IS THE CHURCH OF CHRIST A CULT?
Gary W. Summers
On a few occasions the church of Christ has been called a cult by some. The purpose of this article is to explain why this statement is inaccurate. One disclaimer, however, is necessary, and that is that in the late ’70s there was a group that split off from us that did become a cult. Chuck Lucas began what he designated the Crossroads Church; later Kip McKean became the head of the movement, and it was referred to as the Boston Movement. Currently it is known as the Church of Christ International. This group has been separate from us for more than two decades, although some individuals may not have this knowledge and erroneously believe that any church of Christ is a cult. The fact is that they divided churches and, once churches discovered their cultic practices, were opposed by brethren everywhere. They went out from us because they were not of us (1 John 2:19).
Characteristics of a Cult
The best way to determine whether or not something is a cult is to set forth definitions and see how many of them may apply to any religious group. The following definitions are provided by Josh McDowell and Don Stewart in their book Handbook of Today’s Religions. All of the information cannot be repeated, but the main distinguishing marks are listed below.
1. “A cult is a perversion, a distortion of biblical Christianity and/or a rejection of the historic teachings of the Christian Church” (17).
2. “…cults justify their existence by claiming they have something more than just the Bible and its ‘inadequate message’” (20).
3. “Some cults make no claim to new truth or extra-biblical revelation, but believe that they alone have the key to interpreting the mysteries in the Bible” (20).
4. “…a sure mark of a cult is that the final authority on spiritual matters rests on something other than the plain teaching of the Holy Scripture” (21).
5. “One characteristic that is found in all cults is false teaching about the person of Jesus Christ in the light of historical biblical Christianity” (21). “All cults ultimately deny the fact that Jesus Christ is God the Son, second Person of the Holy Trinity, and mankind’s only hope” (24).
6. “Characteristic of many cultic groups is a frontal attack on orthodox Christianity. They argue that the church has departed from the true faith” (22).
7. “A feature of some cultic groups is that they say one thing publicly but internally believe something totally different” (22).
8. “Another characteristic of all non-Christian cults is either an inadequate view or outright denial of the Holy Trinity” (23).
9. “Cult doctrines are continually in a state of flux and have no sure foundation on which to anchor their hope. Adherents of a particular cult will learn a doctrine only to find that doctrine later changed or contradicted by further revelation” (23).
10. “Cults are characterized by central figures who consider themselves messengers of God with unique access to the Almighty. …he can dictate the theology and behavior of the cult” (24).
11. “Another feature of the cults is they often promulgate false prophecy. Cult leaders, who believe they have been divinely called by God, have made bold predictions of future events, supposedly revealed by the inspiration of God. …these predictions of future events do not come to pass” (24-25).
12. “One teaching that is totally absent from all the cults is the gospel of the grace of God. No one is taught in the cults that he can be saved from eternal damnation by simply placing his faith in Jesus Christ. It is always belief in Jesus Christ and ‘do this’ or ‘follow that.’ All cults attach something to the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith. It might be baptism, obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel, or something else, but it is never taught that faith in Christ alone will save anyone” (24).
Before commenting on these, let us add the definitions of others. Walter Martin has both studied and written about cults. He said:
A cult, then, is a group of people polarized around someone’s interpretation of the Bible and is characterized by major deviations from orthodox Christianity relative to the cardinal doctrines of the Christian faith, particularly the fact that God became man in Jesus Christ (Walter Martin, The Rise of the Cults p. 12) (McDowell and Stewart 17).
Similar to these are: “What Are Some Characteristics of a Cult?” from Carol Giambalvo’s Cult Information and Recovery website (carol2180@aol.com). She lists most of the preceding characteristics and a few additional ones (all emphasis is mine):
1. Authoritarian in their power structure
2. Totalitarian in their control
3. Deceptive in recruiting and/or fundraising
4. Exclusive and innovative in appearance
5. Dependent on others in the group
6. Led by a charismatic, self-appointed leader
7. Maintained by a fear of leaving the group
8. Skilled in thought reform techniques
9. Isolated physically or psychologically from society
10. Zealous in controlling the flow of information; many use mind-altering techniques (such as chanting, meditation, hypnosis, and other forms of repetitive actions) “to stop normal critical thinking.”
Now anyone who is familiar at all with the churches of Christ would know immediately that, out of all the characteristics given above, only one could possibly be applied to us. We simply do not fit the pattern on practically any level of consideration. For someone to even accuse us of being a cult is to show a tremendous lack of knowledge on their part of 1) what a cult is, and 2) what members of the body of Christ actually teach. No one who had knowledge of either could so charge us.
Our Defense
First, the churches of Christ have had no strong central leader apart from the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Some have tried to credit Thomas or Alexander Campbell with beginning the church of Christ, but such is folly. Others were teaching some of the doctrines they taught prior to them, as well as about the same time that they reached their conclusions. Furthermore, Alexander Campbell would have made a poor cult leader, since he not only did not act in secrecy, but set forth his views publicly for years. He edited first The Christian Baptist (1823-30) and then The Millennial Harbinger (1830-1866, the time of his death). These are thick volumes; he taught nothing in secret. Furthermore, he engaged in five public debates, including one with atheist Robert Owen. What cult figure was ever so public? Furthermore, he had no revelation of his own but called people to abide by what the Scriptures teach. He invited people to read and study for themselves—a poor way to control information. He championed critical thinking, as brethren always have.
When we preach and teach, we often ask people not to take our word for anything but instead to study the Scriptures to see if what we are saying is so (Acts 17:11). We are one of the few religious groups who invite critical thinking. Many religious groups defend themselves by saying, “That’s our tradition,” or “That’s just the way we do things.” The important thing to remember is not what we or Campbell teach—but that the Scriptures themselves teach critical thinking. How often did Jesus reason with His enemies? As one studies His life, He is constantly encouraging others to think upon the evidence and draw the proper conclusions.
We do not teach that we have any authority of our own, nor is there anyone among us who claims to be authoritative or is dictatorial. All we do is attempt to discern what the Bible actually teaches. We have no one with latter-day revelations who wastes his time making foolish predictions. As we consider this point, however, where does this description leave Pentecostals, who claim that God speaks to them constantly? We, not they, are abiding by the teachings of the revelation from God found in the New Testament; they are the ones saying, “God told me this” and “God told me that”—and we are considered a cult? The pope claims Divine interpretive power. He is a charismatic leader; has anyone called the Catholic Church a cult?
Churches of Christ have no leader besides Christ (Matt. 28:18). We not only do not have an earthly head over us; we don’t even have a denominational structure. The Baptists, Methodists, Lutherans, Episcopalians, and Presbyterians all have annual conferences to decide what they will believe for the next year; they even take votes on it. We never need one because God has already declared in His Word what Christians are going to believe next year, as well as every year after that. Has anyone accused these various denominations of being cultic because they have a human authority (themselves) in addition to the Bible?
So we are neither authoritarian in our power structure (since we do not have one), nor totalitarian in trying to control our members. Our only “control” is to appeal to fellow Christians on the basis of what the Bible teaches.
We are not deceptive in recruiting; we teach the Bible to those who are interested. We do not engage in fund-raising of any kind. We do not use thought-control techniques or isolate members to get them to conform. We do practice withdrawing of fellowship, as the New Testament teaches (1 Cor. 5:1-13), but no one, apparently, is intimidated by this practice, since people depart all the time. We use no physical pressure on people whatsoever, since we do not have a commune, and the only psychological pressure comes from what the Scriptures themselves apply to a person.
Historic Teachings
The churches of Christ have not changed with respect to the historical teachings on moral issues, but look at what various religious groups have done. Anyone who wants to take the trouble to trace what has been taught about homosexuality through the centuries would discover that virtually all religious denominations have been opposed to such a perversion. We still are! How many denominations have reversed themselves regarding this doctrine—yet we are called a cult? We are the ones still upholding what the Bible teaches as it applies to moral issues.
The same is true of worship. Historically, just about every religious denomination opposed the use of instrumental music when it was added to worship—leaders such as John Wesley, Adam Clarke, Charles Spurgeon, Albert Barnes, and others. Now some have turned the concept of worship given unto God into entertainment for themselves. We are not the ones who have changed the historic teachings of the Christian Church.
The Deity of Christ
Christians cannot hold to any other doctrine but that Jesus is the Son of God. If there is any doctrine that has been upheld by us, this is it. Some of the greatest lessons ever presented by preachers in the church of our Lord have been on this topic. By this one definition of a cult alone we must be excluded. We truly believe in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit and have defended these truths for centuries.
Of course, we do not hold to any of these doctrines because others do; the only reason Christians believe any doctrine is that the New Testament teaches it. In fact, the Roman Catholic Church did change many teachings. History records them. The appeal of the churches of Christ has always been to return to the doctrine and practices of the New Testament. Something, such as infant baptism, may have been practiced incorrectly for centuries. Longevity does not validate it.
Our One “Aberration”
The only accusation that could possibly be leveled against us is that we teach something in addition to grace and faith—obedience. Cults may demand so many works be done, or one’s salvation is in jeopardy; we have no such practice. The Scriptures do teach, however, that there is a correct response to God’s grace. Nowhere does the Bible teach salvation by “faith only.” We are saved by faith—one that obeys the Lord. Do McDowell and Stewart wish to argue that one can be saved without any obedience whatsoever?
They obviously showed their bias in what they wrote on this cultic characteristic. Churches of Christ teach the grace of God and the necessity of faith. It would be foolish for anyone to think he could earn salvation. No one possesses that much goodness; no one has the ability to counteract his own sins by laboring diligently in the kingdom or doing so many acts of kindness. Only the blood of Christ, shed by the sinless Jesus, the Son of God, can remove sins. Works cannot do it.
A person’s “faith,” however, if it will not lead him to repent and have those sins washed away (Rev. 1:5), is not genuine faith. If Hebrews 11 teaches anything, it is that faith acts. Jesus promises salvation to all them that obey Him (Heb. 5:9). Does that sound like “faith only”? Again, Jesus said: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven” (Matt. 7:21). Does that sound like “faith only”? “You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only” (James 2:24). Does this Bible verse make it sound like we are saved by “faith only”?
So, are we saved by faith or works? We are saved by faith that obeys God. We are not trusting in ourselves to save us—only Jesus can do that. But He saves us when we repent and are baptized (Acts 2:38). Being baptized does not merit salvation, but it is an expression of compliance with God’s commands—the answer of a good conscience toward Him (1 Peter 3:21). Even after we are baptized, we will not be 100% obedient to God in all things and will still not merit salvation (1 John 1:8, 10). This fact, however, does not mean that we must not walk in the light anyway (1 John 1:7). Imperfection does not disprove the need for obedience. God still requires that we obey Him in all things to the best of our ability.
This is not some new doctrine. It was taught in the New Testament, and early Christians practiced baptism for the remission of sins. People departed from that truth, along with others, at a later time. The question is, “Do we want to stand with the doctrines of men that developed over time—or stand with what the Holy Spirit revealed in the New Testament?” May the members of the body of Christ stand with truth—despite what all others do! We have debated this issue with denominations for 200 years—with great success—and will continue to do so.
*Send comments or questions concerning this article to Gary Summers. Please refer to this article as: "IS THE CHURCH OF CHRIST A CULT? (02/26/06)."
