What is a Cult?
It was commented that my use of the category ‘cult’ for Christian Science is not the most helpful for dialogue. I must confess that in the past I have been uncomfortable with that term as well. Therefore, I thought it would be worth looking at the issue of cults. Here are some definitions:
1 a system of religious worship esp. as expressed in ritual. 2 a devotion or homage to a person or thing. b a popular fashion esp. followed by a specific section of society. 3 denoting a person or thing popularized in this way. (Oxford English Reference Dictionary)
With this definition, there is nothing pejorative about the label ‘cult.’ When Old Testament scholars discuss Temple rituals, it is called a cult because it is a religious system and not because there is something wrong with it. Having said that, there is another use of ‘cult’ that many religious people mean. Here is an example:
Groups which are heretical in one or more significant respects and which frequently practice strong social control over their members. They sometimes also engage in form of brainwashing to gain and retain converts. (Millard J. Erickson, Concise Dictionary of Christian Theology)
When it comes to differences in theology, it is difficult to know when to use the word ‘cult.’ Roman Catholic prayers to Mary and the saints would make many evangelicals uncomfortable but most would not call the Roman Catholic Church a cult. As a result, a cult is often used to describe groups that have a certain controlling social culture. This could be used to describe Jehovah’s Witnesses, certain Mormon groups and even some with fairly orthodox theology such as Westboro Baptist Church (in my opinion anyway). My preference is to use the word ‘sect’ and I have changed the categories of my previous posts, although I have not changed the tags. Here is the definition of a sect:
Usually a group which has broken away from some larger religious group, or holds distinctive and unusual views. There is often a particular leader whose unique teachings become the basis of belief for the group. (Millard J. Erikson, Concise Dictionary of Christian Theology)
At this point I am not able to see Christian Science as a Christian denomination, because there are some very large differences in theology, but I can accept it as a Christian sect rather than a cult with all of its negative connotations. I apologise if my hasty label of ‘cult’ hurt the conversation that we are having about the differences between our beliefs.
Thanks for the clarification.
It’s sad that so many words have taken on negative connotations that cloud their original meanings. I ran across a similar challenge in teaching high-school mythology classes a few years ago. Some of the kids had a hard time understanding that in English class, the word “myth” is not meant as a value judgment about the relative truth of a story; rather, it is simply a literary term denoting that a given story came out of a religious tradition.
You are right and this happens very often. Many evangelicals have reacted against the word “religion.” Google “Christianity is not a religion” and see how many hits you get. People see religion as being irrelevent and boring rituals and ceremonies. But James in the New Testament defines religion as helping those in need, a very relevant spirituality indeed!
I wonder if it would be of value to your readers if you added a page called “Glossary” or something like that, defining some of the more controversial terms you are using and explaining the context in which you use them? This might help with clarity and could also be good fodder for a discussion of the words and their meanings and how some words have come to have negative connotations over the years.
On a related note, there’s a dictionary I find very helpful, particularly when reading Mrs. Eddy’s writings. It’s called Student’s Reference Dictionary, and it’s basically an abridged version of the Webster’s dictionary used in the late 1800s. Language has obviously evolved (or devolved, depending on your point of view) in the past 125 years, so the words a 19th-century author would use to convey a particular idea might mean something very different to a 21st-century reader.
A note in the dictionary explains that Webster felt that words were meant to convey spiritual ideas, so many of the entries include examples of word usage in the Bible, and a lot of the definitions include references to spiritual concepts. Later editors did not share this view, so dictionaries have become more secularized over time. I find myself using this dictionary all the time — not just when I’m studying Mrs. Eddy’s writings, but when I’m studying the Bible or just trying to get a more spiritual view of something I’m dealing with.
I haven’t checked Amazon, but I know SRD is available through the Principia College bookstore.
Mormons are heretic cult. More information behind the good article:
http://koti.phnet.fi/elohim/Mormons
I also disagree with Mormon beliefs. The point that I am trying to make is that cult technically refers to religion and general and so it can include even the Old Testament temple worship. Secondly, the popular understanding of cult is not helpful in reaching out to Mormons and members of other sects.
A few decades ago, Walter Martin was considered the expert on cults. He wrote a book titled “Kingdom of the cults”. I believe he had other writings and speeches on the topic. I am speaking from memory, but I believe his definition of a cult was “a group of people who believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God but deny they deity of Jesus Christ”. With that definition, other religions who don’t see the Bible as inspired are not considered a cult. However, “Christian” belief systems that deny the deity of Jesus while considering the Bible their source of doctrine, such as Jehovah Witnesses, Unification Church, The Way, etc would be considered a “cult”. Hope this helps.
In Roman Catholic canon law, the term disparity of cult (Disparitas Cultus) (Now referred to as disparity of worship because of the negative implications of the word “cult” ).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disparity_of_worship
This is similar in principle to “unequally yoked with unbelivers” of 2 Corinthians 6:14 (make that Second Corinthians Chapter 6 verse 14) .