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page 1

We do not all have the same tastes and what attracts one person may repel another. Food manufacturers along with many other providers of goods are aware of this. Take a look at the breakfast cereals in any large supermarket and you will see just how many different tastes are catered for. The world of the cults and other spiritualities works on the same basis.
We often hear people say, "How could they have got mixed up in that?" The speaker can see the deception and inconstancies of that particular group. However, that does not make them cult-proof because round the corner may be another group that does appeal to their traits and personality.

There is a feeling that only the young are attracted to cults but that is just not true. At any time of life, an individual can become vulnerable to the tactics and message of the cults. Maybe it is loneliness, a death in the family or a marriage break up but whatever the circumstances they can strike at any time of life and at that point of vulnerability you can get drawn in. It can also be that an individual is awakening spiritually and searches around for something that suits them.


Four Categories
In the first article of this series, we indicated that cults could be placed into four main categories, Counterfeit Christian Cults, Christian Cults, Personality Cults and Secular Cults. This structure may not cover every eventuality but it does help us to understand the variety that exists in Britain today. Each category would attract a different type of person with a specific need but each group is equally as dangerous.

Counterfeit Christian Cults
Despite the age we live in many people are not just looking for success in this life but want answers to what happens after death. True Christianity based on the Bible shows the original plan of God - the way that God has clearly revealed for man to be saved and to have the assurance of life after death. What each group in this section does is take that plan and make changes so we end up with a poor copy of the original. The tragedy is that the hope of life after death offered is just the same as the forged £10 note - not worth the paper it is printed on. Remember though when that note was accepted, it looked the right size, colour and design. Do not be fooled by poor imitations, check them out and compare them with the original.

Biblically we can define the groups in this category by the words of 2 Corinthians 11:4 - another Jesus, a different spirit and a different gospel. Each one will have changed the fundamentals of salvation in order to make people dependent upon their group alone. If they only offer the same way of salvation as every other group, there is nothing special about them. However, each cult claims to be the only way and so there has to be something special.

A good example here is the Watchtower Society of Jehovah's Witnesses. They have their own Bible, a monopoly on the number that go to heaven, a doctrine that identifies Jesus and Michael the Archangel as the same person and claim to be the 'Faithful and Discreet Slave' of Matthew 24, the only organisation God is using today.

Another group in this category is the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints (Mormons). They have their own prophet - Joseph Smith - who restored Christ's Church after a complete apostasy. They have three other Scriptures that take us beyond the Bible and sacred (I would say secret) Temple ceremonies both for the living and the dead.
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