Christian Foundations

So far in our posts we have define and given a description of the usual journey into a Cult.  We have seen their recruitment methods and how they hold their people with their control.

In the post, we want to lay out some of the major differences between Cults and Christian Foundations as found in the Bible.  We are already mention the areas that the Cults find as differences to the Christian Foundation we find in the Bible:

Different views about the unique book of the Bible, about the three Persons of the Trinity, who Jesus Christ is and His mission on Earth, how to be saved and views about heaven and hell.  We shall cover some of these view and the Cults we find around us.

In this section, we shall discuss the Christian teaching, the Jehovah Witness’, (J.W.’s),  the World Wide Church of God (WC of G), the Mormons, Christian Science, the Moonies, ‘The Way’ and the Unity Church.

A.  VIEWS ABOUT THE BIBLE, HEAVEN AND HELL:

1. The Christian view – the Bible is 100% the Word of God, the final authority for doctrine and truth, God-inspired yet written by man.  Only two destinations for man – eternity in heaven with God or hell in conscious torment.

2.  The J.W.’s – The King James Version of the Bible has many mistakes and their New World Translation is better.  Only the 144,000 J.W.’s will go to heaven.  No conscious torment of an eternal hell exists.

3. The Mormons – The three other volumes of ‘scripture’ they use are considered more correct.  Virtually everyone will go to one of three heavens.  You can be baptised to save people who are already dead.

4.  Christian Science – The Bible contain so many mistake, it is possible a lie.  Sinners make their own hell by doing evil here on Earth while saints make their own heaven by doing good,

5.  WC. of G. – Only they have the true teachings on the Bible.  The righteous will become God so no hell of torment exists as all others will be annihilated.

6. The Moonies – The period for the New Testament’s mission has elapsed with the coming of the New Age.  All humanity will eventually be saved.

7.  The Way – The Bible is not the word of God, therefore the Old Testament and Gospels are not necessary to read and believe.  Unknown as to their views of heaven or hell.

8.  The Unity – Other books from World Religions are accepted, alone with personal experience which has more authority than the Bible.  They deny the existence of a literal heaven or hell.

B.  THE VIEWS OF THE TRINITY

1. Christian view – There are three Persons in the Trinity, Father , Son and Holy Spirit, each with  an individual personality and work to do in Salvation.  God the Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Trinity and works to bring mankind to salvation.

2.  J.W.’s – There is only Jehovah God, singular and therefore no trinity.  The Holy Spirit is not God but an invisible, active force much like a radar beam.

3.   Mormons – There are many gods and the Father is the God of this Earth.  The Holy Spirit is a fluid, substance but not a Person.

4.  Christian Science – God is all in all, rejecting the God of the Old Testament.  The Holy Spirit is the divine Comforter and is Divine Science.

5. WC. of G. – No Trinity as God is a family and a kingdom.   In fact, we can become God ourselves.  The Holy Spirit is not God and not a Person.

6.  Moonies – No Trinity as God is a Single Being.  Jesus was the perfect incarnation of the ideal of creation.   The Holy Spirit is a female spirit or the Mother Spirit.

7.  The Way – No Trinity as God is a Single Being.  Jesus was created in Mary’s womb.  The Holy Spirit is just another name for God but not a Person.

8.  Unity  – Father is principle or Mind, not a Person.  Unclear on their opinion of Jesus virgin birth.  The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth lying latent within each one of us.

C. JESUS CHRIST AND HIS MISSION

1.  Christian view – God the Son enter the Earth as a baby, 100% man and yet 100% man.  He is the only sinless man and born of the virgin Mary.  Being sinless, His blood is 100% sufficient as our sacrifice.  Jesus was physically resurrected in a glorified body, as will all true believers be one day.  Jesus will physically and visibly return to the Earth in God’s time.

2.  J.W.’s – Not God but Michael the Archangel, a ‘god’ and the first being God created. Conceived by an active, invisible force, who is not a person and is not God.  Christ’s life was perfect but He was not God.  No bodily resurrection of Christ or man, except the 144,000 elect.  Jesus’ invisible presence returned t Earth in 1914.

3.  Mormons – One of many gods, the spirit brother of Lucifer, married with many wives.   No conceived by the Holy Spirit by sexual intercourse with a spirit being and the Father.  Man’s own blood is required to atone for certain more serious sins.  Man will be bodily resurrected and ca become a god.  No information available.

4.  Christian Science – Not God, not the Christ but Jesus is the human man and Christ is the divine idea.  Jesus was born of Mary’s spiritual thoughts.  Christ’s blood has no purpose to forgive sins.  Jesus did not really die so His resurrection is spiritualization of thought.  Jesus has disappeared to material sense and has risen in the spiritual scale of existence.

5. WC of G. – Not equal to the Father and so far, the one to be saved.  Before Jesus was conceived by Mary, He was not the Son of God.  Jesus was resurrected as a spirit, as will the saints also be.  Herbert W. Armstrong, their main leader, falsely predicted Jesus’ return on January 7, 1972.

6.  The Moonies – Not God Himself and not a Creator.  Jesus was the perfect incarnation of the ideal of creation.  Jesus did not come to die on the Cross and His death was not the will of God.  Jesus was not physically resurrected but in the spirit world, He lives a spirit man.  They believe that Jesus is ‘the Lord of the Second Coming’.

7.  The Way – No trinity as God is a single being.  Not God, not eternal but a man, not even a Person but God’s adopted Son.  Jesus was created in Mary’s womb.  Only a man could become a sacrifice for man’s sins, not God.  No doctrine on Jesus’ resurrection.  No information available.

8.  Unity – Christ is the one complete idea of a perfect man with a divine mind.  Christ is different that the man Jesus.  An angry God only accepted a human sacrifice from His rebellious children.  We will have many lives in order to reach God consciousness through reincarnation.  Jesus will not personally return to judge the world.

C.  THE NEED FOR SALVATION

1.  Christian view – We are saved by God’s grace, through faith in Christ’s death, burial and resurrection.   Works come because of the faith we have.

2.  J.W.’s – Salvation comes through good works and being a J.W.

3.  Mormons – Salvation comes through faith, baptism, repentance, good works and keeping God’s commandments; all are necessary.

4. Christian Science – Harmony and Christ in Divine Science shows us the One way to heaven.

5.  WC of G. – Very legalistic, must keep the 10 Commandments and be baptised to be saved.

6.  Moonies – Your works can save you and other people who have died before you.

7.  The Way – A legal transaction and noting more, no experience involved.

8.  Unity – Our spiritual will be equal with God when our perfection of character comes forth.

 

D.  THE MAIN THEME OF GOD’S GREAT DESIGN – a more humourous view of John 3:16

1.  Christian – ‘For God so lived the world that He gave His only Begotten Son, that whoever believes in His should not perish but have everlasting life.”  John 3:16

2.  J.W.’s – “For God was so uninvolved in the world that he sent Michael the Archangel, his first creation, the son of a non-personal invisible active force, to get beat up and killed in his place that whoever was willing to go door to door should not be annihilated but have a chance to be part of the first 144,000 people who would receive everlasting life in heaven or on earth.”

3.  Mormons – “For Adam-God, the God of this world (but one of many) was so indifferent to the world that he sent one of the other gods, the Spirit brother of the Devil to the world.  As a polygamist, the son of a fluid or substance  had to die for certain less serious sins that whoever males would bellieve i his church would be able to work their way to becoming gods themselves and have their own kingdom.”

4.  Christian Science – “For the non-personal all in all believed the world didn’t exist so much that it sent the divine idea, one of Mary’s spiritual thoughts, the son of Divine Science to appear to die, unable to forgive any sins that whoever believed all this would not make their own hell but rather, in their mid make their own heaven on Earth.”

5.  The Moonies – “For God was so powerless that he sent his son to mistakenly die for nothing, enabling a humble, multi-millionaire name Sun Myung Moon to successfully finish Christ’s mission and save everyone who had ever lived no matter what they had done.”

6.  Unity – “For a gigantic impersonal mind sent one complete idea of a perfect man and the divine mind to be our example so that whoever could find the spirit of truth inside of them, could become equal with God, even if it took an infinite number of lifetimes to achieve this.”

E.  IN CONCLSION

So many different views of the Cults and yet the underlying theme is still the lie that Adam and Eve bought in the Garden of Eden.  “You shall be like gods as your God has lied to you and has kept you from the Truth.”

Following the Christian Bible gives us our Foundations so that we can follow the Spirit of Truth, which is the Holy Spirit to find that peace and assurance that we are the ‘sons of God’, yes being remade into Jesus’ image.

In our next post, we will present the ways you can recognise a cult and how do deal see the underlying control  that holds the members of a Cult in chains.  Join us then,

Susanne Fengler, Blog Author

www.christianfoundations-jesus.treeoflife.info

PS.  Much of this information has been re-written from “Who’s that Knocking at my Door?” written by Francis Anfuso, Life Ministry Bible College, Australia, 1981.  Other sources used for this information may be found at the end of this series on the Cults.

Tags: Cult teachings compared to Bible
Filed under: Challenges to the Christian Faith, Susanne's top posts