Oct
11
Seeing “Cults” as People Groups
Filed Under Communicating with those of other faiths, New Religious Movements | 5 Comments
I recently came across an intriguing concept while reading Encountering New Religious Movements: A Holistic Evangelical Approach (ed. Hexham, Rost, and Morehead II). According to the introduction, the various authors in this book intend to bridge the gap between apologetics and contextual missiology. As part of this project, they contend that Christians should approach those in New Religious Movements (NRM) in the same way as they would approach unreached people groups on the mission field.
On the one hand, this might not be a good idea because it might cause confusion. A “people group” is usually understood as an ethnolinguistic group with a shared identity, language, history, and culture. In missions, a people group is the largest group through which the gospel can flow without encountering significant barriers of understanding and acceptance.
On the other hand, seeing NRMs as unreached people groups might help in evangelism. Many Christians unfortunately tend to see those in NRMs (i.e. LDS, Jehovah’s Witnesses, etc) as opponents that need to be proven wrong. As would be expected, this approach usually closes the door to evangelism. In contrast, Christians tend to approach unreached people groups around the world with a greater sense of understanding and compassion. Maybe by seeing those in NRMs like we see those in unreached people groups, we will be more likely to encounter them with love rather than with contention.
Feb
18
What is a cult?
Filed Under New Religious Movements | Leave a Comment
The term “cult” is widely used in our culture today. The problem is that not everybody means the same thing when they use the word. In popular culture, the term cult brings up the image of a small religous group with a charismatic leader that “brainwashes” his followers into living an aberrant lifestyle, often involving weird sexual practices and resorting to physical violence. Usually people think of the Peoples’ Temple, the Branch Davidians, and Heaven’s Gate.
In addition to this popular definition you also have theological and sociological definitions of a “cult.” In some religious circles, the term “cult” is used of groups that have unorthodox theology. For example, in the Evangelical Christian tradition, the organization of the Jehovah’s Witnesses is understood as a cult since it claims to have sole access to God and because it claims to follow the Bible, yet denies orthodox Christian beliefs.
Sociologists and scholars of new religious movements tend to reject the term “cult” altogether because of its pejorative connotations. Instead, they use the term “New Religious Movements.” However, the term still may be useful in the cult-sect-church paradigm. In this framework, a “cult” is a minority religious group which is in high tension with society at large. A “sect” is a group which experiences less tension and is usually an offshoot of a “church.” A “church” then is a religious group which is fully accepted by society. Under this definition, for example, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints was a “cult” in the nineteenth century but today is more of a “church” in American society.
Do you think using the term “cult” is still useful? If so, how would you define it?