TPC Connections

Sermon Notes

Cults and the Occult
Part 2
“Cults”

Last time we defined what a cult is and looked at 2 of the major cults–Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Define: A cult is “a religious group that denies one or more of the fundamentals of biblical truth, typically presents a different Jesus, is often led by a central figure, exercises unhealthy control over its followers, and claims a truth source other than or equal to the Bible.”
So let’s pick up where we left off with a quick look at four more of the larger, more pervasive cults.
First, CHRISTIAN SCIENCE.
Mary Baker Eddy is credited with starting the Christian Science religion founded in 1875. Her story is that she was always depressed and had several illnesses and spinal problems.
She claimed to have been healed by a Dr. Quimby through ‘mental healing’ which he called “The Science of Health” or Christian Science.
Inspired by her alleged healing, Ms. Eddy then had the idea to write the Christian Science Journal. In it she wrote that all matter is an illusion, including your body.
So, since your body and sickness are both an illusion, then one cannot truly become ill. So we have here sort of a mind over matter belief.
Christian Science also teaches that Jesus was not the Christ, that He did not suffer for sins, that He did not die on the Cross, and therefore He was not physically resurrected.
They believe humanity is already eternally saved. Sin, evil, sickness and death are not real. Heaven and hell are simply states of mind.
Many movie stars were and are in this religious group, such as Marilyn Monroe, Joan Crawford, Val Kilmer, and Ernest Hemingway was raised in it.
The beliefs of Christian Science are so bizarre that the best method to use for witnessing is the Roman Road of Salvation or similar scriptures.
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Then next we have the NEW AGE MOVEMENT.
The New Age movement is based on Eastern mystics, Hinduism, and paganism. Shirley Maclaine was a great popularizer of the New Age in the 1980’s and 1990’s.
The New Age religion is like a giant religious stew that uses parts of the Bible mixed with parts of the writings of most other religions, including the occult.
Most New Agers are well educated, upscale people with a college education and very active in politics and community affairs.
Beliefs vary, but most New Agers believe that everything and everyone is god–which is pantheism. They believe that Jesus was a guru but not a savior. They believe that he studied in the Far East and was also a New Ager (there is zero historical evidence for this).
They believe that you will be constantly reincarnated until you reach a oneness with god, which is a slice of the teaching of Buddhism. They also use all types of the occult in their worship. They believe in psychic experiences and that extraterrestrials have visited earth–much like Scientology does.

There is no main, singular leader but it enjoys many influential spokespeople. Most of the worshippers gather in small groups. But if all Americans that hold to this belief system would organize, it would be the 3rd largest denomination in the US.
New Agers also reject the reality of absolute truths. This is necessary in order to embrace all teachings, which they believe is the way to arriving at the best truth. It’s like saying “I don’t know what is true, so I will believe everything.”
In witnessing to the New Agers, you must be able to convince them that only the Bible is the true word of God and that all other spiritual type teachings are from Satan the deceiver.
Simply explain to them the plan of salvation. Since most New Agers are well educated, you must show them that compared to the one and only God, their knowledge of spiritual things is lacking.
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Next we will look at SCIENTOLOGY.
Scientology was started by science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard in 1954. This relatively young religious movement has spread around the world, and today there are millions in 165 countries across the globe who ascribe to the teachings of Scientology.
Scientology has become very popular among some of the wealthy and famous, with Tom Cruise and John Travolta perhaps being the most well-known Scientologists.
Scientology at its core is a self-help religion. There is a heavy emphasis on spiritual growth and personal development. Scientology is a journey of personal and spiritual improvement that Scientologists believe you can achieve by following their core principles and teachings.
The goal is to achieve greater enlightenment, which can lead to more self-awareness and higher levels of spiritual freedom.
According to their own website, “The ultimate goal of Scientology is true spiritual enlightenment and freedom for all.”
But here is where it gets bizarre.
Scientologists teach that man is a spiritual being known as a thetan which is derived from the Greek letter theta. The thetan is immortal and has lived through countless lifetimes. To be a thetan you must have a mind and body to occupy.
In the primordial past, according to Scientologist teachings, thetans brought the material universe into being largely for their own pleasure.”
Scientology acknowledge the concept of a higher power or supreme being. However, there is no specific doctrine or understanding of this supreme being that members must ascribe to. Members may create their own understanding of how they define this supreme being.
Also, because God does not exist in the manner we understand as Christians, there is no ability to develop a personal relationship with a living God.
According to their website, here is how Scientologists view man’s role in the world:
“Man is a spiritual being endowed with abilities well beyond those which he normally envisions. He is not only able to solve his own problems, accomplish his goals and gain lasting happiness, but he can achieve new states of awareness he may never have dreamed possible.”
Again, the way to reach them is to present the gospel of Christ with an emphasis on salvation by grace through faith, not good works.
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Next we have ISLAM.
Islam began about AD 610 by Muhammad. Their teachings come from the Qur’an which they believe God revealed to Muhammad through the angel Gabriel in a cave.
They consider Jesus to be one of up to 124,000 prophets sent by Allah to various cultures. Jesus to them was sinless, but not the Son of God.
Islam is one of the world’s fastest growing religions numbering over one billion followers. It is the second largest religion in Europe. In the US, Islam challenges Judaism as the second largest religion. Newsweek reports that in the US there are between 4 to 7 million Muslims.
A United Nations demographic report forecasts that Muslims will represent at least half of the global births after the year 2055!
The five doctrines of Islam are:
a. Allah is the one true god.
b. Allah has sent many prophets.
c. The Koran is the only accurate of the four inspired books.
d. There are many angels and fallen angels.
e. There will be a day of judgment and resurrection based on your works.
Now, we are constantly told by practitioners of Islam as well as our own media that Islam is a religion of peace. The strange thing about this is that only the members of the Islamic faith or people that know nothing about Islam are saying this.
The fact is that the Koran contains at least 109 verses that speak of war with nonbelievers, usually on the basis of their status as non-Muslims. Some are quite graphic, with commands to chop off heads and fingers and kill infidels wherever they may be hiding.
Muslims who do not join the fight are called ‘hypocrites’ and warned that Allah will send them to Hell if they do not join the slaughter.

Unlike nearly all of the Old Testament verses of violence, most verses of violence in the Quran are open-ended, meaning that they are not necessarily restrained by historical context contained in the surrounding text
Many that have came out of the Islamic faith and have become Christian pastors have said that Islam is not a religion of peace.
Yet oddly, since the Islamic terrorist attack of September 11th, more non-Muslims are accepting the Islamic faith as preferable over Christianity. They believe that Islam’s Allah is the same God that we as Christians worship. This is not true!
Let’s read the words of Jesus in Matt 24:8-13…
8 “All these are the beginning of birth pains.
9 “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me.
10 At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other,
11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people.
12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold,
13 but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.” (NIV)
Since September 11th the above scripture seems very relevant. Christians are being killed and persecuted in all Muslim countries, and Christians are hated by all Islamic Nations.
But because of lies about Islam being a peaceful religion and that they worship the same God that we worship, many people including Christians are being deceived.
According to the Bible there is only one true way to salvation, and that is Jesus Christ. No one comes unto the Father except through Jesus Christ!
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So far we’ve looked at 6 of the major cults. However, there are many smaller cult-like groups littering the religious/social media landscape. Remember, the signs of a cult are:
*A central person or persons that propagate the cult.
*Teaching that departs from orthodox Christianity.
*A different Jesus presented than the One taught in orthodox Christianity. For instance, the Apostle Paul confronted the Galatians about how they had “turned away…to a different gospel” (Gal. 1:6).
He noted there were false teachers among them that wanted to “pervert the gospel of Christ” (vs.7).
He wrote to the Corinthians along the same vein:
“4 You seem so gullible: you believe whatever anyone tells you even if he is preaching about another Jesus than the one we preach, or a different spirit than the Holy Spirit you received, or shows you a different way to be saved. You swallow it all” (2 Cor. 11:4).
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Next time: The Dangerous World of the Occult