Over the years, there has been a concerning trend in Christianity. Although some people still truly love and follow Christ, our culture has recently encouraged God’s people to start adopting cult-like thinking. The most dangerous part of this thinking is that it’s almost impossible for someone to see it because the thinking has become bound up in a person’s Christian identity; it’s hard to tell whether a belief is devoted to Christ or the world. As this article is read, I encourage all of us to let down our defenses and ask whether this accidental way of thinking is something we need to repent of.
What is a cult?
The actual definition of a cult is a bit of a moving target. In Christian circles, a popular definition is “any religion that doesn’t believe Jesus is God.” I’m not sure where that definition originated, but it’s far too limited of a definition for what we actually describe as cults. Although cults are much more of a “I know it when I see it” situation, I will be working under this definition:
A cult is a way of thinking that elevates a human being into a savior status. It abandons critical thinking and reason in favor of the savior figure.
In other words, a cult is turning a human being into an idol. It’s seeing someone as our means of rescue and salvation from… whatever we think we need to be saved from. As we’ll discuss, this isn’t just salvation from eternal damnation, but whatever is so important in our minds that we need it fixed. This can include things like
- Illness
- Political concerns
- Poverty
- Self-hatred or doubt
- Fear
When we think of cults like the Manson family, we don’t often consider why people join them. In the end it’s not a great mystery. People embrace a cult-like thinking because, as humans, we are made to worship. Yet in our sin-broken minds, we are willing to worship false gods that will give us what we think we need, not what we truly need. Some false gods may ask us to do extreme things, but more often they slip under our radar because so many people around us are worshipping the same god.
Identifying your cult leader
I’m going to adapt a list from www.CultEducation.com. I will use their “10 signs of a potentially unsafe leader,” but instead of putting the blame on a particular person I will dig into how we offer this way of thinking to human beings.
Before we start, I think it’s important for all of us to think of someone we think highly of and are willing to fight to defend. Reflecting on things like our past conversations or what we post on social media can show who we think about often, and whether we are treating them as more than a broken human being in need of Jesus Christ.
Our potential “cult leaders” can include:
- A president or other political leader
- Any musician, actor, or other entertainment personality
- A health, financial, or spiritual “guru”
- A celebrity pastor
- Our local pastor
- Our spouse or children
Those last two may raise some eyebrows, but that’s why this discussion is so important. As we’ll discuss, we can easily turn a pastor or family member into a savior, willingly abandoning logic and reason in order to defend their actions. The only other option is to admit they can’t save us from whatever fear or loneliness we want to hide from, and that can be terrifying.
10 signs we’re treating someone as a savior
#1 Absolute authoritarianism without meaningful accountability.
If we can learn anything from pastors who fall into heresy, it’s that accountability is critical for sinful human beings. When someone is surrounded by “yes men,” they cease to consider how flawed their minds are and instead start adopting more radical and “out there” ways of thinking.
As we consider those people who respect and defend, we must ask if we hold them accountable for their words and actions. Do we measure everything they say, willingly admitting that others are right in their criticism? If we’re seeing this person as a savior, then we are much more likely to excuse, or even agree with, words and actions that should cause alarm.
We can see this most clearly in abusive relationships. Some know how heartbreaking it is to hear someone not only excuse their abusive parent or partner, but even try to give reasons for why they do something that others see as problematic. When we elevate someone too highly, we will abandon wisdom and discernment in order to ignore their flaws.
#2 No tolerance for questions or critical inquiry.
This is common when we think of political and religious leaders. We adopt a very “my way or the highway” belief system. It’s not just that the leader doesn’t encourage people to question their actions, but we won’t accept people doing it. We are willing to question someone’s holiness and salvation if someone holds up the Bible and suggests that something a person says or does isn’t in line with what we, as Christians, should embrace.
Of course we’re all sinners and won’t line up with the character of Jesus Christ. However, the problem here is how we respond to others. Do we think less of someone who doesn’t like a particular pastor or politician? Can we agree with those who are critical of important things? Do we tread carefully when we listen to them, or do we immediately assume what they say is correct?
How we answer these questions reveals a lot about how much authority we give to a single person, and how willing we are to abandon critical thinking in order to keep them elevated in our minds.
#3 No meaningful financial disclosure regarding budget, expenses such as an independently audited financial statement.
How a person uses finances reveals a good deal about their character. In 2019, it’s increasingly difficult to outright hide how money gets used. Instead, we have to find ways to excuse how a person uses money. Are they deceptive about it? Do we find ourselves willing to excuse a person abusing money given to them by others? Do we ignore unnecessary purchases that are justified as “needed”?
As an example, many famous pastors come under fire for extravagant purchases in the name of their ministry. Whether it’s a nice house or an airplane, there’s always a reason they need that purchase to serve God. They can’t cover the purchase, but they can certainly handwave it away by telling their followers not to worry.
#4 Unreasonable fear about the outside world, such as impending catastrophe, evil conspiracies and persecutions.
We love to live in fear of “them.” Whatever level we’re dangerously worshipping someone, they will regularly find a faceless enemy for us to fear together.
- An abusive partner may make us fear our friends and family who “don’t understand and what to keep us apart”
- A religious leader will demonize people of other religions, perhaps even making an enemy of those who hold to other non-essential Christian beliefs like their Bible version, denomination, or beliefs about the end times
- A political leader will make us fear that those outside our affiliation are trying to destroy everything, and they’ll win if we don’t come together
Whatever the enemy, it’s always a group that we must fear. Sometimes the enemy will be given a name, but that just serves to cement just how real the threat is.
This thinking becomes especially dangerous because safety from “the enemy” is only found if this particular person maintains their power and influence. They will regularly talk about how people are trying to tear them down, attack them, or get them removed from power. They stir up our outrage because the other side will win. Worse, if we dare to lean towards #2 (questions and critical inquiry), then clearly we are siding with the enemy!
#5 There is no legitimate reason to leave, former followers are always wrong in leaving, negative or even evil.
Piggybacking off the previous sign, a classic warning sign is how we treat those who denounce a particular person or group. We believe that absolute truth and purpose is found in following our leader, thus for someone to leave would mean they are abandoning all reason. They’re giving in to the enemy.
Often, those who abandon are used as a rallying cry for those who are still around. They are pitied, villainized, and held up as an example of what happens when someone starts to stray from the leader’s absolute authority. Those people are treated differently because they are now “other.”
This can be seen in children who move away from an abusive parent, a person moving to another church, or someone adopting a differently political belief. Whatever form it takes, we always know that they are wrong and refuse to listen to any arguments they have to make. After all, if there’s no good reason to leave then anything they say is false when compared to the truth of the leader.
#6 Former members often relate the same stories of abuse and reflect a similar pattern of grievances.
This is best used to examine entire groups. With the connectivity of the internet, we can find people all over the world who share similar experiences at the hands of a particular belief system. It doesn’t matter what religion it is, there are always those who have genuine horror stories of how their lives were forever affected.
Of course, we need to have some balance between the actions of one and the beliefs of many. The Christian church has some of the most disgusting stories of physical and sexual abuse, yet we know those people absolutely don’t represent the truth of Jesus Christ.
However, how we react to these stories will tell us if we’re elevating a person or group too highly. Do we ignore or excuse multiple accusations of sexual abuse? Do we handwave stories of manipulation, gaslighting, or brainwashing as “someone with an axe to grind”? Are we more comfortable insisting the hurt and pain experienced by others is wrong rather than confront the potential of our leader or group truly being wrong?
#7 There are records, books, news articles, or television programs that document the abuses of the group/leader.
This is a more concrete version of #6. Not only are people talking about physical and emotional abuse, but it has been proven. I would argue that this ties in with the financial abuse as well. If enough of the world is talking about a particular issue, we have the choice to either ignore it or question if the accusations have merit. Whichever we choose will reveal whether we regard truth more highly than our view of a person.
#8 Followers feel they can never be “good enough.”
With our built-in need to worship, we also have a need to measure ourselves against what we worship. We want to prove that we are worthy. A classic tactic of those with cult-like followings is to constantly make people feel like they don’t reach a certain standard. They’re worthless, pathetic, ignorant, and utterly helpless without their leader.
Whether it’s a relationship between two people or a group with thousands of members, everything keeps circling back to the leader/group having all the answers and the followers being completely incapable of thinking for themselves. Thus, people stay trapped and must constantly defend the leader because they feel like they must.
#9 The group/leader is always right.
This is just another way of saying “followers must abandon all form of discernment.” This thinking completely flies against anything we see taught throughout the Bible. To believe that something is true because a person said it is, quite simply, to make that person God. And it’s not always as obvious as we may think.
How often do we accept something is true because we heard someone say it? How often do we defend a particular belief, but when questioned all we can honestly say is “Well, my pastor said so”? We don’t know why we believe what we believe, but we’re willing to base our entire lives around it. We have absolute faith that what we think and do is right simply because it’s been approved by our leader or group.
How terrifying is that?
#10 The group/leader is the exclusive means of knowing “truth” or receiving validation, no other process of discovery is really acceptable or credible.
This really sums up everything we’ve discussed. If we want to know how to feel about a particular topic, we Google what a person has said about it. If we’re listening to a speech or reading a book, or beliefs on a topic will change in an instant because that person said something contrary. Everything we believe is based on them.
This is why we will defend someone so fiercely. It’s why our social media pages are littered with quotes and pictures of a particular person. It’s why we’ve lost friends and loved ones who wouldn’t “get with the program.”
A true measure of a cult is a person’s willingness, and the group’s subtle encouragement, to isolate themselves from anything except the group. They may be cordial and friendly enough to others, but the moment any disagreement with the group arises, we find any number of reasons to shut them out.
Christian, value truth
I’ve tried to be broad in my explanations, but I want to take a moment to be very clear: Many Christians in America fit these descriptions perfectly. Political leaders and “celebrity pastors” have become our Jesus Christ.
- We look to them for truth
- We hate what (and who) they hate
- We willingly defend things that seem wrong, but in our minds they are justified because that person says it’s right
- We will reject those who oppose our beliefs because that person/group is our life
We may claim to do these things in the name of Jesus Christ, but we don’t. Christ is our excuse to create a false god. That political leader or pastor may even truly represent the beliefs of the Bible, but we elevate them to the point where a good thing becomes our new savior, rather than a thing that should point us to our true Savior.
Everything we believe must come from our one source of truth. We obey and follow Jesus Christ because He’s proven that He is worthy. We must be so very careful not to elevate a person so highly that we forget they are as much a sinner as we are, desperately in need of Christ and utterly without hope of goodness or truth apart from the grace of God.
Please, Christian, don’t make people into gods. Don’t fall into the same thinking that has led to the sorrow and death of so many. Don’t compromise our ability to fellowship with other Christians and give the gospel to those who live as enemies of God.
Give your loyalties to Jesus Christ alone. Let every thought and action be fueled by a desire to love and serve our perfect Savior. Let every belief be obedient to what He says first, and may we all be willing to hold the words and teachings of mere humans in their proper level of authority.
We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5)
