Occasionally there are news reports containing shocking information about individuals or groups that have come under the sinister control of organisations that claim to be religious. One outstanding example is the mass suicide of nine hundred men, women and children in a Guyanan jungle in 1978. The “Reverend” Jim Jones led his followers from California into an isolated South American village because of the pressures of the twentieth century world and his conviction of an approaching apocalypse, or dramatic end to the world. Everyone outside that community was seen as an enemy, leading eventually to such a feeling of desperate persecution that all of Jones’s followers were persuaded by him to take a lethal poisoned drink.

Before and since that event there have been other examples of people blindly following the commands of a powerful personality. Young people are often susceptible to this kind of persuasion, leaving their families because of the attraction of a mystical philosophy, without realising the dangers involved. Some of these excursions have also ended in tragedy. Parents are naturally very concerned lest their own children are drawn into the activities of a cult and away from the principles they have been taught in their families. Warnings are sometimes given about different groups who target those who are young and impressionable. We need to know the factors that mark out cults, and what it is that can make them dangerous or lead to tragedies like those in Jonestown.

We need first of all to determine the factors that create a cult. Is anyone who believes differently from us, automatically a member of a cult? Some literature circulated by various cult help groups suggests that any organisation that does not accept the teachings of the mainstream Christian Churches is a cult. But is it right for non-conformists to be likened to the fanatical groups we have briefly considered? What exactly is a cult?

Are All Minority Religions Cults?

We are not helped very much by the word itself, which refers simply to worship, devotion or homage. But a related word – ‘sect’ – helps to distinguish groups …

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The authority of any religion depends upon its origin. Who is pronouncing what is truth? If the origin is purely human, why should we take any notice? The opinions of any man, or group of men, are of no more authority than those of any other men. Though they may appear more logical and be founded upon more reasonable grounds, they are still the products of the human mind. They carry no guarantee of absolute truth.

The major religions of the world are founded upon the writings of men. Buddhism is founded upon the teachings of Buddha, who lived in India in the sixth century BC. It was some centuries later that his adherents made him a god. Hinduism, originating in ancient Vedism about 1500 BC, evolved through Brahmanism into early Hinduism in the second century BC, revering the gods Vishnu and Shiva. Confucianism arose from Chinese moral philosophy, which was systematized by Confucius in the fifth century BC. Confucius himself became an object of worship in the first century AD. In each of these religions the worship of the god arose centuries after the promulgation of the original principles. Islam is in a different category. It arose from revelations said to have been received by Muhammad in the seventh century AD, which were collected together into the Qu’ran shortly after his death. It has obvious connections with the ideas of Christianity, which existed centuries before Muhammad. All these widespread religions claiming millions of adherents, are based upon the original pronouncements of men. Despite all there subsequent philosophical refinements, they have originated in the human mind.

The Christian Religion

But is not the same true of Christianity? Are not its teachings accepted because they are found originally in the writings of men, which make up the Bible?

At first this appears a reasonable comment. But when we come to examine the writings …

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After many centuries of development, the concept of “Human Rights” is firmly embedded in the culture and ethos of those countries of the world that consider themselves to be democratic. Human Rights are commonly understood as the “inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because he or she is a human being”. Such rights are not acknowledged in every country, but where they are, people expect to benefit from them as a matter of course. When the rights are violated, ignored, withheld or removed, it is thought right to protest (another “right”) with the marches, demonstrations, picketing and sit-ins which are now so familiar a feature of twenty-first century life. There are campaigns, for example, against world poverty, freedom marches, protests against tyranny, and demonstrations to draw attention to rising world food prices. There are also protests relating to more personal and domestic issues, such as health care, unemployment, homelessness, hardship and injustice. All this activity is geared to gaining or restoring the entitlements that people feel have been denied. The question that we wish to examine is whether it is appropriate for a disciple of Christ to demand rights, to join protest marches, to sign petitions, and so on.

The aim of Human Rights is to create a better world – peaceful, fair, and equal, without poverty, famine, war, oppression or endemic plague. Ignoring the fact that it is God’s intention to bring about these conditions in His Kingdom in His own time, the world would expect those claiming the name of Christ to be eager to join in such a crusade. Surely disciples should be involved enough to campaign for the good of their neighbour who is distressed and deprived of his rights. After all, many religious communities commit themselves to this “social gospel”. Surely there is no better way of demonstrating belief in Christ’s gospel than by taking part in protest activities to improve the lot of their fellow man.

Disciples of Christ may well vex …

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