthodox terminology to suit his own belief system. (Larson, 1982, p.32)In 1980, at a conference dealing with cults, five people in attendance from the legal and medical professions who had specialized in research on cultic phenomena, claimed that there were approximately 3,000 different cults operating in North America. Today's figure is difficult to estimate. But there is every reason to believe that there are more now than ever before. The cults are growing, particularly those which can be described as therapeutic. They are also hard to track down as they are constantly changing, often disappearing and then as quickly reappearing under a different name.In Toronto, there are at least 40 known cults. According to the Council of Mind Abuse (COMA), the Golden Horseshoe area of Ontario, with Toronto at its centre, is where most cultic activity is found in this part of Canada. It seems that cults go where there is wealth and a high population density (Swope, 1983, p. 17).The prominence of sects and cults should not be a surprise to the observer of North America's religious scene. For many, religion is no longer transcendent but has become a recreational pursuit of happiness and a consumer's "spirituality." The ecumenical movement, large-scale denominational concerns, and denominational loyalty are no longer in fashion. Os Guinness, an American theologian and social commentator, observes, "What matters instead is freedom and spontaneity rather than structure and history, intimacy and sincerity rather than dogma andorthodoxy. In the process there has been a movement away from older denominational identifications and from a concern with the ecclesiastical bureaucracy toward blockbuster local mega-churches and toward home-based groups of every sort' (1993, p. 73).Since the 1950s Canadian church attendance has been in steep decline. The historical Roman Catholic and Protestant contributions are being erased from memory. Canadian society is more enthralled with technology than with morality. The novel in spirituality seems more attractive than the traditional concept of church and worship. There has been an erosion of Christian ethos. Our political, cultural, and economic leaders, who often claim to be Christian, have privatized their faith. Secular postmodern institutions of learning have little patience with evangelical scholarship. Our society is fixated with materialism, hedonism, and narrow self interest. No wonder that sects and cults gain followers, specially among the youth (Noll, 1992, pp. 547ff).

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		Reformed Reflections
	OACS Admissions Resource Booklet IV Sects, Cults, and the "Electronic Church" OACS Church Relations Committee June 1996 Contents Acknowledgements..................v Introduction ....................................vii I Cults............................................................................................................................. l Definition of the Term Cult Types of Cults Characteristics of Cults Cult Leadership Reasons for Cults Cults and Sects Masquerading as Christian. II Sects............................................................................................................................ 5 Definition of Sects Characteristics of Sects Sect Practices Human Rights, Sects, and Cults Sectarianism III Some Prominent Sects and Cults.........................................................................................11 Jehovah's Witnesses Bahaism Christian Science.. Worldwide Church of God (WCG Mormonism IV The Electronic Church.......................................................................................... 20 Religious Television Personalities Charts and Statistics David Mainse Benny Hinn Commentary V The " Faith in Faith" Movement............................................................................ 24 Historical background "Faith in Faith," New Thought, and Christian Science Evaluation VI The New Age Movement (NAM).......................................................................... 29 Introduction Historical Background Impact of NAM Suggested Reading VII The Occult.............................................................................................................35 Introduction Definition of the Occult Witchcraft and Satanism in Canada Biblical Evidence Reasons for the Rise of the Occult Characteristics of the Occult Occult Practices Appendix A - Characteristics of Sects and Cults Appendix B - A Comparison of Basic Tenets Bibliography Acknowledgements The Ontario Alliance Church Relations Committee would like to thank Rev. Johan D. Tangelder, B.Th., DRS. TH., for the contents of this publication. His efforts have made this compilation possible. Rev. Tangelder is a pastor with a varied denominational, pastoral, and teaching background. He received his Bachelor of Theology from Central Baptist Seminary in Toronto, ON, attended Calvin College and Calvin Seminary in Grand Rapids, MI, where he completed his ministerial preparation, and later studied at the Free University of Amsterdam in The Netherlands. He served as pastor in Vernon, BC, Wellandport, Strathroy, and Williamsburg, ON, where he retired in 1993 for health reasons. Drs. Tangelder also taught at the Christian Reformed Seminary and Bible College in Bacalod, The Philippines for two years, and has been an occasional part-time instructor in world religion at Redeemer College, Ancaster, ON. He is a frequent contributor on theological, political, and ethical topics to magazines and journals, and is currently working on a major book on the ethics of politics. top Introduction This is Document IV of the series dealing with denominational and other influences on the character of Christian schools and Christian education. The first three are Canadian Protestant Church Traditions, Denominationalism, and The Interdenominational School (available from the OACS).This unique compilation provides excellent information in order to help administrators, admission committees, board members, and teachers in Christian schools understand some of the growing number of cults and sects. They cannot be ignored.One young woman, having been rescued from a cult by her family and having undergone deprogramming, said: "Dad, if I had ever heard a lecture on cults in a high school assembly, or a college lecture, or engaged in a discussion of cults in a psychology or sociology class and written a term paper on the subject, or listened to a sermon on cults in our church, or discussed cults around our dinner table-in other words if I had ever been enlightened or warned, I would never have accepted the first invitation to meet a bunch of neat guys and girls and would never have been psychologically hooked. In part, I blame the institutions and their silence." (Swope, 1983, p. 16)What perplexes many Christians is that the cultists they confront often seem to voice harmony with evangelical positions. They quote the Bible, profess devout reverence for Christ, and use the same evangelical cliches. What the bewildered Christian fails to understand is that the cultist redefines orthodox terminology to suit his own belief system. (Larson, 1982, p.32)In 1980, at a conference dealing with cults, five people in attendance from the legal and medical professions who had specialized in research on cultic phenomena, claimed that there were approximately 3,000 different cults operating in North America. Today's figure is difficult to estimate. But there is every reason to believe that there are more now than ever before. The cults are growing, particularly those which can be described as therapeutic. They are also hard to track down as they are constantly changing, often disappearing and then as quickly reappearing under a different name.In Toronto, there are at least 40 known cults. According to the Council of Mind Abuse (COMA), the Golden Horseshoe area of Ontario, with Toronto at its centre, is where most cultic activity is found in this part of Canada. It seems that cults go where there is wealth and a high population density (Swope, 1983, p. 17).The prominence of sects and cults should not be a surprise to the observer of North America's religious scene. For many, religion is no longer transcendent but has become a recreational pursuit of happiness and a consumer's "spirituality." The ecumenical movement, large-scale denominational concerns, and denominational loyalty are no longer in fashion. Os Guinness, an American theologian and social commentator, observes, "What matters instead is freedom and spontaneity rather than structure and history, intimacy and sincerity rather than dogma andorthodoxy. In the process there has been a movement away from older denominational identifications and from a concern with the ecclesiastical bureaucracy toward blockbuster local mega-churches and toward home-based groups of every sort' (1993, p. 73).Since the 1950s Canadian church attendance has been in steep decline. The historical Roman Catholic and Protestant contributions are being erased from memory. Canadian society is more enthralled with technology than with morality. The novel in spirituality seems more attractive than the traditional concept of church and worship. There has been an erosion of Christian ethos. Our political, cultural, and economic leaders, who often claim to be Christian, have privatized their faith. Secular postmodern institutions of learning have little patience with evangelical scholarship. Our society is fixated with materialism, hedonism, and narrow self interest. No wonder that sects and cults gain followers, specially among the youth (Noll, 1992, pp. 547ff). top

Reformed Reflections