Charts of Cults, Sects, and Religious Movements
Purchase this book now!

Satanism: The World of the Occult Written by Russ Wise

What is a cult? What do I look for?

Generally, it is a group that is unorthodox, esoteric, and has a devotion to a person, object, or a set of new ideas. New Teaching - has a new theology and doctrine.

The word "cult" is from the Latin word cultus, which literally means to worship or show reverence to something.

A cult is a group of people basing their beliefs upon the world view of an isolated leadership, which always denies the central doctrines of Christianity as taught from the Bible. (McDowell & Stewart)

Only True Teaching - often considers traditional religious systems to be apostate and it alone possess the complete truth.

Strong Leadership - often an individual or small but powerful leadership group holds control of the group’s teachings and practices.

Asset Acquirement - often requires tithing and/or property transfer to the religious system.

Isolationist - to facilitate control over the members physically, intellectually, financially, and emotionally.

Controlling - exercises control over the members. Sometimes this is through fear, threatening lose of salvation if you leave the group. Sometimes through indoctrination.

Indoctrination - possesses methods to reinforce the cult’s beliefs and standards where opposing views are ridiculed and often misrepresented.

Apocalyptic - to give the members a future focus and philosophical purpose in avoiding the apocalypse or being delivered through it.

Experience - various practices including meditation, repetition of words and/or phrases, and ‘spiritual’ enlightenment with God are used as confirmation of their truth.

Depravation - sleep and food deprivation which weakens the will of the subject. This is uncommon, though practiced by more severe cults

Persecution - predictions of being persecuted and often combined with claiming any opposing views demonstrated against them as a form of persecution.

There are basically three classes of cults:
1) Western Cults - such as Mormonism, Jehovah Witness and Christian Science.
2) Eastern Cults - such as Transcendental Meditation, Hare Krishna, and The Church of Scientology.
3) New Age Cults - such as Theosophy, The Church Universal and Triumphant and Religious Science.

Confronting the Cults
Click here to buy this book!

When Cultists Ask:
A Popular Handbook on Cultic Misinterpretations
Click here to buy this book.

What the Cults Believe
Click here to buy this book!