DEFINITION | CULT

1. How are a Cult, the Occult, and New Age DIFFERENT?

a) What is the difference between a cult, the occult, and new age? Generally, any group or set of humans who have in common a strong dedication or purpose to a person or a system of beliefs can be considered cultic. This explanation, a version of which is found in many dictionaries, is applicable whether or not a group of humans is focused on a religious-based system.

b) The meaning of the word cult began to change in the 1960s when some unusual small religious groups (e.g. the Moonies,'Children of God,' etc.) started targeting U.S. high school and college students with aggressive recruiting tactics. Once such a group captured the interest of a new prospective member, they would use what many considered 'brain washing' techniques to get and keep their loyalty. This often included encouraging the new convert to cut off normal family ties. Some alarmed families tried engaging the services of professional 'deprogrammers' who would kidnap the young person, hold them against their will in a motel or other secure site, and attempt to 'talk some sense' into them by pointing out flaws in the premises they had accepted.

c) The term cult took on a decidedly negative connotation after tragedies such as the Jonestown massacre of 1978, the 1993 Branch Davidian standoff in Waco, Texas, the California Heaven's Gate group suicide in 1997, and numerous others.

d) Today many people, including news agencies, are unaware that the term has a very specific and technical meaning when used in religious circles by theologians, pastors, and authors. This meaning usually has nothing to do with any brain washing or possible violence. Instead, the term is used to denote a group that does not accept and teach all the points of a very specific set of doctrinal beliefs some believe to be the central tenets of historical Christianity.

e) For example, almost any group that does not believe and teach that the Godhead is a Trinity (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) is labeled a cult - no matter what sort of recruiting tactics it uses, how benign and serving are its leadership, or how many other doctrines it teaches that agree with orthodox beliefs. Still further, if a prominent religious leader is interviewed by the secular press and labels a group as a cult, the erroneous assumption is that the group is somehow dangerous to the safety of its members and outsiders. All this can make it very confusing for the public (and even some considered religious) to understand the real truth of a matter.

2. Common uses of the term

a) There are three common uses of the term cult in popular society.

i) A religious group that has one or more unorthodox beliefs.

ii) A religious group that is physically dangerous to outsiders and perhaps even to its own members.

iii) An exclusive religious group that may use deceptive, abusive, or excessively authoritarian tactics to attract and keep members.

b) The third use above is commonly used when the emphasis is more sociological or psychological than theological. This is because a group can have totally orthodox beliefs by the standards of most Protestant theologians, and yet still be dangerous to the mental, spiritual, even physical well-being of its members. Many commentaries on 'cultish behavior' or 'cultish methods' also may use it in this way as well.

c) True religious cults many times are begun by a single charismatic leader or speaker. They maintain a very closed group of members. They are convinced that THEY and only THEY have the real truth. Fear is used to keep members compliant and to separate them from the outside world. They may use Christian terms, however, in practice they use their own unbiblical definitions. Such groups usually do not have any New Age related or occult connections. They also may not have any radical or even violent tendencies, and may not use brain washing techniques either to attract or keep members.

3. Definition of Occult

a) Those who adhere to occult ideas believe that humans can access and use the powers of the supernatural. These powers, it is believed, can be used through secret knowledge and practices to control the nature world and even other humans. Please note that someone can be involved in activities others find occultic without actually belonging to a cult-like group. On the flip side, a person can be a member of a cult yet not involve themselves in the occult.

b) Some of the beliefs and practices of those considered occult include the following.

i) Ouija boards.

ii) Astrology.

iii) Interest in witches, spells and witchcraft in general.

iv) Tarot cards, telling fortunes, reading palms.

v) Voodoo.

vi) Spiritualism (the belief that dead spirits can be contacted, usually through a medium).

vii) The belief that spells, magic, strange gestures, etc. can alter or manipulate the physical world - including the minds of people. It is also believed that prosperity and power can be possessed through such practices.

4. Definition of New Age

a) What is referred to today as 'New Age' or the New Age movement is a philosophy and set of practices that originated and began to be popular in the late 1980s.

b) The New Age belief system centers around the idea that humans will soon enter, through their own efforts, a time of enlightenment and peace. The means through which man achieves these goals is by contact with 'spirit beings' who will teach and lead man to be fully 'one' with creation.

c) Examples of ideas and practices that are (or in some cases were) considered New Age include the following.

i)  Reincarnation - the belief that Man has a soul, and that upon death this soul comes back to life on earth in a different body or form.

ii) Transcendental or other types of meditation not found in the Bible. TM was founded in India in the mid-1950s. The TM technique involves using a sound or mantra on which to meditate in order to achieve relaxation.

iii) Channeling - The practice of claiming to converse with 'ascended masters' or people who have evolved into exalted spiritual beings.

iv) Astral projection - The claim of astral projection is that a person's soul can exit their bodies and travel through both space and time.

v) Humans are NOT made in God's image but rather are no different or of more value that anything else.

vi) Alternative medicine such as homeopathy, herbal medicine, acupuncture, chiropractic care, folk medicine and other practices that tend to reject traditional drugs and surgery. It should be noted that some of these practices have gained widespread acceptance in many societies and are no longer considered 'fringe' treatments or New Age.

vii) Belief in the occult.