Very good!
Now with that in mind, here are the key factors of a cult- sound familiar?
What is a cult?
- Generally, it is a group that is unorthodox, esoteric, and has a devotion to a person, object, or a set of new ideas.
- New Teaching - has a new theology and doctrine.
- Only True Teaching - often considers traditional religious systems to be apostate and it alone possesses the complete truth.
- Strong Leadership - often an individual or small but powerful leadership group holds control of the group’s teachings and practices.
- Asset Acquirement - often requires tithing and/or property transfer to the religious system.
- Isolationist - to facilitate control over the members physically, intellectually, financially, and emotionally.
- Controlling - exercises control over the members. Sometimes this is through fear, threatening loss of salvation if you leave the group. Sometimes through indoctrination.
- Indoctrination - possesses methods to reinforce the cult’s beliefs and standards where opposing views are ridiculed and often misrepresented.
- Apocalyptic - to give the members a future focus and philosophical purpose in avoiding the apocalypse or being delivered through it.
- Experience
- various practices including meditation, repetition of words and/or
phrases, and ‘spiritual’ enlightenment with God are used as confirmation
of their truth.
- Depravation - sleep and food deprivation which weakens the will of the subject.
- This is uncommon, though practiced by more severe cults.
- Persecution - predictions of being persecuted, often combined with claiming any opposing views demonstrated against them as a form of persecution.