Is Christianity a cult?
Allan Doeksen
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/cult
1. a particular system of religious worship, esp. with reference to
its rites and ceremonies.
2. an instance of great veneration of a person, ideal, or thing, esp.
as manifested by a body of admirers: the physical fitness cult.
3. the object of such devotion.
4. a group or sect bound together by veneration of the same thing,
person, ideal, etc.
5. Sociology. a group having a sacred ideology and a set of rites
centering around their sacred symbols.
From a 'rational christian' site:
http://www.rationalchristianity.net/xian_cult.html
1. Overly aggressive recruitment/evangelization
2. False/deceptive teaching, including hyperexclusivism:
3. Use of brainwashing techniques
4. Financial exploitation of members (ultimately profiting the leaders)
5. Emotional explotation of young adults, the elderly, etc.
Aside from that Christian site's inability to use spellchecker
(explotation!), its amazing how they use an extreme definition of
'cult' in order to protect themselves from sounding like a cult.
However, even with their extreme definitions, most people could poke
holes in each of their refutes.
-- Allan D.