A Religious Cult: How To Escape A Religious Cult By Knowing What Are Cults

What are cults?

With so many religious persuasions today knowing the answer to this question is imperative if someone is to avoid a religious cult.

Webster tells us that a cult is:

* A system of religious beliefs and rituals.
* A religion regarded as unorthodox.

To understand the meaning of "unorthodox" I needed to lookup orthodox and found this answer waiting from Webster:

* Conforming to established doctrine especially in religion

Thus, according to Webster a cult is any set of religious beliefs or rituals that do not conform to established mainline religious doctrines. That, in and of itself, is certainly not a bad thing; so why is everyone so "scared" of cults?

Perhaps the answer waits in the connotation of the word rather than the denotation. In-other-words, the suggestive meaning rather than the literal meaning of "cult".

Here are 11 commonly understood characteristics of cults and why they get such a bad rap.

* Unquestioning leaglist commitment to a single leader.
* Mind-altering practices used to illeminate doubts or questions about the group.
* The leaders dictate how the followers will behave even away from the group.
* Group members are set apart from the rest of society as somehow "better than" society.
* There is an exteme "us" verse "them" mentality within the group.
* No accountability exists within the leadership, especially the focal messiah.
* The ends justify the means is a commonly held perspective among the group members.
* Members are controled via peer pressure feelings of guilt and shame to do things they would not have previously.
* Group members are strongly encouraged not to continue communications with non-group loved ones.
* Preoccupation with building membership and raising funds is excessive.
* Members are conditioned that there is no life apart from the group.

Simply put, there is excessive control and isolation within this type of cult which is indeed not a healthy proposition which should be avoided at all costs.
Therefore, if I were to foll Websters denotation of what a cult is I would indeed say I am part of one as I do not hold to mainline orthodox doctrines preferring instead to follow the Holy Word of God as it is written.

However, as it relates to the unhealthy manipulative controlling attributes mentioned above, Adventism itself does not exhibit or encourage such behaviors. Are their groups within Adventism that do this? Of course. But then the same could be said for Catholicism, Methodism, or even Paganism.

My hope is that you now understand what are cults and have the ability to escape a religious cult which is unhealthy in nature while aligning yourself with the true Word of God.