 Joined: 10/24/2010(UTC)
Posts: 694
Location: Florida
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"Granny Ruth" sent us this, just this morning: Quote:
Many of the Christian people that we have had association with consider that we are a cult or that we have "lost our way" or "have been led astray". Many members of this congregation have told me that they have been accused of being in a cult.
The accusations fly but we are not allowed to cross examine our accusers.
WHAT IS A CULT?
According to Webster's Dictionary "a cult represents a religious body that is unorthodox or spurious'" and "devotion to a great person, idea or thing".
The book "the Kingdom of the Cults" by Walter Martin quotes Dr. Charles Brandon "A cult is any religious group which differs significantly in some one or more respects which are regarded as the normative expression of religion in our total culture".
"The Book of Cults" by Bob Larson states that there are three things that cults share in common:
1. A centralized authority which tightly structures both philosophy and lifestyle.
2. A "we" versus "they" complex, pitting the supposed superior insights of the group against a hostile outside culture.
3. A commitment for each member to intensively proselytize the unconverted.
4. A entrenched isolationism that divorces the devotees from the realities of the world at large.
Larson's book goes on to inform us that "Christ [sic] is the source of determining error and truth" as the standard that is to be used to determine the validity of a cult. Furthermore, Larson states that cults possess secret knowledge or private understanding of some supposed truths or mysteries.
HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO US?
First of all, I have discovered that most Christians, and most Canadians for that matter, use words without understanding the meaning of them. They really don't know what a "cult" is however, by accusing us of being a cult, I think that the accuser is saying "I do not agree with what you believe and, therefore, what you believe is wrong".
The accuser is basing his accusation on whatever he thinks he believes or on whatever he thinks he has been taught.
The accuser sees us doing something outside the "normative expression of religion" in HIS culture and therefore, that makes us a cult. The radio pastor stated that we are a cult because we worship on Sabbath or Saturday which is outside his "normative expression of religion".
Most of these accusers do not actually know what a cult is. Quite frankly, I believe that if the accuser is a Baptist then, by his narrow definition of "cult", anyone that is not a Baptist is in a cult.
A VERY IMPORTANT point to remember is that the accusers are using CHRISTIANITY and its teachings as the yardstick to measure who is and who is not a cult. By this single point, WE ARE A "CULT".
Notice that Larson says that "Christ [sic] is the source of determining error and truth" and that is to be understood as the Christian view of what "Christ" taught. Notice what it does not say, it does not say "SCRIPTURE is the source of determining error and truth". And it does not say "Messiah Yeshua is the source of determining error and truth". What Larson teaches in his book is normative Christian understanding of what cults are therefore, I assume that when a typical NTOC Christian accuses us of being a cult, they are using his standards expressed in his book.
WHAT DO WE TEACH?
Notice that we do not exhibit any of the four points that cults share in common as Larson states in his book. We also do not have "secret knowledge" or "secret understanding" of some hidden spiritual "truth".
Those that have been attending our services for the past three years and anyone that has attended any of my classes has heard me say over and over again "check me out in the Scriptures". I insist that you examine the Scriptures for yourself. ALL of the people in leadership of CTOMC have stated that you must check out the Scriptures for yourself.
Every teaching I ever gave, I stated my sources for the information. When I taught about Christmas and Easter, I stated what the sources were. By the way, those sources were Christian resource books such as Unger's and Vine's.
If I, or any of the leadership of CTOMC that I have heard, begins a teaching with the statement "I believe that…", then you can be sure that there is Scripture to back up the teaching.
We also consider that ALL of Scripture is ONE COMPLETE Revelation from the Most High and that no part of Scripture is "done away with". There is no "old" and "new". There is only the Word of the Most High; the Davahr Adonai.
We also consider that Torah is the foundation of ALL of Scripture. Yeshua taught us this in the Gospels because He taught Torah and not something new. See Matthew 5:17 & 18.
THE ACCUSER AND THE ACCUSATION
When I am accused of being in a cult or being a cult leader, or, when a Christian blurts out "we are not under the law, but under grace", my first response is to defend my position and my beliefs. When I do this, I place the accuser in a position "over" me. I make the accuser out to be a pit bull attacking me when the truth is that the accuser is just the Taco Bell Chihuahua yapping at me. There's no substance to his accusation.
My problem is (and you might have this problem too, so don't be so smug about it), that if someone makes one of these comments to me, I think that I have to answer them.
Prov. 29:9 says, "When a wise man argues with a foolish one, he meets anger and ridicule without relief." My commentary on this is, "Never argue with a fool, those who are watching may not know who is which".
CATEGORIES OF ACCUSERS
Category One, The Christian leader or pastor or person who assumes that anything outside of the "normative expression of the Christian religion", as he understands it, is cultic. These people are NTOC. According to Category One, anyone espousing to our belief system is in a cult. Category One people are dogmatic about their Belief System. They actually have a centralized authority which might be the church or the teachings of the church. They believe that their understanding of "the truth" is superior to all other Belief Systems or even "the world". They are committed to intensively proselytize, or "winning the world for Christ". And they tend to isolate themselves from the rest of the world. Sound familiar?
Category Two, the Christian leader or pastor or person who sincerely believes that their "normative expression of the Christian religion" is correct but have some misgivings about some of the teachings. These people have read their Scripture and see an inconsistency in what is practiced as Christian tradition and what Scripture teaches. They may listen to the teachings in our chat room and may even accept that the teachings are from Scripture. However, they still are committed to the Belief System that says "Jesus has done away with the Old Testament and that time is past". They might not actually say we are a cult, but they consider that we have strayed from "the faith" and are "in error". They might ask how our "church" is doing and speak nicely to us but they won't attend and are otherwise not interested.
Category Three, the christian leader or pastor or person who will listen to the teachings of Messianic Judaism and accept that they are Scriptural and that Christianity should be following Scripture rather then Christian traditions. They may attend Messianic services, Bible studies, classes and conferences. However, they have no intention of changing their Belief System or lifestyle to line up with Scripture. They are comfortable where they are in the church. They may attend one of the churches that call us a cult and nod their heads in agreement and then come to a Messianic Shabbat service, class or conference and "agree" with what is taught there. They are a waste of our time and resources. They are neither hot nor cold.
Category Four, the Christian leader, pastor, or person who will listen AND EVEN HEAR the teachings of Messianic Israel and accept that they are Scriptural and that Christianity should be following Scripture rather then Christian traditions. They search out what we are teaching and try to understand what is being said. They examine every detail and ask good, honest questions. They want the answers. As they hear and understand Messianic Teachings, they begin to change their Belief System and lifestyle to line up with Scripture.
Some of these Christian leaders have abandoned "normative Christian traditions" such as "changing Sabbath from seventh day to first day". When this happens, some of the Christians leave their churches and go elsewhere. Some of these people have lost large segments of their congregations. There is a price to pay for following Scripture and being obedient to the Most High. These people will be rejected by some of their Christian "friends" and associates and even their families. After all, "they've joined a cult, haven't they"?
What Is Our Reaction To These People?
There is nothing that can be done about or with Category One people. They are dangerous in that they are teaching others error and they will be the least in the Kingdom of Heaven if they get there (see Matthew 5:19). There will be no reasoning with them. When they make the "cult" statement or ask a question, they are not seeking an answer. They are challenging. Just because they ask a question, doesn't mean I have to answer it.
Most of the Category One pastors have a vested interest in the "normative expression of the Christian religion". They usually pastor mega-churches or their primary teachings are prosperity or other quasi-biblical doctrines. In fact, our teachings are a threat to their Belief System and they will speak against us out of fear or even hatred.
Category Two and Three people are interested in Messianic and Jewish Roots things because they "tickle their fancy" or they are just interesting facts. They will attend a Passover Seder or even a Hebrew Roots class. They will contribute to a Messianic Ministry but that's it. They may not overtly make the "cult" statement. When they ask a question, they are really not seeking an answer.
Category Four people have "ears to hear" and "eyes to see" and they can be reasoned with. They are who we are!! When they ask a question, they want an answer. They will search Scripture to get an answer and they will look up any answer we give them.
About Questions And Answers
Something that I have discovered in this Messianic walk and talking to Canadians: People will ask an essay question but they want a bumper sticker answer. This applies to Christians and non-Christians alike.
Most Category One, Two and Three people will make a statement such as "Jesus made all foods clean" when we tell them that we do not eat pig meat. We haven't even said anything about clean or unclean.
They make the statement thinking they are a pit bull on attack when, in fact, they are only a little Chihuahua yapping at you. The statement, or question, is designed to put you in your place. They don't want an answer and they wouldn't hear an answer if you gave it to them.
I had to write a paper on this topic for Yeshiva and If you just read it and not looked up any of the Scriptures, it would take about 20 to 30 minutes.
On the other hand, the Category Four person will make the same statement by asking "didn't Jesus make all foods clean"? They want an answer. They will take the time to hear that Yeshua did not do away with Torah and therefore the food commandments are still in force.
A Misunderstanding Of Who We Are.
The whole issue boils down to Who We Are.
Category One, Two and Three pastors teach us that they are gentiles. They are made part of the "commonwealth of Israel" by spiritual adoption into the family of Abraham. Category One teaches such things as "Jesus took all the curses on Him and therefore, we gentile Christians receive only the blessings".
Category One, Two and Three want to remain gentiles. Their "adoption" is only spiritual and they are not required to comply with any of the "Old Testament" commandments.
By the way, Messianic Judaism also teaches this same philosophy. Christians are gentiles and they have their own "sabbath" and they do not have to follow Torah.
ADOPTION
There is NO Spiritual Adoption! Look it up for yourself.
If you are a Christian Believer in Messiah Yeshua, then you are called out by HASHEM. You are NOT the "Spiritual" seed of Abraham. This is Christian tradition and is not Biblical. In Galatians 3:26-29 we are told who we are according to Rav Sha'ul. In verse 29. He tells us, "If you belong to Messiah, you are the seed of Abraham" (Galatians 3:29, CJB). Notice the lack of the word "spiritual" here.
Another interesting Christian doctrine that does not line up with Scripture or reality is the idea that "we are adopted by faith into the family of G-d [sic]" and therefore, because we are only spiritually adopted, we are not under the law. The Christian gets all the blessings and none of the curses. This is utter nonsense. If the Christian is "adopted" into the family then they are a part of the family as though they were natural born to the family. They receive all the rights and privileges of the natural son. They would then be required to, and expected to, follow the rules of the family. There is no way that a family would adopt a child and then allow that child to live by whatever rules the child wanted to.
When a Christian is "adopted" into G-d's people, they are adopted into Israel. They receive GREAT blessings however, they are expected to obey the rules. As a mater of fact, receiving the blessings is predicated on following the rules (see Deuteronomy 28:1-2 and 13). On the other hand, when the adopted Christian wants all the blessings and does not want to follow the rules, they are asking for something that is not possible (see Deuteronomy 28:15-68).
When a "gentile" is adopted into Israel, they become Israel. They receive all of the blessings and curses of Israel as HASHEM spoke in the Torah. Yashua's work in no way changed that.
The Most High has no relationship with anyone else but Israel.
It is possible for a person to become "un-adopted". Another term for this is rejecting Yahweh.
CONCLUSIONS
Just because someone calls us a cult does not mean we are one.
Our Statement of Faith addresses who we are and what we believe. Our Beliefs are Scriptural Based and not part of man made traditions.
Most of those that accuse us of being a cult have not attended our services nor have they questioned us about what we believe. They have made assumptions based on their own prejudices and fears.
I do not want to "debate" anyone about what we believe. I do not think fast enough to engage in a verbal battle with someone. I am not a good "used car salesman" and I cannot convince someone of something that they do not want to hear anyway.
I will, on the other hand answer legitimate questions, IN WRITING by an accuser. However, I will also demand the right to ask questions too. As a matter of fact, I have a long list of questions to ask a typical NTOC accuser.
Messianic Believers should be ready to "give an answer" as Kefa says in 1 Peter 3:15. We believe that the Believer should "study to show thyself approved" (2 Timothy 2:15).
If a person comes to one of our services and then assumes that they understand what we believe and what we teach, they are "fools". They have terminal "bumper sticker" mentality. What we believe and what we teach cannot be condensed into one half hour TV show. It cannot be written on a 3 by 5 card or "post-it" note. But that is what is expected. These people cannot be reached and they don't want to anyway. I ask that, on the way out, they knock the dust from their feet so they don't take any of our dust with them.
Yeshua said that "narrow is the way that leads to life" (Matthew 7:14) and "wide is the road that leads to destruction" (Matthew 7:13).
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Nehemiah wrote:"We carried our weapons with us at all times, even when we went for water" Nehemiah 4:23b |
