(3779,48,'2012-01-07 20:08:48','2012-01-08 04:08:48','There\'s a  four-letter word getting thrown around a lot lately. It\'s a word I\'ve heard used flippantly, jokingly, and disparagingly. Admittedly, sometimes it seems like the most accurate, albeit inflammatory, word to use. Often this word is spoken, perhaps rightly so, by broken and hurting people out of pain and frustration. It\'s a word that was used by a commenter on my previous post in Provoketive Magazine, <a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2011/12/08/slap-on-a-little-lipstick-youll-be-fine/\">Slap On a Little Lipstick, You\'ll Be Fine</a>. If I am being completely honest, it\'s a word I\'ve used, sometimes quickly out of anger, and a lot more cautiously after great deliberation.\r\n\r\nThat\'s right, I am talking about the \'C\' word: Cult.\r\n\r\nCult is a term used by many Christians to describe Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, Christian Scientists, and many other fringe religious groups and doomsday groups like Peoples Temple and Heaven\'s Gate.  It\'s also been used to discredit Christian churches and ministries with an authoritarian structure, rigid rules, and/or apparent spiritual abuse. The commenter from my last article used it in reference to what he thought was a minister requiring me to wear lipstick (as a note, I never stated in that article whether that incident occurred at a secular or religious organization).\r\n\r\nGiven that it carries such negative overtones, it is probably not a word one should use unless it is known for certain that a group is a cult. But what <em>is</em> a true cult?\r\n\r\nMerriam-Webster\'s Online Dictionary gives the following definition:\r\n\r\n<span class=\"ssens\">1    : formal religious veneration : worship</span>\r\n<div class=\"sblk\">\r\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">2</div>\r\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\">: a system of religious beliefs and ritual; also : its body of adherents</span></div>\r\n</div>\r\n<div class=\"sblk\">\r\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">3</div>\r\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\">: a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious; also : its body of adherents</span></div>\r\n</div>\r\n<div class=\"sblk\">\r\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">4</div>\r\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\">: a system for the cure of disease based on dogma set forth by its promulgator <span class=\"vi\">&lt;health cults&gt;</span></span></div>\r\n</div>\r\n<div class=\"sblk\">\r\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">5</div>\r\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\"><span class=\"sn\">a</span> : great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement, or work (as a film or book); especially : such devotion regarded as a literary or intellectual fad</span></div>\r\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\"><span class=\"sn\">b</span> : the object of such devotion</span></div>\r\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\"><span class=\"sn\">c</span> : a usually small group of people characterized by such devotion</span></div>\r\n</div>\r\nGoing by this definition, any religious group or faith is a cult. That\'s right, that means any Christian church or group, mainstream or otherwise, by definition is a cult. And it doesn\'t stop at religion: any fad or craze with a following is a cult, like the cult of Mac or my personal cult following of choice, that of the canceled Sci-Fi show, Firefly. Really, with the exception of the third listed definition cult (a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious), the word <em>cult</em> shouldn\'t necessarily carry a negative connotation.\r\n\r\nFurthermore, it can be difficult to find a fully objective person or governing body to determine what is unorthodox regarding religious beliefs and doctrine. So who gets to decide? If you asked a Lutheran, Catholic, Pentecostal, Charismatic, Mennonite, and Episcopalian each about what constituted orthodox versus unorthodox beliefs in other denominations, you would undoubtedly find each denomination labeled unorthodox (and thus a cult) by at least one other denomination.\r\n\r\nEven sociologists and psychologist tend to disagree over whether or not to continue the use of the word cult, since what started as a mostly neutral term now tends to bring to mind the poisoned Kool-Aid victims of the Jonestown Massacre. Furthermore, there more of a continuum or spectrum between what constitutes \"cult\" and \"non-cult,\" rather than simple black and white definitions, which is why many have given to using further descriptors for cults, such as \"dangerous\" or \"benign.\"\r\n\r\nThis is why I appreciate the resources that the <a href=\"http://www.icsahome.com/\">International Cultic Studies Association</a> has online regarding cults.  The ICSA acknowledges upfront the difficulty in cult terminology, and then focuses on the damaging aspects and practices that can occur in cults, without giving a subjective list of cults or bad organizations on their website.  Instead, it is up to the reader to use the information to decide on their own. That being said, here is the list of characteristics often found with cultic groups, according to Michael D. Langone, Ph.D, Executive Director of the ICSA:\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li>The group displays excessively zealous and unquestioning commitment to its leader and (whether he is alive or dead) regards his belief system, ideology, and practices as the Truth, as law.</li>\r\n	<li>Questioning, doubt, and dissent are discouraged or even punished.</li>\r\n	<li>Mind-altering practices (such as meditation, chanting, speaking in tongues, denunciation sessions, and debilitating work routines) are used in excess and serve to suppress doubts about the group and its leader(s).</li>\r\n	<li>The leadership dictates, sometimes in great detail, how members should think, act, and feel (for example, members must get permission to date, change jobs, marry—or leaders prescribe what types of clothes to wear, where to live, whether or not to have children, how to discipline children, and so forth).</li>\r\n	<li>The group is elitist, claiming a special, exalted status for itself, its leader(s) and members (for example, the leader is considered the Messiah, a special being, an avatar—or the group and/or the leader is on a special mission to save humanity).</li>\r\n	<li>The group has a polarized us-versus-them mentality, which may cause conflict with the wider society</li>\r\n	<li>The leader is not accountable to any authorities (unlike, for example, teachers, military commanders or ministers, priests, monks, and rabbis of mainstream religious denominations).</li>\r\n	<li>The group teaches or implies that its supposedly exalted ends justify whatever means it deems necessary. This may result in members\' participating in behaviors or activities they would have considered reprehensible or unethical before joining the group (for example, lying to family or friends, or collecting money for bogus charities).</li>\r\n	<li>The leadership induces feelings of shame and/or guilt<span class=\"SpellE\" style=\"text-align: left;padding-top: 1px;padding-right: 3px;padding-left: 3px;padding-bottom: 6px;margin-top: 1px;margin-bottom: 1px;margin-left: 1px\">in</span>order to influence and/or control members. Often, this is done through peer pressure and subtle forms of persuasion.</li>\r\n	<li>Subservience to the leader or group requires members to cut ties with family and friends, and radically alter the personal goals and activities they had before joining the group.</li>\r\n	<li>The group is preoccupied with bringing in new members.</li>\r\n	<li>The group is preoccupied with making money.</li>\r\n	<li>Members are expected to devote inordinate amounts of time to the group and group-related activities.</li>\r\n	<li>Members are encouraged or required to live and/or socialize only with other group members.</li>\r\n	<li>The most loyal members (the “true believers”) feel there can be no life outside the context of the group. They believe there is no other way to be, and often fear reprisals to themselves or others if they leave (or even consider leaving) the group.</li>\r\n</ol>\r\nPlease note that this list is not meant to be a definitive or all-encompassing checklist to mark off, but merely a guideline of characteristics that cults often display. Even if an organization were to have many of these characteristics, I think it is important to be careful before immediately labeling a group as a cult, given the negative connotation that it immediately brings to people\'s minds. It is possible that a group that everyone would agree is not truly a cult could be shown to display many of these traits, depending on how you describe them.\r\n\r\nFor example, a sports team could easily be described in such a way as to seem cultic. For one thing, all the members are committed wholly to the coach; questioning the coach can lead to losing the game, being benched, or even being completely removed from the team. Also, team members often engage in weird pre-game chants to increase team unity and create a team mind-set. Furthermore, the team must all dress exactly the same, wearing the required team uniform and any special equipment, or they are not allowed to participate. The team also has a polarized us-versus-them mentality, viewing all other teams as opponents they must defeat. Being apart of the team will also likely affect their relationships and other personal goals, due to long practice sessions and traveling for games. They will have little to no time to pursue other activities, and they may not see their family very often during the on-season. Now granted, this example doesn\'t fit every characteristic listed, but as you can see, it could be easy to make a group fit these characteristics if you were already prejudiced against it.\r\n\r\nThe term cult is perhaps an unclear term that can be misused and misapplied to great detriment, so it is important to be careful before immediately sticking the cult label on any religious group that we disagree with or even one that has truly hurt us. That being said, damaging groups and cults flying under the \"Christian flag\" do exist, and it is a good thing to consider these characteristics found in spiritually and psychology destructive groups you may join or even those you may have already joined. It is easy to have the \"I\'m to smart or balanced to get pulled into a cult\" mentality, but people of all walks of life are susceptible to cults, especially as cults often give misleading information about their true nature, organizational structure, rules, etc., when you first become involved.\r\n\r\nI certainly thought I was too intelligent or psychologically sound to get involved with a sketchy ministry or (gasp!) a cult. I was a part of a 5-fold para-church Christian ministry for approximately eight years. For those of you unfamiliar with that terminology, essentially it was a Christian ministry that was not a church, but rather worked alongside Christian churches, with a particular focus on the 5-fold ministry gifts listed in Ephesians 4:11 (Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor and Teacher). I knew of the ministry through respected friends and acquaintances from the church I attend in high school, and my first involvement was merely as a member of the worship team while I was still in college.\r\n\r\nShortly after college, my husband and I \"joined the team,\" becoming more deeply involved and committed to the ministry.  As time progressed, the ministry\'s meetings (both public meetings and private \"team only\" meetings) became more frequent and went into the early morning hours (I often arrived back home after 3 am). In addition, more rigid rules were created and enforced regarding everything from not drinking alcohol, meeting attendance, how to act around the leader of our ministry, dress code, taboo discussion topics with non-team members, and much more. Public questioning of the leader was not allowed, and if you questioned him in private, somehow it was always turned around that you had a  \"heart issue\" and \"issues with authority.\" Really though, with the high demands on the team, long hours volunteering, etc., everyone was usually too tired to think, let alone have the faculties necessary to find fault with the ministry or leadership.\r\n\r\nThe \"heart issue\" was a commonly employed method to get the team to stay in line. When other members left the team (by choice or otherwise), or if the leadership found out we were associating with people who did not agree 100% with the ministry, we were discouraged to continue anything more than a superficial relationship with them. The head of the ministry was always careful to point out that he wasn\'t saying we couldn\'t associate with them, but that the fact that we would want to, knowing what they thought of the ministry, revealed our true heart. Even missing <em>optional</em> extra-curricular team events was taken as evidence of  having heart issues.\r\n\r\nEventually I became even more involved with the ministry, to the point of being privy to much of the leadership\'s confidential information regarding the inner workings of the ministry, other ministers, and even other team members. At first, it was an honor to have such a position. However, eventually I began to see the cracks in the leadership and the ministry-- cracks I could not point out unless I wanted to have a \"come to Jesus meeting\" where my supposed heart issues, authority issues, and God knows what other issues might be raised, to deflect from the flaws in leadership. Many things were done at the bidding of the leadership that I did not really agree with. Team members were booted from the ministry when they wouldn\'t toe the line, and the rest of the team was given false or highly misleading information about why they left. Long weeks of meetings were called because \'God was moving\', when behind closed doors in staff meetings, we discussed having extra meetings to get more money to keep the ministry afloat. These are just a couple of examples of the many issues I could mention.\r\n\r\nDespite my dislike of who I was becoming at this ministry and my disagreements with what the leadership were doing, I deeply struggled with leaving. Anyone who left the ministry was declared to be \"out of God\'s will,\" and I certainly did not want to be that! Furthermore, we had put eight years of our livelihood into that ministry, and leaving would lead me to question whether we had wasted the entirety of those years. At the same time, I could no longer believe that the ministry was truly acting in a way that glorified or modeled Christ.\r\n\r\nWhile I struggled and prayed for God to either release me or give me the fortitude to leave on my own, my husband was absolutely certain we needed to leave. He met with the head of the ministry about this, who disagreed that it was time for us to leave. On his request and advice, my husband agreed to take 30 days to pray about this, after which they would meet again. At the same time, I decided it was time to move out of my current job within the ministry, even if we still remained on the team. After the 30 days, my husband\'s decision remained the same. The day before his scheduled follow-up meeting, the leader called us up and kicked us off the team.\r\n\r\nDespite my relief at being released from the team, I still had an incredible amount of anger and pain stemming from how things were handled, both during our time at the ministry and in the way in which we were released from the team. In the first few months after we left, I easily decried this ministry as a cult. And I suspect that many others may jump to that same conclusion after reading my account from my time there. Looking through the list from the ICSA, this ministry does fit at least 13 out of 15 of the characteristics of cultic groups. Given that, is my original declaration correct, even if it was spoken out of pain and anger? Perhaps there is more to the story.\r\n\r\nDespite the many issues I have with that ministry, I do believe that everyone there, including the leadership, truly believes that they are helping people and doing God\'s will. Granted, having good intentions doesn\'t keep people from hurting others or doing incredible wrong. Many horrific acts have been done and continue to be done in the name of God and God\'s will.  And, the belief that you are helping people is certainly not a litmus test to prove non-cult status. But does it count for something, along the spectrum of dangerous cult/benign cult/non-cult?\r\n\r\nAt this ministry, I do think they end up doing more damage to people than they do good; but, it certainly isn\'t at the same level as drinking poisoned Kool-Aid and committing mass suicide. Is there a certain point of damage, where cult status becomes clear?  And, cult or not, what is the correct and appropriate response for Christians when faced with a Christian ministry, church, or organization that is clearly damaging to people? Do we publicly denounce them or silently pray for them?\r\n\r\nWith this particular group, and perhaps with many other cult-like Christian groups, I think the root of the issue may be with a dictatorial authority structure that does not brook any questioning of leadership, which easily leads to abuse of power. However, this is an authority structure that many groups of Christians believe is biblical and ideal. So what then? Are they right <em>technically</em> but abusing the God-given structure, are they wrong and simply misunderstanding scripture, or worse, are they twisting and manipulating scripture? At what point are doctrinal disagreements and differences in interpretation of scripture so far off that they are grounds for pulling out the cult label? Who really gets to decide who is a heretic nowadays, anyway?\r\n\r\nI certainly won\'t recommend this ministry to anyone, friend or foe. If anything, I tell them to run in the opposite direction. But at this point I also won\'t publicly denounce them as a definitive cult. No, it\'s not because I \"drank the Kool-Aid.\" They certainly straddle that fence between spiritual abuse and cult with more aplomb than a sure-footed tight-rope walker. The line between a legitimate ministry that has fallen due to abusive authority and a full-blown, destructive cult blurs so much to me that I just won\'t make that final judgment. Instead I pray for them, holding out hope that, in their desire to do God\'s will and minister to the body, they will see the damage they are doing and change. And, I pray for myself, that if I have somehow misjudged them, God will open my eyes.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','The \'C\' Word','','inherit','open','open','','3704-revision-65','','','2012-01-07 20:08:48','2012-01-08 04:08:48','',3704,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/07/3704-revision-65/',0,'revision','',0),(3780,48,'2012-01-07 20:17:28','2012-01-08 04:17:28','There\'s a  four-letter word getting thrown around a lot lately. It\'s a word I\'ve heard used flippantly, jokingly, and disparagingly. Admittedly, sometimes it seems like the most accurate, albeit inflammatory, word to use. Often this word is spoken, perhaps rightly so, by broken and hurting people out of pain and frustration. It\'s a word that was used by a commenter on my previous post in Provoketive Magazine, <a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2011/12/08/slap-on-a-little-lipstick-youll-be-fine/\">Slap On a Little Lipstick, You\'ll Be Fine</a>. If I am being completely honest, it\'s a word I\'ve used, sometimes quickly out of anger, and a lot more cautiously after great deliberation.\n\nThat\'s right, I am talking about the \'C\' word: Cult.\n\nCult is a term used by many Christians to describe Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, Christian Scientists, and many other fringe religious groups and doomsday groups like Peoples Temple and Heaven\'s Gate.  It\'s also been used to discredit Christian churches and ministries with an authoritarian structure, rigid rules, and/or apparent spiritual abuse. The commenter from my last article used it in reference to what he thought was a minister requiring me to wear lipstick (as a note, I never stated in that article whether that incident occurred at a secular or religious organization). And I\'ll admit it, I\'d be pretty tempted to slap that label on a minister requiring women to wear lipstick.\n\nGiven that it carries such negative overtones, it is probably not a word one should use unless it is known for certain that a group is a cult. But what <em>is</em> a true cult?\n\nMerriam-Webster\'s Online Dictionary gives the following definition:\n\n<span class=\"ssens\">1    : formal religious veneration : worship</span>\n<div class=\"sblk\">\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">2</div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\">: a system of religious beliefs and ritual; also : its body of adherents</span></div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"sblk\">\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">3</div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\">: a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious; also : its body of adherents</span></div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"sblk\">\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">4</div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\">: a system for the cure of disease based on dogma set forth by its promulgator <span class=\"vi\">&lt;health cults&gt;</span></span></div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"sblk\">\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">5</div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\"><span class=\"sn\">a</span> : great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement, or work (as a film or book); especially : such devotion regarded as a literary or intellectual fad</span></div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\"><span class=\"sn\">b</span> : the object of such devotion</span></div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\"><span class=\"sn\">c</span> : a usually small group of people characterized by such devotion</span></div>\n</div>\nGoing by this definition, any religious group or faith is a cult. That\'s right, that means any Christian church or group, mainstream or otherwise, by definition is a cult. And it doesn\'t stop at religion: any fad or craze with a following is a cult, like the cult of Mac or my personal cult following of choice, that of the canceled Sci-Fi show, Firefly. Really, with the exception of the third listed definition of cult (a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious), the word shouldn\'t necessarily carry a negative connotation.\n\nIf, for the sake of this article, we decided to simply run with the Webster\'s third definition of cult, it would.be difficult to find a fully objective person or governing body to determine what is unorthodox regarding religious beliefs and doctrine. So who gets to decide? If you asked a Lutheran, Catholic, Pentecostal, Charismatic, Mennonite, and Episcopalian each about what constituted orthodox versus unorthodox beliefs in other denominations, you would undoubtedly find each denomination labeled unorthodox (and thus a cult) by at least one other denomination.\n\nEven sociologists and psychologist tend to disagree over whether or not to continue the use of the word cult, since what started as a mostly neutral term now tends to bring to mind the poisoned Kool-Aid victims of the Jonestown Massacre. Furthermore, there more of a continuum or spectrum between what constitutes \"cult\" and \"non-cult,\" rather than simple black and white definitions, which is why many have given to using further descriptors for cults, such as \"dangerous\" or \"benign.\"\n\nThis is why I appreciate the resources that the <a href=\"http://www.icsahome.com/\">International Cultic Studies Association</a> has online regarding cults.  The ICSA acknowledges upfront the difficulty in cult terminology, and then focuses on the damaging aspects and practices that can occur in cults, without giving a subjective list of cults or bad organizations on their website.  Instead, it is up to the reader to use the information to decide on their own. That being said, here is the list of characteristics often found with cultic groups, according to Michael D. Langone, Ph.D, Executive Director of the ICSA:\n<ol>\n	<li>The group displays excessively zealous and unquestioning commitment to its leader and (whether he is alive or dead) regards his belief system, ideology, and practices as the Truth, as law.</li>\n	<li>Questioning, doubt, and dissent are discouraged or even punished.</li>\n	<li>Mind-altering practices (such as meditation, chanting, speaking in tongues, denunciation sessions, and debilitating work routines) are used in excess and serve to suppress doubts about the group and its leader(s).</li>\n	<li>The leadership dictates, sometimes in great detail, how members should think, act, and feel (for example, members must get permission to date, change jobs, marry—or leaders prescribe what types of clothes to wear, where to live, whether or not to have children, how to discipline children, and so forth).</li>\n	<li>The group is elitist, claiming a special, exalted status for itself, its leader(s) and members (for example, the leader is considered the Messiah, a special being, an avatar—or the group and/or the leader is on a special mission to save humanity).</li>\n	<li>The group has a polarized us-versus-them mentality, which may cause conflict with the wider society</li>\n	<li>The leader is not accountable to any authorities (unlike, for example, teachers, military commanders or ministers, priests, monks, and rabbis of mainstream religious denominations).</li>\n	<li>The group teaches or implies that its supposedly exalted ends justify whatever means it deems necessary. This may result in members\' participating in behaviors or activities they would have considered reprehensible or unethical before joining the group (for example, lying to family or friends, or collecting money for bogus charities).</li>\n	<li>The leadership induces feelings of shame and/or guilt<span class=\"SpellE\" style=\"text-align: left;padding-top: 1px;padding-right: 3px;padding-left: 3px;padding-bottom: 6px;margin-top: 1px;margin-bottom: 1px;margin-left: 1px\">in</span>order to influence and/or control members. Often, this is done through peer pressure and subtle forms of persuasion.</li>\n	<li>Subservience to the leader or group requires members to cut ties with family and friends, and radically alter the personal goals and activities they had before joining the group.</li>\n	<li>The group is preoccupied with bringing in new members.</li>\n	<li>The group is preoccupied with making money.</li>\n	<li>Members are expected to devote inordinate amounts of time to the group and group-related activities.</li>\n	<li>Members are encouraged or required to live and/or socialize only with other group members.</li>\n	<li>The most loyal members (the “true believers”) feel there can be no life outside the context of the group. They believe there is no other way to be, and often fear reprisals to themselves or others if they leave (or even consider leaving) the group.</li>\n</ol>\nPlease note that this list is not meant to be a definitive or all-encompassing checklist to mark off, but merely a guideline of characteristics that cults often display. Even if an organization were to have many of these characteristics, I think it is important to be careful before immediately labeling a group as a cult, given the negative connotation that it immediately brings to people\'s minds. It is possible that a group that everyone would agree is not truly a cult could be shown to display many of these traits, depending on how you describe them.\n\nFor example, a sports team could easily be described in such a way as to seem cultic. For one thing, all the members are committed wholly to the coach; questioning the coach can lead to losing the game, being benched, or even being completely removed from the team. Also, team members often engage in weird pre-game chants to increase team unity and create a team mind-set. Furthermore, the team must all dress exactly the same, wearing the required team uniform and any special equipment, or they are not allowed to participate. The team also has a polarized us-versus-them mentality, viewing all other teams as opponents they must defeat. Being apart of the team will also likely affect their relationships and other personal goals, due to long practice sessions and traveling for games. They will have little to no time to pursue other activities, and they may not see their family very often during the on-season. Now granted, this example doesn\'t fit every characteristic listed, but as you can see, it could be easy to make a group fit these characteristics if you were already prejudiced against it.\n\nThe term cult is perhaps an unclear term that can be misused and misapplied to great detriment, so it is important to be careful before immediately sticking the cult label on any religious group that we disagree with or even one that has truly hurt us. That being said, damaging groups and cults flying under the \"Christian flag\" do exist, and it is a good thing to consider these characteristics found in spiritually and psychology destructive groups you may join or even those you may have already joined. It is easy to have the \"I\'m to smart or balanced to get pulled into a cult\" mentality, but people of all walks of life are susceptible to cults, especially as cults often give misleading information about their true nature, organizational structure, rules, etc., when you first become involved.\n\nI certainly thought I was too intelligent or psychologically sound to get involved with a sketchy ministry or (gasp!) a cult. I was a part of a 5-fold para-church Christian ministry for approximately eight years. For those of you unfamiliar with that terminology, essentially it was a Christian ministry that was not a church, but rather worked alongside Christian churches, with a particular focus on the 5-fold ministry gifts listed in Ephesians 4:11 (Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor and Teacher). I knew of the ministry through respected friends and acquaintances from the church I attend in high school, and my first involvement was merely as a member of the worship team while I was still in college.\n\nShortly after college, my husband and I \"joined the team,\" becoming more deeply involved and committed to the ministry.  As time progressed, the ministry\'s meetings (both public meetings and private \"team only\" meetings) became more frequent and went into the early morning hours (I often arrived back home after 3 am). In addition, more rigid rules were created and enforced regarding everything from not drinking alcohol, meeting attendance, how to act around the leader of our ministry, dress code, taboo discussion topics with non-team members, and much more. Public questioning of the leader was not allowed, and if you questioned him in private, somehow it was always turned around that you had a  \"heart issue\" and \"issues with authority.\" Really though, with the high demands on the team, long hours volunteering, etc., everyone was usually too tired to think, let alone have the faculties necessary to find fault with the ministry or leadership.\n\nThe \"heart issue\" was a commonly employed method to get the team to stay in line. When other members left the team (by choice or otherwise), or if the leadership found out we were associating with people who did not agree 100% with the ministry, we were discouraged to continue anything more than a superficial relationship with them. The head of the ministry was always careful to point out that he wasn\'t saying we couldn\'t associate with them, but that the fact that we would want to, knowing what they thought of the ministry, revealed our true heart. Even missing <em>optional</em> extra-curricular team events was taken as evidence of  having heart issues.\n\nEventually I became even more involved with the ministry, to the point of being privy to much of the leadership\'s confidential information regarding the inner workings of the ministry, other ministers, and even other team members. At first, it was an honor to have such a position. However, eventually I began to see the cracks in the leadership and the ministry-- cracks I could not point out unless I wanted to have a \"come to Jesus meeting\" where my supposed heart issues, authority issues, and God knows what other issues might be raised, to deflect from the flaws in leadership. Many things were done at the bidding of the leadership that I did not really agree with. Team members were booted from the ministry when they wouldn\'t toe the line, and the rest of the team was given false or highly misleading information about why they left. Long weeks of meetings were called because \'God was moving\', when behind closed doors in staff meetings, we discussed having extra meetings to get more money to keep the ministry afloat. These are just a couple of examples of the many issues I could mention.\n\nDespite my dislike of who I was becoming at this ministry and my disagreements with what the leadership were doing, I deeply struggled with leaving. Anyone who left the ministry was declared to be \"out of God\'s will,\" and I certainly did not want to be that! Furthermore, we had put eight years of our livelihood into that ministry, and leaving would lead me to question whether we had wasted the entirety of those years. At the same time, I could no longer believe that the ministry was truly acting in a way that glorified or modeled Christ.\n\nWhile I struggled and prayed for God to either release me or give me the fortitude to leave on my own, my husband was absolutely certain we needed to leave. He met with the head of the ministry about this, who disagreed that it was time for us to leave. On his request and advice, my husband agreed to take 30 days to pray about this, after which they would meet again. At the same time, I decided it was time to move out of my current job within the ministry, even if we still remained on the team. After the 30 days, my husband\'s decision remained the same. The day before his scheduled follow-up meeting, the leader called us up and kicked us off the team.\n\nDespite my relief at being released from the team, I still had an incredible amount of anger and pain stemming from how things were handled, both during our time at the ministry and in the way in which we were released from the team. In the first few months after we left, I easily decried this ministry as a cult. And I suspect that many others may jump to that same conclusion after reading my account from my time there. Looking through the list from the ICSA, this ministry does fit at least 13 out of 15 of the characteristics of cultic groups. Given that, is my original declaration correct, even if it was spoken out of pain and anger? Perhaps there is more to the story.\n\nDespite the many issues I have with that ministry, I do believe that everyone there, including the leadership, truly believes that they are helping people and doing God\'s will. Granted, having good intentions doesn\'t keep people from hurting others or doing incredible wrong. Many horrific acts have been done and continue to be done in the name of God and God\'s will.  And, the belief that you are helping people is certainly not a litmus test to prove non-cult status. But does it count for something, along the spectrum of dangerous cult/benign cult/non-cult?\n\nAt this ministry, I do think they end up doing more damage to people than they do good; but, it certainly isn\'t at the same level as drinking poisoned Kool-Aid and committing mass suicide. Is there a certain point of damage, where cult status becomes clear?  And, cult or not, what is the correct and appropriate response for Christians when faced with a Christian ministry, church, or organization that is clearly damaging to people? Do we publicly denounce them or silently pray for them?\n\nWith this particular group, and perhaps with many other cult-like Christian groups, I think the root of the issue may be with a dictatorial authority structure that does not brook any questioning of leadership, which easily leads to abuse of power. However, this is an authority structure that many groups of Christians believe is biblical and ideal. So what then? Are they right <em>technically</em> but abusing the God-given structure, are they wrong and simply misunderstanding scripture, or worse, are they twisting and manipulating scripture? At what point are doctrinal disagreements and differences in interpretation of scripture so far off that they are grounds for pulling out the cult label? Who really gets to decide who is a heretic nowadays, anyway?\n\nI certainly won\'t recommend this ministry to anyone, friend or foe. If anything, I tell them to run in the opposite direction. But at this point I also won\'t publicly denounce them as a definitive cult. No, it\'s not because I \"drank the Kool-Aid.\" They certainly straddle that fence between spiritual abuse and cult with more aplomb than a sure-footed tight-rope walker. The line between a legitimate ministry that has fallen due to abusive authority and a full-blown, destructive cult blurs so much to me that I just won\'t make that final judgment. Instead I pray for them, holding out hope that, in their desire to do God\'s will and minister to the body, they will see the damage they are doing and change. And, I pray for myself, that if I have somehow misjudged them, God will open my eyes.\n\n&nbsp;','The \'C\' Word','','inherit','open','open','','3704-revision-66','','','2012-01-07 20:17:28','2012-01-08 04:17:28','',3704,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/07/3704-revision-66/',0,'revision','',0),(3781,48,'2012-01-07 20:18:14','2012-01-08 04:18:14','There\'s a  four-letter word getting thrown around a lot lately. It\'s a word I\'ve heard used flippantly, jokingly, and disparagingly. Admittedly, sometimes it seems like the most accurate, albeit inflammatory, word to use. Often this word is spoken, perhaps rightly so, by broken and hurting people out of pain and frustration. It\'s a word that was used by a commenter on my previous post in Provoketive Magazine, <a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2011/12/08/slap-on-a-little-lipstick-youll-be-fine/\">Slap On a Little Lipstick, You\'ll Be Fine</a>. If I am being completely honest, it\'s a word I\'ve used, sometimes quickly out of anger, and a lot more cautiously after great deliberation.\r\n\r\nThat\'s right, I am talking about the \'C\' word: Cult.\r\n\r\nCult is a term used by many Christians to describe Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, Christian Scientists, and many other fringe religious groups and doomsday groups like Peoples Temple and Heaven\'s Gate.  It\'s also been used to discredit Christian churches and ministries with an authoritarian structure, rigid rules, and/or apparent spiritual abuse. The commenter from my last article used it in reference to what he thought was a minister requiring me to wear lipstick (as a note, I never stated in that article whether that incident occurred at a secular or religious organization). And I\'ll admit it, I\'d be pretty tempted to slap that label on a minister requiring women to wear lipstick.\r\n\r\nGiven that it carries such negative overtones, it is probably not a word one should use unless it is known for certain that a group is a cult. But what <em>is</em> a true cult?\r\n\r\nMerriam-Webster\'s Online Dictionary gives the following definition:\r\n\r\n<span class=\"ssens\">1    : formal religious veneration : worship</span>\r\n<div class=\"sblk\">\r\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">2</div>\r\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\">: a system of religious beliefs and ritual; also : its body of adherents</span></div>\r\n</div>\r\n<div class=\"sblk\">\r\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">3</div>\r\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\">: a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious; also : its body of adherents</span></div>\r\n</div>\r\n<div class=\"sblk\">\r\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">4</div>\r\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\">: a system for the cure of disease based on dogma set forth by its promulgator <span class=\"vi\">&lt;health cults&gt;</span></span></div>\r\n</div>\r\n<div class=\"sblk\">\r\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">5</div>\r\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\"><span class=\"sn\">a</span> : great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement, or work (as a film or book); especially : such devotion regarded as a literary or intellectual fad</span></div>\r\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\"><span class=\"sn\">b</span> : the object of such devotion</span></div>\r\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\"><span class=\"sn\">c</span> : a usually small group of people characterized by such devotion</span></div>\r\n</div>\r\nGoing by this definition, any religious group or faith is a cult. That\'s right, that means any Christian church or group, mainstream or otherwise, by definition is a cult. And it doesn\'t stop at religion: any fad or craze with a following is a cult, like the cult of Mac or my personal cult following of choice, that of the canceled Sci-Fi show, Firefly. Really, with the exception of the third listed definition of cult (a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious), the word shouldn\'t necessarily carry a negative connotation.\r\n\r\nIf, for the sake of this article, we decided to simply run with Webster\'s third definition of cult, it would be difficult to find a fully objective person or governing body to determine what is unorthodox regarding religious beliefs and doctrine. So who gets to decide? If you asked a Lutheran, Catholic, Pentecostal, Charismatic, Mennonite, and Episcopalian each about what constituted orthodox versus unorthodox beliefs in other denominations, you would undoubtedly find each denomination labeled unorthodox (and thus a cult) by at least one other denomination.\r\n\r\nEven sociologists and psychologist tend to disagree over whether or not to continue the use of the word cult, since what started as a mostly neutral term now tends to bring to mind the poisoned Kool-Aid victims of the Jonestown Massacre. Furthermore, there more of a continuum or spectrum between what constitutes \"cult\" and \"non-cult,\" rather than simple black and white definitions, which is why many have given to using further descriptors for cults, such as \"dangerous\" or \"benign.\"\r\n\r\nThis is why I appreciate the resources that the <a href=\"http://www.icsahome.com/\">International Cultic Studies Association</a> has online regarding cults.  The ICSA acknowledges upfront the difficulty in cult terminology, and then focuses on the damaging aspects and practices that can occur in cults, without giving a subjective list of cults or bad organizations on their website.  Instead, it is up to the reader to use the information to decide on their own. That being said, here is the list of characteristics often found with cultic groups, according to Michael D. Langone, Ph.D, Executive Director of the ICSA:\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li>The group displays excessively zealous and unquestioning commitment to its leader and (whether he is alive or dead) regards his belief system, ideology, and practices as the Truth, as law.</li>\r\n	<li>Questioning, doubt, and dissent are discouraged or even punished.</li>\r\n	<li>Mind-altering practices (such as meditation, chanting, speaking in tongues, denunciation sessions, and debilitating work routines) are used in excess and serve to suppress doubts about the group and its leader(s).</li>\r\n	<li>The leadership dictates, sometimes in great detail, how members should think, act, and feel (for example, members must get permission to date, change jobs, marry—or leaders prescribe what types of clothes to wear, where to live, whether or not to have children, how to discipline children, and so forth).</li>\r\n	<li>The group is elitist, claiming a special, exalted status for itself, its leader(s) and members (for example, the leader is considered the Messiah, a special being, an avatar—or the group and/or the leader is on a special mission to save humanity).</li>\r\n	<li>The group has a polarized us-versus-them mentality, which may cause conflict with the wider society</li>\r\n	<li>The leader is not accountable to any authorities (unlike, for example, teachers, military commanders or ministers, priests, monks, and rabbis of mainstream religious denominations).</li>\r\n	<li>The group teaches or implies that its supposedly exalted ends justify whatever means it deems necessary. This may result in members\' participating in behaviors or activities they would have considered reprehensible or unethical before joining the group (for example, lying to family or friends, or collecting money for bogus charities).</li>\r\n	<li>The leadership induces feelings of shame and/or guilt<span class=\"SpellE\" style=\"text-align: left;padding-top: 1px;padding-right: 3px;padding-left: 3px;padding-bottom: 6px;margin-top: 1px;margin-bottom: 1px;margin-left: 1px\">in</span>order to influence and/or control members. Often, this is done through peer pressure and subtle forms of persuasion.</li>\r\n	<li>Subservience to the leader or group requires members to cut ties with family and friends, and radically alter the personal goals and activities they had before joining the group.</li>\r\n	<li>The group is preoccupied with bringing in new members.</li>\r\n	<li>The group is preoccupied with making money.</li>\r\n	<li>Members are expected to devote inordinate amounts of time to the group and group-related activities.</li>\r\n	<li>Members are encouraged or required to live and/or socialize only with other group members.</li>\r\n	<li>The most loyal members (the “true believers”) feel there can be no life outside the context of the group. They believe there is no other way to be, and often fear reprisals to themselves or others if they leave (or even consider leaving) the group.</li>\r\n</ol>\r\nPlease note that this list is not meant to be a definitive or all-encompassing checklist to mark off, but merely a guideline of characteristics that cults often display. Even if an organization were to have many of these characteristics, I think it is important to be careful before immediately labeling a group as a cult, given the negative connotation that it immediately brings to people\'s minds. It is possible that a group that everyone would agree is not truly a cult could be shown to display many of these traits, depending on how you describe them.\r\n\r\nFor example, a sports team could easily be described in such a way as to seem cultic. For one thing, all the members are committed wholly to the coach; questioning the coach can lead to losing the game, being benched, or even being completely removed from the team. Also, team members often engage in weird pre-game chants to increase team unity and create a team mind-set. Furthermore, the team must all dress exactly the same, wearing the required team uniform and any special equipment, or they are not allowed to participate. The team also has a polarized us-versus-them mentality, viewing all other teams as opponents they must defeat. Being apart of the team will also likely affect their relationships and other personal goals, due to long practice sessions and traveling for games. They will have little to no time to pursue other activities, and they may not see their family very often during the on-season. Now granted, this example doesn\'t fit every characteristic listed, but as you can see, it could be easy to make a group fit these characteristics if you were already prejudiced against it.\r\n\r\nThe term cult is perhaps an unclear term that can be misused and misapplied to great detriment, so it is important to be careful before immediately sticking the cult label on any religious group that we disagree with or even one that has truly hurt us. That being said, damaging groups and cults flying under the \"Christian flag\" do exist, and it is a good thing to consider these characteristics found in spiritually and psychology destructive groups you may join or even those you may have already joined. It is easy to have the \"I\'m to smart or balanced to get pulled into a cult\" mentality, but people of all walks of life are susceptible to cults, especially as cults often give misleading information about their true nature, organizational structure, rules, etc., when you first become involved.\r\n\r\nI certainly thought I was too intelligent or psychologically sound to get involved with a sketchy ministry or (gasp!) a cult. I was a part of a 5-fold para-church Christian ministry for approximately eight years. For those of you unfamiliar with that terminology, essentially it was a Christian ministry that was not a church, but rather worked alongside Christian churches, with a particular focus on the 5-fold ministry gifts listed in Ephesians 4:11 (Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor and Teacher). I knew of the ministry through respected friends and acquaintances from the church I attend in high school, and my first involvement was merely as a member of the worship team while I was still in college.\r\n\r\nShortly after college, my husband and I \"joined the team,\" becoming more deeply involved and committed to the ministry.  As time progressed, the ministry\'s meetings (both public meetings and private \"team only\" meetings) became more frequent and went into the early morning hours (I often arrived back home after 3 am). In addition, more rigid rules were created and enforced regarding everything from not drinking alcohol, meeting attendance, how to act around the leader of our ministry, dress code, taboo discussion topics with non-team members, and much more. Public questioning of the leader was not allowed, and if you questioned him in private, somehow it was always turned around that you had a  \"heart issue\" and \"issues with authority.\" Really though, with the high demands on the team, long hours volunteering, etc., everyone was usually too tired to think, let alone have the faculties necessary to find fault with the ministry or leadership.\r\n\r\nThe \"heart issue\" was a commonly employed method to get the team to stay in line. When other members left the team (by choice or otherwise), or if the leadership found out we were associating with people who did not agree 100% with the ministry, we were discouraged to continue anything more than a superficial relationship with them. The head of the ministry was always careful to point out that he wasn\'t saying we couldn\'t associate with them, but that the fact that we would want to, knowing what they thought of the ministry, revealed our true heart. Even missing <em>optional</em> extra-curricular team events was taken as evidence of  having heart issues.\r\n\r\nEventually I became even more involved with the ministry, to the point of being privy to much of the leadership\'s confidential information regarding the inner workings of the ministry, other ministers, and even other team members. At first, it was an honor to have such a position. However, eventually I began to see the cracks in the leadership and the ministry-- cracks I could not point out unless I wanted to have a \"come to Jesus meeting\" where my supposed heart issues, authority issues, and God knows what other issues might be raised, to deflect from the flaws in leadership. Many things were done at the bidding of the leadership that I did not really agree with. Team members were booted from the ministry when they wouldn\'t toe the line, and the rest of the team was given false or highly misleading information about why they left. Long weeks of meetings were called because \'God was moving\', when behind closed doors in staff meetings, we discussed having extra meetings to get more money to keep the ministry afloat. These are just a couple of examples of the many issues I could mention.\r\n\r\nDespite my dislike of who I was becoming at this ministry and my disagreements with what the leadership were doing, I deeply struggled with leaving. Anyone who left the ministry was declared to be \"out of God\'s will,\" and I certainly did not want to be that! Furthermore, we had put eight years of our livelihood into that ministry, and leaving would lead me to question whether we had wasted the entirety of those years. At the same time, I could no longer believe that the ministry was truly acting in a way that glorified or modeled Christ.\r\n\r\nWhile I struggled and prayed for God to either release me or give me the fortitude to leave on my own, my husband was absolutely certain we needed to leave. He met with the head of the ministry about this, who disagreed that it was time for us to leave. On his request and advice, my husband agreed to take 30 days to pray about this, after which they would meet again. At the same time, I decided it was time to move out of my current job within the ministry, even if we still remained on the team. After the 30 days, my husband\'s decision remained the same. The day before his scheduled follow-up meeting, the leader called us up and kicked us off the team.\r\n\r\nDespite my relief at being released from the team, I still had an incredible amount of anger and pain stemming from how things were handled, both during our time at the ministry and in the way in which we were released from the team. In the first few months after we left, I easily decried this ministry as a cult. And I suspect that many others may jump to that same conclusion after reading my account from my time there. Looking through the list from the ICSA, this ministry does fit at least 13 out of 15 of the characteristics of cultic groups. Given that, is my original declaration correct, even if it was spoken out of pain and anger? Perhaps there is more to the story.\r\n\r\nDespite the many issues I have with that ministry, I do believe that everyone there, including the leadership, truly believes that they are helping people and doing God\'s will. Granted, having good intentions doesn\'t keep people from hurting others or doing incredible wrong. Many horrific acts have been done and continue to be done in the name of God and God\'s will.  And, the belief that you are helping people is certainly not a litmus test to prove non-cult status. But does it count for something, along the spectrum of dangerous cult/benign cult/non-cult?\r\n\r\nAt this ministry, I do think they end up doing more damage to people than they do good; but, it certainly isn\'t at the same level as drinking poisoned Kool-Aid and committing mass suicide. Is there a certain point of damage, where cult status becomes clear?  And, cult or not, what is the correct and appropriate response for Christians when faced with a Christian ministry, church, or organization that is clearly damaging to people? Do we publicly denounce them or silently pray for them?\r\n\r\nWith this particular group, and perhaps with many other cult-like Christian groups, I think the root of the issue may be with a dictatorial authority structure that does not brook any questioning of leadership, which easily leads to abuse of power. However, this is an authority structure that many groups of Christians believe is biblical and ideal. So what then? Are they right <em>technically</em> but abusing the God-given structure, are they wrong and simply misunderstanding scripture, or worse, are they twisting and manipulating scripture? At what point are doctrinal disagreements and differences in interpretation of scripture so far off that they are grounds for pulling out the cult label? Who really gets to decide who is a heretic nowadays, anyway?\r\n\r\nI certainly won\'t recommend this ministry to anyone, friend or foe. If anything, I tell them to run in the opposite direction. But at this point I also won\'t publicly denounce them as a definitive cult. No, it\'s not because I \"drank the Kool-Aid.\" They certainly straddle that fence between spiritual abuse and cult with more aplomb than a sure-footed tight-rope walker. The line between a legitimate ministry that has fallen due to abusive authority and a full-blown, destructive cult blurs so much to me that I just won\'t make that final judgment. Instead I pray for them, holding out hope that, in their desire to do God\'s will and minister to the body, they will see the damage they are doing and change. And, I pray for myself, that if I have somehow misjudged them, God will open my eyes.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','The \'C\' Word','','inherit','open','open','','3704-revision-67','','','2012-01-07 20:18:14','2012-01-08 04:18:14','',3704,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/07/3704-revision-67/',0,'revision','',0),(3782,48,'2012-01-07 20:20:01','2012-01-08 04:20:01','There\'s a  four-letter word getting thrown around a lot lately. It\'s a word I\'ve heard used flippantly, jokingly, and disparagingly. Admittedly, sometimes it seems like the most accurate, albeit inflammatory, word to use. Often this word is spoken, perhaps rightly so, by broken and hurting people out of pain and frustration. It\'s a word that was used by a commenter on my previous post in Provoketive Magazine, <a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2011/12/08/slap-on-a-little-lipstick-youll-be-fine/\">Slap On a Little Lipstick, You\'ll Be Fine</a>. If I am being completely honest, it\'s a word I\'ve used, sometimes quickly out of anger, and a lot more cautiously after great deliberation.\n\nThat\'s right, I am talking about the \'C\' word: Cult.\n\nCult is a term used by many Christians to describe Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, Christian Scientists, and many other fringe religious groups and doomsday groups like Peoples Temple and Heaven\'s Gate.  It\'s also been used to discredit Christian churches and ministries with an authoritarian structure, rigid rules, and/or apparent spiritual abuse. The commenter from my last article used it in reference to what he thought was a minister requiring me to wear lipstick (as a note, I never stated in that article whether that incident occurred at a secular or religious organization). And I\'ll admit it, I\'d be pretty tempted to slap that label on a minister requiring women to wear lipstick.\n\nGiven that it carries such negative overtones, it is probably not a word one should use unless it is known for certain that a group is a cult. But what <em>is</em> a true cult?\n\nMerriam-Webster\'s Online Dictionary gives the following definition:\n\n<span class=\"ssens\">1    : formal religious veneration : worship</span>\n<div class=\"sblk\">\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">2</div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\">: a system of religious beliefs and ritual; also : its body of adherents</span></div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"sblk\">\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">3</div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\">: a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious; also : its body of adherents</span></div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"sblk\">\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">4</div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\">: a system for the cure of disease based on dogma set forth by its promulgator <span class=\"vi\">&lt;health cults&gt;</span></span></div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"sblk\">\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">5</div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\"><span class=\"sn\">a</span> : great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement, or work (as a film or book); especially : such devotion regarded as a literary or intellectual fad</span></div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\"><span class=\"sn\">b</span> : the object of such devotion</span></div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\"><span class=\"sn\">c</span> : a usually small group of people characterized by such devotion</span></div>\n</div>\nGoing by this definition, any religious group or faith is a cult. That\'s right, that means any Christian church or group, mainstream or otherwise, by definition is a cult. And it doesn\'t stop at religion: any fad or craze with a following is a cult, like the cult of Mac or my personal cult following of choice, that of the canceled Sci-Fi show, Firefly. Really, with the exception of the third listed definition of cult (i.e. a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious), the word shouldn\'t necessarily carry a negative connotation.\n\nIf, for the sake of this article, we decided to simply run with Webster\'s third definition of cult, it would be difficult to find a fully objective person or governing body to determine what is unorthodox regarding religious beliefs and doctrine. So who gets to decide? If you asked a Lutheran, Catholic, Pentecostal, Charismatic, Mennonite, and Episcopalian each about what constituted orthodox versus unorthodox beliefs in other denominations, you would undoubtedly find each denomination labeled unorthodox (and thus a cult) by at least one other denomination.\n\nEven sociologists and psychologist tend to disagree over whether or not to continue the use of the word cult, since what started as a mostly neutral term now tends to bring to mind the poisoned Kool-Aid victims of the Jonestown Massacre. Furthermore, there more of a continuum or spectrum between what constitutes \"cult\" and \"non-cult,\" rather than simple black and white definitions, which is why many have given to using further descriptors for cults, such as \"dangerous\" or \"benign.\"\n\nThis is why I appreciate the resources that the <a href=\"http://www.icsahome.com/\">International Cultic Studies Association</a> has online regarding cults.  The ICSA acknowledges upfront the difficulty in cult terminology, and then focuses on the damaging aspects and practices that can occur in cults, without giving a subjective list of cults or bad organizations on their website.  Instead, it is up to the reader to use the information to decide on their own. That being said, here is the list of characteristics often found with cultic groups, according to Michael D. Langone, Ph.D, Executive Director of the ICSA:\n<ol>\n	<li>The group displays excessively zealous and unquestioning commitment to its leader and (whether he is alive or dead) regards his belief system, ideology, and practices as the Truth, as law.</li>\n	<li>Questioning, doubt, and dissent are discouraged or even punished.</li>\n	<li>Mind-altering practices (such as meditation, chanting, speaking in tongues, denunciation sessions, and debilitating work routines) are used in excess and serve to suppress doubts about the group and its leader(s).</li>\n	<li>The leadership dictates, sometimes in great detail, how members should think, act, and feel (for example, members must get permission to date, change jobs, marry—or leaders prescribe what types of clothes to wear, where to live, whether or not to have children, how to discipline children, and so forth).</li>\n	<li>The group is elitist, claiming a special, exalted status for itself, its leader(s) and members (for example, the leader is considered the Messiah, a special being, an avatar—or the group and/or the leader is on a special mission to save humanity).</li>\n	<li>The group has a polarized us-versus-them mentality, which may cause conflict with the wider society</li>\n	<li>The leader is not accountable to any authorities (unlike, for example, teachers, military commanders or ministers, priests, monks, and rabbis of mainstream religious denominations).</li>\n	<li>The group teaches or implies that its supposedly exalted ends justify whatever means it deems necessary. This may result in members\' participating in behaviors or activities they would have considered reprehensible or unethical before joining the group (for example, lying to family or friends, or collecting money for bogus charities).</li>\n	<li>The leadership induces feelings of shame and/or guilt<span class=\"SpellE\" style=\"text-align: left;padding-top: 1px;padding-right: 3px;padding-left: 3px;padding-bottom: 6px;margin-top: 1px;margin-bottom: 1px;margin-left: 1px\">in</span>order to influence and/or control members. Often, this is done through peer pressure and subtle forms of persuasion.</li>\n	<li>Subservience to the leader or group requires members to cut ties with family and friends, and radically alter the personal goals and activities they had before joining the group.</li>\n	<li>The group is preoccupied with bringing in new members.</li>\n	<li>The group is preoccupied with making money.</li>\n	<li>Members are expected to devote inordinate amounts of time to the group and group-related activities.</li>\n	<li>Members are encouraged or required to live and/or socialize only with other group members.</li>\n	<li>The most loyal members (the “true believers”) feel there can be no life outside the context of the group. They believe there is no other way to be, and often fear reprisals to themselves or others if they leave (or even consider leaving) the group.</li>\n</ol>\nPlease note that this list is not meant to be a definitive or all-encompassing checklist to mark off, but merely a guideline of characteristics that cults often display. Even if an organization were to have many of these characteristics, I think it is important to be careful before immediately labeling a group as a cult, given the negative connotation that it immediately brings to people\'s minds. It is possible that a group that everyone would agree is not truly a cult could be shown to display many of these traits, depending on how you describe them.\n\nFor example, a sports team could easily be described in such a way as to seem cultic. For one thing, all the members are committed wholly to the coach; questioning the coach can lead to losing the game, being benched, or even being completely removed from the team. Also, team members often engage in weird pre-game chants to increase team unity and create a team mind-set. Furthermore, the team must all dress exactly the same, wearing the required team uniform and any special equipment, or they are not allowed to participate. The team also has a polarized us-versus-them mentality, viewing all other teams as opponents they must defeat. Being apart of the team will also likely affect their relationships and other personal goals, due to long practice sessions and traveling for games. They will have little to no time to pursue other activities, and they may not see their family very often during the on-season. Now granted, this example doesn\'t fit every characteristic listed, but as you can see, it could be easy to make a group fit these characteristics if you were already prejudiced against it.\n\nThe term cult is perhaps an unclear term that can be misused and misapplied to great detriment, so it is important to be careful before immediately sticking the cult label on any religious group that we disagree with or even one that has truly hurt us. That being said, damaging groups and cults flying under the \"Christian flag\" do exist, and it is a good thing to consider these characteristics found in spiritually and psychology destructive groups you may join or even those you may have already joined. It is easy to have the \"I\'m to smart or balanced to get pulled into a cult\" mentality, but people of all walks of life are susceptible to cults, especially as cults often give misleading information about their true nature, organizational structure, rules, etc., when you first become involved.\n\nI certainly thought I was too intelligent or psychologically sound to get involved with a sketchy ministry or (gasp!) a cult. I was a part of a 5-fold para-church Christian ministry for approximately eight years. For those of you unfamiliar with that terminology, essentially it was a Christian ministry that was not a church, but rather worked alongside Christian churches, with a particular focus on the 5-fold ministry gifts listed in Ephesians 4:11 (Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor and Teacher). I knew of the ministry through respected friends and acquaintances from the church I attend in high school, and my first involvement was merely as a member of the worship team while I was still in college.\n\nShortly after college, my husband and I \"joined the team,\" becoming more deeply involved and committed to the ministry.  As time progressed, the ministry\'s meetings (both public meetings and private \"team only\" meetings) became more frequent and went into the early morning hours (I often arrived back home after 3 am). In addition, more rigid rules were created and enforced regarding everything from not drinking alcohol, meeting attendance, how to act around the leader of our ministry, dress code, taboo discussion topics with non-team members, and much more. Public questioning of the leader was not allowed, and if you questioned him in private, somehow it was always turned around that you had a  \"heart issue\" and \"issues with authority.\" Really though, with the high demands on the team, long hours volunteering, etc., everyone was usually too tired to think, let alone have the faculties necessary to find fault with the ministry or leadership.\n\nThe \"heart issue\" was a commonly employed method to get the team to stay in line. When other members left the team (by choice or otherwise), or if the leadership found out we were associating with people who did not agree 100% with the ministry, we were discouraged to continue anything more than a superficial relationship with them. The head of the ministry was always careful to point out that he wasn\'t saying we couldn\'t associate with them, but that the fact that we would want to, knowing what they thought of the ministry, revealed our true heart. Even missing <em>optional</em> extra-curricular team events was taken as evidence of  having heart issues.\n\nEventually I became even more involved with the ministry, to the point of being privy to much of the leadership\'s confidential information regarding the inner workings of the ministry, other ministers, and even other team members. At first, it was an honor to have such a position. However, eventually I began to see the cracks in the leadership and the ministry-- cracks I could not point out unless I wanted to have a \"come to Jesus meeting\" where my supposed heart issues, authority issues, and God knows what other issues might be raised, to deflect from the flaws in leadership. Many things were done at the bidding of the leadership that I did not really agree with. Team members were booted from the ministry when they wouldn\'t toe the line, and the rest of the team was given false or highly misleading information about why they left. Long weeks of meetings were called because \'God was moving\', when behind closed doors in staff meetings, we discussed having extra meetings to get more money to keep the ministry afloat. These are just a couple of examples of the many issues I could mention.\n\nDespite my dislike of who I was becoming at this ministry and my disagreements with what the leadership were doing, I deeply struggled with leaving. Anyone who left the ministry was declared to be \"out of God\'s will,\" and I certainly did not want to be that! Furthermore, we had put eight years of our livelihood into that ministry, and leaving would lead me to question whether we had wasted the entirety of those years. At the same time, I could no longer believe that the ministry was truly acting in a way that glorified or modeled Christ.\n\nWhile I struggled and prayed for God to either release me or give me the fortitude to leave on my own, my husband was absolutely certain we needed to leave. He met with the head of the ministry about this, who disagreed that it was time for us to leave. On his request and advice, my husband agreed to take 30 days to pray about this, after which they would meet again. At the same time, I decided it was time to move out of my current job within the ministry, even if we still remained on the team. After the 30 days, my husband\'s decision remained the same. The day before his scheduled follow-up meeting, the leader called us up and kicked us off the team.\n\nDespite my relief at being released from the team, I still had an incredible amount of anger and pain stemming from how things were handled, both during our time at the ministry and in the way in which we were released from the team. In the first few months after we left, I easily decried this ministry as a cult. And I suspect that many others may jump to that same conclusion after reading my account from my time there. Looking through the list from the ICSA, this ministry does fit at least 13 out of 15 of the characteristics of cultic groups. Given that, is my original declaration correct, even if it was spoken out of pain and anger? Perhaps there is more to the story.\n\nDespite the many issues I have with that ministry, I do believe that everyone there, including the leadership, truly believes that they are helping people and doing God\'s will. Granted, having good intentions doesn\'t keep people from hurting others or doing incredible wrong. Many horrific acts have been done and continue to be done in the name of God and God\'s will.  And, the belief that you are helping people is certainly not a litmus test to prove non-cult status. But does it count for something, along the spectrum of dangerous cult/benign cult/non-cult?\n\nAt this ministry, I do think they end up doing more damage to people than they do good; but, it certainly isn\'t at the same level as drinking poisoned Kool-Aid and committing mass suicide. Is there a certain point of damage, where cult status becomes clear?  And, cult or not, what is the correct and appropriate response for Christians when faced with a Christian ministry, church, or organization that is clearly damaging to people? Do we publicly denounce them or silently pray for them?\n\nWith this particular group, and perhaps with many other cult-like Christian groups, I think the root of the issue may be with a dictatorial authority structure that does not brook any questioning of leadership, which easily leads to abuse of power. However, this is an authority structure that many groups of Christians believe is biblical and ideal. So what then? Are they right <em>technically</em> but abusing the God-given structure, are they wrong and simply misunderstanding scripture, or worse, are they twisting and manipulating scripture? At what point are doctrinal disagreements and differences in interpretation of scripture so far off that they are grounds for pulling out the cult label? Who really gets to decide who is a heretic nowadays, anyway?\n\nI certainly won\'t recommend this ministry to anyone, friend or foe. If anything, I tell them to run in the opposite direction. But at this point I also won\'t publicly denounce them as a definitive cult. No, it\'s not because I \"drank the Kool-Aid.\" They certainly straddle that fence between spiritual abuse and cult with more aplomb than a sure-footed tight-rope walker. The line between a legitimate ministry that has fallen due to abusive authority and a full-blown, destructive cult blurs so much to me that I just won\'t make that final judgment. Instead I pray for them, holding out hope that, in their desire to do God\'s will and minister to the body, they will see the damage they are doing and change. And, I pray for myself, that if I have somehow misjudged them, God will open my eyes.\n\n&nbsp;','The \'C\' Word','','inherit','open','open','','3704-revision-68','','','2012-01-07 20:20:01','2012-01-08 04:20:01','',3704,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/07/3704-revision-68/',0,'revision','',0),(3783,48,'2012-01-07 20:24:01','2012-01-08 04:24:01','There\'s a  four-letter word getting thrown around a lot lately. It\'s a word I\'ve heard used flippantly, jokingly, and disparagingly. Admittedly, sometimes it seems like the most accurate, albeit inflammatory, word to use. Often this word is spoken, perhaps rightly so, by broken and hurting people out of pain and frustration. It\'s a word that was used by a commenter on my previous post in Provoketive Magazine, <a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2011/12/08/slap-on-a-little-lipstick-youll-be-fine/\">Slap On a Little Lipstick, You\'ll Be Fine</a>. If I am being completely honest, it\'s a word I\'ve used, sometimes quickly out of anger, and a lot more cautiously after great deliberation.\n\nThat\'s right, I am talking about the \'C\' word: Cult.\n\nCult is a term used by many Christians to describe Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, Christian Scientists, and many other fringe religious groups and doomsday groups like Peoples Temple and Heaven\'s Gate.  It\'s also been used to discredit Christian churches and ministries with an authoritarian structure, rigid rules, and/or apparent spiritual abuse. The commenter from my last article used it in reference to what he thought was a minister requiring me to wear lipstick (as a note, I never stated in that article whether that incident occurred at a secular or religious organization). And I\'ll admit it, I\'d be pretty tempted to slap that label on a minister requiring women to wear lipstick.\n\nGiven that it carries such negative overtones, it is probably not a word one should use unless it is known for certain that a group is a cult. But what <em>is</em> a true cult?\n\nMerriam-Webster\'s Online Dictionary gives the following definition:\n\n<span class=\"ssens\">1    : formal religious veneration : worship</span>\n<div class=\"sblk\">\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">2</div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\">: a system of religious beliefs and ritual; also : its body of adherents</span></div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"sblk\">\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">3</div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\">: a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious; also : its body of adherents</span></div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"sblk\">\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">4</div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\">: a system for the cure of disease based on dogma set forth by its promulgator <span class=\"vi\">&lt;health cults&gt;</span></span></div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"sblk\">\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">5</div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\"><span class=\"sn\">a</span> : great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement, or work (as a film or book); especially : such devotion regarded as a literary or intellectual fad</span></div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\"><span class=\"sn\">b</span> : the object of such devotion</span></div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\"><span class=\"sn\">c</span> : a usually small group of people characterized by such devotion</span></div>\n</div>\nGoing by this definition, any religious group or faith is a cult. That\'s right, that means any Christian church or group, mainstream or otherwise, by definition is a cult. And it doesn\'t stop at religion: any fad or craze with a following is a cult, like the cult of Mac or my personal cult following of choice, that of the canceled Sci-Fi show, Firefly. Really, with the exception of the third listed definition of cult (i.e. a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious), the word shouldn\'t necessarily carry a negative connotation.\n\nIf, for the sake of this article, we decided to simply run with Webster\'s third definition of cult, it would be difficult to find a fully objective person or governing body to determine what is unorthodox regarding religious beliefs and doctrine. So who gets to decide? If you asked a Lutheran, Catholic, Pentecostal, Charismatic, Mennonite, and Episcopalian each about what constituted orthodox versus unorthodox beliefs in other denominations, you would undoubtedly find each denomination labeled unorthodox (and thus a cult) by at least one other denomination.\n\nEven sociologists and psychologist tend to disagree over whether or not to continue the use of the word cult, since what started as a mostly neutral term now tends to bring to mind the poisoned Kool-Aid victims of the Jonestown Massacre. Furthermore, there more of a continuum or spectrum between what constitutes \"cult\" and \"non-cult,\" rather than simple black and white definitions. As such, many have given to using further descriptors for cults, such as \"dangerous\" or \"benign.\"\n\nThis is why I appreciate the resources that the <a href=\"http://www.icsahome.com/\">International Cultic Studies Association</a> has online regarding cults.  The ICSA acknowledges upfront the difficulty in cult terminology, and then focuses on the damaging aspects and practices that can occur in cults, without giving a subjective list of cults or bad organizations on their website.  Instead, it is up to the reader to use the information to decide on their own. That being said, here is the list of characteristics often found with cultic groups, according to Michael D. Langone, Ph.D, Executive Director of the ICSA:\n<ol>\n	<li>The group displays excessively zealous and unquestioning commitment to its leader and (whether he is alive or dead) regards his belief system, ideology, and practices as the Truth, as law.</li>\n	<li>Questioning, doubt, and dissent are discouraged or even punished.</li>\n	<li>Mind-altering practices (such as meditation, chanting, speaking in tongues, denunciation sessions, and debilitating work routines) are used in excess and serve to suppress doubts about the group and its leader(s).</li>\n	<li>The leadership dictates, sometimes in great detail, how members should think, act, and feel (for example, members must get permission to date, change jobs, marry—or leaders prescribe what types of clothes to wear, where to live, whether or not to have children, how to discipline children, and so forth).</li>\n	<li>The group is elitist, claiming a special, exalted status for itself, its leader(s) and members (for example, the leader is considered the Messiah, a special being, an avatar—or the group and/or the leader is on a special mission to save humanity).</li>\n	<li>The group has a polarized us-versus-them mentality, which may cause conflict with the wider society</li>\n	<li>The leader is not accountable to any authorities (unlike, for example, teachers, military commanders or ministers, priests, monks, and rabbis of mainstream religious denominations).</li>\n	<li>The group teaches or implies that its supposedly exalted ends justify whatever means it deems necessary. This may result in members\' participating in behaviors or activities they would have considered reprehensible or unethical before joining the group (for example, lying to family or friends, or collecting money for bogus charities).</li>\n	<li>The leadership induces feelings of shame and/or guilt<span class=\"SpellE\" style=\"text-align: left;padding-top: 1px;padding-right: 3px;padding-left: 3px;padding-bottom: 6px;margin-top: 1px;margin-bottom: 1px;margin-left: 1px\">in</span>order to influence and/or control members. Often, this is done through peer pressure and subtle forms of persuasion.</li>\n	<li>Subservience to the leader or group requires members to cut ties with family and friends, and radically alter the personal goals and activities they had before joining the group.</li>\n	<li>The group is preoccupied with bringing in new members.</li>\n	<li>The group is preoccupied with making money.</li>\n	<li>Members are expected to devote inordinate amounts of time to the group and group-related activities.</li>\n	<li>Members are encouraged or required to live and/or socialize only with other group members.</li>\n	<li>The most loyal members (the “true believers”) feel there can be no life outside the context of the group. They believe there is no other way to be, and often fear reprisals to themselves or others if they leave (or even consider leaving) the group.</li>\n</ol>\nPlease note that this list is not meant to be a definitive or all-encompassing checklist to diagnose groups, but merely a guideline of characteristics that cults often display. Even if an organization were to have many of these characteristics, I think we should be careful before immediately labeling a group as a cult, given how loaded a word it is. Also, I propose that it is entirely possible that a group everyone would agree is not truly a cult could be shown to display many of these traits, depending on how you describe them.\n\nFor example, a sports team could easily be described in such a way as to seem cultic. For one thing, all the members are committed wholly to the coach; questioning the coach can lead to losing the game, being benched, or even being completely removed from the team. Also, team members often engage in pre-game chants to increase team unity and create a team mind-set. Furthermore, the team must all dress exactly the same, wearing the required team uniform and any special equipment, or they are not allowed to participate. The team also has a polarized us-versus-them mentality, viewing all other teams as opponents they must defeat. Being apart of the team will also likely affect their relationships and other personal goals, due to long practice sessions and traveling for games. They will have little to no time to pursue other activities, and they may not see their family very often during the on-season. Now granted, this example doesn\'t fit every characteristic listed, but as you can see, it could be easy to make a group fit these characteristics if you were already prejudiced against it.\n\nThe term cult is perhaps an unclear term that can be misused and misapplied to great detriment, so it is important to be careful before immediately sticking the cult label on any religious group that we disagree with or even one that has truly hurt us. That being said, damaging groups and cults flying under the \"Christian flag\" do exist, and it is a good thing to consider these characteristics found in spiritually and psychology destructive groups you may join or even those you may have already joined. It is easy to have the \"I\'m to smart or balanced to get pulled into a cult\" mentality, but people of all walks of life are susceptible to cults, especially as cults often give misleading information about their true nature, organizational structure, rules, etc., when you first become involved.\n\nI certainly thought I was too intelligent or psychologically sound to get involved with a sketchy ministry or (gasp!) a cult. I was a part of a 5-fold para-church Christian ministry for approximately eight years. For those of you unfamiliar with that terminology, essentially it was a Christian ministry that was not a church, but rather worked alongside Christian churches, with a particular focus on the 5-fold ministry gifts listed in Ephesians 4:11 (Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor and Teacher). I knew of the ministry through respected friends and acquaintances from the church I attend in high school, and my first involvement was merely as a member of the worship team while I was still in college.\n\nShortly after college, my husband and I \"joined the team,\" becoming more deeply involved and committed to the ministry.  As time progressed, the ministry\'s meetings (both public meetings and private \"team only\" meetings) became more frequent and went into the early morning hours (I often arrived back home after 3 am). In addition, more rigid rules were created and enforced regarding everything from not drinking alcohol, meeting attendance, how to act around the leader of our ministry, dress code, taboo discussion topics with non-team members, and much more. Public questioning of the leader was not allowed, and if you questioned him in private, somehow it was always turned around that you had a  \"heart issue\" and \"issues with authority.\" Really though, with the high demands on the team, long hours volunteering, etc., everyone was usually too tired to think, let alone have the faculties necessary to find fault with the ministry or leadership.\n\nThe \"heart issue\" was a commonly employed method to get the team to stay in line. When other members left the team (by choice or otherwise), or if the leadership found out we were associating with people who did not agree 100% with the ministry, we were discouraged to continue anything more than a superficial relationship with them. The head of the ministry was always careful to point out that he wasn\'t saying we couldn\'t associate with them, but that the fact that we would want to, knowing what they thought of the ministry, revealed our true heart. Even missing <em>optional</em> extra-curricular team events was taken as evidence of  having heart issues.\n\nEventually I became even more involved with the ministry, to the point of being privy to much of the leadership\'s confidential information regarding the inner workings of the ministry, other ministers, and even other team members. At first, it was an honor to have such a position. However, eventually I began to see the cracks in the leadership and the ministry-- cracks I could not point out unless I wanted to have a \"come to Jesus meeting\" where my supposed heart issues, authority issues, and God knows what other issues might be raised, to deflect from the flaws in leadership. Many things were done at the bidding of the leadership that I did not really agree with. Team members were booted from the ministry when they wouldn\'t toe the line, and the rest of the team was given false or highly misleading information about why they left. Long weeks of meetings were called because \'God was moving\', when behind closed doors in staff meetings, we discussed having extra meetings to get more money to keep the ministry afloat. These are just a couple of examples of the many issues I could mention.\n\nDespite my dislike of who I was becoming at this ministry and my disagreements with what the leadership were doing, I deeply struggled with leaving. Anyone who left the ministry was declared to be \"out of God\'s will,\" and I certainly did not want to be that! Furthermore, we had put eight years of our livelihood into that ministry, and leaving would lead me to question whether we had wasted the entirety of those years. At the same time, I could no longer believe that the ministry was truly acting in a way that glorified or modeled Christ.\n\nWhile I struggled and prayed for God to either release me or give me the fortitude to leave on my own, my husband was absolutely certain we needed to leave. He met with the head of the ministry about this, who disagreed that it was time for us to leave. On his request and advice, my husband agreed to take 30 days to pray about this, after which they would meet again. At the same time, I decided it was time to move out of my current job within the ministry, even if we still remained on the team. After the 30 days, my husband\'s decision remained the same. The day before his scheduled follow-up meeting, the leader called us up and kicked us off the team.\n\nDespite my relief at being released from the team, I still had an incredible amount of anger and pain stemming from how things were handled, both during our time at the ministry and in the way in which we were released from the team. In the first few months after we left, I easily decried this ministry as a cult. And I suspect that many others may jump to that same conclusion after reading my account from my time there. Looking through the list from the ICSA, this ministry does fit at least 13 out of 15 of the characteristics of cultic groups. Given that, is my original declaration correct, even if it was spoken out of pain and anger? Perhaps there is more to the story.\n\nDespite the many issues I have with that ministry, I do believe that everyone there, including the leadership, truly believes that they are helping people and doing God\'s will. Granted, having good intentions doesn\'t keep people from hurting others or doing incredible wrong. Many horrific acts have been done and continue to be done in the name of God and God\'s will.  And, the belief that you are helping people is certainly not a litmus test to prove non-cult status. But does it count for something, along the spectrum of dangerous cult/benign cult/non-cult?\n\nAt this ministry, I do think they end up doing more damage to people than they do good; but, it certainly isn\'t at the same level as drinking poisoned Kool-Aid and committing mass suicide. Is there a certain point of damage, where cult status becomes clear?  And, cult or not, what is the correct and appropriate response for Christians when faced with a Christian ministry, church, or organization that is clearly damaging to people? Do we publicly denounce them or silently pray for them?\n\nWith this particular group, and perhaps with many other cult-like Christian groups, I think the root of the issue may be with a dictatorial authority structure that does not brook any questioning of leadership, which easily leads to abuse of power. However, this is an authority structure that many groups of Christians believe is biblical and ideal. So what then? Are they right <em>technically</em> but abusing the God-given structure, are they wrong and simply misunderstanding scripture, or worse, are they twisting and manipulating scripture? At what point are doctrinal disagreements and differences in interpretation of scripture so far off that they are grounds for pulling out the cult label? Who really gets to decide who is a heretic nowadays, anyway?\n\nI certainly won\'t recommend this ministry to anyone, friend or foe. If anything, I tell them to run in the opposite direction. But at this point I also won\'t publicly denounce them as a definitive cult. No, it\'s not because I \"drank the Kool-Aid.\" They certainly straddle that fence between spiritual abuse and cult with more aplomb than a sure-footed tight-rope walker. The line between a legitimate ministry that has fallen due to abusive authority and a full-blown, destructive cult blurs so much to me that I just won\'t make that final judgment. Instead I pray for them, holding out hope that, in their desire to do God\'s will and minister to the body, they will see the damage they are doing and change. And, I pray for myself, that if I have somehow misjudged them, God will open my eyes.\n\n&nbsp;','The \'C\' Word','','inherit','open','open','','3704-revision-69','','','2012-01-07 20:24:01','2012-01-08 04:24:01','',3704,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/07/3704-revision-69/',0,'revision','',0),(3784,48,'2012-01-07 20:26:56','2012-01-08 04:26:56','There\'s a  four-letter word getting thrown around a lot lately. It\'s a word I\'ve heard used flippantly, jokingly, and disparagingly. Admittedly, sometimes it seems like the most accurate, albeit inflammatory, word to use. Often this word is spoken, perhaps rightly so, by broken and hurting people out of pain and frustration. It\'s a word that was used by a commenter on my previous post in Provoketive Magazine, <a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2011/12/08/slap-on-a-little-lipstick-youll-be-fine/\">Slap On a Little Lipstick, You\'ll Be Fine</a>. If I am being completely honest, it\'s a word I\'ve used, sometimes quickly out of anger, and a lot more cautiously after great deliberation.\n\nThat\'s right, I am talking about the \'C\' word: Cult.\n\nCult is a term used by many Christians to describe Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, Christian Scientists, and many other fringe religious groups and doomsday groups like Peoples Temple and Heaven\'s Gate.  It\'s also been used to discredit Christian churches and ministries with an authoritarian structure, rigid rules, and/or apparent spiritual abuse. The commenter from my last article used it in reference to what he thought was a minister requiring me to wear lipstick (as a note, I never stated in that article whether that incident occurred at a secular or religious organization). And I\'ll admit it, I\'d be pretty tempted to slap that label on a minister requiring women to wear lipstick.\n\nGiven that it carries such negative overtones, it is probably not a word one should use unless it is known for certain that a group is a cult. But what <em>is</em> a true cult?\n\nMerriam-Webster\'s Online Dictionary gives the following definition:\n\n<span class=\"ssens\">1    : formal religious veneration : worship</span>\n<div class=\"sblk\">\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">2</div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\">: a system of religious beliefs and ritual; also : its body of adherents</span></div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"sblk\">\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">3</div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\">: a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious; also : its body of adherents</span></div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"sblk\">\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">4</div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\">: a system for the cure of disease based on dogma set forth by its promulgator <span class=\"vi\">&lt;health cults&gt;</span></span></div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"sblk\">\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">5</div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\"><span class=\"sn\">a</span> : great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement, or work (as a film or book); especially : such devotion regarded as a literary or intellectual fad</span></div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\"><span class=\"sn\">b</span> : the object of such devotion</span></div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\"><span class=\"sn\">c</span> : a usually small group of people characterized by such devotion</span></div>\n</div>\nGoing by this definition, any religious group or faith is a cult. That\'s right, that means any Christian church or group, mainstream or otherwise, by definition is a cult. And it doesn\'t stop at religion: any fad or craze with a following is a cult, like the cult of Mac or my personal cult following of choice, that of the canceled Sci-Fi show, Firefly. Really, with the exception of the third listed definition of cult (i.e. a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious), the word shouldn\'t necessarily carry a negative connotation.\n\nIf, for the sake of this article, we decided to simply run with Webster\'s third definition of cult, it would be difficult to find a fully objective person or governing body to determine what is unorthodox regarding religious beliefs and doctrine. So who gets to decide? If you asked a Lutheran, Catholic, Pentecostal, Charismatic, Mennonite, and Episcopalian each about what constituted orthodox versus unorthodox beliefs in other denominations, you would undoubtedly find each denomination labeled unorthodox (and thus a cult) by at least one other denomination.\n\nEven sociologists and psychologist tend to disagree over whether or not to continue the use of the word cult, since what started as a mostly neutral term now tends to bring to mind the poisoned Kool-Aid victims of the Jonestown Massacre. Furthermore, there more of a continuum or spectrum between what constitutes \"cult\" and \"non-cult,\" rather than simple black and white definitions. As such, many have given to using further descriptors for cults, such as \"dangerous\" or \"benign.\"\n\nThis is why I appreciate the resources that the <a href=\"http://www.icsahome.com/\">International Cultic Studies Association</a> has online regarding cults.  The ICSA acknowledges upfront the difficulty in cult terminology, and then focuses on the damaging aspects and practices that can occur in cults, without giving a subjective list of cults or bad organizations on their website.  Instead, it is up to the reader to use the information to decide on their own. That being said, here is the list of characteristics often found with cultic groups, according to Michael D. Langone, Ph.D, Executive Director of the ICSA:\n<ol>\n	<li>The group displays excessively zealous and unquestioning commitment to its leader and (whether he is alive or dead) regards his belief system, ideology, and practices as the Truth, as law.</li>\n	<li>Questioning, doubt, and dissent are discouraged or even punished.</li>\n	<li>Mind-altering practices (such as meditation, chanting, speaking in tongues, denunciation sessions, and debilitating work routines) are used in excess and serve to suppress doubts about the group and its leader(s).</li>\n	<li>The leadership dictates, sometimes in great detail, how members should think, act, and feel (for example, members must get permission to date, change jobs, marry—or leaders prescribe what types of clothes to wear, where to live, whether or not to have children, how to discipline children, and so forth).</li>\n	<li>The group is elitist, claiming a special, exalted status for itself, its leader(s) and members (for example, the leader is considered the Messiah, a special being, an avatar—or the group and/or the leader is on a special mission to save humanity).</li>\n	<li>The group has a polarized us-versus-them mentality, which may cause conflict with the wider society</li>\n	<li>The leader is not accountable to any authorities (unlike, for example, teachers, military commanders or ministers, priests, monks, and rabbis of mainstream religious denominations).</li>\n	<li>The group teaches or implies that its supposedly exalted ends justify whatever means it deems necessary. This may result in members\' participating in behaviors or activities they would have considered reprehensible or unethical before joining the group (for example, lying to family or friends, or collecting money for bogus charities).</li>\n	<li>The leadership induces feelings of shame and/or guilt<span class=\"SpellE\" style=\"text-align: left;padding-top: 1px;padding-right: 3px;padding-left: 3px;padding-bottom: 6px;margin-top: 1px;margin-bottom: 1px;margin-left: 1px\">in</span>order to influence and/or control members. Often, this is done through peer pressure and subtle forms of persuasion.</li>\n	<li>Subservience to the leader or group requires members to cut ties with family and friends, and radically alter the personal goals and activities they had before joining the group.</li>\n	<li>The group is preoccupied with bringing in new members.</li>\n	<li>The group is preoccupied with making money.</li>\n	<li>Members are expected to devote inordinate amounts of time to the group and group-related activities.</li>\n	<li>Members are encouraged or required to live and/or socialize only with other group members.</li>\n	<li>The most loyal members (the “true believers”) feel there can be no life outside the context of the group. They believe there is no other way to be, and often fear reprisals to themselves or others if they leave (or even consider leaving) the group.</li>\n</ol>\nPlease note that this list is not meant to be a definitive or all-encompassing checklist to diagnose groups, but merely a guideline of characteristics that cults often display. Even if an organization were to have many of these characteristics, I think we should be careful before immediately labeling a group as a cult, given how loaded a word it is. Also, I propose that it is entirely possible that a group everyone would agree is not truly a cult could be shown to display many of these traits, depending on how you describe them.\n\nFor example, a sports team could easily be described in such a way as to seem cultic. For one thing, all the members are committed wholly to the coach; questioning the coach can lead to losing the game, being benched, or even being completely removed from the team. Also, team members often engage in weirdly scripted pre-game chants with indiscernible grunts, meant to increase team unity and create a team mind-set. Furthermore, the team must all dress in complete uniformity, down to the color of their clothing, or they are not allowed to participate. The team also has a polarized us-versus-them mentality, viewing all other teams as opponents they must defeat. Being apart of the team will also likely affect their relationships and other personal goals; due to long practice sessions and traveling for games, they will have little to no time to pursue other activities, and they may not see their family very often during the on-season. Now granted, this example doesn\'t fit every characteristic listed, but as you can see, it could be easy to make a group fit these characteristics if you were already prejudiced against it.\n\nThe term cult is perhaps an unclear term that can be misused and misapplied to great detriment, so it is important to be careful before immediately sticking the cult label on any religious group that we disagree with or even one that has truly hurt us. That being said, damaging groups and cults flying under the \"Christian flag\" do exist, and it is a good thing to consider these characteristics found in spiritually and psychology destructive groups you may join or even those you may have already joined. It is easy to have the \"I\'m to smart or balanced to get pulled into a cult\" mentality, but people of all walks of life are susceptible to cults, especially as cults often give misleading information about their true nature, organizational structure, rules, etc., when you first become involved.\n\nI certainly thought I was too intelligent or psychologically sound to get involved with a sketchy ministry or (gasp!) a cult. I was a part of a 5-fold para-church Christian ministry for approximately eight years. For those of you unfamiliar with that terminology, essentially it was a Christian ministry that was not a church, but rather worked alongside Christian churches, with a particular focus on the 5-fold ministry gifts listed in Ephesians 4:11 (Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor and Teacher). I knew of the ministry through respected friends and acquaintances from the church I attend in high school, and my first involvement was merely as a member of the worship team while I was still in college.\n\nShortly after college, my husband and I \"joined the team,\" becoming more deeply involved and committed to the ministry.  As time progressed, the ministry\'s meetings (both public meetings and private \"team only\" meetings) became more frequent and went into the early morning hours (I often arrived back home after 3 am). In addition, more rigid rules were created and enforced regarding everything from not drinking alcohol, meeting attendance, how to act around the leader of our ministry, dress code, taboo discussion topics with non-team members, and much more. Public questioning of the leader was not allowed, and if you questioned him in private, somehow it was always turned around that you had a  \"heart issue\" and \"issues with authority.\" Really though, with the high demands on the team, long hours volunteering, etc., everyone was usually too tired to think, let alone have the faculties necessary to find fault with the ministry or leadership.\n\nThe \"heart issue\" was a commonly employed method to get the team to stay in line. When other members left the team (by choice or otherwise), or if the leadership found out we were associating with people who did not agree 100% with the ministry, we were discouraged to continue anything more than a superficial relationship with them. The head of the ministry was always careful to point out that he wasn\'t saying we couldn\'t associate with them, but that the fact that we would want to, knowing what they thought of the ministry, revealed our true heart. Even missing <em>optional</em> extra-curricular team events was taken as evidence of  having heart issues.\n\nEventually I became even more involved with the ministry, to the point of being privy to much of the leadership\'s confidential information regarding the inner workings of the ministry, other ministers, and even other team members. At first, it was an honor to have such a position. However, eventually I began to see the cracks in the leadership and the ministry-- cracks I could not point out unless I wanted to have a \"come to Jesus meeting\" where my supposed heart issues, authority issues, and God knows what other issues might be raised, to deflect from the flaws in leadership. Many things were done at the bidding of the leadership that I did not really agree with. Team members were booted from the ministry when they wouldn\'t toe the line, and the rest of the team was given false or highly misleading information about why they left. Long weeks of meetings were called because \'God was moving\', when behind closed doors in staff meetings, we discussed having extra meetings to get more money to keep the ministry afloat. These are just a couple of examples of the many issues I could mention.\n\nDespite my dislike of who I was becoming at this ministry and my disagreements with what the leadership were doing, I deeply struggled with leaving. Anyone who left the ministry was declared to be \"out of God\'s will,\" and I certainly did not want to be that! Furthermore, we had put eight years of our livelihood into that ministry, and leaving would lead me to question whether we had wasted the entirety of those years. At the same time, I could no longer believe that the ministry was truly acting in a way that glorified or modeled Christ.\n\nWhile I struggled and prayed for God to either release me or give me the fortitude to leave on my own, my husband was absolutely certain we needed to leave. He met with the head of the ministry about this, who disagreed that it was time for us to leave. On his request and advice, my husband agreed to take 30 days to pray about this, after which they would meet again. At the same time, I decided it was time to move out of my current job within the ministry, even if we still remained on the team. After the 30 days, my husband\'s decision remained the same. The day before his scheduled follow-up meeting, the leader called us up and kicked us off the team.\n\nDespite my relief at being released from the team, I still had an incredible amount of anger and pain stemming from how things were handled, both during our time at the ministry and in the way in which we were released from the team. In the first few months after we left, I easily decried this ministry as a cult. And I suspect that many others may jump to that same conclusion after reading my account from my time there. Looking through the list from the ICSA, this ministry does fit at least 13 out of 15 of the characteristics of cultic groups. Given that, is my original declaration correct, even if it was spoken out of pain and anger? Perhaps there is more to the story.\n\nDespite the many issues I have with that ministry, I do believe that everyone there, including the leadership, truly believes that they are helping people and doing God\'s will. Granted, having good intentions doesn\'t keep people from hurting others or doing incredible wrong. Many horrific acts have been done and continue to be done in the name of God and God\'s will.  And, the belief that you are helping people is certainly not a litmus test to prove non-cult status. But does it count for something, along the spectrum of dangerous cult/benign cult/non-cult?\n\nAt this ministry, I do think they end up doing more damage to people than they do good; but, it certainly isn\'t at the same level as drinking poisoned Kool-Aid and committing mass suicide. Is there a certain point of damage, where cult status becomes clear?  And, cult or not, what is the correct and appropriate response for Christians when faced with a Christian ministry, church, or organization that is clearly damaging to people? Do we publicly denounce them or silently pray for them?\n\nWith this particular group, and perhaps with many other cult-like Christian groups, I think the root of the issue may be with a dictatorial authority structure that does not brook any questioning of leadership, which easily leads to abuse of power. However, this is an authority structure that many groups of Christians believe is biblical and ideal. So what then? Are they right <em>technically</em> but abusing the God-given structure, are they wrong and simply misunderstanding scripture, or worse, are they twisting and manipulating scripture? At what point are doctrinal disagreements and differences in interpretation of scripture so far off that they are grounds for pulling out the cult label? Who really gets to decide who is a heretic nowadays, anyway?\n\nI certainly won\'t recommend this ministry to anyone, friend or foe. If anything, I tell them to run in the opposite direction. But at this point I also won\'t publicly denounce them as a definitive cult. No, it\'s not because I \"drank the Kool-Aid.\" They certainly straddle that fence between spiritual abuse and cult with more aplomb than a sure-footed tight-rope walker. The line between a legitimate ministry that has fallen due to abusive authority and a full-blown, destructive cult blurs so much to me that I just won\'t make that final judgment. Instead I pray for them, holding out hope that, in their desire to do God\'s will and minister to the body, they will see the damage they are doing and change. And, I pray for myself, that if I have somehow misjudged them, God will open my eyes.\n\n&nbsp;','The \'C\' Word','','inherit','open','open','','3704-revision-70','','','2012-01-07 20:26:56','2012-01-08 04:26:56','',3704,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/07/3704-revision-70/',0,'revision','',0),(3785,48,'2012-01-07 20:28:13','2012-01-08 04:28:13','There\'s a  four-letter word getting thrown around a lot lately. It\'s a word I\'ve heard used flippantly, jokingly, and disparagingly. Admittedly, sometimes it seems like the most accurate, albeit inflammatory, word to use. Often this word is spoken, perhaps rightly so, by broken and hurting people out of pain and frustration. It\'s a word that was used by a commenter on my previous post in Provoketive Magazine, <a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2011/12/08/slap-on-a-little-lipstick-youll-be-fine/\">Slap On a Little Lipstick, You\'ll Be Fine</a>. If I am being completely honest, it\'s a word I\'ve used, sometimes quickly out of anger, and a lot more cautiously after great deliberation.\n\nThat\'s right, I am talking about the \'C\' word: Cult.\n\nCult is a term used by many Christians to describe Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, Christian Scientists, and many other fringe religious groups and doomsday groups like Peoples Temple and Heaven\'s Gate.  It\'s also been used to discredit Christian churches and ministries with an authoritarian structure, rigid rules, and/or apparent spiritual abuse. The commenter from my last article used it in reference to what he thought was a minister requiring me to wear lipstick (as a note, I never stated in that article whether that incident occurred at a secular or religious organization). And I\'ll admit it, I\'d be pretty tempted to slap that label on a minister requiring women to wear lipstick.\n\nGiven that it carries such negative overtones, it is probably not a word one should use unless it is known for certain that a group is a cult. But what <em>is</em> a true cult?\n\nMerriam-Webster\'s Online Dictionary gives the following definition:\n\n<span class=\"ssens\">1    : formal religious veneration : worship</span>\n<div class=\"sblk\">\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">2</div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\">: a system of religious beliefs and ritual; also : its body of adherents</span></div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"sblk\">\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">3</div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\">: a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious; also : its body of adherents</span></div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"sblk\">\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">4</div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\">: a system for the cure of disease based on dogma set forth by its promulgator <span class=\"vi\">&lt;health cults&gt;</span></span></div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"sblk\">\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">5</div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\"><span class=\"sn\">a</span> : great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement, or work (as a film or book); especially : such devotion regarded as a literary or intellectual fad</span></div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\"><span class=\"sn\">b</span> : the object of such devotion</span></div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\"><span class=\"sn\">c</span> : a usually small group of people characterized by such devotion</span></div>\n</div>\nGoing by this definition, any religious group or faith is a cult. That\'s right, that means any Christian church or group, mainstream or otherwise, by definition is a cult. And it doesn\'t stop at religion: any fad or craze with a following is a cult, like the cult of Mac or my personal cult following of choice, that of the canceled Sci-Fi show, Firefly. Really, with the exception of the third listed definition of cult (i.e. a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious), the word shouldn\'t necessarily carry a negative connotation.\n\nIf, for the sake of this article, we decided to simply run with Webster\'s third definition of cult, it would be difficult to find a fully objective person or governing body to determine what is unorthodox regarding religious beliefs and doctrine. So who gets to decide? If you asked a Lutheran, Catholic, Pentecostal, Charismatic, Mennonite, and Episcopalian each about what constituted orthodox versus unorthodox beliefs in other denominations, you would undoubtedly find each denomination labeled unorthodox (and thus a cult) by at least one other denomination.\n\nEven sociologists and psychologist tend to disagree over whether or not to continue the use of the word cult, since what started as a mostly neutral term now tends to bring to mind the poisoned Kool-Aid victims of the Jonestown Massacre. Furthermore, there more of a continuum or spectrum between what constitutes \"cult\" and \"non-cult,\" rather than simple black and white definitions. As such, many have given to using further descriptors for cults, such as \"dangerous\" or \"benign.\"\n\nThis is why I appreciate the resources that the <a href=\"http://www.icsahome.com/\">International Cultic Studies Association</a> has online regarding cults.  The ICSA acknowledges upfront the difficulty in cult terminology, and then focuses on the damaging aspects and practices that can occur in cults, without giving a subjective list of cults or bad organizations on their website.  Instead, it is up to the reader to use the information to decide on their own. That being said, here is the list of characteristics often found with cultic groups, according to Michael D. Langone, Ph.D, Executive Director of the ICSA:\n<ol>\n	<li>The group displays excessively zealous and unquestioning commitment to its leader and (whether he is alive or dead) regards his belief system, ideology, and practices as the Truth, as law.</li>\n	<li>Questioning, doubt, and dissent are discouraged or even punished.</li>\n	<li>Mind-altering practices (such as meditation, chanting, speaking in tongues, denunciation sessions, and debilitating work routines) are used in excess and serve to suppress doubts about the group and its leader(s).</li>\n	<li>The leadership dictates, sometimes in great detail, how members should think, act, and feel (for example, members must get permission to date, change jobs, marry—or leaders prescribe what types of clothes to wear, where to live, whether or not to have children, how to discipline children, and so forth).</li>\n	<li>The group is elitist, claiming a special, exalted status for itself, its leader(s) and members (for example, the leader is considered the Messiah, a special being, an avatar—or the group and/or the leader is on a special mission to save humanity).</li>\n	<li>The group has a polarized us-versus-them mentality, which may cause conflict with the wider society</li>\n	<li>The leader is not accountable to any authorities (unlike, for example, teachers, military commanders or ministers, priests, monks, and rabbis of mainstream religious denominations).</li>\n	<li>The group teaches or implies that its supposedly exalted ends justify whatever means it deems necessary. This may result in members\' participating in behaviors or activities they would have considered reprehensible or unethical before joining the group (for example, lying to family or friends, or collecting money for bogus charities).</li>\n	<li>The leadership induces feelings of shame and/or guilt<span class=\"SpellE\" style=\"text-align: left;padding-top: 1px;padding-right: 3px;padding-left: 3px;padding-bottom: 6px;margin-top: 1px;margin-bottom: 1px;margin-left: 1px\">in</span>order to influence and/or control members. Often, this is done through peer pressure and subtle forms of persuasion.</li>\n	<li>Subservience to the leader or group requires members to cut ties with family and friends, and radically alter the personal goals and activities they had before joining the group.</li>\n	<li>The group is preoccupied with bringing in new members.</li>\n	<li>The group is preoccupied with making money.</li>\n	<li>Members are expected to devote inordinate amounts of time to the group and group-related activities.</li>\n	<li>Members are encouraged or required to live and/or socialize only with other group members.</li>\n	<li>The most loyal members (the “true believers”) feel there can be no life outside the context of the group. They believe there is no other way to be, and often fear reprisals to themselves or others if they leave (or even consider leaving) the group.</li>\n</ol>\nPlease note that this list is not meant to be a definitive or all-encompassing checklist to diagnose groups, but merely a guideline of characteristics that cults often display. Even if an organization were to have many of these characteristics, I think we should be careful before immediately labeling a group as a cult, given how loaded a word it is. Also, I propose that it is entirely possible that a group everyone would agree is not truly a cult could be shown to display many of these traits, depending on how you describe them.\n\nFor example, a sports team could easily be described in such a way as to seem cultic. For one thing, all the members are committed wholly to the coach; questioning the coach can lead to losing the game, being benched, or even being completely removed from the team. Also, team members often engage in weirdly scripted pre-game chants with indiscernible grunts, meant to increase team unity and create a team mind-set. Furthermore, the team must all dress in complete uniformity, down to the color of their clothing, or they are not allowed to participate. The team also has a polarized us-versus-them mentality, viewing all other teams as opponents they must defeat. Being apart of the team will also likely affect their relationships and other personal goals; due to long practice sessions and traveling for games, they will have little to no time to pursue other activities, and they may not see their family very often during the on-season. Now granted, this example doesn\'t fit every characteristic listed, but as you can see, it could be easy to make a group fit these characteristics if you were already prejudiced against it.\n\nBecause \"cult\" is an indisti term that can be misused and misapplied to great detriment, so it is important to be careful before immediately sticking the cult label on any religious group that we disagree with or even one that has truly hurt us. That being said, damaging groups and cults flying under the \"Christian flag\" do exist, and it is a good thing to consider these characteristics found in spiritually and psychology destructive groups you may join or even those you may have already joined. It is easy to have the \"I\'m to smart or balanced to get pulled into a cult\" mentality, but people of all walks of life are susceptible to cults, especially as cults often give misleading information about their true nature, organizational structure, rules, etc., when you first become involved.\n\nI certainly thought I was too intelligent or psychologically sound to get involved with a sketchy ministry or (gasp!) a cult. I was a part of a 5-fold para-church Christian ministry for approximately eight years. For those of you unfamiliar with that terminology, essentially it was a Christian ministry that was not a church, but rather worked alongside Christian churches, with a particular focus on the 5-fold ministry gifts listed in Ephesians 4:11 (Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor and Teacher). I knew of the ministry through respected friends and acquaintances from the church I attend in high school, and my first involvement was merely as a member of the worship team while I was still in college.\n\nShortly after college, my husband and I \"joined the team,\" becoming more deeply involved and committed to the ministry.  As time progressed, the ministry\'s meetings (both public meetings and private \"team only\" meetings) became more frequent and went into the early morning hours (I often arrived back home after 3 am). In addition, more rigid rules were created and enforced regarding everything from not drinking alcohol, meeting attendance, how to act around the leader of our ministry, dress code, taboo discussion topics with non-team members, and much more. Public questioning of the leader was not allowed, and if you questioned him in private, somehow it was always turned around that you had a  \"heart issue\" and \"issues with authority.\" Really though, with the high demands on the team, long hours volunteering, etc., everyone was usually too tired to think, let alone have the faculties necessary to find fault with the ministry or leadership.\n\nThe \"heart issue\" was a commonly employed method to get the team to stay in line. When other members left the team (by choice or otherwise), or if the leadership found out we were associating with people who did not agree 100% with the ministry, we were discouraged to continue anything more than a superficial relationship with them. The head of the ministry was always careful to point out that he wasn\'t saying we couldn\'t associate with them, but that the fact that we would want to, knowing what they thought of the ministry, revealed our true heart. Even missing <em>optional</em> extra-curricular team events was taken as evidence of  having heart issues.\n\nEventually I became even more involved with the ministry, to the point of being privy to much of the leadership\'s confidential information regarding the inner workings of the ministry, other ministers, and even other team members. At first, it was an honor to have such a position. However, eventually I began to see the cracks in the leadership and the ministry-- cracks I could not point out unless I wanted to have a \"come to Jesus meeting\" where my supposed heart issues, authority issues, and God knows what other issues might be raised, to deflect from the flaws in leadership. Many things were done at the bidding of the leadership that I did not really agree with. Team members were booted from the ministry when they wouldn\'t toe the line, and the rest of the team was given false or highly misleading information about why they left. Long weeks of meetings were called because \'God was moving\', when behind closed doors in staff meetings, we discussed having extra meetings to get more money to keep the ministry afloat. These are just a couple of examples of the many issues I could mention.\n\nDespite my dislike of who I was becoming at this ministry and my disagreements with what the leadership were doing, I deeply struggled with leaving. Anyone who left the ministry was declared to be \"out of God\'s will,\" and I certainly did not want to be that! Furthermore, we had put eight years of our livelihood into that ministry, and leaving would lead me to question whether we had wasted the entirety of those years. At the same time, I could no longer believe that the ministry was truly acting in a way that glorified or modeled Christ.\n\nWhile I struggled and prayed for God to either release me or give me the fortitude to leave on my own, my husband was absolutely certain we needed to leave. He met with the head of the ministry about this, who disagreed that it was time for us to leave. On his request and advice, my husband agreed to take 30 days to pray about this, after which they would meet again. At the same time, I decided it was time to move out of my current job within the ministry, even if we still remained on the team. After the 30 days, my husband\'s decision remained the same. The day before his scheduled follow-up meeting, the leader called us up and kicked us off the team.\n\nDespite my relief at being released from the team, I still had an incredible amount of anger and pain stemming from how things were handled, both during our time at the ministry and in the way in which we were released from the team. In the first few months after we left, I easily decried this ministry as a cult. And I suspect that many others may jump to that same conclusion after reading my account from my time there. Looking through the list from the ICSA, this ministry does fit at least 13 out of 15 of the characteristics of cultic groups. Given that, is my original declaration correct, even if it was spoken out of pain and anger? Perhaps there is more to the story.\n\nDespite the many issues I have with that ministry, I do believe that everyone there, including the leadership, truly believes that they are helping people and doing God\'s will. Granted, having good intentions doesn\'t keep people from hurting others or doing incredible wrong. Many horrific acts have been done and continue to be done in the name of God and God\'s will.  And, the belief that you are helping people is certainly not a litmus test to prove non-cult status. But does it count for something, along the spectrum of dangerous cult/benign cult/non-cult?\n\nAt this ministry, I do think they end up doing more damage to people than they do good; but, it certainly isn\'t at the same level as drinking poisoned Kool-Aid and committing mass suicide. Is there a certain point of damage, where cult status becomes clear?  And, cult or not, what is the correct and appropriate response for Christians when faced with a Christian ministry, church, or organization that is clearly damaging to people? Do we publicly denounce them or silently pray for them?\n\nWith this particular group, and perhaps with many other cult-like Christian groups, I think the root of the issue may be with a dictatorial authority structure that does not brook any questioning of leadership, which easily leads to abuse of power. However, this is an authority structure that many groups of Christians believe is biblical and ideal. So what then? Are they right <em>technically</em> but abusing the God-given structure, are they wrong and simply misunderstanding scripture, or worse, are they twisting and manipulating scripture? At what point are doctrinal disagreements and differences in interpretation of scripture so far off that they are grounds for pulling out the cult label? Who really gets to decide who is a heretic nowadays, anyway?\n\nI certainly won\'t recommend this ministry to anyone, friend or foe. If anything, I tell them to run in the opposite direction. But at this point I also won\'t publicly denounce them as a definitive cult. No, it\'s not because I \"drank the Kool-Aid.\" They certainly straddle that fence between spiritual abuse and cult with more aplomb than a sure-footed tight-rope walker. The line between a legitimate ministry that has fallen due to abusive authority and a full-blown, destructive cult blurs so much to me that I just won\'t make that final judgment. Instead I pray for them, holding out hope that, in their desire to do God\'s will and minister to the body, they will see the damage they are doing and change. And, I pray for myself, that if I have somehow misjudged them, God will open my eyes.\n\n&nbsp;','The \'C\' Word','','inherit','open','open','','3704-revision-71','','','2012-01-07 20:28:13','2012-01-08 04:28:13','',3704,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/07/3704-revision-71/',0,'revision','',0),(3788,48,'2012-01-07 20:32:45','2012-01-08 04:32:45','There\'s a  four-letter word getting thrown around a lot lately. It\'s a word I\'ve heard used flippantly, jokingly, and disparagingly. Admittedly, sometimes it seems like the most accurate, albeit inflammatory, word to use. Often this word is spoken, perhaps rightly so, by broken and hurting people out of pain and frustration. It\'s a word that was used by a commenter on my previous post in Provoketive Magazine, <a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2011/12/08/slap-on-a-little-lipstick-youll-be-fine/\">Slap On a Little Lipstick, You\'ll Be Fine</a>. If I am being completely honest, it\'s a word I\'ve used, sometimes quickly out of anger, and a lot more cautiously after great deliberation.\n\nThat\'s right, I am talking about the \'C\' word: Cult.\n\nCult is a term used by many Christians to describe Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, Christian Scientists, and many other fringe religious groups and doomsday groups like Peoples Temple and Heaven\'s Gate.  It\'s also been used to discredit Christian churches and ministries with an authoritarian structure, rigid rules, and/or apparent spiritual abuse. The commenter from my last article used it in reference to what he thought was a minister requiring me to wear lipstick (as a note, I never stated in that article whether that incident occurred at a secular or religious organization). And I\'ll admit it, I\'d be pretty tempted to slap that label on a minister requiring women to wear lipstick.\n\nGiven that it carries such negative overtones, it is probably not a word one should use unless it is known for certain that a group is a cult. But what <em>is</em> a true cult?\n\nMerriam-Webster\'s Online Dictionary gives the following definition:\n\n<span class=\"ssens\">1    : formal religious veneration : worship</span>\n<div class=\"sblk\">\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">2</div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\">: a system of religious beliefs and ritual; also : its body of adherents</span></div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"sblk\">\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">3</div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\">: a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious; also : its body of adherents</span></div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"sblk\">\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">4</div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\">: a system for the cure of disease based on dogma set forth by its promulgator <span class=\"vi\">&lt;health cults&gt;</span></span></div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"sblk\">\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">5</div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\"><span class=\"sn\">a</span> : great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement, or work (as a film or book); especially : such devotion regarded as a literary or intellectual fad</span></div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\"><span class=\"sn\">b</span> : the object of such devotion</span></div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\"><span class=\"sn\">c</span> : a usually small group of people characterized by such devotion</span></div>\n</div>\nGoing by this definition, any religious group or faith is a cult. That\'s right, that means any Christian church or group, mainstream or otherwise, by definition is a cult. And it doesn\'t stop at religion: any fad or craze with a following is a cult, like the cult of Mac or my personal cult following of choice, that of the canceled Sci-Fi show, Firefly. Really, with the exception of the third listed definition of cult (i.e. a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious), the word shouldn\'t necessarily carry a negative connotation.\n\nIf, for the sake of this article, we decided to simply run with Webster\'s third definition of cult, it would be difficult to find a fully objective person or governing body to determine what is unorthodox regarding religious beliefs and doctrine. So who gets to decide? If you asked a Lutheran, Catholic, Pentecostal, Charismatic, Mennonite, and Episcopalian each about what constituted orthodox versus unorthodox beliefs in other denominations, you would undoubtedly find each denomination labeled unorthodox (and thus a cult) by at least one other denomination.\n\nEven sociologists and psychologist tend to disagree over whether or not to continue the use of the word cult, since what started as a mostly neutral term now tends to bring to mind the poisoned Kool-Aid victims of the Jonestown Massacre. Furthermore, there more of a continuum or spectrum between what constitutes \"cult\" and \"non-cult,\" rather than simple black and white definitions. As such, many have given to using further descriptors for cults, such as \"dangerous\" or \"benign.\"\n\nThis is why I appreciate the resources that the <a href=\"http://www.icsahome.com/\">International Cultic Studies Association</a> has online regarding cults.  The ICSA acknowledges upfront the difficulty in cult terminology, and then focuses on the damaging aspects and practices that can occur in cults, without giving a subjective list of cults or bad organizations on their website.  Instead, it is up to the reader to use the information to decide on their own. That being said, here is the list of characteristics often found with cultic groups, according to Michael D. Langone, Ph.D, Executive Director of the ICSA:\n<ol>\n	<li>The group displays excessively zealous and unquestioning commitment to its leader and (whether he is alive or dead) regards his belief system, ideology, and practices as the Truth, as law.</li>\n	<li>Questioning, doubt, and dissent are discouraged or even punished.</li>\n	<li>Mind-altering practices (such as meditation, chanting, speaking in tongues, denunciation sessions, and debilitating work routines) are used in excess and serve to suppress doubts about the group and its leader(s).</li>\n	<li>The leadership dictates, sometimes in great detail, how members should think, act, and feel (for example, members must get permission to date, change jobs, marry—or leaders prescribe what types of clothes to wear, where to live, whether or not to have children, how to discipline children, and so forth).</li>\n	<li>The group is elitist, claiming a special, exalted status for itself, its leader(s) and members (for example, the leader is considered the Messiah, a special being, an avatar—or the group and/or the leader is on a special mission to save humanity).</li>\n	<li>The group has a polarized us-versus-them mentality, which may cause conflict with the wider society</li>\n	<li>The leader is not accountable to any authorities (unlike, for example, teachers, military commanders or ministers, priests, monks, and rabbis of mainstream religious denominations).</li>\n	<li>The group teaches or implies that its supposedly exalted ends justify whatever means it deems necessary. This may result in members\' participating in behaviors or activities they would have considered reprehensible or unethical before joining the group (for example, lying to family or friends, or collecting money for bogus charities).</li>\n	<li>The leadership induces feelings of shame and/or guilt<span class=\"SpellE\" style=\"text-align: left;padding-top: 1px;padding-right: 3px;padding-left: 3px;padding-bottom: 6px;margin-top: 1px;margin-bottom: 1px;margin-left: 1px\">in</span>order to influence and/or control members. Often, this is done through peer pressure and subtle forms of persuasion.</li>\n	<li>Subservience to the leader or group requires members to cut ties with family and friends, and radically alter the personal goals and activities they had before joining the group.</li>\n	<li>The group is preoccupied with bringing in new members.</li>\n	<li>The group is preoccupied with making money.</li>\n	<li>Members are expected to devote inordinate amounts of time to the group and group-related activities.</li>\n	<li>Members are encouraged or required to live and/or socialize only with other group members.</li>\n	<li>The most loyal members (the “true believers”) feel there can be no life outside the context of the group. They believe there is no other way to be, and often fear reprisals to themselves or others if they leave (or even consider leaving) the group.</li>\n</ol>\nPlease note that this list is not meant to be a definitive or all-encompassing checklist to diagnose groups, but merely a guideline of characteristics that cults often display. Even if an organization were to have many of these characteristics, I think we should be careful before immediately labeling a group as a cult, given how loaded a word it is. Also, I propose that it is entirely possible that a group everyone would agree is not truly a cult could be shown to display many of these traits, depending on how you describe them.\n\nFor example, a sports team could easily be described in such a way as to seem cultic. For one thing, all the members are committed wholly to the coach; questioning the coach can lead to losing the game, being benched, or even being completely removed from the team. Also, team members often engage in weirdly scripted pre-game chants with indiscernible grunts, meant to increase team unity and create a team mind-set. Furthermore, the team must all dress in complete uniformity, down to the color of their clothing, or they are not allowed to participate. The team also has a polarized us-versus-them mentality, viewing all other teams as opponents they must defeat. Being apart of the team will also likely affect their relationships and other personal goals; due to long practice sessions and traveling for games, they will have little to no time to pursue other activities, and they may not see their family very often during the on-season. Now granted, this example doesn\'t fit every characteristic listed, but as you can see, it could be easy to make a group fit these characteristics if you were already prejudiced against it.\n\nBecause \"cult\" is an indistinctly defined term that can be misused and misapplied to great detriment, it is important to be careful before immediately slapping the cult label on any religious group that we disagree with or even one that has truly injured us. That being said, damaging groups and cults flying under the Christian flag do exist, and it is wise to look for these characteristics found in spiritually and psychology destructive characteristics in groups you may join or even those you may have already joined. It is easy to have the \"I\'m to smart or balanced to get pulled into a cult\" mentality, but people of all walks of life are susceptible to cults, especially as cults often give misleading information about their true nature, organizational structure, rules, etc., when you first become involved.\n\nI certainly thought I was too intelligent or psychologically sound to get involved with a sketchy ministry or (gasp!) a cult. I was a part of a 5-fold para-church Christian ministry for approximately eight years. For those of you unfamiliar with that terminology, essentially it was a Christian ministry that was not a church, but rather worked alongside Christian churches, with a particular focus on the 5-fold ministry gifts listed in Ephesians 4:11 (Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor and Teacher). I knew of the ministry through respected friends and acquaintances from the church I attend in high school, and my first involvement was merely as a member of the worship team while I was still in college.\n\nShortly after college, my husband and I \"joined the team,\" becoming more deeply involved and committed to the ministry.  As time progressed, the ministry\'s meetings (both public meetings and private \"team only\" meetings) became more frequent and went into the early morning hours (I often arrived back home after 3 am). In addition, more rigid rules were created and enforced regarding everything from not drinking alcohol, meeting attendance, how to act around the leader of our ministry, dress code, taboo discussion topics with non-team members, and much more. Public questioning of the leader was not allowed, and if you questioned him in private, somehow it was always turned around that you had a  \"heart issue\" and \"issues with authority.\" Really though, with the high demands on the team, long hours volunteering, etc., everyone was usually too tired to think, let alone have the faculties necessary to find fault with the ministry or leadership.\n\nThe \"heart issue\" was a commonly employed method to get the team to stay in line. When other members left the team (by choice or otherwise), or if the leadership found out we were associating with people who did not agree 100% with the ministry, we were discouraged to continue anything more than a superficial relationship with them. The head of the ministry was always careful to point out that he wasn\'t saying we couldn\'t associate with them, but that the fact that we would want to, knowing what they thought of the ministry, revealed our true heart. Even missing <em>optional</em> extra-curricular team events was taken as evidence of  having heart issues.\n\nEventually I became even more involved with the ministry, to the point of being privy to much of the leadership\'s confidential information regarding the inner workings of the ministry, other ministers, and even other team members. At first, it was an honor to have such a position. However, eventually I began to see the cracks in the leadership and the ministry-- cracks I could not point out unless I wanted to have a \"come to Jesus meeting\" where my supposed heart issues, authority issues, and God knows what other issues might be raised, to deflect from the flaws in leadership. Many things were done at the bidding of the leadership that I did not really agree with. Team members were booted from the ministry when they wouldn\'t toe the line, and the rest of the team was given false or highly misleading information about why they left. Long weeks of meetings were called because \'God was moving\', when behind closed doors in staff meetings, we discussed having extra meetings to get more money to keep the ministry afloat. These are just a couple of examples of the many issues I could mention.\n\nDespite my dislike of who I was becoming at this ministry and my disagreements with what the leadership were doing, I deeply struggled with leaving. Anyone who left the ministry was declared to be \"out of God\'s will,\" and I certainly did not want to be that! Furthermore, we had put eight years of our livelihood into that ministry, and leaving would lead me to question whether we had wasted the entirety of those years. At the same time, I could no longer believe that the ministry was truly acting in a way that glorified or modeled Christ.\n\nWhile I struggled and prayed for God to either release me or give me the fortitude to leave on my own, my husband was absolutely certain we needed to leave. He met with the head of the ministry about this, who disagreed that it was time for us to leave. On his request and advice, my husband agreed to take 30 days to pray about this, after which they would meet again. At the same time, I decided it was time to move out of my current job within the ministry, even if we still remained on the team. After the 30 days, my husband\'s decision remained the same. The day before his scheduled follow-up meeting, the leader called us up and kicked us off the team.\n\nDespite my relief at being released from the team, I still had an incredible amount of anger and pain stemming from how things were handled, both during our time at the ministry and in the way in which we were released from the team. In the first few months after we left, I easily decried this ministry as a cult. And I suspect that many others may jump to that same conclusion after reading my account from my time there. Looking through the list from the ICSA, this ministry does fit at least 13 out of 15 of the characteristics of cultic groups. Given that, is my original declaration correct, even if it was spoken out of pain and anger? Perhaps there is more to the story.\n\nDespite the many issues I have with that ministry, I do believe that everyone there, including the leadership, truly believes that they are helping people and doing God\'s will. Granted, having good intentions doesn\'t keep people from hurting others or doing incredible wrong. Many horrific acts have been done and continue to be done in the name of God and God\'s will.  And, the belief that you are helping people is certainly not a litmus test to prove non-cult status. But does it count for something, along the spectrum of dangerous cult/benign cult/non-cult?\n\nAt this ministry, I do think they end up doing more damage to people than they do good; but, it certainly isn\'t at the same level as drinking poisoned Kool-Aid and committing mass suicide. Is there a certain point of damage, where cult status becomes clear?  And, cult or not, what is the correct and appropriate response for Christians when faced with a Christian ministry, church, or organization that is clearly damaging to people? Do we publicly denounce them or silently pray for them?\n\nWith this particular group, and perhaps with many other cult-like Christian groups, I think the root of the issue may be with a dictatorial authority structure that does not brook any questioning of leadership, which easily leads to abuse of power. However, this is an authority structure that many groups of Christians believe is biblical and ideal. So what then? Are they right <em>technically</em> but abusing the God-given structure, are they wrong and simply misunderstanding scripture, or worse, are they twisting and manipulating scripture? At what point are doctrinal disagreements and differences in interpretation of scripture so far off that they are grounds for pulling out the cult label? Who really gets to decide who is a heretic nowadays, anyway?\n\nI certainly won\'t recommend this ministry to anyone, friend or foe. If anything, I tell them to run in the opposite direction. But at this point I also won\'t publicly denounce them as a definitive cult. No, it\'s not because I \"drank the Kool-Aid.\" They certainly straddle that fence between spiritual abuse and cult with more aplomb than a sure-footed tight-rope walker. The line between a legitimate ministry that has fallen due to abusive authority and a full-blown, destructive cult blurs so much to me that I just won\'t make that final judgment. Instead I pray for them, holding out hope that, in their desire to do God\'s will and minister to the body, they will see the damage they are doing and change. And, I pray for myself, that if I have somehow misjudged them, God will open my eyes.\n\n&nbsp;','The \'C\' Word','','inherit','open','open','','3704-revision-74','','','2012-01-07 20:32:45','2012-01-08 04:32:45','',3704,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/07/3704-revision-74/',0,'revision','',0);
INSERT INTO `wp_posts` VALUES (3786,48,'2012-01-07 20:28:39','2012-01-08 04:28:39','There\'s a  four-letter word getting thrown around a lot lately. It\'s a word I\'ve heard used flippantly, jokingly, and disparagingly. Admittedly, sometimes it seems like the most accurate, albeit inflammatory, word to use. Often this word is spoken, perhaps rightly so, by broken and hurting people out of pain and frustration. It\'s a word that was used by a commenter on my previous post in Provoketive Magazine, <a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2011/12/08/slap-on-a-little-lipstick-youll-be-fine/\">Slap On a Little Lipstick, You\'ll Be Fine</a>. If I am being completely honest, it\'s a word I\'ve used, sometimes quickly out of anger, and a lot more cautiously after great deliberation.\r\n\r\nThat\'s right, I am talking about the \'C\' word: Cult.\r\n\r\nCult is a term used by many Christians to describe Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, Christian Scientists, and many other fringe religious groups and doomsday groups like Peoples Temple and Heaven\'s Gate.  It\'s also been used to discredit Christian churches and ministries with an authoritarian structure, rigid rules, and/or apparent spiritual abuse. The commenter from my last article used it in reference to what he thought was a minister requiring me to wear lipstick (as a note, I never stated in that article whether that incident occurred at a secular or religious organization). And I\'ll admit it, I\'d be pretty tempted to slap that label on a minister requiring women to wear lipstick.\r\n\r\nGiven that it carries such negative overtones, it is probably not a word one should use unless it is known for certain that a group is a cult. But what <em>is</em> a true cult?\r\n\r\nMerriam-Webster\'s Online Dictionary gives the following definition:\r\n\r\n<span class=\"ssens\">1    : formal religious veneration : worship</span>\r\n<div class=\"sblk\">\r\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">2</div>\r\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\">: a system of religious beliefs and ritual; also : its body of adherents</span></div>\r\n</div>\r\n<div class=\"sblk\">\r\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">3</div>\r\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\">: a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious; also : its body of adherents</span></div>\r\n</div>\r\n<div class=\"sblk\">\r\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">4</div>\r\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\">: a system for the cure of disease based on dogma set forth by its promulgator <span class=\"vi\">&lt;health cults&gt;</span></span></div>\r\n</div>\r\n<div class=\"sblk\">\r\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">5</div>\r\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\"><span class=\"sn\">a</span> : great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement, or work (as a film or book); especially : such devotion regarded as a literary or intellectual fad</span></div>\r\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\"><span class=\"sn\">b</span> : the object of such devotion</span></div>\r\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\"><span class=\"sn\">c</span> : a usually small group of people characterized by such devotion</span></div>\r\n</div>\r\nGoing by this definition, any religious group or faith is a cult. That\'s right, that means any Christian church or group, mainstream or otherwise, by definition is a cult. And it doesn\'t stop at religion: any fad or craze with a following is a cult, like the cult of Mac or my personal cult following of choice, that of the canceled Sci-Fi show, Firefly. Really, with the exception of the third listed definition of cult (i.e. a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious), the word shouldn\'t necessarily carry a negative connotation.\r\n\r\nIf, for the sake of this article, we decided to simply run with Webster\'s third definition of cult, it would be difficult to find a fully objective person or governing body to determine what is unorthodox regarding religious beliefs and doctrine. So who gets to decide? If you asked a Lutheran, Catholic, Pentecostal, Charismatic, Mennonite, and Episcopalian each about what constituted orthodox versus unorthodox beliefs in other denominations, you would undoubtedly find each denomination labeled unorthodox (and thus a cult) by at least one other denomination.\r\n\r\nEven sociologists and psychologist tend to disagree over whether or not to continue the use of the word cult, since what started as a mostly neutral term now tends to bring to mind the poisoned Kool-Aid victims of the Jonestown Massacre. Furthermore, there more of a continuum or spectrum between what constitutes \"cult\" and \"non-cult,\" rather than simple black and white definitions. As such, many have given to using further descriptors for cults, such as \"dangerous\" or \"benign.\"\r\n\r\nThis is why I appreciate the resources that the <a href=\"http://www.icsahome.com/\">International Cultic Studies Association</a> has online regarding cults.  The ICSA acknowledges upfront the difficulty in cult terminology, and then focuses on the damaging aspects and practices that can occur in cults, without giving a subjective list of cults or bad organizations on their website.  Instead, it is up to the reader to use the information to decide on their own. That being said, here is the list of characteristics often found with cultic groups, according to Michael D. Langone, Ph.D, Executive Director of the ICSA:\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li>The group displays excessively zealous and unquestioning commitment to its leader and (whether he is alive or dead) regards his belief system, ideology, and practices as the Truth, as law.</li>\r\n	<li>Questioning, doubt, and dissent are discouraged or even punished.</li>\r\n	<li>Mind-altering practices (such as meditation, chanting, speaking in tongues, denunciation sessions, and debilitating work routines) are used in excess and serve to suppress doubts about the group and its leader(s).</li>\r\n	<li>The leadership dictates, sometimes in great detail, how members should think, act, and feel (for example, members must get permission to date, change jobs, marry—or leaders prescribe what types of clothes to wear, where to live, whether or not to have children, how to discipline children, and so forth).</li>\r\n	<li>The group is elitist, claiming a special, exalted status for itself, its leader(s) and members (for example, the leader is considered the Messiah, a special being, an avatar—or the group and/or the leader is on a special mission to save humanity).</li>\r\n	<li>The group has a polarized us-versus-them mentality, which may cause conflict with the wider society</li>\r\n	<li>The leader is not accountable to any authorities (unlike, for example, teachers, military commanders or ministers, priests, monks, and rabbis of mainstream religious denominations).</li>\r\n	<li>The group teaches or implies that its supposedly exalted ends justify whatever means it deems necessary. This may result in members\' participating in behaviors or activities they would have considered reprehensible or unethical before joining the group (for example, lying to family or friends, or collecting money for bogus charities).</li>\r\n	<li>The leadership induces feelings of shame and/or guilt<span class=\"SpellE\" style=\"text-align: left;padding-top: 1px;padding-right: 3px;padding-left: 3px;padding-bottom: 6px;margin-top: 1px;margin-bottom: 1px;margin-left: 1px\">in</span>order to influence and/or control members. Often, this is done through peer pressure and subtle forms of persuasion.</li>\r\n	<li>Subservience to the leader or group requires members to cut ties with family and friends, and radically alter the personal goals and activities they had before joining the group.</li>\r\n	<li>The group is preoccupied with bringing in new members.</li>\r\n	<li>The group is preoccupied with making money.</li>\r\n	<li>Members are expected to devote inordinate amounts of time to the group and group-related activities.</li>\r\n	<li>Members are encouraged or required to live and/or socialize only with other group members.</li>\r\n	<li>The most loyal members (the “true believers”) feel there can be no life outside the context of the group. They believe there is no other way to be, and often fear reprisals to themselves or others if they leave (or even consider leaving) the group.</li>\r\n</ol>\r\nPlease note that this list is not meant to be a definitive or all-encompassing checklist to diagnose groups, but merely a guideline of characteristics that cults often display. Even if an organization were to have many of these characteristics, I think we should be careful before immediately labeling a group as a cult, given how loaded a word it is. Also, I propose that it is entirely possible that a group everyone would agree is not truly a cult could be shown to display many of these traits, depending on how you describe them.\r\n\r\nFor example, a sports team could easily be described in such a way as to seem cultic. For one thing, all the members are committed wholly to the coach; questioning the coach can lead to losing the game, being benched, or even being completely removed from the team. Also, team members often engage in weirdly scripted pre-game chants with indiscernible grunts, meant to increase team unity and create a team mind-set. Furthermore, the team must all dress in complete uniformity, down to the color of their clothing, or they are not allowed to participate. The team also has a polarized us-versus-them mentality, viewing all other teams as opponents they must defeat. Being apart of the team will also likely affect their relationships and other personal goals; due to long practice sessions and traveling for games, they will have little to no time to pursue other activities, and they may not see their family very often during the on-season. Now granted, this example doesn\'t fit every characteristic listed, but as you can see, it could be easy to make a group fit these characteristics if you were already prejudiced against it.\r\n\r\nBecause \"cult\" is an indistinctly defined term that can be misused and misapplied to great detriment, it is important to be careful before immediately slapping the cult label on any religious group that we disagree with or even one that has truly hurt us. That being said, damaging groups and cults flying under the \"Christian flag\" do exist, and it is a good thing to consider these characteristics found in spiritually and psychology destructive groups you may join or even those you may have already joined. It is easy to have the \"I\'m to smart or balanced to get pulled into a cult\" mentality, but people of all walks of life are susceptible to cults, especially as cults often give misleading information about their true nature, organizational structure, rules, etc., when you first become involved.\r\n\r\nI certainly thought I was too intelligent or psychologically sound to get involved with a sketchy ministry or (gasp!) a cult. I was a part of a 5-fold para-church Christian ministry for approximately eight years. For those of you unfamiliar with that terminology, essentially it was a Christian ministry that was not a church, but rather worked alongside Christian churches, with a particular focus on the 5-fold ministry gifts listed in Ephesians 4:11 (Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor and Teacher). I knew of the ministry through respected friends and acquaintances from the church I attend in high school, and my first involvement was merely as a member of the worship team while I was still in college.\r\n\r\nShortly after college, my husband and I \"joined the team,\" becoming more deeply involved and committed to the ministry.  As time progressed, the ministry\'s meetings (both public meetings and private \"team only\" meetings) became more frequent and went into the early morning hours (I often arrived back home after 3 am). In addition, more rigid rules were created and enforced regarding everything from not drinking alcohol, meeting attendance, how to act around the leader of our ministry, dress code, taboo discussion topics with non-team members, and much more. Public questioning of the leader was not allowed, and if you questioned him in private, somehow it was always turned around that you had a  \"heart issue\" and \"issues with authority.\" Really though, with the high demands on the team, long hours volunteering, etc., everyone was usually too tired to think, let alone have the faculties necessary to find fault with the ministry or leadership.\r\n\r\nThe \"heart issue\" was a commonly employed method to get the team to stay in line. When other members left the team (by choice or otherwise), or if the leadership found out we were associating with people who did not agree 100% with the ministry, we were discouraged to continue anything more than a superficial relationship with them. The head of the ministry was always careful to point out that he wasn\'t saying we couldn\'t associate with them, but that the fact that we would want to, knowing what they thought of the ministry, revealed our true heart. Even missing <em>optional</em> extra-curricular team events was taken as evidence of  having heart issues.\r\n\r\nEventually I became even more involved with the ministry, to the point of being privy to much of the leadership\'s confidential information regarding the inner workings of the ministry, other ministers, and even other team members. At first, it was an honor to have such a position. However, eventually I began to see the cracks in the leadership and the ministry-- cracks I could not point out unless I wanted to have a \"come to Jesus meeting\" where my supposed heart issues, authority issues, and God knows what other issues might be raised, to deflect from the flaws in leadership. Many things were done at the bidding of the leadership that I did not really agree with. Team members were booted from the ministry when they wouldn\'t toe the line, and the rest of the team was given false or highly misleading information about why they left. Long weeks of meetings were called because \'God was moving\', when behind closed doors in staff meetings, we discussed having extra meetings to get more money to keep the ministry afloat. These are just a couple of examples of the many issues I could mention.\r\n\r\nDespite my dislike of who I was becoming at this ministry and my disagreements with what the leadership were doing, I deeply struggled with leaving. Anyone who left the ministry was declared to be \"out of God\'s will,\" and I certainly did not want to be that! Furthermore, we had put eight years of our livelihood into that ministry, and leaving would lead me to question whether we had wasted the entirety of those years. At the same time, I could no longer believe that the ministry was truly acting in a way that glorified or modeled Christ.\r\n\r\nWhile I struggled and prayed for God to either release me or give me the fortitude to leave on my own, my husband was absolutely certain we needed to leave. He met with the head of the ministry about this, who disagreed that it was time for us to leave. On his request and advice, my husband agreed to take 30 days to pray about this, after which they would meet again. At the same time, I decided it was time to move out of my current job within the ministry, even if we still remained on the team. After the 30 days, my husband\'s decision remained the same. The day before his scheduled follow-up meeting, the leader called us up and kicked us off the team.\r\n\r\nDespite my relief at being released from the team, I still had an incredible amount of anger and pain stemming from how things were handled, both during our time at the ministry and in the way in which we were released from the team. In the first few months after we left, I easily decried this ministry as a cult. And I suspect that many others may jump to that same conclusion after reading my account from my time there. Looking through the list from the ICSA, this ministry does fit at least 13 out of 15 of the characteristics of cultic groups. Given that, is my original declaration correct, even if it was spoken out of pain and anger? Perhaps there is more to the story.\r\n\r\nDespite the many issues I have with that ministry, I do believe that everyone there, including the leadership, truly believes that they are helping people and doing God\'s will. Granted, having good intentions doesn\'t keep people from hurting others or doing incredible wrong. Many horrific acts have been done and continue to be done in the name of God and God\'s will.  And, the belief that you are helping people is certainly not a litmus test to prove non-cult status. But does it count for something, along the spectrum of dangerous cult/benign cult/non-cult?\r\n\r\nAt this ministry, I do think they end up doing more damage to people than they do good; but, it certainly isn\'t at the same level as drinking poisoned Kool-Aid and committing mass suicide. Is there a certain point of damage, where cult status becomes clear?  And, cult or not, what is the correct and appropriate response for Christians when faced with a Christian ministry, church, or organization that is clearly damaging to people? Do we publicly denounce them or silently pray for them?\r\n\r\nWith this particular group, and perhaps with many other cult-like Christian groups, I think the root of the issue may be with a dictatorial authority structure that does not brook any questioning of leadership, which easily leads to abuse of power. However, this is an authority structure that many groups of Christians believe is biblical and ideal. So what then? Are they right <em>technically</em> but abusing the God-given structure, are they wrong and simply misunderstanding scripture, or worse, are they twisting and manipulating scripture? At what point are doctrinal disagreements and differences in interpretation of scripture so far off that they are grounds for pulling out the cult label? Who really gets to decide who is a heretic nowadays, anyway?\r\n\r\nI certainly won\'t recommend this ministry to anyone, friend or foe. If anything, I tell them to run in the opposite direction. But at this point I also won\'t publicly denounce them as a definitive cult. No, it\'s not because I \"drank the Kool-Aid.\" They certainly straddle that fence between spiritual abuse and cult with more aplomb than a sure-footed tight-rope walker. The line between a legitimate ministry that has fallen due to abusive authority and a full-blown, destructive cult blurs so much to me that I just won\'t make that final judgment. Instead I pray for them, holding out hope that, in their desire to do God\'s will and minister to the body, they will see the damage they are doing and change. And, I pray for myself, that if I have somehow misjudged them, God will open my eyes.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','The \'C\' Word','','inherit','open','open','','3704-revision-72','','','2012-01-07 20:28:39','2012-01-08 04:28:39','',3704,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/07/3704-revision-72/',0,'revision','',0),(3787,48,'2012-01-07 20:29:29','2012-01-08 04:29:29','There\'s a  four-letter word getting thrown around a lot lately. It\'s a word I\'ve heard used flippantly, jokingly, and disparagingly. Admittedly, sometimes it seems like the most accurate, albeit inflammatory, word to use. Often this word is spoken, perhaps rightly so, by broken and hurting people out of pain and frustration. It\'s a word that was used by a commenter on my previous post in Provoketive Magazine, <a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2011/12/08/slap-on-a-little-lipstick-youll-be-fine/\">Slap On a Little Lipstick, You\'ll Be Fine</a>. If I am being completely honest, it\'s a word I\'ve used, sometimes quickly out of anger, and a lot more cautiously after great deliberation.\r\n\r\nThat\'s right, I am talking about the \'C\' word: Cult.\r\n\r\nCult is a term used by many Christians to describe Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, Christian Scientists, and many other fringe religious groups and doomsday groups like Peoples Temple and Heaven\'s Gate.  It\'s also been used to discredit Christian churches and ministries with an authoritarian structure, rigid rules, and/or apparent spiritual abuse. The commenter from my last article used it in reference to what he thought was a minister requiring me to wear lipstick (as a note, I never stated in that article whether that incident occurred at a secular or religious organization). And I\'ll admit it, I\'d be pretty tempted to slap that label on a minister requiring women to wear lipstick.\r\n\r\nGiven that it carries such negative overtones, it is probably not a word one should use unless it is known for certain that a group is a cult. But what <em>is</em> a true cult?\r\n\r\nMerriam-Webster\'s Online Dictionary gives the following definition:\r\n\r\n<span class=\"ssens\">1    : formal religious veneration : worship</span>\r\n<div class=\"sblk\">\r\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">2</div>\r\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\">: a system of religious beliefs and ritual; also : its body of adherents</span></div>\r\n</div>\r\n<div class=\"sblk\">\r\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">3</div>\r\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\">: a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious; also : its body of adherents</span></div>\r\n</div>\r\n<div class=\"sblk\">\r\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">4</div>\r\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\">: a system for the cure of disease based on dogma set forth by its promulgator <span class=\"vi\">&lt;health cults&gt;</span></span></div>\r\n</div>\r\n<div class=\"sblk\">\r\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">5</div>\r\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\"><span class=\"sn\">a</span> : great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement, or work (as a film or book); especially : such devotion regarded as a literary or intellectual fad</span></div>\r\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\"><span class=\"sn\">b</span> : the object of such devotion</span></div>\r\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\"><span class=\"sn\">c</span> : a usually small group of people characterized by such devotion</span></div>\r\n</div>\r\nGoing by this definition, any religious group or faith is a cult. That\'s right, that means any Christian church or group, mainstream or otherwise, by definition is a cult. And it doesn\'t stop at religion: any fad or craze with a following is a cult, like the cult of Mac or my personal cult following of choice, that of the canceled Sci-Fi show, Firefly. Really, with the exception of the third listed definition of cult (i.e. a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious), the word shouldn\'t necessarily carry a negative connotation.\r\n\r\nIf, for the sake of this article, we decided to simply run with Webster\'s third definition of cult, it would be difficult to find a fully objective person or governing body to determine what is unorthodox regarding religious beliefs and doctrine. So who gets to decide? If you asked a Lutheran, Catholic, Pentecostal, Charismatic, Mennonite, and Episcopalian each about what constituted orthodox versus unorthodox beliefs in other denominations, you would undoubtedly find each denomination labeled unorthodox (and thus a cult) by at least one other denomination.\r\n\r\nEven sociologists and psychologist tend to disagree over whether or not to continue the use of the word cult, since what started as a mostly neutral term now tends to bring to mind the poisoned Kool-Aid victims of the Jonestown Massacre. Furthermore, there more of a continuum or spectrum between what constitutes \"cult\" and \"non-cult,\" rather than simple black and white definitions. As such, many have given to using further descriptors for cults, such as \"dangerous\" or \"benign.\"\r\n\r\nThis is why I appreciate the resources that the <a href=\"http://www.icsahome.com/\">International Cultic Studies Association</a> has online regarding cults.  The ICSA acknowledges upfront the difficulty in cult terminology, and then focuses on the damaging aspects and practices that can occur in cults, without giving a subjective list of cults or bad organizations on their website.  Instead, it is up to the reader to use the information to decide on their own. That being said, here is the list of characteristics often found with cultic groups, according to Michael D. Langone, Ph.D, Executive Director of the ICSA:\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li>The group displays excessively zealous and unquestioning commitment to its leader and (whether he is alive or dead) regards his belief system, ideology, and practices as the Truth, as law.</li>\r\n	<li>Questioning, doubt, and dissent are discouraged or even punished.</li>\r\n	<li>Mind-altering practices (such as meditation, chanting, speaking in tongues, denunciation sessions, and debilitating work routines) are used in excess and serve to suppress doubts about the group and its leader(s).</li>\r\n	<li>The leadership dictates, sometimes in great detail, how members should think, act, and feel (for example, members must get permission to date, change jobs, marry—or leaders prescribe what types of clothes to wear, where to live, whether or not to have children, how to discipline children, and so forth).</li>\r\n	<li>The group is elitist, claiming a special, exalted status for itself, its leader(s) and members (for example, the leader is considered the Messiah, a special being, an avatar—or the group and/or the leader is on a special mission to save humanity).</li>\r\n	<li>The group has a polarized us-versus-them mentality, which may cause conflict with the wider society</li>\r\n	<li>The leader is not accountable to any authorities (unlike, for example, teachers, military commanders or ministers, priests, monks, and rabbis of mainstream religious denominations).</li>\r\n	<li>The group teaches or implies that its supposedly exalted ends justify whatever means it deems necessary. This may result in members\' participating in behaviors or activities they would have considered reprehensible or unethical before joining the group (for example, lying to family or friends, or collecting money for bogus charities).</li>\r\n	<li>The leadership induces feelings of shame and/or guilt<span class=\"SpellE\" style=\"text-align: left;padding-top: 1px;padding-right: 3px;padding-left: 3px;padding-bottom: 6px;margin-top: 1px;margin-bottom: 1px;margin-left: 1px\">in</span>order to influence and/or control members. Often, this is done through peer pressure and subtle forms of persuasion.</li>\r\n	<li>Subservience to the leader or group requires members to cut ties with family and friends, and radically alter the personal goals and activities they had before joining the group.</li>\r\n	<li>The group is preoccupied with bringing in new members.</li>\r\n	<li>The group is preoccupied with making money.</li>\r\n	<li>Members are expected to devote inordinate amounts of time to the group and group-related activities.</li>\r\n	<li>Members are encouraged or required to live and/or socialize only with other group members.</li>\r\n	<li>The most loyal members (the “true believers”) feel there can be no life outside the context of the group. They believe there is no other way to be, and often fear reprisals to themselves or others if they leave (or even consider leaving) the group.</li>\r\n</ol>\r\nPlease note that this list is not meant to be a definitive or all-encompassing checklist to diagnose groups, but merely a guideline of characteristics that cults often display. Even if an organization were to have many of these characteristics, I think we should be careful before immediately labeling a group as a cult, given how loaded a word it is. Also, I propose that it is entirely possible that a group everyone would agree is not truly a cult could be shown to display many of these traits, depending on how you describe them.\r\n\r\nFor example, a sports team could easily be described in such a way as to seem cultic. For one thing, all the members are committed wholly to the coach; questioning the coach can lead to losing the game, being benched, or even being completely removed from the team. Also, team members often engage in weirdly scripted pre-game chants with indiscernible grunts, meant to increase team unity and create a team mind-set. Furthermore, the team must all dress in complete uniformity, down to the color of their clothing, or they are not allowed to participate. The team also has a polarized us-versus-them mentality, viewing all other teams as opponents they must defeat. Being apart of the team will also likely affect their relationships and other personal goals; due to long practice sessions and traveling for games, they will have little to no time to pursue other activities, and they may not see their family very often during the on-season. Now granted, this example doesn\'t fit every characteristic listed, but as you can see, it could be easy to make a group fit these characteristics if you were already prejudiced against it.\r\n\r\nBecause \"cult\" is an indistinctly defined term that can be misused and misapplied to great detriment, it is important to be careful before immediately slapping the cult label on any religious group that we disagree with or even one that has truly injured us. That being said, damaging groups and cults flying under the \"Christian flag\" do exist, and it is a good thing to consider these characteristics found in spiritually and psychology destructive groups you may join or even those you may have already joined. It is easy to have the \"I\'m to smart or balanced to get pulled into a cult\" mentality, but people of all walks of life are susceptible to cults, especially as cults often give misleading information about their true nature, organizational structure, rules, etc., when you first become involved.\r\n\r\nI certainly thought I was too intelligent or psychologically sound to get involved with a sketchy ministry or (gasp!) a cult. I was a part of a 5-fold para-church Christian ministry for approximately eight years. For those of you unfamiliar with that terminology, essentially it was a Christian ministry that was not a church, but rather worked alongside Christian churches, with a particular focus on the 5-fold ministry gifts listed in Ephesians 4:11 (Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor and Teacher). I knew of the ministry through respected friends and acquaintances from the church I attend in high school, and my first involvement was merely as a member of the worship team while I was still in college.\r\n\r\nShortly after college, my husband and I \"joined the team,\" becoming more deeply involved and committed to the ministry.  As time progressed, the ministry\'s meetings (both public meetings and private \"team only\" meetings) became more frequent and went into the early morning hours (I often arrived back home after 3 am). In addition, more rigid rules were created and enforced regarding everything from not drinking alcohol, meeting attendance, how to act around the leader of our ministry, dress code, taboo discussion topics with non-team members, and much more. Public questioning of the leader was not allowed, and if you questioned him in private, somehow it was always turned around that you had a  \"heart issue\" and \"issues with authority.\" Really though, with the high demands on the team, long hours volunteering, etc., everyone was usually too tired to think, let alone have the faculties necessary to find fault with the ministry or leadership.\r\n\r\nThe \"heart issue\" was a commonly employed method to get the team to stay in line. When other members left the team (by choice or otherwise), or if the leadership found out we were associating with people who did not agree 100% with the ministry, we were discouraged to continue anything more than a superficial relationship with them. The head of the ministry was always careful to point out that he wasn\'t saying we couldn\'t associate with them, but that the fact that we would want to, knowing what they thought of the ministry, revealed our true heart. Even missing <em>optional</em> extra-curricular team events was taken as evidence of  having heart issues.\r\n\r\nEventually I became even more involved with the ministry, to the point of being privy to much of the leadership\'s confidential information regarding the inner workings of the ministry, other ministers, and even other team members. At first, it was an honor to have such a position. However, eventually I began to see the cracks in the leadership and the ministry-- cracks I could not point out unless I wanted to have a \"come to Jesus meeting\" where my supposed heart issues, authority issues, and God knows what other issues might be raised, to deflect from the flaws in leadership. Many things were done at the bidding of the leadership that I did not really agree with. Team members were booted from the ministry when they wouldn\'t toe the line, and the rest of the team was given false or highly misleading information about why they left. Long weeks of meetings were called because \'God was moving\', when behind closed doors in staff meetings, we discussed having extra meetings to get more money to keep the ministry afloat. These are just a couple of examples of the many issues I could mention.\r\n\r\nDespite my dislike of who I was becoming at this ministry and my disagreements with what the leadership were doing, I deeply struggled with leaving. Anyone who left the ministry was declared to be \"out of God\'s will,\" and I certainly did not want to be that! Furthermore, we had put eight years of our livelihood into that ministry, and leaving would lead me to question whether we had wasted the entirety of those years. At the same time, I could no longer believe that the ministry was truly acting in a way that glorified or modeled Christ.\r\n\r\nWhile I struggled and prayed for God to either release me or give me the fortitude to leave on my own, my husband was absolutely certain we needed to leave. He met with the head of the ministry about this, who disagreed that it was time for us to leave. On his request and advice, my husband agreed to take 30 days to pray about this, after which they would meet again. At the same time, I decided it was time to move out of my current job within the ministry, even if we still remained on the team. After the 30 days, my husband\'s decision remained the same. The day before his scheduled follow-up meeting, the leader called us up and kicked us off the team.\r\n\r\nDespite my relief at being released from the team, I still had an incredible amount of anger and pain stemming from how things were handled, both during our time at the ministry and in the way in which we were released from the team. In the first few months after we left, I easily decried this ministry as a cult. And I suspect that many others may jump to that same conclusion after reading my account from my time there. Looking through the list from the ICSA, this ministry does fit at least 13 out of 15 of the characteristics of cultic groups. Given that, is my original declaration correct, even if it was spoken out of pain and anger? Perhaps there is more to the story.\r\n\r\nDespite the many issues I have with that ministry, I do believe that everyone there, including the leadership, truly believes that they are helping people and doing God\'s will. Granted, having good intentions doesn\'t keep people from hurting others or doing incredible wrong. Many horrific acts have been done and continue to be done in the name of God and God\'s will.  And, the belief that you are helping people is certainly not a litmus test to prove non-cult status. But does it count for something, along the spectrum of dangerous cult/benign cult/non-cult?\r\n\r\nAt this ministry, I do think they end up doing more damage to people than they do good; but, it certainly isn\'t at the same level as drinking poisoned Kool-Aid and committing mass suicide. Is there a certain point of damage, where cult status becomes clear?  And, cult or not, what is the correct and appropriate response for Christians when faced with a Christian ministry, church, or organization that is clearly damaging to people? Do we publicly denounce them or silently pray for them?\r\n\r\nWith this particular group, and perhaps with many other cult-like Christian groups, I think the root of the issue may be with a dictatorial authority structure that does not brook any questioning of leadership, which easily leads to abuse of power. However, this is an authority structure that many groups of Christians believe is biblical and ideal. So what then? Are they right <em>technically</em> but abusing the God-given structure, are they wrong and simply misunderstanding scripture, or worse, are they twisting and manipulating scripture? At what point are doctrinal disagreements and differences in interpretation of scripture so far off that they are grounds for pulling out the cult label? Who really gets to decide who is a heretic nowadays, anyway?\r\n\r\nI certainly won\'t recommend this ministry to anyone, friend or foe. If anything, I tell them to run in the opposite direction. But at this point I also won\'t publicly denounce them as a definitive cult. No, it\'s not because I \"drank the Kool-Aid.\" They certainly straddle that fence between spiritual abuse and cult with more aplomb than a sure-footed tight-rope walker. The line between a legitimate ministry that has fallen due to abusive authority and a full-blown, destructive cult blurs so much to me that I just won\'t make that final judgment. Instead I pray for them, holding out hope that, in their desire to do God\'s will and minister to the body, they will see the damage they are doing and change. And, I pray for myself, that if I have somehow misjudged them, God will open my eyes.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','The \'C\' Word','','inherit','open','open','','3704-revision-73','','','2012-01-07 20:29:29','2012-01-08 04:29:29','',3704,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/07/3704-revision-73/',0,'revision','',0),(3789,48,'2012-01-07 20:34:03','2012-01-08 04:34:03','There\'s a  four-letter word getting thrown around a lot lately. It\'s a word I\'ve heard used flippantly, jokingly, and disparagingly. Admittedly, sometimes it seems like the most accurate, albeit inflammatory, word to use. Often this word is spoken, perhaps rightly so, by broken and hurting people out of pain and frustration. It\'s a word that was used by a commenter on my previous post in Provoketive Magazine, <a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2011/12/08/slap-on-a-little-lipstick-youll-be-fine/\">Slap On a Little Lipstick, You\'ll Be Fine</a>. If I am being completely honest, it\'s a word I\'ve used, sometimes quickly out of anger, and a lot more cautiously after great deliberation.\n\nThat\'s right, I am talking about the \'C\' word: Cult.\n\nCult is a term used by many Christians to describe Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, Christian Scientists, and many other fringe religious groups and doomsday groups like Peoples Temple and Heaven\'s Gate.  It\'s also been used to discredit Christian churches and ministries with an authoritarian structure, rigid rules, and/or apparent spiritual abuse. The commenter from my last article used it in reference to what he thought was a minister requiring me to wear lipstick (as a note, I never stated in that article whether that incident occurred at a secular or religious organization). And I\'ll admit it, I\'d be pretty tempted to slap that label on a minister requiring women to wear lipstick.\n\nGiven that it carries such negative overtones, it is probably not a word one should use unless it is known for certain that a group is a cult. But what <em>is</em> a true cult?\n\nMerriam-Webster\'s Online Dictionary gives the following definition:\n\n<span class=\"ssens\">1    : formal religious veneration : worship</span>\n<div class=\"sblk\">\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">2</div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\">: a system of religious beliefs and ritual; also : its body of adherents</span></div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"sblk\">\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">3</div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\">: a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious; also : its body of adherents</span></div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"sblk\">\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">4</div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\">: a system for the cure of disease based on dogma set forth by its promulgator <span class=\"vi\">&lt;health cults&gt;</span></span></div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"sblk\">\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">5</div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\"><span class=\"sn\">a</span> : great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement, or work (as a film or book); especially : such devotion regarded as a literary or intellectual fad</span></div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\"><span class=\"sn\">b</span> : the object of such devotion</span></div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\"><span class=\"sn\">c</span> : a usually small group of people characterized by such devotion</span></div>\n</div>\nGoing by this definition, any religious group or faith is a cult. That\'s right, that means any Christian church or group, mainstream or otherwise, by definition is a cult. And it doesn\'t stop at religion: any fad or craze with a following is a cult, like the cult of Mac or my personal cult following of choice, that of the canceled Sci-Fi show, Firefly. Really, with the exception of the third listed definition of cult (i.e. a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious), the word shouldn\'t necessarily carry a negative connotation.\n\nIf, for the sake of this article, we decided to simply run with Webster\'s third definition of cult, it would be difficult to find a fully objective person or governing body to determine what is unorthodox regarding religious beliefs and doctrine. So who gets to decide? If you asked a Lutheran, Catholic, Pentecostal, Charismatic, Mennonite, and Episcopalian each about what constituted orthodox versus unorthodox beliefs in other denominations, you would undoubtedly find each denomination labeled unorthodox (and thus a cult) by at least one other denomination.\n\nEven sociologists and psychologist tend to disagree over whether or not to continue the use of the word cult, since what started as a mostly neutral term now tends to bring to mind the poisoned Kool-Aid victims of the Jonestown Massacre. Furthermore, there more of a continuum or spectrum between what constitutes \"cult\" and \"non-cult,\" rather than simple black and white definitions. As such, many have given to using further descriptors for cults, such as \"dangerous\" or \"benign.\"\n\nThis is why I appreciate the resources that the <a href=\"http://www.icsahome.com/\">International Cultic Studies Association</a> has online regarding cults.  The ICSA acknowledges upfront the difficulty in cult terminology, and then focuses on the damaging aspects and practices that can occur in cults, without giving a subjective list of cults or bad organizations on their website.  Instead, it is up to the reader to use the information to decide on their own. That being said, here is the list of characteristics often found with cultic groups, according to Michael D. Langone, Ph.D, Executive Director of the ICSA:\n<ol>\n	<li>The group displays excessively zealous and unquestioning commitment to its leader and (whether he is alive or dead) regards his belief system, ideology, and practices as the Truth, as law.</li>\n	<li>Questioning, doubt, and dissent are discouraged or even punished.</li>\n	<li>Mind-altering practices (such as meditation, chanting, speaking in tongues, denunciation sessions, and debilitating work routines) are used in excess and serve to suppress doubts about the group and its leader(s).</li>\n	<li>The leadership dictates, sometimes in great detail, how members should think, act, and feel (for example, members must get permission to date, change jobs, marry—or leaders prescribe what types of clothes to wear, where to live, whether or not to have children, how to discipline children, and so forth).</li>\n	<li>The group is elitist, claiming a special, exalted status for itself, its leader(s) and members (for example, the leader is considered the Messiah, a special being, an avatar—or the group and/or the leader is on a special mission to save humanity).</li>\n	<li>The group has a polarized us-versus-them mentality, which may cause conflict with the wider society</li>\n	<li>The leader is not accountable to any authorities (unlike, for example, teachers, military commanders or ministers, priests, monks, and rabbis of mainstream religious denominations).</li>\n	<li>The group teaches or implies that its supposedly exalted ends justify whatever means it deems necessary. This may result in members\' participating in behaviors or activities they would have considered reprehensible or unethical before joining the group (for example, lying to family or friends, or collecting money for bogus charities).</li>\n	<li>The leadership induces feelings of shame and/or guilt<span class=\"SpellE\" style=\"text-align: left;padding-top: 1px;padding-right: 3px;padding-left: 3px;padding-bottom: 6px;margin-top: 1px;margin-bottom: 1px;margin-left: 1px\">in</span>order to influence and/or control members. Often, this is done through peer pressure and subtle forms of persuasion.</li>\n	<li>Subservience to the leader or group requires members to cut ties with family and friends, and radically alter the personal goals and activities they had before joining the group.</li>\n	<li>The group is preoccupied with bringing in new members.</li>\n	<li>The group is preoccupied with making money.</li>\n	<li>Members are expected to devote inordinate amounts of time to the group and group-related activities.</li>\n	<li>Members are encouraged or required to live and/or socialize only with other group members.</li>\n	<li>The most loyal members (the “true believers”) feel there can be no life outside the context of the group. They believe there is no other way to be, and often fear reprisals to themselves or others if they leave (or even consider leaving) the group.</li>\n</ol>\nPlease note that this list is not meant to be a definitive or all-encompassing checklist to diagnose groups, but merely a guideline of characteristics that cults often display. Even if an organization were to have many of these characteristics, I think we should be careful before immediately labeling a group as a cult, given how loaded a word it is. Also, I propose that it is entirely possible that a group everyone would agree is not truly a cult could be shown to display many of these traits, depending on how you describe them.\n\nFor example, a sports team could easily be described in such a way as to seem cultic. For one thing, all the members are committed wholly to the coach; questioning the coach can lead to losing the game, being benched, or even being completely removed from the team. Also, team members often engage in weirdly scripted pre-game chants with indiscernible grunts, meant to increase team unity and create a team mind-set. Furthermore, the team must all dress in complete uniformity, down to the color of their clothing, or they are not allowed to participate. The team also has a polarized us-versus-them mentality, viewing all other teams as opponents they must defeat. Being apart of the team will also likely affect their relationships and other personal goals; due to long practice sessions and traveling for games, they will have little to no time to pursue other activities, and they may not see their family very often during the on-season. Now granted, this example doesn\'t fit every characteristic listed, but as you can see, it could be easy to make a group fit these characteristics if you were already prejudiced against it.\n\nBecause \"cult\" is an indistinctly defined term that can be misused and misapplied to great detriment, it is important to be careful before immediately slapping the cult label on any religious group that we disagree with or even one that has truly injured us. That being said, damaging groups and cults flying under the Christian flag do exist, and it is wise to be aware of these cult characteristics.It is easy to have the \"I\'m to smart or balanced to get pulled into a cult\" mentality, but people of all walks of life are susceptible to cults, especially as cults often give misleading information about their true nature, organizational structure, rules, etc., when you first become involved.\n\nI certainly thought I was too intelligent or psychologically sound to get involved with a sketchy ministry or (gasp!) a cult. I was a part of a 5-fold para-church Christian ministry for approximately eight years. For those of you unfamiliar with that terminology, essentially it was a Christian ministry that was not a church, but rather worked alongside Christian churches, with a particular focus on the 5-fold ministry gifts listed in Ephesians 4:11 (Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor and Teacher). I knew of the ministry through respected friends and acquaintances from the church I attend in high school, and my first involvement was merely as a member of the worship team while I was still in college.\n\nShortly after college, my husband and I \"joined the team,\" becoming more deeply involved and committed to the ministry.  As time progressed, the ministry\'s meetings (both public meetings and private \"team only\" meetings) became more frequent and went into the early morning hours (I often arrived back home after 3 am). In addition, more rigid rules were created and enforced regarding everything from not drinking alcohol, meeting attendance, how to act around the leader of our ministry, dress code, taboo discussion topics with non-team members, and much more. Public questioning of the leader was not allowed, and if you questioned him in private, somehow it was always turned around that you had a  \"heart issue\" and \"issues with authority.\" Really though, with the high demands on the team, long hours volunteering, etc., everyone was usually too tired to think, let alone have the faculties necessary to find fault with the ministry or leadership.\n\nThe \"heart issue\" was a commonly employed method to get the team to stay in line. When other members left the team (by choice or otherwise), or if the leadership found out we were associating with people who did not agree 100% with the ministry, we were discouraged to continue anything more than a superficial relationship with them. The head of the ministry was always careful to point out that he wasn\'t saying we couldn\'t associate with them, but that the fact that we would want to, knowing what they thought of the ministry, revealed our true heart. Even missing <em>optional</em> extra-curricular team events was taken as evidence of  having heart issues.\n\nEventually I became even more involved with the ministry, to the point of being privy to much of the leadership\'s confidential information regarding the inner workings of the ministry, other ministers, and even other team members. At first, it was an honor to have such a position. However, eventually I began to see the cracks in the leadership and the ministry-- cracks I could not point out unless I wanted to have a \"come to Jesus meeting\" where my supposed heart issues, authority issues, and God knows what other issues might be raised, to deflect from the flaws in leadership. Many things were done at the bidding of the leadership that I did not really agree with. Team members were booted from the ministry when they wouldn\'t toe the line, and the rest of the team was given false or highly misleading information about why they left. Long weeks of meetings were called because \'God was moving\', when behind closed doors in staff meetings, we discussed having extra meetings to get more money to keep the ministry afloat. These are just a couple of examples of the many issues I could mention.\n\nDespite my dislike of who I was becoming at this ministry and my disagreements with what the leadership were doing, I deeply struggled with leaving. Anyone who left the ministry was declared to be \"out of God\'s will,\" and I certainly did not want to be that! Furthermore, we had put eight years of our livelihood into that ministry, and leaving would lead me to question whether we had wasted the entirety of those years. At the same time, I could no longer believe that the ministry was truly acting in a way that glorified or modeled Christ.\n\nWhile I struggled and prayed for God to either release me or give me the fortitude to leave on my own, my husband was absolutely certain we needed to leave. He met with the head of the ministry about this, who disagreed that it was time for us to leave. On his request and advice, my husband agreed to take 30 days to pray about this, after which they would meet again. At the same time, I decided it was time to move out of my current job within the ministry, even if we still remained on the team. After the 30 days, my husband\'s decision remained the same. The day before his scheduled follow-up meeting, the leader called us up and kicked us off the team.\n\nDespite my relief at being released from the team, I still had an incredible amount of anger and pain stemming from how things were handled, both during our time at the ministry and in the way in which we were released from the team. In the first few months after we left, I easily decried this ministry as a cult. And I suspect that many others may jump to that same conclusion after reading my account from my time there. Looking through the list from the ICSA, this ministry does fit at least 13 out of 15 of the characteristics of cultic groups. Given that, is my original declaration correct, even if it was spoken out of pain and anger? Perhaps there is more to the story.\n\nDespite the many issues I have with that ministry, I do believe that everyone there, including the leadership, truly believes that they are helping people and doing God\'s will. Granted, having good intentions doesn\'t keep people from hurting others or doing incredible wrong. Many horrific acts have been done and continue to be done in the name of God and God\'s will.  And, the belief that you are helping people is certainly not a litmus test to prove non-cult status. But does it count for something, along the spectrum of dangerous cult/benign cult/non-cult?\n\nAt this ministry, I do think they end up doing more damage to people than they do good; but, it certainly isn\'t at the same level as drinking poisoned Kool-Aid and committing mass suicide. Is there a certain point of damage, where cult status becomes clear?  And, cult or not, what is the correct and appropriate response for Christians when faced with a Christian ministry, church, or organization that is clearly damaging to people? Do we publicly denounce them or silently pray for them?\n\nWith this particular group, and perhaps with many other cult-like Christian groups, I think the root of the issue may be with a dictatorial authority structure that does not brook any questioning of leadership, which easily leads to abuse of power. However, this is an authority structure that many groups of Christians believe is biblical and ideal. So what then? Are they right <em>technically</em> but abusing the God-given structure, are they wrong and simply misunderstanding scripture, or worse, are they twisting and manipulating scripture? At what point are doctrinal disagreements and differences in interpretation of scripture so far off that they are grounds for pulling out the cult label? Who really gets to decide who is a heretic nowadays, anyway?\n\nI certainly won\'t recommend this ministry to anyone, friend or foe. If anything, I tell them to run in the opposite direction. But at this point I also won\'t publicly denounce them as a definitive cult. No, it\'s not because I \"drank the Kool-Aid.\" They certainly straddle that fence between spiritual abuse and cult with more aplomb than a sure-footed tight-rope walker. The line between a legitimate ministry that has fallen due to abusive authority and a full-blown, destructive cult blurs so much to me that I just won\'t make that final judgment. Instead I pray for them, holding out hope that, in their desire to do God\'s will and minister to the body, they will see the damage they are doing and change. And, I pray for myself, that if I have somehow misjudged them, God will open my eyes.\n\n&nbsp;','The \'C\' Word','','inherit','open','open','','3704-revision-75','','','2012-01-07 20:34:03','2012-01-08 04:34:03','',3704,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/07/3704-revision-75/',0,'revision','',0),(3790,48,'2012-01-07 20:35:49','2012-01-08 04:35:49','There\'s a  four-letter word getting thrown around a lot lately. It\'s a word I\'ve heard used flippantly, jokingly, and disparagingly. Admittedly, sometimes it seems like the most accurate, albeit inflammatory, word to use. Often this word is spoken, perhaps rightly so, by broken and hurting people out of pain and frustration. It\'s a word that was used by a commenter on my previous post in Provoketive Magazine, <a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2011/12/08/slap-on-a-little-lipstick-youll-be-fine/\">Slap On a Little Lipstick, You\'ll Be Fine</a>. If I am being completely honest, it\'s a word I\'ve used, sometimes quickly out of anger, and a lot more cautiously after great deliberation.\n\nThat\'s right, I am talking about the \'C\' word: Cult.\n\nCult is a term used by many Christians to describe Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, Christian Scientists, and many other fringe religious groups and doomsday groups like Peoples Temple and Heaven\'s Gate.  It\'s also been used to discredit Christian churches and ministries with an authoritarian structure, rigid rules, and/or apparent spiritual abuse. The commenter from my last article used it in reference to what he thought was a minister requiring me to wear lipstick (as a note, I never stated in that article whether that incident occurred at a secular or religious organization). And I\'ll admit it, I\'d be pretty tempted to slap that label on a minister requiring women to wear lipstick.\n\nGiven that it carries such negative overtones, it is probably not a word one should use unless it is known for certain that a group is a cult. But what <em>is</em> a true cult?\n\nMerriam-Webster\'s Online Dictionary gives the following definition:\n\n<span class=\"ssens\">1    : formal religious veneration : worship</span>\n<div class=\"sblk\">\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">2</div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\">: a system of religious beliefs and ritual; also : its body of adherents</span></div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"sblk\">\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">3</div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\">: a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious; also : its body of adherents</span></div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"sblk\">\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">4</div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\">: a system for the cure of disease based on dogma set forth by its promulgator <span class=\"vi\">&lt;health cults&gt;</span></span></div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"sblk\">\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">5</div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\"><span class=\"sn\">a</span> : great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement, or work (as a film or book); especially : such devotion regarded as a literary or intellectual fad</span></div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\"><span class=\"sn\">b</span> : the object of such devotion</span></div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\"><span class=\"sn\">c</span> : a usually small group of people characterized by such devotion</span></div>\n</div>\nGoing by this definition, any religious group or faith is a cult. That\'s right, that means any Christian church or group, mainstream or otherwise, by definition is a cult. And it doesn\'t stop at religion: any fad or craze with a following is a cult, like the cult of Mac or my personal cult following of choice, that of the canceled Sci-Fi show, Firefly. Really, with the exception of the third listed definition of cult (i.e. a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious), the word shouldn\'t necessarily carry a negative connotation.\n\nIf, for the sake of this article, we decided to simply run with Webster\'s third definition of cult, it would be difficult to find a fully objective person or governing body to determine what is unorthodox regarding religious beliefs and doctrine. So who gets to decide? If you asked a Lutheran, Catholic, Pentecostal, Charismatic, Mennonite, and Episcopalian each about what constituted orthodox versus unorthodox beliefs in other denominations, you would undoubtedly find each denomination labeled unorthodox (and thus a cult) by at least one other denomination.\n\nEven sociologists and psychologist tend to disagree over whether or not to continue the use of the word cult, since what started as a mostly neutral term now tends to bring to mind the poisoned Kool-Aid victims of the Jonestown Massacre. Furthermore, there more of a continuum or spectrum between what constitutes \"cult\" and \"non-cult,\" rather than simple black and white definitions. As such, many have given to using further descriptors for cults, such as \"dangerous\" or \"benign.\"\n\nThis is why I appreciate the resources that the <a href=\"http://www.icsahome.com/\">International Cultic Studies Association</a> has online regarding cults.  The ICSA acknowledges upfront the difficulty in cult terminology, and then focuses on the damaging aspects and practices that can occur in cults, without giving a subjective list of cults or bad organizations on their website.  Instead, it is up to the reader to use the information to decide on their own. That being said, here is the list of characteristics often found with cultic groups, according to Michael D. Langone, Ph.D, Executive Director of the ICSA:\n<ol>\n	<li>The group displays excessively zealous and unquestioning commitment to its leader and (whether he is alive or dead) regards his belief system, ideology, and practices as the Truth, as law.</li>\n	<li>Questioning, doubt, and dissent are discouraged or even punished.</li>\n	<li>Mind-altering practices (such as meditation, chanting, speaking in tongues, denunciation sessions, and debilitating work routines) are used in excess and serve to suppress doubts about the group and its leader(s).</li>\n	<li>The leadership dictates, sometimes in great detail, how members should think, act, and feel (for example, members must get permission to date, change jobs, marry—or leaders prescribe what types of clothes to wear, where to live, whether or not to have children, how to discipline children, and so forth).</li>\n	<li>The group is elitist, claiming a special, exalted status for itself, its leader(s) and members (for example, the leader is considered the Messiah, a special being, an avatar—or the group and/or the leader is on a special mission to save humanity).</li>\n	<li>The group has a polarized us-versus-them mentality, which may cause conflict with the wider society</li>\n	<li>The leader is not accountable to any authorities (unlike, for example, teachers, military commanders or ministers, priests, monks, and rabbis of mainstream religious denominations).</li>\n	<li>The group teaches or implies that its supposedly exalted ends justify whatever means it deems necessary. This may result in members\' participating in behaviors or activities they would have considered reprehensible or unethical before joining the group (for example, lying to family or friends, or collecting money for bogus charities).</li>\n	<li>The leadership induces feelings of shame and/or guilt<span class=\"SpellE\" style=\"text-align: left;padding-top: 1px;padding-right: 3px;padding-left: 3px;padding-bottom: 6px;margin-top: 1px;margin-bottom: 1px;margin-left: 1px\">in</span>order to influence and/or control members. Often, this is done through peer pressure and subtle forms of persuasion.</li>\n	<li>Subservience to the leader or group requires members to cut ties with family and friends, and radically alter the personal goals and activities they had before joining the group.</li>\n	<li>The group is preoccupied with bringing in new members.</li>\n	<li>The group is preoccupied with making money.</li>\n	<li>Members are expected to devote inordinate amounts of time to the group and group-related activities.</li>\n	<li>Members are encouraged or required to live and/or socialize only with other group members.</li>\n	<li>The most loyal members (the “true believers”) feel there can be no life outside the context of the group. They believe there is no other way to be, and often fear reprisals to themselves or others if they leave (or even consider leaving) the group.</li>\n</ol>\nPlease note that this list is not meant to be a definitive or all-encompassing checklist to diagnose groups, but merely a guideline of characteristics that cults often display. Even if an organization were to have many of these characteristics, I think we should be careful before immediately labeling a group as a cult, given how loaded a word it is. Also, I propose that it is entirely possible that a group everyone would agree is not truly a cult could be shown to display many of these traits, depending on how you describe them.\n\nFor example, a sports team could easily be described in such a way as to seem cultic. For one thing, all the members are committed wholly to the coach; questioning the coach can lead to losing the game, being benched, or even being completely removed from the team. Also, team members often engage in weirdly scripted pre-game chants with indiscernible grunts, meant to increase team unity and create a team mind-set. Furthermore, the team must all dress in complete uniformity, down to the color of their clothing, or they are not allowed to participate. The team also has a polarized us-versus-them mentality, viewing all other teams as opponents they must defeat. Being apart of the team will also likely affect their relationships and other personal goals; due to long practice sessions and traveling for games, they will have little to no time to pursue other activities, and they may not see their family very often during the on-season. Now granted, this example doesn\'t fit every characteristic listed, but as you can see, it could be easy to make a group fit these characteristics if you were already prejudiced against it.\n\nBecause \"cult\" is an indistinctly defined term that can be misused and misapplied to great detriment, it is important to be careful before immediately slapping the cult label on any religious group that we disagree with or even one that has truly injured us. That being said, damaging groups and cults flying under the Christian flag do exist, and it is wise to be aware of these cult characteristics. Many have the \"I\'m to smart or balanced to get pulled into a cult\" mentality, but people of all walks of life are susceptible to cults, especially as cults often give misleading information about their true nature, organizational structure, rules, etc., when you first become involved.\n\nI certainly thought I was too intelligent or psychologically sound to get involved with a sketchy ministry or (gasp!) a cult. I was a part of a 5-fold para-church Christian ministry for approximately eight years. For those of you unfamiliar with that terminology, essentially it was a Christian ministry that was not a church, but rather worked alongside Christian churches, with a particular focus on the 5-fold ministry gifts listed in Ephesians 4:11 (Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor and Teacher). I knew of the ministry through respected friends and acquaintances from the church I attend in high school, and my first involvement was merely as a member of the worship team while I was still in college.\n\nShortly after college, my husband and I \"joined the team,\" becoming more deeply involved and committed to the ministry.  As time progressed, the ministry\'s meetings (both public meetings and private \"team only\" meetings) became more frequent and went into the early morning hours (I often arrived back home after 3 am). In addition, more rigid rules were created and enforced regarding everything from not drinking alcohol, meeting attendance, how to act around the leader of our ministry, dress code, taboo discussion topics with non-team members, and much more. Public questioning of the leader was not allowed, and if you questioned him in private, somehow it was always turned around that you had a  \"heart issue\" and \"issues with authority.\" Really though, with the high demands on the team, long hours volunteering, etc., everyone was usually too tired to think, let alone have the faculties necessary to find fault with the ministry or leadership.\n\nThe \"heart issue\" was a commonly employed method to get the team to stay in line. When other members left the team (by choice or otherwise), or if the leadership found out we were associating with people who did not agree 100% with the ministry, we were discouraged to continue anything more than a superficial relationship with them. The head of the ministry was always careful to point out that he wasn\'t saying we couldn\'t associate with them, but that the fact that we would want to, knowing what they thought of the ministry, revealed our true heart. Even missing <em>optional</em> extra-curricular team events was taken as evidence of  having heart issues.\n\nEventually I became even more involved with the ministry, to the point of being privy to much of the leadership\'s confidential information regarding the inner workings of the ministry, other ministers, and even other team members. At first, it was an honor to have such a position. However, eventually I began to see the cracks in the leadership and the ministry-- cracks I could not point out unless I wanted to have a \"come to Jesus meeting\" where my supposed heart issues, authority issues, and God knows what other issues might be raised, to deflect from the flaws in leadership. Many things were done at the bidding of the leadership that I did not really agree with. Team members were booted from the ministry when they wouldn\'t toe the line, and the rest of the team was given false or highly misleading information about why they left. Long weeks of meetings were called because \'God was moving\', when behind closed doors in staff meetings, we discussed having extra meetings to get more money to keep the ministry afloat. These are just a couple of examples of the many issues I could mention.\n\nDespite my dislike of who I was becoming at this ministry and my disagreements with what the leadership were doing, I deeply struggled with leaving. Anyone who left the ministry was declared to be \"out of God\'s will,\" and I certainly did not want to be that! Furthermore, we had put eight years of our livelihood into that ministry, and leaving would lead me to question whether we had wasted the entirety of those years. At the same time, I could no longer believe that the ministry was truly acting in a way that glorified or modeled Christ.\n\nWhile I struggled and prayed for God to either release me or give me the fortitude to leave on my own, my husband was absolutely certain we needed to leave. He met with the head of the ministry about this, who disagreed that it was time for us to leave. At his request, my husband agreed to take 30 days to pray about this, after which they would meet again. At the same time, I decided it was time to move out of my current job within the ministry, even if we still remained on the team. After the 30 days, my husband\'s decision remained the same. The day before his scheduled follow-up meeting, the leader called us up and kicked us off the team before we had the chance to meet with him and\n\nDespite my relief at being released from the team, I still had an incredible amount of anger and pain stemming from how things were handled, both during our time at the ministry and in the way in which we were released from the team. In the first few months after we left, I easily decried this ministry as a cult. And I suspect that many others may jump to that same conclusion after reading my account from my time there. Looking through the list from the ICSA, this ministry does fit at least 13 out of 15 of the characteristics of cultic groups. Given that, is my original declaration correct, even if it was spoken out of pain and anger? Perhaps there is more to the story.\n\nDespite the many issues I have with that ministry, I do believe that everyone there, including the leadership, truly believes that they are helping people and doing God\'s will. Granted, having good intentions doesn\'t keep people from hurting others or doing incredible wrong. Many horrific acts have been done and continue to be done in the name of God and God\'s will.  And, the belief that you are helping people is certainly not a litmus test to prove non-cult status. But does it count for something, along the spectrum of dangerous cult/benign cult/non-cult?\n\nAt this ministry, I do think they end up doing more damage to people than they do good; but, it certainly isn\'t at the same level as drinking poisoned Kool-Aid and committing mass suicide. Is there a certain point of damage, where cult status becomes clear?  And, cult or not, what is the correct and appropriate response for Christians when faced with a Christian ministry, church, or organization that is clearly damaging to people? Do we publicly denounce them or silently pray for them?\n\nWith this particular group, and perhaps with many other cult-like Christian groups, I think the root of the issue may be with a dictatorial authority structure that does not brook any questioning of leadership, which easily leads to abuse of power. However, this is an authority structure that many groups of Christians believe is biblical and ideal. So what then? Are they right <em>technically</em> but abusing the God-given structure, are they wrong and simply misunderstanding scripture, or worse, are they twisting and manipulating scripture? At what point are doctrinal disagreements and differences in interpretation of scripture so far off that they are grounds for pulling out the cult label? Who really gets to decide who is a heretic nowadays, anyway?\n\nI certainly won\'t recommend this ministry to anyone, friend or foe. If anything, I tell them to run in the opposite direction. But at this point I also won\'t publicly denounce them as a definitive cult. No, it\'s not because I \"drank the Kool-Aid.\" They certainly straddle that fence between spiritual abuse and cult with more aplomb than a sure-footed tight-rope walker. The line between a legitimate ministry that has fallen due to abusive authority and a full-blown, destructive cult blurs so much to me that I just won\'t make that final judgment. Instead I pray for them, holding out hope that, in their desire to do God\'s will and minister to the body, they will see the damage they are doing and change. And, I pray for myself, that if I have somehow misjudged them, God will open my eyes.\n\n&nbsp;','The \'C\' Word','','inherit','open','open','','3704-revision-76','','','2012-01-07 20:35:49','2012-01-08 04:35:49','',3704,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/07/3704-revision-76/',0,'revision','',0),(3791,48,'2012-01-07 20:39:03','2012-01-08 04:39:03','There\'s a  four-letter word getting thrown around a lot lately. It\'s a word I\'ve heard used flippantly, jokingly, and disparagingly. Admittedly, sometimes it seems like the most accurate, albeit inflammatory, word to use. Often this word is spoken, perhaps rightly so, by broken and hurting people out of pain and frustration. It\'s a word that was used by a commenter on my previous post in Provoketive Magazine, <a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2011/12/08/slap-on-a-little-lipstick-youll-be-fine/\">Slap On a Little Lipstick, You\'ll Be Fine</a>. If I am being completely honest, it\'s a word I\'ve used, sometimes quickly out of anger, and a lot more cautiously after great deliberation.\n\nThat\'s right, I am talking about the \'C\' word: Cult.\n\nCult is a term used by many Christians to describe Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, Christian Scientists, and many other fringe religious groups and doomsday groups like Peoples Temple and Heaven\'s Gate.  It\'s also been used to discredit Christian churches and ministries with an authoritarian structure, rigid rules, and/or apparent spiritual abuse. The commenter from my last article used it in reference to what he thought was a minister requiring me to wear lipstick (as a note, I never stated in that article whether that incident occurred at a secular or religious organization). And I\'ll admit it, I\'d be pretty tempted to slap that label on a minister requiring women to wear lipstick.\n\nGiven that it carries such negative overtones, it is probably not a word one should use unless it is known for certain that a group is a cult. But what <em>is</em> a true cult?\n\nMerriam-Webster\'s Online Dictionary gives the following definition:\n\n<span class=\"ssens\">1    : formal religious veneration : worship</span>\n<div class=\"sblk\">\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">2</div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\">: a system of religious beliefs and ritual; also : its body of adherents</span></div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"sblk\">\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">3</div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\">: a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious; also : its body of adherents</span></div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"sblk\">\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">4</div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\">: a system for the cure of disease based on dogma set forth by its promulgator <span class=\"vi\">&lt;health cults&gt;</span></span></div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"sblk\">\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">5</div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\"><span class=\"sn\">a</span> : great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement, or work (as a film or book); especially : such devotion regarded as a literary or intellectual fad</span></div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\"><span class=\"sn\">b</span> : the object of such devotion</span></div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\"><span class=\"sn\">c</span> : a usually small group of people characterized by such devotion</span></div>\n</div>\nGoing by this definition, any religious group or faith is a cult. That\'s right, that means any Christian church or group, mainstream or otherwise, by definition is a cult. And it doesn\'t stop at religion: any fad or craze with a following is a cult, like the cult of Mac or my personal cult following of choice, that of the canceled Sci-Fi show, Firefly. Really, with the exception of the third listed definition of cult (i.e. a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious), the word shouldn\'t necessarily carry a negative connotation.\n\nIf, for the sake of this article, we decided to simply run with Webster\'s third definition of cult, it would be difficult to find a fully objective person or governing body to determine what is unorthodox regarding religious beliefs and doctrine. So who gets to decide? If you asked a Lutheran, Catholic, Pentecostal, Charismatic, Mennonite, and Episcopalian each about what constituted orthodox versus unorthodox beliefs in other denominations, you would undoubtedly find each denomination labeled unorthodox (and thus a cult) by at least one other denomination.\n\nEven sociologists and psychologist tend to disagree over whether or not to continue the use of the word cult, since what started as a mostly neutral term now tends to bring to mind the poisoned Kool-Aid victims of the Jonestown Massacre. Furthermore, there more of a continuum or spectrum between what constitutes \"cult\" and \"non-cult,\" rather than simple black and white definitions. As such, many have given to using further descriptors for cults, such as \"dangerous\" or \"benign.\"\n\nThis is why I appreciate the resources that the <a href=\"http://www.icsahome.com/\">International Cultic Studies Association</a> has online regarding cults.  The ICSA acknowledges upfront the difficulty in cult terminology, and then focuses on the damaging aspects and practices that can occur in cults, without giving a subjective list of cults or bad organizations on their website.  Instead, it is up to the reader to use the information to decide on their own. That being said, here is the list of characteristics often found with cultic groups, according to Michael D. Langone, Ph.D, Executive Director of the ICSA:\n<ol>\n	<li>The group displays excessively zealous and unquestioning commitment to its leader and (whether he is alive or dead) regards his belief system, ideology, and practices as the Truth, as law.</li>\n	<li>Questioning, doubt, and dissent are discouraged or even punished.</li>\n	<li>Mind-altering practices (such as meditation, chanting, speaking in tongues, denunciation sessions, and debilitating work routines) are used in excess and serve to suppress doubts about the group and its leader(s).</li>\n	<li>The leadership dictates, sometimes in great detail, how members should think, act, and feel (for example, members must get permission to date, change jobs, marry—or leaders prescribe what types of clothes to wear, where to live, whether or not to have children, how to discipline children, and so forth).</li>\n	<li>The group is elitist, claiming a special, exalted status for itself, its leader(s) and members (for example, the leader is considered the Messiah, a special being, an avatar—or the group and/or the leader is on a special mission to save humanity).</li>\n	<li>The group has a polarized us-versus-them mentality, which may cause conflict with the wider society</li>\n	<li>The leader is not accountable to any authorities (unlike, for example, teachers, military commanders or ministers, priests, monks, and rabbis of mainstream religious denominations).</li>\n	<li>The group teaches or implies that its supposedly exalted ends justify whatever means it deems necessary. This may result in members\' participating in behaviors or activities they would have considered reprehensible or unethical before joining the group (for example, lying to family or friends, or collecting money for bogus charities).</li>\n	<li>The leadership induces feelings of shame and/or guilt<span class=\"SpellE\" style=\"text-align: left;padding-top: 1px;padding-right: 3px;padding-left: 3px;padding-bottom: 6px;margin-top: 1px;margin-bottom: 1px;margin-left: 1px\">in</span>order to influence and/or control members. Often, this is done through peer pressure and subtle forms of persuasion.</li>\n	<li>Subservience to the leader or group requires members to cut ties with family and friends, and radically alter the personal goals and activities they had before joining the group.</li>\n	<li>The group is preoccupied with bringing in new members.</li>\n	<li>The group is preoccupied with making money.</li>\n	<li>Members are expected to devote inordinate amounts of time to the group and group-related activities.</li>\n	<li>Members are encouraged or required to live and/or socialize only with other group members.</li>\n	<li>The most loyal members (the “true believers”) feel there can be no life outside the context of the group. They believe there is no other way to be, and often fear reprisals to themselves or others if they leave (or even consider leaving) the group.</li>\n</ol>\nPlease note that this list is not meant to be a definitive or all-encompassing checklist to diagnose groups, but merely a guideline of characteristics that cults often display. Even if an organization were to have many of these characteristics, I think we should be careful before immediately labeling a group as a cult, given how loaded a word it is. Also, I propose that it is entirely possible that a group everyone would agree is not truly a cult could be shown to display many of these traits, depending on how you describe them.\n\nFor example, a sports team could easily be described in such a way as to seem cultic. For one thing, all the members are committed wholly to the coach; questioning the coach can lead to losing the game, being benched, or even being completely removed from the team. Also, team members often engage in weirdly scripted pre-game chants with indiscernible grunts, meant to increase team unity and create a team mind-set. Furthermore, the team must all dress in complete uniformity, down to the color of their clothing, or they are not allowed to participate. The team also has a polarized us-versus-them mentality, viewing all other teams as opponents they must defeat. Being apart of the team will also likely affect their relationships and other personal goals; due to long practice sessions and traveling for games, they will have little to no time to pursue other activities, and they may not see their family very often during the on-season. Now granted, this example doesn\'t fit every characteristic listed, but as you can see, it could be easy to make a group fit these characteristics if you were already prejudiced against it.\n\nBecause \"cult\" is an indistinctly defined term that can be misused and misapplied to great detriment, it is important to be careful before immediately slapping the cult label on any religious group that we disagree with or even one that has truly injured us. That being said, damaging groups and cults flying under the Christian flag do exist, and it is wise to be aware of these cult characteristics. Many have the \"I\'m to smart or balanced to get pulled into a cult\" mentality, but people of all walks of life are susceptible to cults, especially as cults often give misleading information about their true nature, organizational structure, rules, etc., when you first become involved.\n\nI certainly thought I was too intelligent or psychologically sound to get involved with a sketchy ministry or (gasp!) a cult. I was a part of a 5-fold para-church Christian ministry for approximately eight years. For those of you unfamiliar with that terminology, essentially it was a Christian ministry that was not a church, but rather worked alongside Christian churches, with a particular focus on the 5-fold ministry gifts listed in Ephesians 4:11 (Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor and Teacher). I knew of the ministry through respected friends and acquaintances from the church I attend in high school, and my first involvement was merely as a member of the worship team while I was still in college.\n\nShortly after college, my husband and I \"joined the team,\" becoming more deeply involved and committed to the ministry.  As time progressed, the ministry\'s meetings (both public meetings and private \"team only\" meetings) became more frequent and went into the early morning hours (I often arrived back home after 3 am). In addition, more rigid rules were created and enforced regarding everything from not drinking alcohol, meeting attendance, how to act around the leader of our ministry, dress code, taboo discussion topics with non-team members, and much more. Public questioning of the leader was not allowed, and if you questioned him in private, somehow it was always turned around that you had a  \"heart issue\" and \"issues with authority.\" Really though, with the high demands on the team, long hours volunteering, etc., everyone was usually too tired to think, let alone have the faculties necessary to find fault with the ministry or leadership.\n\nThe \"heart issue\" was a commonly employed method to get the team to stay in line. When other members left the team (by choice or otherwise), or if the leadership found out we were associating with people who did not agree 100% with the ministry, we were discouraged to continue anything more than a superficial relationship with them. The head of the ministry was always careful to point out that he wasn\'t saying we couldn\'t associate with them, but that the fact that we would want to, knowing what they thought of the ministry, revealed our true heart. Even missing <em>optional</em> extra-curricular team events was taken as evidence of  having heart issues.\n\nEventually I became even more involved with the ministry, to the point of being privy to much of the leadership\'s confidential information regarding the inner workings of the ministry, other ministers, and even other team members. At first, it was an honor to have such a position. However, eventually I began to see the cracks in the leadership and the ministry-- cracks I could not point out unless I wanted to have a \"come to Jesus meeting\" where my supposed heart issues, authority issues, and God knows what other issues might be raised, to deflect from the flaws in leadership. Many things were done at the bidding of the leadership that I did not really agree with. Team members were booted from the ministry when they wouldn\'t toe the line, and the rest of the team was given false or highly misleading information about why they left. Long weeks of meetings were called because \'God was moving\', when behind closed doors in staff meetings, we discussed having extra meetings to get more money to keep the ministry afloat. These are just a couple of examples of the many issues I could mention.\n\nDespite my dislike of who I was becoming at this ministry and my disagreements with what the leadership were doing, I deeply struggled with leaving. Anyone who left the ministry was declared to be \"out of God\'s will,\" and I certainly did not want to be that! Furthermore, we had put eight years of our livelihood into that ministry, and leaving would lead me to question whether we had wasted the entirety of those years. At the same time, I could no longer believe that the ministry was truly acting in a way that glorified or modeled Christ.\n\nWhile I struggled and prayed for God to either release me or give me the fortitude to leave on my own, my husband was absolutely certain we needed to leave. He met with the head of the ministry about this, who disagreed that it was time for us to leave. At his request, my husband agreed to take 30 days to pray about this, after which they would meet again. At the same time, I decided it was time to move out of my current job within the ministry, even if we still remained on the team. After the 30 days, my husband\'s decision remained the same. The day before his scheduled follow-up meeting, the leader called us up and kicked us off the team by phone before we had the chance to meet with him in person and possibly leave on good terms.\n\nDespite my relief at being released from the team, I still had an incredible amount of anger and pain stemming from how things were handled, both during our time at the ministry and in the way in which we were released from the team. In the first few months after we left, I easily denounced this ministry as a cult. And I suspect that many others may jump to that same conclusion after reading my account from my time there. Looking through the list from the ICSA, this ministry does fit at least 13 out of 15 of the characteristics of cultic groups. Does that mean my original declaration was correct, even if it was spoken out of pain and anger? Perhaps there is more to the story.\n\nDespite the many issues I have with that ministry, I do believe that everyone there, including the leadership, truly believes that they are helping people and doing God\'s will. Granted, having good intentions doesn\'t keep people from hurting others or doing incredible wrong. Many horrific acts have been done and continue to be done in the name of God and God\'s will.  And, the belief that you are helping people is certainly not a litmus test to prove non-cult status. But does it count for something along the spectrum of dangerous cult/benign cult/non-cult?\n\nAt this ministry, it is my opinion that they end up doing significantly more damage to people than they do good; but, it certainly isn\'t at the same level as drinking poisoned Kool-Aid and committing mass suicide. Is there a certain level of damage by which we can measure what ?  And, cult or not, what is the correct and appropriate response for Christians when faced with a Christian ministry, church, or organization that is clearly damaging to people? Do we publicly denounce them or silently pray for them?\n\nWith this particular group, and perhaps with many other cult-like Christian groups, I think the root of the issue may be with a dictatorial authority structure that does not brook any questioning of leadership, which easily leads to abuse of power. However, this is an authority structure that many groups of Christians believe is biblical and ideal. So what then? Are they right <em>technically</em> but abusing the God-given structure, are they wrong and simply misunderstanding scripture, or worse, are they twisting and manipulating scripture? At what point are doctrinal disagreements and differences in interpretation of scripture so far off that they are grounds for pulling out the cult label? Who really gets to decide who is a heretic nowadays, anyway?\n\nI certainly won\'t recommend this ministry to anyone, friend or foe. If anything, I tell them to run in the opposite direction. But at this point I also won\'t publicly denounce them as a definitive cult. No, it\'s not because I \"drank the Kool-Aid.\" They certainly straddle that fence between spiritual abuse and cult with more aplomb than a sure-footed tight-rope walker. The line between a legitimate ministry that has fallen due to abusive authority and a full-blown, destructive cult blurs so much to me that I just won\'t make that final judgment. Instead I pray for them, holding out hope that, in their desire to do God\'s will and minister to the body, they will see the damage they are doing and change. And, I pray for myself, that if I have somehow misjudged them, God will open my eyes.\n\n&nbsp;','The \'C\' Word','','inherit','open','open','','3704-revision-77','','','2012-01-07 20:39:03','2012-01-08 04:39:03','',3704,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/07/3704-revision-77/',0,'revision','',0),(3792,48,'2012-01-07 20:39:27','2012-01-08 04:39:27','There\'s a  four-letter word getting thrown around a lot lately. It\'s a word I\'ve heard used flippantly, jokingly, and disparagingly. Admittedly, sometimes it seems like the most accurate, albeit inflammatory, word to use. Often this word is spoken, perhaps rightly so, by broken and hurting people out of pain and frustration. It\'s a word that was used by a commenter on my previous post in Provoketive Magazine, <a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2011/12/08/slap-on-a-little-lipstick-youll-be-fine/\">Slap On a Little Lipstick, You\'ll Be Fine</a>. If I am being completely honest, it\'s a word I\'ve used, sometimes quickly out of anger, and a lot more cautiously after great deliberation.\r\n\r\nThat\'s right, I am talking about the \'C\' word: Cult.\r\n\r\nCult is a term used by many Christians to describe Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, Christian Scientists, and many other fringe religious groups and doomsday groups like Peoples Temple and Heaven\'s Gate.  It\'s also been used to discredit Christian churches and ministries with an authoritarian structure, rigid rules, and/or apparent spiritual abuse. The commenter from my last article used it in reference to what he thought was a minister requiring me to wear lipstick (as a note, I never stated in that article whether that incident occurred at a secular or religious organization). And I\'ll admit it, I\'d be pretty tempted to slap that label on a minister requiring women to wear lipstick.\r\n\r\nGiven that it carries such negative overtones, it is probably not a word one should use unless it is known for certain that a group is a cult. But what <em>is</em> a true cult?\r\n\r\nMerriam-Webster\'s Online Dictionary gives the following definition:\r\n\r\n<span class=\"ssens\">1    : formal religious veneration : worship</span>\r\n<div class=\"sblk\">\r\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">2</div>\r\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\">: a system of religious beliefs and ritual; also : its body of adherents</span></div>\r\n</div>\r\n<div class=\"sblk\">\r\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">3</div>\r\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\">: a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious; also : its body of adherents</span></div>\r\n</div>\r\n<div class=\"sblk\">\r\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">4</div>\r\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\">: a system for the cure of disease based on dogma set forth by its promulgator <span class=\"vi\">&lt;health cults&gt;</span></span></div>\r\n</div>\r\n<div class=\"sblk\">\r\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">5</div>\r\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\"><span class=\"sn\">a</span> : great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement, or work (as a film or book); especially : such devotion regarded as a literary or intellectual fad</span></div>\r\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\"><span class=\"sn\">b</span> : the object of such devotion</span></div>\r\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\"><span class=\"sn\">c</span> : a usually small group of people characterized by such devotion</span></div>\r\n</div>\r\nGoing by this definition, any religious group or faith is a cult. That\'s right, that means any Christian church or group, mainstream or otherwise, by definition is a cult. And it doesn\'t stop at religion: any fad or craze with a following is a cult, like the cult of Mac or my personal cult following of choice, that of the canceled Sci-Fi show, Firefly. Really, with the exception of the third listed definition of cult (i.e. a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious), the word shouldn\'t necessarily carry a negative connotation.\r\n\r\nIf, for the sake of this article, we decided to simply run with Webster\'s third definition of cult, it would be difficult to find a fully objective person or governing body to determine what is unorthodox regarding religious beliefs and doctrine. So who gets to decide? If you asked a Lutheran, Catholic, Pentecostal, Charismatic, Mennonite, and Episcopalian each about what constituted orthodox versus unorthodox beliefs in other denominations, you would undoubtedly find each denomination labeled unorthodox (and thus a cult) by at least one other denomination.\r\n\r\nEven sociologists and psychologist tend to disagree over whether or not to continue the use of the word cult, since what started as a mostly neutral term now tends to bring to mind the poisoned Kool-Aid victims of the Jonestown Massacre. Furthermore, there more of a continuum or spectrum between what constitutes \"cult\" and \"non-cult,\" rather than simple black and white definitions. As such, many have given to using further descriptors for cults, such as \"dangerous\" or \"benign.\"\r\n\r\nThis is why I appreciate the resources that the <a href=\"http://www.icsahome.com/\">International Cultic Studies Association</a> has online regarding cults.  The ICSA acknowledges upfront the difficulty in cult terminology, and then focuses on the damaging aspects and practices that can occur in cults, without giving a subjective list of cults or bad organizations on their website.  Instead, it is up to the reader to use the information to decide on their own. That being said, here is the list of characteristics often found with cultic groups, according to Michael D. Langone, Ph.D, Executive Director of the ICSA:\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li>The group displays excessively zealous and unquestioning commitment to its leader and (whether he is alive or dead) regards his belief system, ideology, and practices as the Truth, as law.</li>\r\n	<li>Questioning, doubt, and dissent are discouraged or even punished.</li>\r\n	<li>Mind-altering practices (such as meditation, chanting, speaking in tongues, denunciation sessions, and debilitating work routines) are used in excess and serve to suppress doubts about the group and its leader(s).</li>\r\n	<li>The leadership dictates, sometimes in great detail, how members should think, act, and feel (for example, members must get permission to date, change jobs, marry—or leaders prescribe what types of clothes to wear, where to live, whether or not to have children, how to discipline children, and so forth).</li>\r\n	<li>The group is elitist, claiming a special, exalted status for itself, its leader(s) and members (for example, the leader is considered the Messiah, a special being, an avatar—or the group and/or the leader is on a special mission to save humanity).</li>\r\n	<li>The group has a polarized us-versus-them mentality, which may cause conflict with the wider society</li>\r\n	<li>The leader is not accountable to any authorities (unlike, for example, teachers, military commanders or ministers, priests, monks, and rabbis of mainstream religious denominations).</li>\r\n	<li>The group teaches or implies that its supposedly exalted ends justify whatever means it deems necessary. This may result in members\' participating in behaviors or activities they would have considered reprehensible or unethical before joining the group (for example, lying to family or friends, or collecting money for bogus charities).</li>\r\n	<li>The leadership induces feelings of shame and/or guilt<span class=\"SpellE\" style=\"text-align: left;padding-top: 1px;padding-right: 3px;padding-left: 3px;padding-bottom: 6px;margin-top: 1px;margin-bottom: 1px;margin-left: 1px\">in</span>order to influence and/or control members. Often, this is done through peer pressure and subtle forms of persuasion.</li>\r\n	<li>Subservience to the leader or group requires members to cut ties with family and friends, and radically alter the personal goals and activities they had before joining the group.</li>\r\n	<li>The group is preoccupied with bringing in new members.</li>\r\n	<li>The group is preoccupied with making money.</li>\r\n	<li>Members are expected to devote inordinate amounts of time to the group and group-related activities.</li>\r\n	<li>Members are encouraged or required to live and/or socialize only with other group members.</li>\r\n	<li>The most loyal members (the “true believers”) feel there can be no life outside the context of the group. They believe there is no other way to be, and often fear reprisals to themselves or others if they leave (or even consider leaving) the group.</li>\r\n</ol>\r\nPlease note that this list is not meant to be a definitive or all-encompassing checklist to diagnose groups, but merely a guideline of characteristics that cults often display. Even if an organization were to have many of these characteristics, I think we should be careful before immediately labeling a group as a cult, given how loaded a word it is. Also, I propose that it is entirely possible that a group everyone would agree is not truly a cult could be shown to display many of these traits, depending on how you describe them.\r\n\r\nFor example, a sports team could easily be described in such a way as to seem cultic. For one thing, all the members are committed wholly to the coach; questioning the coach can lead to losing the game, being benched, or even being completely removed from the team. Also, team members often engage in weirdly scripted pre-game chants with indiscernible grunts, meant to increase team unity and create a team mind-set. Furthermore, the team must all dress in complete uniformity, down to the color of their clothing, or they are not allowed to participate. The team also has a polarized us-versus-them mentality, viewing all other teams as opponents they must defeat. Being apart of the team will also likely affect their relationships and other personal goals; due to long practice sessions and traveling for games, they will have little to no time to pursue other activities, and they may not see their family very often during the on-season. Now granted, this example doesn\'t fit every characteristic listed, but as you can see, it could be easy to make a group fit these characteristics if you were already prejudiced against it.\r\n\r\nBecause \"cult\" is an indistinctly defined term that can be misused and misapplied to great detriment, it is important to be careful before immediately slapping the cult label on any religious group that we disagree with or even one that has truly injured us. That being said, damaging groups and cults flying under the Christian flag do exist, and it is wise to be aware of these cult characteristics. Many have the \"I\'m to smart or balanced to get pulled into a cult\" mentality, but people of all walks of life are susceptible to cults, especially as cults often give misleading information about their true nature, organizational structure, rules, etc., when you first become involved.\r\n\r\nI certainly thought I was too intelligent or psychologically sound to get involved with a sketchy ministry or (gasp!) a cult. I was a part of a 5-fold para-church Christian ministry for approximately eight years. For those of you unfamiliar with that terminology, essentially it was a Christian ministry that was not a church, but rather worked alongside Christian churches, with a particular focus on the 5-fold ministry gifts listed in Ephesians 4:11 (Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor and Teacher). I knew of the ministry through respected friends and acquaintances from the church I attend in high school, and my first involvement was merely as a member of the worship team while I was still in college.\r\n\r\nShortly after college, my husband and I \"joined the team,\" becoming more deeply involved and committed to the ministry.  As time progressed, the ministry\'s meetings (both public meetings and private \"team only\" meetings) became more frequent and went into the early morning hours (I often arrived back home after 3 am). In addition, more rigid rules were created and enforced regarding everything from not drinking alcohol, meeting attendance, how to act around the leader of our ministry, dress code, taboo discussion topics with non-team members, and much more. Public questioning of the leader was not allowed, and if you questioned him in private, somehow it was always turned around that you had a  \"heart issue\" and \"issues with authority.\" Really though, with the high demands on the team, long hours volunteering, etc., everyone was usually too tired to think, let alone have the faculties necessary to find fault with the ministry or leadership.\r\n\r\nThe \"heart issue\" was a commonly employed method to get the team to stay in line. When other members left the team (by choice or otherwise), or if the leadership found out we were associating with people who did not agree 100% with the ministry, we were discouraged to continue anything more than a superficial relationship with them. The head of the ministry was always careful to point out that he wasn\'t saying we couldn\'t associate with them, but that the fact that we would want to, knowing what they thought of the ministry, revealed our true heart. Even missing <em>optional</em> extra-curricular team events was taken as evidence of  having heart issues.\r\n\r\nEventually I became even more involved with the ministry, to the point of being privy to much of the leadership\'s confidential information regarding the inner workings of the ministry, other ministers, and even other team members. At first, it was an honor to have such a position. However, eventually I began to see the cracks in the leadership and the ministry-- cracks I could not point out unless I wanted to have a \"come to Jesus meeting\" where my supposed heart issues, authority issues, and God knows what other issues might be raised, to deflect from the flaws in leadership. Many things were done at the bidding of the leadership that I did not really agree with. Team members were booted from the ministry when they wouldn\'t toe the line, and the rest of the team was given false or highly misleading information about why they left. Long weeks of meetings were called because \'God was moving\', when behind closed doors in staff meetings, we discussed having extra meetings to get more money to keep the ministry afloat. These are just a couple of examples of the many issues I could mention.\r\n\r\nDespite my dislike of who I was becoming at this ministry and my disagreements with what the leadership were doing, I deeply struggled with leaving. Anyone who left the ministry was declared to be \"out of God\'s will,\" and I certainly did not want to be that! Furthermore, we had put eight years of our livelihood into that ministry, and leaving would lead me to question whether we had wasted the entirety of those years. At the same time, I could no longer believe that the ministry was truly acting in a way that glorified or modeled Christ.\r\n\r\nWhile I struggled and prayed for God to either release me or give me the fortitude to leave on my own, my husband was absolutely certain we needed to leave. He met with the head of the ministry about this, who disagreed that it was time for us to leave. At his request, my husband agreed to take 30 days to pray about this, after which they would meet again. At the same time, I decided it was time to move out of my current job within the ministry, even if we still remained on the team. After the 30 days, my husband\'s decision remained the same. The day before his scheduled follow-up meeting, the leader called us up and kicked us off the team by phone before we had the chance to meet with him in person and possibly leave on good terms.\r\n\r\nDespite my relief at being released from the team, I still had an incredible amount of anger and pain stemming from how things were handled, both during our time at the ministry and in the way in which we were released from the team. In the first few months after we left, I easily denounced this ministry as a cult. And I suspect that many others may jump to that same conclusion after reading my account from my time there. Looking through the list from the ICSA, this ministry does fit at least 13 out of 15 of the characteristics of cultic groups. Does that mean my original declaration was correct, even if it was spoken out of pain and anger? Perhaps there is more to the story.\r\n\r\nDespite the many issues I have with that ministry, I do believe that everyone there, including the leadership, truly believes that they are helping people and doing God\'s will. Granted, having good intentions doesn\'t keep people from hurting others or doing incredible wrong. Many horrific acts have been done and continue to be done in the name of God and God\'s will.  And, the belief that you are helping people is certainly not a litmus test to prove non-cult status. But does it count for something along the spectrum of dangerous cult/benign cult/non-cult?\r\n\r\nAt this ministry, it is my opinion that they end up doing significantly more damage to people than they do good; but, it certainly isn\'t at the same level as drinking poisoned Kool-Aid and committing mass suicide. Is there a certain level of damage by which we can measure what is a cult?  And, cult or not, what is the correct and appropriate response for Christians when faced with a Christian ministry, church, or organization that is clearly damaging to people? Do we publicly denounce them or silently pray for them?\r\n\r\nWith this particular group, and perhaps with many other cult-like Christian groups, I think the root of the issue may be with a dictatorial authority structure that does not brook any questioning of leadership, which easily leads to abuse of power. However, this is an authority structure that many groups of Christians believe is biblical and ideal. So what then? Are they right <em>technically</em> but abusing the God-given structure, are they wrong and simply misunderstanding scripture, or worse, are they twisting and manipulating scripture? At what point are doctrinal disagreements and differences in interpretation of scripture so far off that they are grounds for pulling out the cult label? Who really gets to decide who is a heretic nowadays, anyway?\r\n\r\nI certainly won\'t recommend this ministry to anyone, friend or foe. If anything, I tell them to run in the opposite direction. But at this point I also won\'t publicly denounce them as a definitive cult. No, it\'s not because I \"drank the Kool-Aid.\" They certainly straddle that fence between spiritual abuse and cult with more aplomb than a sure-footed tight-rope walker. The line between a legitimate ministry that has fallen due to abusive authority and a full-blown, destructive cult blurs so much to me that I just won\'t make that final judgment. Instead I pray for them, holding out hope that, in their desire to do God\'s will and minister to the body, they will see the damage they are doing and change. And, I pray for myself, that if I have somehow misjudged them, God will open my eyes.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','The \'C\' Word','','inherit','open','open','','3704-revision-78','','','2012-01-07 20:39:27','2012-01-08 04:39:27','',3704,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/07/3704-revision-78/',0,'revision','',0),(3793,48,'2012-01-07 20:43:25','2012-01-08 04:43:25','There\'s a  four-letter word getting thrown around a lot lately. It\'s a word I\'ve heard used flippantly, jokingly, and disparagingly. Admittedly, sometimes it seems like the most accurate, albeit inflammatory, word to use. Often this word is spoken, perhaps rightly so, by broken and hurting people out of pain and frustration. It\'s a word that was used by a commenter on my previous post in Provoketive Magazine, <a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2011/12/08/slap-on-a-little-lipstick-youll-be-fine/\">Slap On a Little Lipstick, You\'ll Be Fine</a>. If I am being completely honest, it\'s a word I\'ve used, sometimes quickly out of anger, and a lot more cautiously after great deliberation.\n\nThat\'s right, I am talking about the \'C\' word: Cult.\n\nCult is a term used by many Christians to describe Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, Christian Scientists, and many other fringe religious groups and doomsday groups like Peoples Temple and Heaven\'s Gate.  It\'s also been used to discredit Christian churches and ministries with an authoritarian structure, rigid rules, and/or apparent spiritual abuse. The commenter from my last article used it in reference to what he thought was a minister requiring me to wear lipstick (as a note, I never stated in that article whether that incident occurred at a secular or religious organization). And I\'ll admit it, I\'d be pretty tempted to slap that label on a minister requiring women to wear lipstick.\n\nGiven that it carries such negative overtones, it is probably not a word one should use unless it is known for certain that a group is a cult. But what <em>is</em> a true cult?\n\nMerriam-Webster\'s Online Dictionary gives the following definition:\n\n<span class=\"ssens\">1    : formal religious veneration : worship</span>\n<div class=\"sblk\">\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">2</div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\">: a system of religious beliefs and ritual; also : its body of adherents</span></div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"sblk\">\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">3</div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\">: a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious; also : its body of adherents</span></div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"sblk\">\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">4</div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\">: a system for the cure of disease based on dogma set forth by its promulgator <span class=\"vi\">&lt;health cults&gt;</span></span></div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"sblk\">\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">5</div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\"><span class=\"sn\">a</span> : great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement, or work (as a film or book); especially : such devotion regarded as a literary or intellectual fad</span></div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\"><span class=\"sn\">b</span> : the object of such devotion</span></div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\"><span class=\"sn\">c</span> : a usually small group of people characterized by such devotion</span></div>\n</div>\nGoing by this definition, any religious group or faith is a cult. That\'s right, that means any Christian church or group, mainstream or otherwise, by definition is a cult. And it doesn\'t stop at religion: any fad or craze with a following is a cult, like the cult of Mac or my personal cult following of choice, that of the canceled Sci-Fi show, Firefly. Really, with the exception of the third listed definition of cult (i.e. a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious), the word shouldn\'t necessarily carry a negative connotation.\n\nIf, for the sake of this article, we decided to simply run with Webster\'s third definition of cult, it would be difficult to find a fully objective person or governing body to determine what is unorthodox regarding religious beliefs and doctrine. So who gets to decide? If you asked a Lutheran, Catholic, Pentecostal, Charismatic, Mennonite, and Episcopalian each about what constituted orthodox versus unorthodox beliefs in other denominations, you would undoubtedly find each denomination labeled unorthodox (and thus a cult) by at least one other denomination.\n\nEven sociologists and psychologist tend to disagree over whether or not to continue the use of the word cult, since what started as a mostly neutral term now tends to bring to mind the poisoned Kool-Aid victims of the Jonestown Massacre. Furthermore, there more of a continuum or spectrum between what constitutes \"cult\" and \"non-cult,\" rather than simple black and white definitions. As such, many have given to using further descriptors for cults, such as \"dangerous\" or \"benign.\"\n\nThis is why I appreciate the resources that the <a href=\"http://www.icsahome.com/\">International Cultic Studies Association</a> has online regarding cults.  The ICSA acknowledges upfront the difficulty in cult terminology, and then focuses on the damaging aspects and practices that can occur in cults, without giving a subjective list of cults or bad organizations on their website.  Instead, it is up to the reader to use the information to decide on their own. That being said, here is the list of characteristics often found with cultic groups, according to Michael D. Langone, Ph.D, Executive Director of the ICSA:\n<ol>\n	<li>The group displays excessively zealous and unquestioning commitment to its leader and (whether he is alive or dead) regards his belief system, ideology, and practices as the Truth, as law.</li>\n	<li>Questioning, doubt, and dissent are discouraged or even punished.</li>\n	<li>Mind-altering practices (such as meditation, chanting, speaking in tongues, denunciation sessions, and debilitating work routines) are used in excess and serve to suppress doubts about the group and its leader(s).</li>\n	<li>The leadership dictates, sometimes in great detail, how members should think, act, and feel (for example, members must get permission to date, change jobs, marry—or leaders prescribe what types of clothes to wear, where to live, whether or not to have children, how to discipline children, and so forth).</li>\n	<li>The group is elitist, claiming a special, exalted status for itself, its leader(s) and members (for example, the leader is considered the Messiah, a special being, an avatar—or the group and/or the leader is on a special mission to save humanity).</li>\n	<li>The group has a polarized us-versus-them mentality, which may cause conflict with the wider society</li>\n	<li>The leader is not accountable to any authorities (unlike, for example, teachers, military commanders or ministers, priests, monks, and rabbis of mainstream religious denominations).</li>\n	<li>The group teaches or implies that its supposedly exalted ends justify whatever means it deems necessary. This may result in members\' participating in behaviors or activities they would have considered reprehensible or unethical before joining the group (for example, lying to family or friends, or collecting money for bogus charities).</li>\n	<li>The leadership induces feelings of shame and/or guilt<span class=\"SpellE\" style=\"text-align: left;padding-top: 1px;padding-right: 3px;padding-left: 3px;padding-bottom: 6px;margin-top: 1px;margin-bottom: 1px;margin-left: 1px\">in</span>order to influence and/or control members. Often, this is done through peer pressure and subtle forms of persuasion.</li>\n	<li>Subservience to the leader or group requires members to cut ties with family and friends, and radically alter the personal goals and activities they had before joining the group.</li>\n	<li>The group is preoccupied with bringing in new members.</li>\n	<li>The group is preoccupied with making money.</li>\n	<li>Members are expected to devote inordinate amounts of time to the group and group-related activities.</li>\n	<li>Members are encouraged or required to live and/or socialize only with other group members.</li>\n	<li>The most loyal members (the “true believers”) feel there can be no life outside the context of the group. They believe there is no other way to be, and often fear reprisals to themselves or others if they leave (or even consider leaving) the group.</li>\n</ol>\nPlease note that this list is not meant to be a definitive or all-encompassing checklist to diagnose groups, but merely a guideline of characteristics that cults often display. Even if an organization were to have many of these characteristics, I think we should be careful before immediately labeling a group as a cult, given how loaded a word it is. Also, I propose that it is entirely possible that a group everyone would agree is not truly a cult could be shown to display many of these traits, depending on how you describe them.\n\nFor example, a sports team could easily be described in such a way as to seem cultic. For one thing, all the members are committed wholly to the coach; questioning the coach can lead to losing the game, being benched, or even being completely removed from the team. Also, team members often engage in weirdly scripted pre-game chants with indiscernible grunts, meant to increase team unity and create a team mind-set. Furthermore, the team must all dress in complete uniformity, down to the color of their clothing, or they are not allowed to participate. The team also has a polarized us-versus-them mentality, viewing all other teams as opponents they must defeat. Being apart of the team will also likely affect their relationships and other personal goals; due to long practice sessions and traveling for games, they will have little to no time to pursue other activities, and they may not see their family very often during the on-season. Now granted, this example doesn\'t fit every characteristic listed, but as you can see, it could be easy to make a group fit these characteristics if you were already prejudiced against it.\n\nBecause \"cult\" is an indistinctly defined term that can be misused and misapplied to great detriment, it is important to be careful before immediately slapping the cult label on any religious group that we disagree with or even one that has truly injured us. That being said, damaging groups and cults flying under the Christian flag do exist, and it is wise to be aware of these cult characteristics. Many have the \"I\'m to smart or balanced to get pulled into a cult\" mentality, but people of all walks of life are susceptible to cults, especially as cults often give misleading information about their true nature, organizational structure, rules, etc., when you first become involved.\n\nI certainly thought I was too intelligent or psychologically sound to get involved with a sketchy ministry or (gasp!) a cult. I was a part of a 5-fold para-church Christian ministry for approximately eight years. For those of you unfamiliar with that terminology, essentially it was a Christian ministry that was not a church, but rather worked alongside Christian churches, with a particular focus on the 5-fold ministry gifts listed in Ephesians 4:11 (Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor and Teacher). I knew of the ministry through respected friends and acquaintances from the church I attend in high school, and my first involvement was merely as a member of the worship team while I was still in college.\n\nShortly after college, my husband and I \"joined the team,\" becoming more deeply involved and committed to the ministry.  As time progressed, the ministry\'s meetings (both public meetings and private \"team only\" meetings) became more frequent and went into the early morning hours (I often arrived back home after 3 am). In addition, more rigid rules were created and enforced regarding everything from not drinking alcohol, meeting attendance, how to act around the leader of our ministry, dress code, taboo discussion topics with non-team members, and much more. Public questioning of the leader was not allowed, and if you questioned him in private, somehow it was always turned around that you had a  \"heart issue\" and \"issues with authority.\" Really though, with the high demands on the team, long hours volunteering, etc., everyone was usually too tired to think, let alone have the faculties necessary to find fault with the ministry or leadership.\n\nThe \"heart issue\" was a commonly employed method to get the team to stay in line. When other members left the team (by choice or otherwise), or if the leadership found out we were associating with people who did not agree 100% with the ministry, we were discouraged to continue anything more than a superficial relationship with them. The head of the ministry was always careful to point out that he wasn\'t saying we couldn\'t associate with them, but that the fact that we would want to, knowing what they thought of the ministry, revealed our true heart. Even missing <em>optional</em> extra-curricular team events was taken as evidence of  having heart issues.\n\nEventually I became even more involved with the ministry, to the point of being privy to much of the leadership\'s confidential information regarding the inner workings of the ministry, other ministers, and even other team members. At first, it was an honor to have such a position. However, eventually I began to see the cracks in the leadership and the ministry-- cracks I could not point out unless I wanted to have a \"come to Jesus meeting\" where my supposed heart issues, authority issues, and God knows what other issues might be raised, to deflect from the flaws in leadership. Many things were done at the bidding of the leadership that I did not really agree with. Team members were booted from the ministry when they wouldn\'t toe the line, and the rest of the team was given false or highly misleading information about why they left. Long weeks of meetings were called because \'God was moving\', when behind closed doors in staff meetings, we discussed having extra meetings to get more money to keep the ministry afloat. These are just a couple of examples of the many issues I could mention.\n\nDespite my dislike of who I was becoming at this ministry and my disagreements with what the leadership were doing, I deeply struggled with leaving. Anyone who left the ministry was declared to be \"out of God\'s will,\" and I certainly did not want to be that! Furthermore, we had put eight years of our livelihood into that ministry, and leaving would lead me to question whether we had wasted the entirety of those years. At the same time, I could no longer believe that the ministry was truly acting in a way that glorified or modeled Christ.\n\nWhile I struggled and prayed for God to either release me or give me the fortitude to leave on my own, my husband was absolutely certain we needed to leave. He met with the head of the ministry about this, who disagreed that it was time for us to leave. At his request, my husband agreed to take 30 days to pray about this, after which they would meet again. At the same time, I decided it was time to move out of my current job within the ministry, even if we still remained on the team. After the 30 days, my husband\'s decision remained the same. The day before his scheduled follow-up meeting, the leader called us up and kicked us off the team by phone before we had the chance to meet with him in person and possibly leave on good terms.\n\nDespite my relief at being released from the team, I still had an incredible amount of anger and pain stemming from how things were handled, both during our time at the ministry and in the way in which we were released from the team. In the first few months after we left, I easily denounced this ministry as a cult. And I suspect that many others may jump to that same conclusion after reading my account from my time there. Looking through the list from the ICSA, this ministry does fit at least 13 out of 15 of the characteristics of cultic groups. Does that mean my original declaration was correct, even if it was spoken out of pain and anger? Perhaps there is more to the story.\n\nDespite the many issues I have with that ministry, I do believe that everyone there, including the leadership, truly believes that they are helping people and doing God\'s will. Granted, having good intentions doesn\'t keep people from hurting others or doing incredible wrong. Many horrific acts have been done and continue to be done in the name of God and God\'s will.  And, the belief that you are helping people is certainly not a litmus test to prove non-cult status. But does it count for something along the spectrum of dangerous cult/benign cult/non-cult?\n\nAt this ministry, it is my opinion that they end up doing significantly more damage to people than they do good; but, it certainly isn\'t at the same level as drinking poisoned Kool-Aid and committing mass suicide. Is there a certain level of damage by which we can measure what is a cult?  And, cult or not, what is the correct and appropriate response for Christians when faced with a Christian ministry, church, or organization that is clearly damaging to people? Do we publicly denounce them or silently pray for them?\n\nWith this particular group, and perhaps with many other cult-like Christian groups, I think the root of the issue may be with a dictatorial authority structure that does not brook any questioning of leadership, leading to abuse of power. However, this is an authority structure that many groups of Christians believe is biblical and ideal. So what then? Are they right <em>technically</em> but abusing a God-given structure, are they wrong and simply misunderstanding scripture, or worse, are they twisting and manipulating scripture? At what point are doctrinal disagreements and differences in interpretation of scripture so far off that they are grounds for pulling out the cult label? Who really gets to decide who is a heretic nowadays, anyway?\n\nAfter my particular experience, I certainly wouldn\'t recommend that ministry to anyone, friend or foe. If anything, I would tell them to run in the opposite direction. But at this point I also wouldn\'t publicly denounce them as a definitive cult. No, it\'s not because I \"drank the Kool-Aid.\" They certainly straddle that fence between spiritual abuse and cult with more aplomb than a sure-footed tight-rope walker. And that line between a legitimate ministry that has fallen due to an abusive authority and a full-blown, destructive cult already blurs so much to me that I just won\'t make that final judgment. Instead I pray for them, holding out hope that, in their desire to do God\'s will and minister to the body, they will see the damage they are doing and change. And, I pray for myself, that if I have somehow misjudged them, God will open my eyes.\n\n&nbsp;','The \'C\' Word','','inherit','open','open','','3704-revision-79','','','2012-01-07 20:43:25','2012-01-08 04:43:25','',3704,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/07/3704-revision-79/',0,'revision','',0),(3794,48,'2012-01-07 20:43:47','2012-01-08 04:43:47','There\'s a  four-letter word getting thrown around a lot lately. It\'s a word I\'ve heard used flippantly, jokingly, and disparagingly. Admittedly, sometimes it seems like the most accurate, albeit inflammatory, word to use. Often this word is spoken, perhaps rightly so, by broken and hurting people out of pain and frustration. It\'s a word that was used by a commenter on my previous post in Provoketive Magazine, <a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2011/12/08/slap-on-a-little-lipstick-youll-be-fine/\">Slap On a Little Lipstick, You\'ll Be Fine</a>. If I am being completely honest, it\'s a word I\'ve used, sometimes quickly out of anger, and a lot more cautiously after great deliberation.\r\n\r\nThat\'s right, I am talking about the \'C\' word: Cult.\r\n\r\nCult is a term used by many Christians to describe Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, Christian Scientists, and many other fringe religious groups and doomsday groups like Peoples Temple and Heaven\'s Gate.  It\'s also been used to discredit Christian churches and ministries with an authoritarian structure, rigid rules, and/or apparent spiritual abuse. The commenter from my last article used it in reference to what he thought was a minister requiring me to wear lipstick (as a note, I never stated in that article whether that incident occurred at a secular or religious organization). And I\'ll admit it, I\'d be pretty tempted to slap that label on a minister requiring women to wear lipstick.\r\n\r\nGiven that it carries such negative overtones, it is probably not a word one should use unless it is known for certain that a group is a cult. But what <em>is</em> a true cult?\r\n\r\nMerriam-Webster\'s Online Dictionary gives the following definition:\r\n\r\n<span class=\"ssens\">1    : formal religious veneration : worship</span>\r\n<div class=\"sblk\">\r\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">2</div>\r\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\">: a system of religious beliefs and ritual; also : its body of adherents</span></div>\r\n</div>\r\n<div class=\"sblk\">\r\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">3</div>\r\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\">: a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious; also : its body of adherents</span></div>\r\n</div>\r\n<div class=\"sblk\">\r\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">4</div>\r\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\">: a system for the cure of disease based on dogma set forth by its promulgator <span class=\"vi\">&lt;health cults&gt;</span></span></div>\r\n</div>\r\n<div class=\"sblk\">\r\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">5</div>\r\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\"><span class=\"sn\">a</span> : great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement, or work (as a film or book); especially : such devotion regarded as a literary or intellectual fad</span></div>\r\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\"><span class=\"sn\">b</span> : the object of such devotion</span></div>\r\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\"><span class=\"sn\">c</span> : a usually small group of people characterized by such devotion</span></div>\r\n</div>\r\nGoing by this definition, any religious group or faith is a cult. That\'s right, that means any Christian church or group, mainstream or otherwise, by definition is a cult. And it doesn\'t stop at religion: any fad or craze with a following is a cult, like the cult of Mac or my personal cult following of choice, that of the canceled Sci-Fi show, Firefly. Really, with the exception of the third listed definition of cult (i.e. a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious), the word shouldn\'t necessarily carry a negative connotation.\r\n\r\nIf, for the sake of this article, we decided to simply run with Webster\'s third definition of cult, it would be difficult to find a fully objective person or governing body to determine what is unorthodox regarding religious beliefs and doctrine. So who gets to decide? If you asked a Lutheran, Catholic, Pentecostal, Charismatic, Mennonite, and Episcopalian each about what constituted orthodox versus unorthodox beliefs in other denominations, you would undoubtedly find each denomination labeled unorthodox (and thus a cult) by at least one other denomination.\r\n\r\nEven sociologists and psychologist tend to disagree over whether or not to continue the use of the word cult, since what started as a mostly neutral term now tends to bring to mind the poisoned Kool-Aid victims of the Jonestown Massacre. Furthermore, there more of a continuum or spectrum between what constitutes \"cult\" and \"non-cult,\" rather than simple black and white definitions. As such, many have given to using further descriptors for cults, such as \"dangerous\" or \"benign.\"\r\n\r\nThis is why I appreciate the resources that the <a href=\"http://www.icsahome.com/\">International Cultic Studies Association</a> has online regarding cults.  The ICSA acknowledges upfront the difficulty in cult terminology, and then focuses on the damaging aspects and practices that can occur in cults, without giving a subjective list of cults or bad organizations on their website.  Instead, it is up to the reader to use the information to decide on their own. That being said, here is the list of characteristics often found with cultic groups, according to Michael D. Langone, Ph.D, Executive Director of the ICSA:\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li>The group displays excessively zealous and unquestioning commitment to its leader and (whether he is alive or dead) regards his belief system, ideology, and practices as the Truth, as law.</li>\r\n	<li>Questioning, doubt, and dissent are discouraged or even punished.</li>\r\n	<li>Mind-altering practices (such as meditation, chanting, speaking in tongues, denunciation sessions, and debilitating work routines) are used in excess and serve to suppress doubts about the group and its leader(s).</li>\r\n	<li>The leadership dictates, sometimes in great detail, how members should think, act, and feel (for example, members must get permission to date, change jobs, marry—or leaders prescribe what types of clothes to wear, where to live, whether or not to have children, how to discipline children, and so forth).</li>\r\n	<li>The group is elitist, claiming a special, exalted status for itself, its leader(s) and members (for example, the leader is considered the Messiah, a special being, an avatar—or the group and/or the leader is on a special mission to save humanity).</li>\r\n	<li>The group has a polarized us-versus-them mentality, which may cause conflict with the wider society</li>\r\n	<li>The leader is not accountable to any authorities (unlike, for example, teachers, military commanders or ministers, priests, monks, and rabbis of mainstream religious denominations).</li>\r\n	<li>The group teaches or implies that its supposedly exalted ends justify whatever means it deems necessary. This may result in members\' participating in behaviors or activities they would have considered reprehensible or unethical before joining the group (for example, lying to family or friends, or collecting money for bogus charities).</li>\r\n	<li>The leadership induces feelings of shame and/or guilt<span class=\"SpellE\" style=\"text-align: left;padding-top: 1px;padding-right: 3px;padding-left: 3px;padding-bottom: 6px;margin-top: 1px;margin-bottom: 1px;margin-left: 1px\">in</span>order to influence and/or control members. Often, this is done through peer pressure and subtle forms of persuasion.</li>\r\n	<li>Subservience to the leader or group requires members to cut ties with family and friends, and radically alter the personal goals and activities they had before joining the group.</li>\r\n	<li>The group is preoccupied with bringing in new members.</li>\r\n	<li>The group is preoccupied with making money.</li>\r\n	<li>Members are expected to devote inordinate amounts of time to the group and group-related activities.</li>\r\n	<li>Members are encouraged or required to live and/or socialize only with other group members.</li>\r\n	<li>The most loyal members (the “true believers”) feel there can be no life outside the context of the group. They believe there is no other way to be, and often fear reprisals to themselves or others if they leave (or even consider leaving) the group.</li>\r\n</ol>\r\nPlease note that this list is not meant to be a definitive or all-encompassing checklist to diagnose groups, but merely a guideline of characteristics that cults often display. Even if an organization were to have many of these characteristics, I think we should be careful before immediately labeling a group as a cult, given how loaded a word it is. Also, I propose that it is entirely possible that a group everyone would agree is not truly a cult could be shown to display many of these traits, depending on how you describe them.\r\n\r\nFor example, a sports team could easily be described in such a way as to seem cultic. For one thing, all the members are committed wholly to the coach; questioning the coach can lead to losing the game, being benched, or even being completely removed from the team. Also, team members often engage in weirdly scripted pre-game chants with indiscernible grunts, meant to increase team unity and create a team mind-set. Furthermore, the team must all dress in complete uniformity, down to the color of their clothing, or they are not allowed to participate. The team also has a polarized us-versus-them mentality, viewing all other teams as opponents they must defeat. Being apart of the team will also likely affect their relationships and other personal goals; due to long practice sessions and traveling for games, they will have little to no time to pursue other activities, and they may not see their family very often during the on-season. Now granted, this example doesn\'t fit every characteristic listed, but as you can see, it could be easy to make a group fit these characteristics if you were already prejudiced against it.\r\n\r\nBecause \"cult\" is an indistinctly defined term that can be misused and misapplied to great detriment, it is important to be careful before immediately slapping the cult label on any religious group that we disagree with or even one that has truly injured us. That being said, damaging groups and cults flying under the Christian flag do exist, and it is wise to be aware of these cult characteristics. Many have the \"I\'m to smart or balanced to get pulled into a cult\" mentality, but people of all walks of life are susceptible to cults, especially as cults often give misleading information about their true nature, organizational structure, rules, etc., when you first become involved.\r\n\r\nI certainly thought I was too intelligent or psychologically sound to get involved with a sketchy ministry or (gasp!) a cult. I was a part of a 5-fold para-church Christian ministry for approximately eight years. For those of you unfamiliar with that terminology, essentially it was a Christian ministry that was not a church, but rather worked alongside Christian churches, with a particular focus on the 5-fold ministry gifts listed in Ephesians 4:11 (Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor and Teacher). I knew of the ministry through respected friends and acquaintances from the church I attend in high school, and my first involvement was merely as a member of the worship team while I was still in college.\r\n\r\nShortly after college, my husband and I \"joined the team,\" becoming more deeply involved and committed to the ministry.  As time progressed, the ministry\'s meetings (both public meetings and private \"team only\" meetings) became more frequent and went into the early morning hours (I often arrived back home after 3 am). In addition, more rigid rules were created and enforced regarding everything from not drinking alcohol, meeting attendance, how to act around the leader of our ministry, dress code, taboo discussion topics with non-team members, and much more. Public questioning of the leader was not allowed, and if you questioned him in private, somehow it was always turned around that you had a  \"heart issue\" and \"issues with authority.\" Really though, with the high demands on the team, long hours volunteering, etc., everyone was usually too tired to think, let alone have the faculties necessary to find fault with the ministry or leadership.\r\n\r\nThe \"heart issue\" was a commonly employed method to get the team to stay in line. When other members left the team (by choice or otherwise), or if the leadership found out we were associating with people who did not agree 100% with the ministry, we were discouraged to continue anything more than a superficial relationship with them. The head of the ministry was always careful to point out that he wasn\'t saying we couldn\'t associate with them, but that the fact that we would want to, knowing what they thought of the ministry, revealed our true heart. Even missing <em>optional</em> extra-curricular team events was taken as evidence of  having heart issues.\r\n\r\nEventually I became even more involved with the ministry, to the point of being privy to much of the leadership\'s confidential information regarding the inner workings of the ministry, other ministers, and even other team members. At first, it was an honor to have such a position. However, eventually I began to see the cracks in the leadership and the ministry-- cracks I could not point out unless I wanted to have a \"come to Jesus meeting\" where my supposed heart issues, authority issues, and God knows what other issues might be raised, to deflect from the flaws in leadership. Many things were done at the bidding of the leadership that I did not really agree with. Team members were booted from the ministry when they wouldn\'t toe the line, and the rest of the team was given false or highly misleading information about why they left. Long weeks of meetings were called because \'God was moving\', when behind closed doors in staff meetings, we discussed having extra meetings to get more money to keep the ministry afloat. These are just a couple of examples of the many issues I could mention.\r\n\r\nDespite my dislike of who I was becoming at this ministry and my disagreements with what the leadership were doing, I deeply struggled with leaving. Anyone who left the ministry was declared to be \"out of God\'s will,\" and I certainly did not want to be that! Furthermore, we had put eight years of our livelihood into that ministry, and leaving would lead me to question whether we had wasted the entirety of those years. At the same time, I could no longer believe that the ministry was truly acting in a way that glorified or modeled Christ.\r\n\r\nWhile I struggled and prayed for God to either release me or give me the fortitude to leave on my own, my husband was absolutely certain we needed to leave. He met with the head of the ministry about this, who disagreed that it was time for us to leave. At his request, my husband agreed to take 30 days to pray about this, after which they would meet again. At the same time, I decided it was time to move out of my current job within the ministry, even if we still remained on the team. After the 30 days, my husband\'s decision remained the same. The day before his scheduled follow-up meeting, the leader called us up and kicked us off the team by phone before we had the chance to meet with him in person and possibly leave on good terms.\r\n\r\nDespite my relief at being released from the team, I still had an incredible amount of anger and pain stemming from how things were handled, both during our time at the ministry and in the way in which we were released from the team. In the first few months after we left, I easily denounced this ministry as a cult. And I suspect that many others may jump to that same conclusion after reading my account from my time there. Looking through the list from the ICSA, this ministry does fit at least 13 out of 15 of the characteristics of cultic groups. Does that mean my original declaration was correct, even if it was spoken out of pain and anger? Perhaps there is more to the story.\r\n\r\nDespite the many issues I have with that ministry, I do believe that everyone there, including the leadership, truly believes that they are helping people and doing God\'s will. Granted, having good intentions doesn\'t keep people from hurting others or doing incredible wrong. Many horrific acts have been done and continue to be done in the name of God and God\'s will.  And, the belief that you are helping people is certainly not a litmus test to prove non-cult status. But does it count for something along the spectrum of dangerous cult/benign cult/non-cult?\r\n\r\nAt this ministry, it is my opinion that they end up doing significantly more damage to people than they do good; but, it certainly isn\'t at the same level as drinking poisoned Kool-Aid and committing mass suicide. Is there a certain level of damage by which we can measure what is a cult?  And, cult or not, what is the correct and appropriate response for Christians when faced with a Christian ministry, church, or organization that is clearly damaging to people? Do we publicly denounce them or silently pray for them?\r\n\r\nWith this particular group, and perhaps with many other cult-like Christian groups, I think the root of the issue may be with a dictatorial authority structure that does not brook any questioning of leadership, leading to abuse of power. However, this is an authority structure that many groups of Christians believe is biblical and ideal. So what then? Are they right <em>technically</em> but abusing a God-given structure, are they wrong and simply misunderstanding scripture, or worse, are they twisting and manipulating scripture? At what point are doctrinal disagreements and differences in interpretation of scripture so far off that they are grounds for pulling out the cult label? Who really gets to decide who is a heretic nowadays, anyway?\r\n\r\nAfter my particular experience, I certainly wouldn\'t recommend that ministry to anyone, friend or foe. If anything, I would tell them to run in the opposite direction. But at this point I also wouldn\'t publicly denounce them as a definitive cult. No, it\'s not because I \"drank the Kool-Aid.\" They certainly straddle that fence between spiritual abuse and cult with more aplomb than a sure-footed tight-rope walker. And that line between a legitimate ministry that has fallen due to an abusive authority and a full-blown, destructive cult already blurs so much to me that I just won\'t make that final judgment. Instead I choose to pray for them, holding out hope that, in their desire to do God\'s will and minister to the body, they will see the damage they are doing and change. And, I pray for myself, that if I have somehow misjudged them, God will open my eyes.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','The \'C\' Word','','inherit','open','open','','3704-revision-80','','','2012-01-07 20:43:47','2012-01-08 04:43:47','',3704,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/07/3704-revision-80/',0,'revision','',0),(3795,48,'2012-01-07 20:44:01','2012-01-08 04:44:01','There\'s a  four-letter word getting thrown around a lot lately. It\'s a word I\'ve heard used flippantly, jokingly, and disparagingly. Admittedly, sometimes it seems like the most accurate, albeit inflammatory, word to use. Often this word is spoken, perhaps rightly so, by broken and hurting people out of pain and frustration. It\'s a word that was used by a commenter on my previous post in Provoketive Magazine, <a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2011/12/08/slap-on-a-little-lipstick-youll-be-fine/\">Slap On a Little Lipstick, You\'ll Be Fine</a>. If I am being completely honest, it\'s a word I\'ve used, sometimes quickly out of anger, and a lot more cautiously after great deliberation.\r\n\r\nThat\'s right, I am talking about the \'C\' word: Cult.\r\n\r\nCult is a term used by many Christians to describe Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, Christian Scientists, and many other fringe religious groups and doomsday groups like Peoples Temple and Heaven\'s Gate.  It\'s also been used to discredit Christian churches and ministries with an authoritarian structure, rigid rules, and/or apparent spiritual abuse. The commenter from my last article used it in reference to what he thought was a minister requiring me to wear lipstick (as a note, I never stated in that article whether that incident occurred at a secular or religious organization). And I\'ll admit it, I\'d be pretty tempted to slap that label on a minister requiring women to wear lipstick.\r\n\r\nGiven that it carries such negative overtones, it is probably not a word one should use unless it is known for certain that a group is a cult. But what <em>is</em> a true cult?\r\n\r\nMerriam-Webster\'s Online Dictionary gives the following definition:\r\n\r\n<span class=\"ssens\">1    : formal religious veneration : worship</span>\r\n<div class=\"sblk\">\r\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">2</div>\r\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\">: a system of religious beliefs and ritual; also : its body of adherents</span></div>\r\n</div>\r\n<div class=\"sblk\">\r\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">3</div>\r\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\">: a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious; also : its body of adherents</span></div>\r\n</div>\r\n<div class=\"sblk\">\r\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">4</div>\r\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\">: a system for the cure of disease based on dogma set forth by its promulgator <span class=\"vi\">&lt;health cults&gt;</span></span></div>\r\n</div>\r\n<div class=\"sblk\">\r\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">5</div>\r\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\"><span class=\"sn\">a</span> : great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement, or work (as a film or book); especially : such devotion regarded as a literary or intellectual fad</span></div>\r\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\"><span class=\"sn\">b</span> : the object of such devotion</span></div>\r\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\"><span class=\"sn\">c</span> : a usually small group of people characterized by such devotion</span></div>\r\n</div>\r\nGoing by this definition, any religious group or faith is a cult. That\'s right, that means any Christian church or group, mainstream or otherwise, by definition is a cult. And it doesn\'t stop at religion: any fad or craze with a following is a cult, like the cult of Mac or my personal cult following of choice, that of the canceled Sci-Fi show, Firefly. Really, with the exception of the third listed definition of cult (i.e. a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious), the word shouldn\'t necessarily carry a negative connotation.\r\n\r\nIf, for the sake of this article, we decided to simply run with Webster\'s third definition of cult, it would be difficult to find a fully objective person or governing body to determine what is unorthodox regarding religious beliefs and doctrine. So who gets to decide? If you asked a Lutheran, Catholic, Pentecostal, Charismatic, Mennonite, and Episcopalian each about what constituted orthodox versus unorthodox beliefs in other denominations, you would undoubtedly find each denomination labeled unorthodox (and thus a cult) by at least one other denomination.\r\n\r\nEven sociologists and psychologist tend to disagree over whether or not to continue the use of the word cult, since what started as a mostly neutral term now tends to bring to mind the poisoned Kool-Aid victims of the Jonestown Massacre. Furthermore, there more of a continuum or spectrum between what constitutes \"cult\" and \"non-cult,\" rather than simple black and white definitions. As such, many have given to using further descriptors for cults, such as \"dangerous\" or \"benign.\"\r\n\r\nThis is why I appreciate the resources that the <a href=\"http://www.icsahome.com/\">International Cultic Studies Association</a> has online regarding cults.  The ICSA acknowledges upfront the difficulty in cult terminology, and then focuses on the damaging aspects and practices that can occur in cults, without giving a subjective list of cults or bad organizations on their website.  Instead, it is up to the reader to use the information to decide on their own. That being said, here is the list of characteristics often found with cultic groups, according to Michael D. Langone, Ph.D, Executive Director of the ICSA:\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li>The group displays excessively zealous and unquestioning commitment to its leader and (whether he is alive or dead) regards his belief system, ideology, and practices as the Truth, as law.</li>\r\n	<li>Questioning, doubt, and dissent are discouraged or even punished.</li>\r\n	<li>Mind-altering practices (such as meditation, chanting, speaking in tongues, denunciation sessions, and debilitating work routines) are used in excess and serve to suppress doubts about the group and its leader(s).</li>\r\n	<li>The leadership dictates, sometimes in great detail, how members should think, act, and feel (for example, members must get permission to date, change jobs, marry—or leaders prescribe what types of clothes to wear, where to live, whether or not to have children, how to discipline children, and so forth).</li>\r\n	<li>The group is elitist, claiming a special, exalted status for itself, its leader(s) and members (for example, the leader is considered the Messiah, a special being, an avatar—or the group and/or the leader is on a special mission to save humanity).</li>\r\n	<li>The group has a polarized us-versus-them mentality, which may cause conflict with the wider society</li>\r\n	<li>The leader is not accountable to any authorities (unlike, for example, teachers, military commanders or ministers, priests, monks, and rabbis of mainstream religious denominations).</li>\r\n	<li>The group teaches or implies that its supposedly exalted ends justify whatever means it deems necessary. This may result in members\' participating in behaviors or activities they would have considered reprehensible or unethical before joining the group (for example, lying to family or friends, or collecting money for bogus charities).</li>\r\n	<li>The leadership induces feelings of shame and/or guilt<span class=\"SpellE\" style=\"text-align: left;padding-top: 1px;padding-right: 3px;padding-left: 3px;padding-bottom: 6px;margin-top: 1px;margin-bottom: 1px;margin-left: 1px\">in</span>order to influence and/or control members. Often, this is done through peer pressure and subtle forms of persuasion.</li>\r\n	<li>Subservience to the leader or group requires members to cut ties with family and friends, and radically alter the personal goals and activities they had before joining the group.</li>\r\n	<li>The group is preoccupied with bringing in new members.</li>\r\n	<li>The group is preoccupied with making money.</li>\r\n	<li>Members are expected to devote inordinate amounts of time to the group and group-related activities.</li>\r\n	<li>Members are encouraged or required to live and/or socialize only with other group members.</li>\r\n	<li>The most loyal members (the “true believers”) feel there can be no life outside the context of the group. They believe there is no other way to be, and often fear reprisals to themselves or others if they leave (or even consider leaving) the group.</li>\r\n</ol>\r\nPlease note that this list is not meant to be a definitive or all-encompassing checklist to diagnose groups, but merely a guideline of characteristics that cults often display. Even if an organization were to have many of these characteristics, I think we should be careful before immediately labeling a group as a cult, given how loaded a word it is. Also, I propose that it is entirely possible that a group everyone would agree is not truly a cult could be shown to display many of these traits, depending on how you describe them.\r\n\r\nFor example, a sports team could easily be described in such a way as to seem cultic. For one thing, all the members are committed wholly to the coach; questioning the coach can lead to losing the game, being benched, or even being completely removed from the team. Also, team members often engage in weirdly scripted pre-game chants with indiscernible grunts, meant to increase team unity and create a team mind-set. Furthermore, the team must all dress in complete uniformity, down to the color of their clothing, or they are not allowed to participate. The team also has a polarized us-versus-them mentality, viewing all other teams as opponents they must defeat. Being apart of the team will also likely affect their relationships and other personal goals; due to long practice sessions and traveling for games, they will have little to no time to pursue other activities, and they may not see their family very often during the on-season. Now granted, this example doesn\'t fit every characteristic listed, but as you can see, it could be easy to make a group fit these characteristics if you were already prejudiced against it.\r\n\r\nBecause \"cult\" is an indistinctly defined term that can be misused and misapplied to great detriment, it is important to be careful before immediately slapping the cult label on any religious group that we disagree with or even one that has truly injured us. That being said, damaging groups and cults flying under the Christian flag do exist, and it is wise to be aware of these cult characteristics. Many have the \"I\'m to smart or balanced to get pulled into a cult\" mentality, but people of all walks of life are susceptible to cults, especially as cults often give misleading information about their true nature, organizational structure, rules, etc., when you first become involved.\r\n\r\nI certainly thought I was too intelligent or psychologically sound to get involved with a sketchy ministry or (gasp!) a cult. I was a part of a 5-fold para-church Christian ministry for approximately eight years. For those of you unfamiliar with that terminology, essentially it was a Christian ministry that was not a church, but rather worked alongside Christian churches, with a particular focus on the 5-fold ministry gifts listed in Ephesians 4:11 (Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor and Teacher). I knew of the ministry through respected friends and acquaintances from the church I attend in high school, and my first involvement was merely as a member of the worship team while I was still in college.\r\n\r\nShortly after college, my husband and I \"joined the team,\" becoming more deeply involved and committed to the ministry.  As time progressed, the ministry\'s meetings (both public meetings and private \"team only\" meetings) became more frequent and went into the early morning hours (I often arrived back home after 3 am). In addition, more rigid rules were created and enforced regarding everything from not drinking alcohol, meeting attendance, how to act around the leader of our ministry, dress code, taboo discussion topics with non-team members, and much more. Public questioning of the leader was not allowed, and if you questioned him in private, somehow it was always turned around that you had a  \"heart issue\" and \"issues with authority.\" Really though, with the high demands on the team, long hours volunteering, etc., everyone was usually too tired to think, let alone have the faculties necessary to find fault with the ministry or leadership.\r\n\r\nThe \"heart issue\" was a commonly employed method to get the team to stay in line. When other members left the team (by choice or otherwise), or if the leadership found out we were associating with people who did not agree 100% with the ministry, we were discouraged to continue anything more than a superficial relationship with them. The head of the ministry was always careful to point out that he wasn\'t saying we couldn\'t associate with them, but that the fact that we would want to, knowing what they thought of the ministry, revealed our true heart. Even missing <em>optional</em> extra-curricular team events was taken as evidence of  having heart issues.\r\n\r\nEventually I became even more involved with the ministry, to the point of being privy to much of the leadership\'s confidential information regarding the inner workings of the ministry, other ministers, and even other team members. At first, it was an honor to have such a position. However, eventually I began to see the cracks in the leadership and the ministry-- cracks I could not point out unless I wanted to have a \"come to Jesus meeting\" where my supposed heart issues, authority issues, and God knows what other issues might be raised, to deflect from the flaws in leadership. Many things were done at the bidding of the leadership that I did not really agree with. Team members were booted from the ministry when they wouldn\'t toe the line, and the rest of the team was given false or highly misleading information about why they left. Long weeks of meetings were called because \'God was moving\', when behind closed doors in staff meetings, we discussed having extra meetings to get more money to keep the ministry afloat. These are just a couple of examples of the many issues I could mention.\r\n\r\nDespite my dislike of who I was becoming at this ministry and my disagreements with what the leadership were doing, I deeply struggled with leaving. Anyone who left the ministry was declared to be \"out of God\'s will,\" and I certainly did not want to be that! Furthermore, we had put eight years of our livelihood into that ministry, and leaving would lead me to question whether we had wasted the entirety of those years. At the same time, I could no longer believe that the ministry was truly acting in a way that glorified or modeled Christ.\r\n\r\nWhile I struggled and prayed for God to either release me or give me the fortitude to leave on my own, my husband was absolutely certain we needed to leave. He met with the head of the ministry about this, who disagreed that it was time for us to leave. At his request, my husband agreed to take 30 days to pray about this, after which they would meet again. At the same time, I decided it was time to move out of my current job within the ministry, even if we still remained on the team. After the 30 days, my husband\'s decision remained the same. The day before his scheduled follow-up meeting, the leader called us up and kicked us off the team by phone before we had the chance to meet with him in person and possibly leave on good terms.\r\n\r\nDespite my relief at being released from the team, I still had an incredible amount of anger and pain stemming from how things were handled, both during our time at the ministry and in the way in which we were released from the team. In the first few months after we left, I easily denounced this ministry as a cult. And I suspect that many others may jump to that same conclusion after reading my account from my time there. Looking through the list from the ICSA, this ministry does fit at least 13 out of 15 of the characteristics of cultic groups. Does that mean my original declaration was correct, even if it was spoken out of pain and anger? Perhaps there is more to the story.\r\n\r\nDespite the many issues I have with that ministry, I do believe that everyone there, including the leadership, truly believes that they are helping people and doing God\'s will. Granted, having good intentions doesn\'t keep people from hurting others or doing incredible wrong. Many horrific acts have been done and continue to be done in the name of God and God\'s will.  And, the belief that you are helping people is certainly not a litmus test to prove non-cult status. But does it count for something along the spectrum of dangerous cult/benign cult/non-cult?\r\n\r\nAt this ministry, it is my opinion that they end up doing significantly more damage to people than they do good; but, it certainly isn\'t at the same level as drinking poisoned Kool-Aid and committing mass suicide. Is there a certain level of damage by which we can measure what is a cult?  And, cult or not, what is the correct and appropriate response for Christians when faced with a Christian ministry, church, or organization that is clearly damaging to people? Do we publicly denounce them or silently pray for them?\r\n\r\nWith this particular group, and perhaps with many other cult-like Christian groups, I think the root of the issue may be with a dictatorial authority structure that does not brook any questioning of leadership, leading to abuse of power. However, this is an authority structure that many groups of Christians believe is biblical and ideal. So what then? Are they right <em>technically</em> but abusing a God-given structure, are they wrong and simply misunderstanding scripture, or worse, are they twisting and manipulating scripture? At what point are doctrinal disagreements and differences in interpretation of scripture so far off that they are grounds for pulling out the cult label? Who really gets to decide who is a heretic nowadays, anyway?\r\n\r\nAfter my particular experience, I certainly wouldn\'t recommend that ministry to anyone, friend or foe. If anything, I would tell them to run in the opposite direction. But at this point I also wouldn\'t publicly denounce them as a definitive cult. No, it\'s not because I \"drank the Kool-Aid.\" They certainly straddle that fence between spiritual abuse and cult with more aplomb than a sure-footed tight-rope walker. And that line between a legitimate ministry that has fallen due to an abusive authority and a full-blown, destructive cult already blurs so much to me that I just won\'t make that final judgment. Instead I choose to pray for them, holding out hope that, in their desire to do God\'s will and minister to the body, they will see the damage they are doing and change. And, I pray for myself, that if I have somehow misjudged them, God will open my eyes.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','The \'C\' Word','','inherit','open','open','','3704-revision-81','','','2012-01-07 20:44:01','2012-01-08 04:44:01','',3704,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/07/3704-revision-81/',0,'revision','',0),(3796,1,'2012-01-10 08:27:16','2012-01-10 16:27:16','There\'s a  four-letter word getting thrown around a lot lately. It\'s a word I\'ve heard used flippantly, jokingly, and disparagingly. Admittedly, sometimes it seems like the most accurate, albeit inflammatory, word to use. Often this word is spoken, perhaps rightly so, by broken and hurting people out of pain and frustration. It\'s a word that was used by a commenter on my previous post in Provoketive Magazine, <a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2011/12/08/slap-on-a-little-lipstick-youll-be-fine/\">Slap On a Little Lipstick, You\'ll Be Fine</a>. If I am being completely honest, it\'s a word I\'ve used, sometimes quickly out of anger, and a lot more cautiously after great deliberation.\n\nThat\'s right, I am talking about the \'C\' word: Cult.\n\nCult is a term used by many Christians to describe Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, Christian Scientists, and many other fringe religious groups and doomsday groups like Peoples Temple and Heaven\'s Gate.  It\'s also been used to discredit Christian churches and ministries with an authoritarian structure, rigid rules, and/or apparent spiritual abuse. The commenter from my last article used it in reference to what he thought was a minister requiring me to wear lipstick (as a note, I never stated in that article whether that incident occurred at a secular or religious organization). And I\'ll admit it, I\'d be pretty tempted to slap that label on a minister requiring women to wear lipstick.\n\nGiven that it carries such negative overtones, it is probably not a word one should use unless it is known for certain that a group is a cult. But what <em>is</em> a true cult?\n\nMerriam-Webster\'s Online Dictionary gives the following definition:\n\n<span class=\"ssens\">1    : formal religious veneration : worship</span>\n<div class=\"sblk\">\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left;\">2</div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 20px;\"><span class=\"ssens\">: a system of religious beliefs and ritual; also : its body of adherents</span></div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"sblk\">\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left;\">3</div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 20px;\"><span class=\"ssens\">: a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious; also : its body of adherents</span></div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"sblk\">\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left;\">4</div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 20px;\"><span class=\"ssens\">: a system for the cure of disease based on dogma set forth by its promulgator <span class=\"vi\">&lt;health cults&gt;</span></span></div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"sblk\">\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left;\">5</div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 20px;\"><span class=\"ssens\"><span class=\"sn\">a</span> : great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement, or work (as a film or book); especially : such devotion regarded as a literary or intellectual fad</span></div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 20px;\"><span class=\"ssens\"><span class=\"sn\">b</span> : the object of such devotion</span></div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 20px;\"><span class=\"ssens\"><span class=\"sn\">c</span> : a usually small group of people characterized by such devotion</span></div>\n</div>\nGoing by this definition, any religious group or faith is a cult. That\'s right, that means any Christian church or group, mainstream or otherwise, by definition is a cult. And it doesn\'t stop at religion: any fad or craze with a following is a cult, like the cult of Mac or my personal cult following of choice, that of the canceled Sci-Fi show, Firefly. Really, with the exception of the third listed definition of cult (i.e. a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious), the word shouldn\'t necessarily carry a negative connotation.\n\nIf, for the sake of this article, we decided to simply run with Webster\'s third definition of cult, it would be difficult to find a fully objective person or governing body to determine what is unorthodox regarding religious beliefs and doctrine. So who gets to decide? If you asked a Lutheran, Catholic, Pentecostal, Charismatic, Mennonite, and Episcopalian each about what constituted orthodox versus unorthodox beliefs in other denominations, you would undoubtedly find each denomination labeled unorthodox (and thus a cult) by at least one other denomination.\n\nEven sociologists and psychologist tend to disagree over whether or not to continue the use of the word cult, since what started as a mostly neutral term now tends to bring to mind the poisoned Kool-Aid victims of the Jonestown Massacre. Furthermore, there is more of a continuum or spectrum between what constitutes \"cult\" and \"non-cult,\" rather than simple black and white definitions. As such, many have given to using further descriptors for cults, such as \"dangerous\" or \"benign.\"\n\nThis is why I appreciate the resources that the <a href=\"http://www.icsahome.com/\">International Cultic Studies Association</a> has online regarding cults.  The ICSA acknowledges upfront the difficulty in cult terminology, and then focuses on the damaging aspects and practices that can occur in cults, without giving a subjective list of cults or bad organizations on their website.  Instead, it is up to the reader to use the information to decide on their own. That being said, here is the list of characteristics often found with cultic groups, according to Michael D. Langone, Ph.D, Executive Director of the ICSA:\n<ol>\n	<li>The group displays excessively zealous and unquestioning commitment to its leader and (whether he is alive or dead) regards his belief system, ideology, and practices as the Truth, as law.</li>\n	<li>Questioning, doubt, and dissent are discouraged or even punished.</li>\n	<li>Mind-altering practices (such as meditation, chanting, speaking in tongues, denunciation sessions, and debilitating work routines) are used in excess and serve to suppress doubts about the group and its leader(s).</li>\n	<li>The leadership dictates, sometimes in great detail, how members should think, act, and feel (for example, members must get permission to date, change jobs, marry—or leaders prescribe what types of clothes to wear, where to live, whether or not to have children, how to discipline children, and so forth).</li>\n	<li>The group is elitist, claiming a special, exalted status for itself, its leader(s) and members (for example, the leader is considered the Messiah, a special being, an avatar—or the group and/or the leader is on a special mission to save humanity).</li>\n	<li>The group has a polarized us-versus-them mentality, which may cause conflict with the wider society</li>\n	<li>The leader is not accountable to any authorities (unlike, for example, teachers, military commanders or ministers, priests, monks, and rabbis of mainstream religious denominations).</li>\n	<li>The group teaches or implies that its supposedly exalted ends justify whatever means it deems necessary. This may result in members\' participating in behaviors or activities they would have considered reprehensible or unethical before joining the group (for example, lying to family or friends, or collecting money for bogus charities).</li>\n	<li>The leadership induces feelings of shame and/or guilt<span class=\"SpellE\" style=\"text-align: left; padding-top: 1px; padding-right: 3px; padding-left: 3px; padding-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 1px; margin-bottom: 1px; margin-left: 1px;\">in</span>order to influence and/or control members. Often, this is done through peer pressure and subtle forms of persuasion.</li>\n	<li>Subservience to the leader or group requires members to cut ties with family and friends, and radically alter the personal goals and activities they had before joining the group.</li>\n	<li>The group is preoccupied with bringing in new members.</li>\n	<li>The group is preoccupied with making money.</li>\n	<li>Members are expected to devote inordinate amounts of time to the group and group-related activities.</li>\n	<li>Members are encouraged or required to live and/or socialize only with other group members.</li>\n	<li>The most loyal members (the “true believers”) feel there can be no life outside the context of the group. They believe there is no other way to be, and often fear reprisals to themselves or others if they leave (or even consider leaving) the group.</li>\n</ol>\nPlease note that this list is not meant to be a definitive or all-encompassing checklist to diagnose groups, but merely a guideline of characteristics that cults often display. Even if an organization were to have many of these characteristics, I think we should be careful before immediately labeling a group as a cult, given how loaded a word it is. Also, I propose that it is entirely possible that a group everyone would agree is not truly a cult could be shown to display many of these traits, depending on how you describe them.\n\nFor example, a sports team could easily be described in such a way as to seem cultic. For one thing, all the members are committed wholly to the coach; questioning the coach can lead to losing the game, being benched, or even being completely removed from the team. Also, team members often engage in weirdly scripted pre-game chants with indiscernible grunts, meant to increase team unity and create a team mind-set. Furthermore, the team must all dress in complete uniformity, down to the color of their clothing, or they are not allowed to participate. The team also has a polarized us-versus-them mentality, viewing all other teams as opponents they must defeat. Being apart of the team will also likely affect their relationships and other personal goals; due to long practice sessions and traveling for games, they will have little to no time to pursue other activities, and they may not see their family very often during the on-season. Now granted, this example doesn\'t fit every characteristic listed, but as you can see, it could be easy to make a group fit these characteristics if you were already prejudiced against it.\n\nBecause \"cult\" is an indistinctly defined term that can be misused and misapplied to great detriment, it is important to be careful before immediately slapping the cult label on any religious group that we disagree with or even one that has truly injured us. That being said, damaging groups and cults flying under the Christian flag do exist, and it is wise to be aware of these cult characteristics. Many have the \"I\'m too smart or balanced to get pulled into a cult\" mentality, but people of all walks of life are susceptible to cults, especially as cults often give misleading information about their true nature, organizational structure, rules, etc., when you first become involved. I certainly thought I was too intelligent or psychologically sound to get involved with a sketchy ministry or (gasp!) a cult.\n\nFor approximately eight years, I was a part of a 5-fold para-church Christian ministry. If you are unfamiliar with that wordy terminology, essentially it was a Christian organization focused on the 5-fold ministry gifts listed in Ephesians 4:11 (apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher) that was not a church, but rather a ministry that worked alongside Christian churches. I knew of the ministry through respected friends and acquaintances from the church I attend in high school, and my first involvement was merely as a member of the worship team while I was in college.\n\nShortly after college, my husband and I \"joined the team,\" becoming more deeply involved and committed to the ministry.  As time progressed, the ministry\'s meetings (both public meetings and private \"team only\" meetings) became more frequent and went into the early morning hours (I often arrived back home after 3 am). In addition, more rigid rules were created and enforced regarding everything from not drinking alcohol, meeting attendance, how to act around the leader of our ministry, dress code, taboo discussion topics with non-team members, and much more. Public questioning of the leader was not allowed, and if you questioned him in private, somehow it was always turned around that you had a  \"heart issue\" and \"issues with authority.\" Really though, with the high demands on the team, long hours volunteering, etc., everyone was usually too tired to think, let alone have the faculties necessary to find fault with the ministry or leadership.\n\nThe \"heart issue\" was a commonly employed method to get the team to stay in line. When other members left the team (by choice or otherwise), or if the leadership found out we were associating with people who did not agree 100% with the ministry, we were discouraged to continue anything more than a superficial relationship with them. The head of the ministry was always careful to point out that he wasn\'t saying we couldn\'t associate with them, but that the fact that we would want to, knowing what they thought of the ministry, revealed our true heart. Even missing <em>optional</em> extra-curricular team events was taken as evidence of  having heart issues.\n\nEventually I became even more involved with the ministry, to the point of being privy to much of the leadership\'s confidential information regarding the inner workings of the ministry, other ministers, and even other team members. At first, it was an honor to have such a position. However, eventually I began to see the cracks in the leadership and the ministry-- cracks I could not point out unless I wanted to have a \"come to Jesus meeting\" where my supposed heart issues, authority issues, and God knows what other issues might be raised, to deflect from the flaws in leadership. Many things were done at the bidding of the leadership that I did not really agree with. Team members were booted from the ministry when they wouldn\'t toe the line, and the rest of the team was given false or highly misleading information about why they left. Long weeks of meetings were called because \'God was moving\', when behind closed doors in staff meetings, we discussed having extra meetings to get more money to keep the ministry afloat. These are just a couple of examples of the many issues I could mention.\n\nDespite my dislike of who I was becoming at this ministry and my disagreements with what the leadership were doing, I deeply struggled with leaving. Anyone who left the ministry was declared to be \"out of God\'s will,\" and I certainly did not want to be that! Furthermore, we had put eight years of our livelihood into that ministry, and leaving would lead me to question whether we had wasted the entirety of those years. At the same time, I could no longer believe that the ministry was truly acting in a way that glorified or modeled Christ.\n\nWhile I struggled and prayed for God to either release me or give me the fortitude to leave on my own, my husband was absolutely certain we needed to leave. He met with the head of the ministry about this, who disagreed that it was time for us to leave. At his request, my husband agreed to take 30 days to pray about this, after which they would meet again. At the same time, I decided it was time to move out of my current job within the ministry, even if we still remained on the team. After the 30 days, my husband\'s decision remained the same. The day before his scheduled follow-up meeting, the leader called us up and kicked us off the team by phone before we had the chance to meet with him in person and possibly leave on good terms.\n\nDespite my relief at being released from the team, I still had an incredible amount of anger and pain stemming from how things were handled, both during our time at the ministry and in the way in which we were released from the team. In the first few months after we left, I easily denounced this ministry as a cult. And I suspect that many others may jump to that same conclusion after reading my account from my time there. Looking through the list from the ICSA, this ministry does fit at least 13 out of 15 of the characteristics of cultic groups. Does that mean my original declaration was correct, even if it was spoken out of pain and anger? Perhaps there is more to the story.\n\nDespite the many issues I have with that ministry, I do believe that everyone there, including the leadership, truly believes that they are helping people and doing God\'s will. Granted, having good intentions doesn\'t keep people from hurting others or doing incredible wrong. Many horrific acts have been done and continue to be done in the name of God and God\'s will.  And, the belief that you are helping people is certainly not a litmus test to prove non-cult status. But does it count for something along the spectrum of dangerous cult/benign cult/non-cult?\n\nAt this ministry, it is my opinion that they end up doing significantly more damage to people than they do good; but, it certainly isn\'t at the same level as drinking poisoned Kool-Aid and committing mass suicide. Is there a certain level of damage by which we can measure what is a cult?  And, cult or not, what is the correct and appropriate response for Christians when faced with a Christian ministry, church, or organization that is clearly damaging to people? Do we publicly denounce them or silently pray for them?\n\nWith this particular group, and perhaps with many other cult-like Christian groups, I think the root of the issue may be with a dictatorial authority structure that does not brook any questioning of leadership, leading to abuse of power. However, this is an authority structure that many groups of Christians believe is biblical and ideal. So what then? Are they right <em>technically</em> but abusing a God-given structure, are they wrong and simply misunderstanding scripture, or worse, are they twisting and manipulating scripture? At what point are doctrinal disagreements and differences in interpretation of scripture so far off that they are grounds for pulling out the cult label? Who really gets to decide who is a heretic nowadays, anyway?\n\nAfter my particular experience, I certainly wouldn\'t recommend that ministry to anyone, friend or foe. If anything, I would tell them to run in the opposite direction. But at this point I also wouldn\'t publicly denounce them as a definitive cult. No, it\'s not because I \"drank the Kool-Aid.\" They certainly straddle that fence between spiritual abuse and cult with more aplomb than a sure-footed tight-rope walker. And that line between a legitimate ministry that has fallen due to an abusive authority and a full-blown, destructive cult already blurs so much to me that I just won\'t make that final judgment. Instead I choose to pray for them, holding out hope that, in their desire to do God\'s will and minister to the body, they will see the damage they are doing and change. And, I pray for myself, that if I have somehow misjudged them, God will open my eyes.\n\n&nbsp;','The \'C\' Word','','inherit','open','open','','3704-autosave','','','2012-01-10 08:27:16','2012-01-10 16:27:16','',3704,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/07/3704-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(3872,1,'2012-01-10 08:26:07','2012-01-10 16:26:07','There\'s a  four-letter word getting thrown around a lot lately. It\'s a word I\'ve heard used flippantly, jokingly, and disparagingly. Admittedly, sometimes it seems like the most accurate, albeit inflammatory, word to use. Often this word is spoken, perhaps rightly so, by broken and hurting people out of pain and frustration. It\'s a word that was used by a commenter on my previous post in Provoketive Magazine, <a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2011/12/08/slap-on-a-little-lipstick-youll-be-fine/\">Slap On a Little Lipstick, You\'ll Be Fine</a>. If I am being completely honest, it\'s a word I\'ve used, sometimes quickly out of anger, and a lot more cautiously after great deliberation.\r\n\r\nThat\'s right, I am talking about the \'C\' word: Cult.\r\n\r\nCult is a term used by many Christians to describe Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, Christian Scientists, and many other fringe religious groups and doomsday groups like Peoples Temple and Heaven\'s Gate.  It\'s also been used to discredit Christian churches and ministries with an authoritarian structure, rigid rules, and/or apparent spiritual abuse. The commenter from my last article used it in reference to what he thought was a minister requiring me to wear lipstick (as a note, I never stated in that article whether that incident occurred at a secular or religious organization). And I\'ll admit it, I\'d be pretty tempted to slap that label on a minister requiring women to wear lipstick.\r\n\r\nGiven that it carries such negative overtones, it is probably not a word one should use unless it is known for certain that a group is a cult. But what <em>is</em> a true cult?\r\n\r\nMerriam-Webster\'s Online Dictionary gives the following definition:\r\n\r\n<span class=\"ssens\">1    : formal religious veneration : worship</span>\r\n<div class=\"sblk\">\r\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">2</div>\r\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\">: a system of religious beliefs and ritual; also : its body of adherents</span></div>\r\n</div>\r\n<div class=\"sblk\">\r\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">3</div>\r\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\">: a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious; also : its body of adherents</span></div>\r\n</div>\r\n<div class=\"sblk\">\r\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">4</div>\r\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\">: a system for the cure of disease based on dogma set forth by its promulgator <span class=\"vi\">&lt;health cults&gt;</span></span></div>\r\n</div>\r\n<div class=\"sblk\">\r\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">5</div>\r\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\"><span class=\"sn\">a</span> : great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement, or work (as a film or book); especially : such devotion regarded as a literary or intellectual fad</span></div>\r\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\"><span class=\"sn\">b</span> : the object of such devotion</span></div>\r\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\"><span class=\"sn\">c</span> : a usually small group of people characterized by such devotion</span></div>\r\n</div>\r\nGoing by this definition, any religious group or faith is a cult. That\'s right, that means any Christian church or group, mainstream or otherwise, by definition is a cult. And it doesn\'t stop at religion: any fad or craze with a following is a cult, like the cult of Mac or my personal cult following of choice, that of the canceled Sci-Fi show, Firefly. Really, with the exception of the third listed definition of cult (i.e. a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious), the word shouldn\'t necessarily carry a negative connotation.\r\n\r\nIf, for the sake of this article, we decided to simply run with Webster\'s third definition of cult, it would be difficult to find a fully objective person or governing body to determine what is unorthodox regarding religious beliefs and doctrine. So who gets to decide? If you asked a Lutheran, Catholic, Pentecostal, Charismatic, Mennonite, and Episcopalian each about what constituted orthodox versus unorthodox beliefs in other denominations, you would undoubtedly find each denomination labeled unorthodox (and thus a cult) by at least one other denomination.\r\n\r\nEven sociologists and psychologist tend to disagree over whether or not to continue the use of the word cult, since what started as a mostly neutral term now tends to bring to mind the poisoned Kool-Aid victims of the Jonestown Massacre. Furthermore, there is more of a continuum or spectrum between what constitutes \"cult\" and \"non-cult,\" rather than simple black and white definitions. As such, many have given to using further descriptors for cults, such as \"dangerous\" or \"benign.\"\r\n\r\nThis is why I appreciate the resources that the <a href=\"http://www.icsahome.com/\">International Cultic Studies Association</a> has online regarding cults.  The ICSA acknowledges upfront the difficulty in cult terminology, and then focuses on the damaging aspects and practices that can occur in cults, without giving a subjective list of cults or bad organizations on their website.  Instead, it is up to the reader to use the information to decide on their own. That being said, here is the list of characteristics often found with cultic groups, according to Michael D. Langone, Ph.D, Executive Director of the ICSA:\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li>The group displays excessively zealous and unquestioning commitment to its leader and (whether he is alive or dead) regards his belief system, ideology, and practices as the Truth, as law.</li>\r\n	<li>Questioning, doubt, and dissent are discouraged or even punished.</li>\r\n	<li>Mind-altering practices (such as meditation, chanting, speaking in tongues, denunciation sessions, and debilitating work routines) are used in excess and serve to suppress doubts about the group and its leader(s).</li>\r\n	<li>The leadership dictates, sometimes in great detail, how members should think, act, and feel (for example, members must get permission to date, change jobs, marry—or leaders prescribe what types of clothes to wear, where to live, whether or not to have children, how to discipline children, and so forth).</li>\r\n	<li>The group is elitist, claiming a special, exalted status for itself, its leader(s) and members (for example, the leader is considered the Messiah, a special being, an avatar—or the group and/or the leader is on a special mission to save humanity).</li>\r\n	<li>The group has a polarized us-versus-them mentality, which may cause conflict with the wider society</li>\r\n	<li>The leader is not accountable to any authorities (unlike, for example, teachers, military commanders or ministers, priests, monks, and rabbis of mainstream religious denominations).</li>\r\n	<li>The group teaches or implies that its supposedly exalted ends justify whatever means it deems necessary. This may result in members\' participating in behaviors or activities they would have considered reprehensible or unethical before joining the group (for example, lying to family or friends, or collecting money for bogus charities).</li>\r\n	<li>The leadership induces feelings of shame and/or guilt<span class=\"SpellE\" style=\"text-align: left;padding-top: 1px;padding-right: 3px;padding-left: 3px;padding-bottom: 6px;margin-top: 1px;margin-bottom: 1px;margin-left: 1px\">in</span>order to influence and/or control members. Often, this is done through peer pressure and subtle forms of persuasion.</li>\r\n	<li>Subservience to the leader or group requires members to cut ties with family and friends, and radically alter the personal goals and activities they had before joining the group.</li>\r\n	<li>The group is preoccupied with bringing in new members.</li>\r\n	<li>The group is preoccupied with making money.</li>\r\n	<li>Members are expected to devote inordinate amounts of time to the group and group-related activities.</li>\r\n	<li>Members are encouraged or required to live and/or socialize only with other group members.</li>\r\n	<li>The most loyal members (the “true believers”) feel there can be no life outside the context of the group. They believe there is no other way to be, and often fear reprisals to themselves or others if they leave (or even consider leaving) the group.</li>\r\n</ol>\r\nPlease note that this list is not meant to be a definitive or all-encompassing checklist to diagnose groups, but merely a guideline of characteristics that cults often display. Even if an organization were to have many of these characteristics, I think we should be careful before immediately labeling a group as a cult, given how loaded a word it is. Also, I propose that it is entirely possible that a group everyone would agree is not truly a cult could be shown to display many of these traits, depending on how you describe them.\r\n\r\nFor example, a sports team could easily be described in such a way as to seem cultic. For one thing, all the members are committed wholly to the coach; questioning the coach can lead to losing the game, being benched, or even being completely removed from the team. Also, team members often engage in weirdly scripted pre-game chants with indiscernible grunts, meant to increase team unity and create a team mind-set. Furthermore, the team must all dress in complete uniformity, down to the color of their clothing, or they are not allowed to participate. The team also has a polarized us-versus-them mentality, viewing all other teams as opponents they must defeat. Being apart of the team will also likely affect their relationships and other personal goals; due to long practice sessions and traveling for games, they will have little to no time to pursue other activities, and they may not see their family very often during the on-season. Now granted, this example doesn\'t fit every characteristic listed, but as you can see, it could be easy to make a group fit these characteristics if you were already prejudiced against it.\r\n\r\nBecause \"cult\" is an indistinctly defined term that can be misused and misapplied to great detriment, it is important to be careful before immediately slapping the cult label on any religious group that we disagree with or even one that has truly injured us. That being said, damaging groups and cults flying under the Christian flag do exist, and it is wise to be aware of these cult characteristics. Many have the \"I\'m too smart or balanced to get pulled into a cult\" mentality, but people of all walks of life are susceptible to cults, especially as cults often give misleading information about their true nature, organizational structure, rules, etc., when you first become involved. I certainly thought I was too intelligent or psychologically sound to get involved with a sketchy ministry or (gasp!) a cult.\r\n\r\nFor approximately eight years, I was a part of a 5-fold para-church Christian ministry. If you are unfamiliar with that wordy terminology, essentially it was a Christian organization focused on the 5-fold ministry gifts listed in Ephesians 4:11 (apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher) that was not a church, but rather a ministry that worked alongside Christian churches. I knew of the ministry through respected friends and acquaintances from the church I attend in high school, and my first involvement was merely as a member of the worship team while I was in college.\r\n\r\nShortly after college, my husband and I \"joined the team,\" becoming more deeply involved and committed to the ministry.  As time progressed, the ministry\'s meetings (both public meetings and private \"team only\" meetings) became more frequent and went into the early morning hours (I often arrived back home after 3 am). In addition, more rigid rules were created and enforced regarding everything from not drinking alcohol, meeting attendance, how to act around the leader of our ministry, dress code, taboo discussion topics with non-team members, and much more. Public questioning of the leader was not allowed, and if you questioned him in private, somehow it was always turned around that you had a  \"heart issue\" and \"issues with authority.\" Really though, with the high demands on the team, long hours volunteering, etc., everyone was usually too tired to think, let alone have the faculties necessary to find fault with the ministry or leadership.\r\n\r\nThe \"heart issue\" was a commonly employed method to get the team to stay in line. When other members left the team (by choice or otherwise), or if the leadership found out we were associating with people who did not agree 100% with the ministry, we were discouraged to continue anything more than a superficial relationship with them. The head of the ministry was always careful to point out that he wasn\'t saying we couldn\'t associate with them, but that the fact that we would want to, knowing what they thought of the ministry, revealed our true heart. Even missing <em>optional</em> extra-curricular team events was taken as evidence of  having heart issues.\r\n\r\nEventually I became even more involved with the ministry, to the point of being privy to much of the leadership\'s confidential information regarding the inner workings of the ministry, other ministers, and even other team members. At first, it was an honor to have such a position. However, eventually I began to see the cracks in the leadership and the ministry-- cracks I could not point out unless I wanted to have a \"come to Jesus meeting\" where my supposed heart issues, authority issues, and God knows what other issues might be raised, to deflect from the flaws in leadership. Many things were done at the bidding of the leadership that I did not really agree with. Team members were booted from the ministry when they wouldn\'t toe the line, and the rest of the team was given false or highly misleading information about why they left. Long weeks of meetings were called because \'God was moving\', when behind closed doors in staff meetings, we discussed having extra meetings to get more money to keep the ministry afloat. These are just a couple of examples of the many issues I could mention.\r\n\r\nDespite my dislike of who I was becoming at this ministry and my disagreements with what the leadership were doing, I deeply struggled with leaving. Anyone who left the ministry was declared to be \"out of God\'s will,\" and I certainly did not want to be that! Furthermore, we had put eight years of our livelihood into that ministry, and leaving would lead me to question whether we had wasted the entirety of those years. At the same time, I could no longer believe that the ministry was truly acting in a way that glorified or modeled Christ.\r\n\r\nWhile I struggled and prayed for God to either release me or give me the fortitude to leave on my own, my husband was absolutely certain we needed to leave. He met with the head of the ministry about this, who disagreed that it was time for us to leave. At his request, my husband agreed to take 30 days to pray about this, after which they would meet again. At the same time, I decided it was time to move out of my current job within the ministry, even if we still remained on the team. After the 30 days, my husband\'s decision remained the same. The day before his scheduled follow-up meeting, the leader called us up and kicked us off the team by phone before we had the chance to meet with him in person and possibly leave on good terms.\r\n\r\nDespite my relief at being released from the team, I still had an incredible amount of anger and pain stemming from how things were handled, both during our time at the ministry and in the way in which we were released from the team. In the first few months after we left, I easily denounced this ministry as a cult. And I suspect that many others may jump to that same conclusion after reading my account from my time there. Looking through the list from the ICSA, this ministry does fit at least 13 out of 15 of the characteristics of cultic groups. Does that mean my original declaration was correct, even if it was spoken out of pain and anger? Perhaps there is more to the story.\r\n\r\nDespite the many issues I have with that ministry, I do believe that everyone there, including the leadership, truly believes that they are helping people and doing God\'s will. Granted, having good intentions doesn\'t keep people from hurting others or doing incredible wrong. Many horrific acts have been done and continue to be done in the name of God and God\'s will.  And, the belief that you are helping people is certainly not a litmus test to prove non-cult status. But does it count for something along the spectrum of dangerous cult/benign cult/non-cult?\r\n\r\nAt this ministry, it is my opinion that they end up doing significantly more damage to people than they do good; but, it certainly isn\'t at the same level as drinking poisoned Kool-Aid and committing mass suicide. Is there a certain level of damage by which we can measure what is a cult?  And, cult or not, what is the correct and appropriate response for Christians when faced with a Christian ministry, church, or organization that is clearly damaging to people? Do we publicly denounce them or silently pray for them?\r\n\r\nWith this particular group, and perhaps with many other cult-like Christian groups, I think the root of the issue may be with a dictatorial authority structure that does not brook any questioning of leadership, leading to abuse of power. However, this is an authority structure that many groups of Christians believe is biblical and ideal. So what then? Are they right <em>technically</em> but abusing a God-given structure, are they wrong and simply misunderstanding scripture, or worse, are they twisting and manipulating scripture? At what point are doctrinal disagreements and differences in interpretation of scripture so far off that they are grounds for pulling out the cult label? Who really gets to decide who is a heretic nowadays, anyway?\r\n\r\nAfter my particular experience, I certainly wouldn\'t recommend that ministry to anyone, friend or foe. If anything, I would tell them to run in the opposite direction. But at this point I also wouldn\'t publicly denounce them as a definitive cult. No, it\'s not because I \"drank the Kool-Aid.\" They certainly straddle that fence between spiritual abuse and cult with more aplomb than a sure-footed tight-rope walker. And that line between a legitimate ministry that has fallen due to an abusive authority and a full-blown, destructive cult already blurs so much to me that I just won\'t make that final judgment. Instead I choose to pray for them, holding out hope that, in their desire to do God\'s will and minister to the body, they will see the damage they are doing and change. And, I pray for myself, that if I have somehow misjudged them, God will open my eyes.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','The \'C\' Word','','inherit','open','open','','3704-revision-84','','','2012-01-10 08:26:07','2012-01-10 16:26:07','',3704,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/10/3704-revision-84/',0,'revision','',0),(3797,48,'2012-01-07 20:45:02','2012-01-08 04:45:02','There\'s a  four-letter word getting thrown around a lot lately. It\'s a word I\'ve heard used flippantly, jokingly, and disparagingly. Admittedly, sometimes it seems like the most accurate, albeit inflammatory, word to use. Often this word is spoken, perhaps rightly so, by broken and hurting people out of pain and frustration. It\'s a word that was used by a commenter on my previous post in Provoketive Magazine, <a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2011/12/08/slap-on-a-little-lipstick-youll-be-fine/\">Slap On a Little Lipstick, You\'ll Be Fine</a>. If I am being completely honest, it\'s a word I\'ve used, sometimes quickly out of anger, and a lot more cautiously after great deliberation.\r\n\r\nThat\'s right, I am talking about the \'C\' word: Cult.\r\n\r\nCult is a term used by many Christians to describe Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, Christian Scientists, and many other fringe religious groups and doomsday groups like Peoples Temple and Heaven\'s Gate.  It\'s also been used to discredit Christian churches and ministries with an authoritarian structure, rigid rules, and/or apparent spiritual abuse. The commenter from my last article used it in reference to what he thought was a minister requiring me to wear lipstick (as a note, I never stated in that article whether that incident occurred at a secular or religious organization). And I\'ll admit it, I\'d be pretty tempted to slap that label on a minister requiring women to wear lipstick.\r\n\r\nGiven that it carries such negative overtones, it is probably not a word one should use unless it is known for certain that a group is a cult. But what <em>is</em> a true cult?\r\n\r\nMerriam-Webster\'s Online Dictionary gives the following definition:\r\n\r\n<span class=\"ssens\">1    : formal religious veneration : worship</span>\r\n<div class=\"sblk\">\r\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">2</div>\r\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\">: a system of religious beliefs and ritual; also : its body of adherents</span></div>\r\n</div>\r\n<div class=\"sblk\">\r\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">3</div>\r\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\">: a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious; also : its body of adherents</span></div>\r\n</div>\r\n<div class=\"sblk\">\r\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">4</div>\r\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\">: a system for the cure of disease based on dogma set forth by its promulgator <span class=\"vi\">&lt;health cults&gt;</span></span></div>\r\n</div>\r\n<div class=\"sblk\">\r\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">5</div>\r\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\"><span class=\"sn\">a</span> : great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement, or work (as a film or book); especially : such devotion regarded as a literary or intellectual fad</span></div>\r\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\"><span class=\"sn\">b</span> : the object of such devotion</span></div>\r\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\"><span class=\"sn\">c</span> : a usually small group of people characterized by such devotion</span></div>\r\n</div>\r\nGoing by this definition, any religious group or faith is a cult. That\'s right, that means any Christian church or group, mainstream or otherwise, by definition is a cult. And it doesn\'t stop at religion: any fad or craze with a following is a cult, like the cult of Mac or my personal cult following of choice, that of the canceled Sci-Fi show, Firefly. Really, with the exception of the third listed definition of cult (i.e. a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious), the word shouldn\'t necessarily carry a negative connotation.\r\n\r\nIf, for the sake of this article, we decided to simply run with Webster\'s third definition of cult, it would be difficult to find a fully objective person or governing body to determine what is unorthodox regarding religious beliefs and doctrine. So who gets to decide? If you asked a Lutheran, Catholic, Pentecostal, Charismatic, Mennonite, and Episcopalian each about what constituted orthodox versus unorthodox beliefs in other denominations, you would undoubtedly find each denomination labeled unorthodox (and thus a cult) by at least one other denomination.\r\n\r\nEven sociologists and psychologist tend to disagree over whether or not to continue the use of the word cult, since what started as a mostly neutral term now tends to bring to mind the poisoned Kool-Aid victims of the Jonestown Massacre. Furthermore, there more of a continuum or spectrum between what constitutes \"cult\" and \"non-cult,\" rather than simple black and white definitions. As such, many have given to using further descriptors for cults, such as \"dangerous\" or \"benign.\"\r\n\r\nThis is why I appreciate the resources that the <a href=\"http://www.icsahome.com/\">International Cultic Studies Association</a> has online regarding cults.  The ICSA acknowledges upfront the difficulty in cult terminology, and then focuses on the damaging aspects and practices that can occur in cults, without giving a subjective list of cults or bad organizations on their website.  Instead, it is up to the reader to use the information to decide on their own. That being said, here is the list of characteristics often found with cultic groups, according to Michael D. Langone, Ph.D, Executive Director of the ICSA:\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li>The group displays excessively zealous and unquestioning commitment to its leader and (whether he is alive or dead) regards his belief system, ideology, and practices as the Truth, as law.</li>\r\n	<li>Questioning, doubt, and dissent are discouraged or even punished.</li>\r\n	<li>Mind-altering practices (such as meditation, chanting, speaking in tongues, denunciation sessions, and debilitating work routines) are used in excess and serve to suppress doubts about the group and its leader(s).</li>\r\n	<li>The leadership dictates, sometimes in great detail, how members should think, act, and feel (for example, members must get permission to date, change jobs, marry—or leaders prescribe what types of clothes to wear, where to live, whether or not to have children, how to discipline children, and so forth).</li>\r\n	<li>The group is elitist, claiming a special, exalted status for itself, its leader(s) and members (for example, the leader is considered the Messiah, a special being, an avatar—or the group and/or the leader is on a special mission to save humanity).</li>\r\n	<li>The group has a polarized us-versus-them mentality, which may cause conflict with the wider society</li>\r\n	<li>The leader is not accountable to any authorities (unlike, for example, teachers, military commanders or ministers, priests, monks, and rabbis of mainstream religious denominations).</li>\r\n	<li>The group teaches or implies that its supposedly exalted ends justify whatever means it deems necessary. This may result in members\' participating in behaviors or activities they would have considered reprehensible or unethical before joining the group (for example, lying to family or friends, or collecting money for bogus charities).</li>\r\n	<li>The leadership induces feelings of shame and/or guilt<span class=\"SpellE\" style=\"text-align: left;padding-top: 1px;padding-right: 3px;padding-left: 3px;padding-bottom: 6px;margin-top: 1px;margin-bottom: 1px;margin-left: 1px\">in</span>order to influence and/or control members. Often, this is done through peer pressure and subtle forms of persuasion.</li>\r\n	<li>Subservience to the leader or group requires members to cut ties with family and friends, and radically alter the personal goals and activities they had before joining the group.</li>\r\n	<li>The group is preoccupied with bringing in new members.</li>\r\n	<li>The group is preoccupied with making money.</li>\r\n	<li>Members are expected to devote inordinate amounts of time to the group and group-related activities.</li>\r\n	<li>Members are encouraged or required to live and/or socialize only with other group members.</li>\r\n	<li>The most loyal members (the “true believers”) feel there can be no life outside the context of the group. They believe there is no other way to be, and often fear reprisals to themselves or others if they leave (or even consider leaving) the group.</li>\r\n</ol>\r\nPlease note that this list is not meant to be a definitive or all-encompassing checklist to diagnose groups, but merely a guideline of characteristics that cults often display. Even if an organization were to have many of these characteristics, I think we should be careful before immediately labeling a group as a cult, given how loaded a word it is. Also, I propose that it is entirely possible that a group everyone would agree is not truly a cult could be shown to display many of these traits, depending on how you describe them.\r\n\r\nFor example, a sports team could easily be described in such a way as to seem cultic. For one thing, all the members are committed wholly to the coach; questioning the coach can lead to losing the game, being benched, or even being completely removed from the team. Also, team members often engage in weirdly scripted pre-game chants with indiscernible grunts, meant to increase team unity and create a team mind-set. Furthermore, the team must all dress in complete uniformity, down to the color of their clothing, or they are not allowed to participate. The team also has a polarized us-versus-them mentality, viewing all other teams as opponents they must defeat. Being apart of the team will also likely affect their relationships and other personal goals; due to long practice sessions and traveling for games, they will have little to no time to pursue other activities, and they may not see their family very often during the on-season. Now granted, this example doesn\'t fit every characteristic listed, but as you can see, it could be easy to make a group fit these characteristics if you were already prejudiced against it.\r\n\r\nBecause \"cult\" is an indistinctly defined term that can be misused and misapplied to great detriment, it is important to be careful before immediately slapping the cult label on any religious group that we disagree with or even one that has truly injured us. That being said, damaging groups and cults flying under the Christian flag do exist, and it is wise to be aware of these cult characteristics. Many have the \"I\'m to smart or balanced to get pulled into a cult\" mentality, but people of all walks of life are susceptible to cults, especially as cults often give misleading information about their true nature, organizational structure, rules, etc., when you first become involved.\r\n\r\nI certainly thought I was too intelligent or psychologically sound to get involved with a sketchy ministry or (gasp!) a cult. I was a part of a 5-fold para-church Christian ministry for approximately eight years. For those of you unfamiliar with that terminology, essentially it was a Christian ministry that was not a church, but rather worked alongside Christian churches, with a particular focus on the 5-fold ministry gifts listed in Ephesians 4:11 (Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor and Teacher). I knew of the ministry through respected friends and acquaintances from the church I attend in high school, and my first involvement was merely as a member of the worship team while I was still in college.\r\n\r\nShortly after college, my husband and I \"joined the team,\" becoming more deeply involved and committed to the ministry.  As time progressed, the ministry\'s meetings (both public meetings and private \"team only\" meetings) became more frequent and went into the early morning hours (I often arrived back home after 3 am). In addition, more rigid rules were created and enforced regarding everything from not drinking alcohol, meeting attendance, how to act around the leader of our ministry, dress code, taboo discussion topics with non-team members, and much more. Public questioning of the leader was not allowed, and if you questioned him in private, somehow it was always turned around that you had a  \"heart issue\" and \"issues with authority.\" Really though, with the high demands on the team, long hours volunteering, etc., everyone was usually too tired to think, let alone have the faculties necessary to find fault with the ministry or leadership.\r\n\r\nThe \"heart issue\" was a commonly employed method to get the team to stay in line. When other members left the team (by choice or otherwise), or if the leadership found out we were associating with people who did not agree 100% with the ministry, we were discouraged to continue anything more than a superficial relationship with them. The head of the ministry was always careful to point out that he wasn\'t saying we couldn\'t associate with them, but that the fact that we would want to, knowing what they thought of the ministry, revealed our true heart. Even missing <em>optional</em> extra-curricular team events was taken as evidence of  having heart issues.\r\n\r\nEventually I became even more involved with the ministry, to the point of being privy to much of the leadership\'s confidential information regarding the inner workings of the ministry, other ministers, and even other team members. At first, it was an honor to have such a position. However, eventually I began to see the cracks in the leadership and the ministry-- cracks I could not point out unless I wanted to have a \"come to Jesus meeting\" where my supposed heart issues, authority issues, and God knows what other issues might be raised, to deflect from the flaws in leadership. Many things were done at the bidding of the leadership that I did not really agree with. Team members were booted from the ministry when they wouldn\'t toe the line, and the rest of the team was given false or highly misleading information about why they left. Long weeks of meetings were called because \'God was moving\', when behind closed doors in staff meetings, we discussed having extra meetings to get more money to keep the ministry afloat. These are just a couple of examples of the many issues I could mention.\r\n\r\nDespite my dislike of who I was becoming at this ministry and my disagreements with what the leadership were doing, I deeply struggled with leaving. Anyone who left the ministry was declared to be \"out of God\'s will,\" and I certainly did not want to be that! Furthermore, we had put eight years of our livelihood into that ministry, and leaving would lead me to question whether we had wasted the entirety of those years. At the same time, I could no longer believe that the ministry was truly acting in a way that glorified or modeled Christ.\r\n\r\nWhile I struggled and prayed for God to either release me or give me the fortitude to leave on my own, my husband was absolutely certain we needed to leave. He met with the head of the ministry about this, who disagreed that it was time for us to leave. At his request, my husband agreed to take 30 days to pray about this, after which they would meet again. At the same time, I decided it was time to move out of my current job within the ministry, even if we still remained on the team. After the 30 days, my husband\'s decision remained the same. The day before his scheduled follow-up meeting, the leader called us up and kicked us off the team by phone before we had the chance to meet with him in person and possibly leave on good terms.\r\n\r\nDespite my relief at being released from the team, I still had an incredible amount of anger and pain stemming from how things were handled, both during our time at the ministry and in the way in which we were released from the team. In the first few months after we left, I easily denounced this ministry as a cult. And I suspect that many others may jump to that same conclusion after reading my account from my time there. Looking through the list from the ICSA, this ministry does fit at least 13 out of 15 of the characteristics of cultic groups. Does that mean my original declaration was correct, even if it was spoken out of pain and anger? Perhaps there is more to the story.\r\n\r\nDespite the many issues I have with that ministry, I do believe that everyone there, including the leadership, truly believes that they are helping people and doing God\'s will. Granted, having good intentions doesn\'t keep people from hurting others or doing incredible wrong. Many horrific acts have been done and continue to be done in the name of God and God\'s will.  And, the belief that you are helping people is certainly not a litmus test to prove non-cult status. But does it count for something along the spectrum of dangerous cult/benign cult/non-cult?\r\n\r\nAt this ministry, it is my opinion that they end up doing significantly more damage to people than they do good; but, it certainly isn\'t at the same level as drinking poisoned Kool-Aid and committing mass suicide. Is there a certain level of damage by which we can measure what is a cult?  And, cult or not, what is the correct and appropriate response for Christians when faced with a Christian ministry, church, or organization that is clearly damaging to people? Do we publicly denounce them or silently pray for them?\r\n\r\nWith this particular group, and perhaps with many other cult-like Christian groups, I think the root of the issue may be with a dictatorial authority structure that does not brook any questioning of leadership, leading to abuse of power. However, this is an authority structure that many groups of Christians believe is biblical and ideal. So what then? Are they right <em>technically</em> but abusing a God-given structure, are they wrong and simply misunderstanding scripture, or worse, are they twisting and manipulating scripture? At what point are doctrinal disagreements and differences in interpretation of scripture so far off that they are grounds for pulling out the cult label? Who really gets to decide who is a heretic nowadays, anyway?\r\n\r\nAfter my particular experience, I certainly wouldn\'t recommend that ministry to anyone, friend or foe. If anything, I would tell them to run in the opposite direction. But at this point I also wouldn\'t publicly denounce them as a definitive cult. No, it\'s not because I \"drank the Kool-Aid.\" They certainly straddle that fence between spiritual abuse and cult with more aplomb than a sure-footed tight-rope walker. And that line between a legitimate ministry that has fallen due to an abusive authority and a full-blown, destructive cult already blurs so much to me that I just won\'t make that final judgment. Instead I choose to pray for them, holding out hope that, in their desire to do God\'s will and minister to the body, they will see the damage they are doing and change. And, I pray for myself, that if I have somehow misjudged them, God will open my eyes.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','The \'C\' Word','','inherit','open','open','','3704-revision-82','','','2012-01-07 20:45:02','2012-01-08 04:45:02','',3704,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/07/3704-revision-82/',0,'revision','',0),(3798,125,'2012-01-16 10:00:44','2012-01-16 18:00:44','I have been thinking a lot about community lately. And by “lately”, I mean “the past two years”. And by “thinking”, I mean “encountering the idea of it in every single aspect of my life”.\r\n\r\nGrowing up, you have friends. There are people you like to hang out with oftentimes for no other reason than a shared interest in a certain movie or video game. There are other people that you are more intimate with, giving personal, private details about your life that you don’t regularly reveal to everyone.\r\n\r\nThen, there is family. There is family in the sense of blood relation, but many times those people share little of your life and a lot of them seem more distant of a relationship than even the faintest of friends. The other type of family is those people that know your ins-and-outs. They hold you accountable when you mess up, they pray with you when you struggle, they open up their lives to the finest of scrutiny out of a more passionate love for you than some people share even with parents.\r\n\r\nCommunity has always been God’s tangible representation of many of His mysteries on earth. Though certainly not perfected, our relationships on earth are intended to point towards the Trinity, the future Kingdom, and Christ’s marriage to the Church. Throughout their history, God has used His people and their walk with Him to show the rest of the world how beautiful He is.\r\n\r\nThis sounds awesome as an idea, but are we really pursuing it in life?\r\n\r\nDo we care about the people around us at such a deep, deep level that, were a stranger to look at how we interact with and care for them, they would see a glimpse of the King?\r\n\r\nDo we set out with intention to push the ones we love towards the person God wants them to be, or do we shy away from talk of struggle and sin to avoid the possibility of an uncomfortable conversation?\r\n\r\nDo we view every relationship in our lives, from the acquaintance to the spouse, as a reflection of the love God has for both people involved, or do we invalidate that love and arrogantly assume that the more superficial relationships aren’t as important?\r\n\r\nIf Jesus stood right beside you while you spoke with your spouse, would you be able to look him in the eye and say that you love that person like He loves you?\r\n\r\nWhat about if He stood beside you while you ordered your morning coffee, interacting with the beautiful child of His that was preparing it?\r\n\r\nWhere in your life are you really loving like He loves you? Is it only in the situations where your love is given <em>reactively</em>, because the other person loves you? Or is it even in those situations where it is needed<em> proactively</em>, with no hope or expectation of love in return?\r\n\r\nCommunity is life lived without boundaries. No fences around your love, no walls around your care, no gates around your fellowship.\r\n\r\nWould you define the community of your life as a country club, open to some but not others, exclusive, selective? Or would you define it as a park, open and welcome to all, free from judgment, common and diverse?\r\n\r\nI give you a new commandment:\r\nLove one another;\r\njust as I have loved you,\r\nyou also must love one another. (John 13:34)\r\n\r\n<em>Photo Credit: Rosino</em>','Country Club Community','','publish','open','open','','country-club-community','','','2012-01-10 10:08:50','2012-01-10 18:08:50','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=3798',0,'post','',0),(3799,125,'2012-01-08 07:37:39','2012-01-08 15:37:39','','Auto Draft','','inherit','open','open','','3798-revision','','','2012-01-08 07:37:39','2012-01-08 15:37:39','',3798,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/08/3798-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(3800,1,'2012-01-10 10:09:58','2012-01-10 18:09:58','I have been thinking a lot about community lately. And by “lately”, I mean “the past two years”. And by “thinking”, I mean “encountering the idea of it in every single aspect of my life”.\n\nGrowing up, you have friends. There are people you like to hang out with oftentimes for no other reason than a shared interest in a certain movie or video game. There are other people that you are more intimate with, giving personal, private details about your life that you don’t regularly reveal to everyone.\n\nThen, there is family. There is family in the sense of blood relation, but many times those people share little of your life and a lot of them seem more distant of a relationship than even the faintest of friends. The other type of family is those people that know your ins-and-outs. They hold you accountable when you mess up, they pray with you when you struggle, they open up their lives to the finest of scrutiny out of a more passionate love for you than some people share even with parents.\n\nCommunity has always been God’s tangible representation of many of His mysteries on earth. Though certainly not perfected, our relationships on earth are intended to point towards the Trinity, the future Kingdom, and Christ’s marriage to the Church. Throughout their history, God has used His people and their walk with Him to show the rest of the world how beautiful He is.\n\nThis sounds awesome as an idea, but are we really pursuing it in life?\n\nDo we care about the people around us at such a deep, deep level that, were a stranger to look at how we interact with and care for them, they would see a glimpse of the King?\n\nDo we set out with intention to push the ones we love towards the person God wants them to be, or do we shy away from talk of struggle and sin to avoid the possibility of an uncomfortable conversation?\n\nDo we view every relationship in our lives, from the acquaintance to the spouse, as a reflection of the love God has for both people involved, or do we invalidate that love and arrogantly assume that the more superficial relationships aren’t as important?\n\nIf Jesus stood right beside you while you spoke with your spouse, would you be able to look him in the eye and say that you love that person like He loves you?\n\nWhat about if He stood beside you while you ordered your morning coffee, interacting with the beautiful child of His that was preparing it?\n\nWhere in your life are you really loving like He loves you? Is it only in the situations where your love is given <em>reactively</em>, because the other person loves you? Or is it even in those situations where it is needed<em> proactively</em>, with no hope or expectation of love in return?\n\nCommunity is life lived without boundaries. No fences around your love, no walls around your care, no gates around your fellowship.\n\nWould you define the community of your life as a country club, open to some but not others, exclusive, selective? Or would you define it as a park, open and welcome to all, free from judgment, common and diverse?\n\nI give you a new commandment:\nLove one another;\njust as I have loved you,\nyou also must love one another. (John 13:34)\n\n<em>Photo Credit: Rosino</em>','Country Club Community','','inherit','open','open','','3798-autosave','','','2012-01-10 10:09:58','2012-01-10 18:09:58','',3798,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/08/3798-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(3801,1,'2012-01-08 08:26:35','2012-01-08 16:26:35','','cemetary_scene','','inherit','open','open','','cemetary_scene','','','2012-01-08 08:26:35','2012-01-08 16:26:35','',3558,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/cemetary_scene.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(3802,1,'2012-01-06 12:41:38','2012-01-06 20:41:38','My friend <a href=\"http://www.margaretfeinberg.com/\">Margaret Feinberg</a> wrote a book a few years ago called <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Sacred-Echo-Margaret-Feinberg/dp/0310274176/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1325731085&amp;sr=8-1\">The Sacred Echo</a> about those moments in life when God\'s trying to tell you something.  But He doesn\'t just say once; He repeats the same message over and over again.  I guess that\'s the only way He can get our attention sometimes.\r\n\r\nI\'m trying to develop a daily Bible reading plan using the Daily Office from the Book of Common Prayer. For my non-liturgical readers, the Daily Office has assigned scripture readings for each day: one from the Old Testament, one from an Epistle, and a Gospel reading.  A few days ago, the Old Testament reading was 1 Kings 19:1-8:\r\n\r\n<blockquote><em>\"Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, \'May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.\'</em>\r\n\r\n<em>Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. <span style=\"font-weight: bold\">\'I have had enough, LORD,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.\'</span> Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep.\" (1-5a, emphasis mine)</em></blockquote>\r\nSo here we have Elijah, on the lam from the princess Jezebel after killing off all of the pagan prophets. After a day\'s journey, he finds himself out in the wilderness, alone, tired, and fearing for his life. There\'s nowhere for him to go. Elijah has no other choice but to ask God to kill him.\r\n\r\nAnd if I can be totally honest with you, I\'ve been where Elijah is.\r\n\r\nOkay, so maybe not the part about slaughtering pagan prophets (call me a bleeding heart liberal, but I still cringe at mass killings in the Bible). But during this past year I\'ve asked God several times to kill me. Sometimes when I look ahead of me, all I see is more trouble and more struggles. Nothing ever gets resolved. It\'s all a never-ending cycle of shit. That\'s when I give God hell. <span style=\"font-style: italic\">Is this the \"abundant life\" you promised me? Bullshit! I\'m sick of this. I want out. Why won\'t you let me drink myself into oblivion? That\'s all I want.</span>\r\n\r\nBut God answers Elijah\'s prayer in an usual manner:\r\n<blockquote><em>\"All at once an angel touched him and said, <span style=\"font-weight: bold\">\'Get up and eat.\'</span> He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again.</em>\r\n\r\n<em>The angel of the LORD came back a second time and touched him and said, <span style=\"font-weight: bold\">\'Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.\'</span> So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God.\" (5b-8, emphasis mine)</em></blockquote>\r\nGod gives Elijah food and water instead of death. Elijah doesn\'t get his wish; instead, God gives him nourishment for the long journey ahead. And when I read that, I wondered if maybe God\'s doing the same with me. Maybe God has better plans for me than instant death. And--here\'s the amazing part--maybe God is actually with me helping me out when the journey gets tough.\r\n\r\nI guess I have to stick around a bit to find out.','Praying for Death','','inherit','open','open','','3558-revision-7','','','2012-01-06 12:41:38','2012-01-06 20:41:38','',3558,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/06/3558-revision-7/',0,'revision','',0),(3803,1,'2012-01-08 08:37:34','2012-01-08 16:37:34','','small_things','','inherit','open','open','','small_things','','','2012-01-08 08:37:34','2012-01-08 16:37:34','',3679,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/small_things.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(3804,1,'2012-01-06 18:25:29','2012-01-07 02:25:29','Choose your own adventure.\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">Growing up, I loved those books, and read them religiously.  I investigated every possible option, studied every twist and turn, until I was sure I exhausted every possible path available.  Sometimes the path ended in failure, other times with success.  As I was reading Margot Starbuck\'s book <em><a href=\"http://www.ivpress.com/cgi-ivpress/book.pl/code=3817\">Small Things With Great Love - Adventures In Loving Your Neighbor</a></em>, I couldn\'t help but be reminded of those books from my childhood.  To be fair, it was partially because that\'s the format Margot uses, but more because that\'s the theme she employs.</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">In most church communities, there is this committee, that committee, and even certain scripted mission opportunities for the congregants to be involved in.  For some, these may be the perfect fit, the opportunities that \'have our name\' on them.  But what about those of us who don\'t fit?  What about those of us who may be introverted or have young children or who, quite honestly, just aren\'t interested in what our church has to offer?</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">Margot has a suggestion.</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">Choose your own adventure.</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">It doesn\'t have to be as grandiose as moving halfway across the world to teach or farm.  But it can be.  It can be something as simple as getting to know child\'s friends\' family or the people who clean your office or as simple as buying an extra bottle of water or cup of coffee for someone.  All it takes, as Margot emphasizes, is keeping your eyes open.  In the book there are over 300 examples of people across genders, ages, incomes, and living environments who kept their eyes open and found opportunities to small things.  The best part about these examples is that not a single one has to do with \"bringing people to Christ\".  Instead, each and every example is simply a story about someone who found a way to walk in the way of Jesus and serve their fellow man.</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">At the end of the book, Margot sets out six suggestions for \"implementing some holy tweaking\".</p>\r\n\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li>Do it <em>simply.</em></li>\r\n	<li>Do it <em>creatively.</em></li>\r\n	<li>Do it <em>courageously.</em></li>\r\n	<li>Do it in <em>community.</em></li>\r\n	<li>Do it with <em>integrity.</em></li>\r\n	<li>Do it with <em>anticipation.</em></li>\r\n</ol>\r\n<div style=\"text-align: justify\">Overall, this is a great book for learning to see where opportunities that \"have your name on them\" may exist.  Margot\'s writing style and sense of humor make this an enjoyable and easy read.  I would definitely recommend this book for just about anyone with a desire to serve those who live outside the margins, but just aren\'t sure how they can.</div>\r\n<div style=\"text-align: justify\"></div>\r\n<div style=\"text-align: justify\"><strong>Disclaimer</strong>: Intervarsity Press provided a complimentary copy of this book to me.  I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions expressed are my own.   I am disclosing this in accordance with the <a title=\"Federal Trade Commission\" href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Trade_Commission\" rel=\"wikipedia\">Federal Trade Commission</a>’s 16 CFR, Part 255:“<a href=\"http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html\">Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.</a>”</div>','Book Review: Small Things With Great Love','','inherit','open','open','','3679-revision-2','','','2012-01-06 18:25:29','2012-01-07 02:25:29','',3679,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/06/3679-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(3805,1,'2012-01-08 08:38:24','2012-01-08 16:38:24','Choose your own adventure.\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Growing up, I loved those books, and read them religiously.  I investigated every possible option, studied every twist and turn, until I was sure I exhausted every possible path available.  Sometimes the path ended in failure, other times with success.  As I was reading Margot Starbuck\'s book <em><a href=\"http://www.ivpress.com/cgi-ivpress/book.pl/code=3817\">Small Things With Great Love - Adventures In Loving Your Neighbor</a></em>, I couldn\'t help but be reminded of those books from my childhood.  To be fair, it was partially because that\'s the format Margot uses, but more because that\'s the theme she employs.</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">In most church communities, there is this committee, that committee, and even certain scripted mission opportunities for the congregants to be involved in.  For some, these may be the perfect fit, the opportunities that \'have our name\' on them.  But what about those of us who don\'t fit?  What about those of us who may be introverted or have young children or who, quite honestly, just aren\'t interested in what our church has to offer?</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Margot has a suggestion.</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Choose your own adventure.</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">It doesn\'t have to be as grandiose as moving halfway across the world to teach or farm.  But it can be.  It can be something as simple as getting to know child\'s friends\' family or the people who clean your office or as simple as buying an extra bottle of water or cup of coffee for someone.  All it takes, as Margot emphasizes, is keeping your eyes open.  In the book there are over 300 examples of people across genders, ages, incomes, and living environments who kept their eyes open and found opportunities to small things.  The best part about these examples is that not a single one has to do with \"bringing people to Christ\".  Instead, each and every example is simply a story about someone who found a way to walk in the way of Jesus and serve their fellow man.</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">At the end of the book, Margot sets out six suggestions for \"implementing some holy tweaking\".</p>\r\n\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li>Do it <em>simply.</em></li>\r\n	<li>Do it <em>creatively.</em></li>\r\n	<li>Do it <em>courageously.</em></li>\r\n	<li>Do it in <em>community.</em></li>\r\n	<li>Do it with <em>integrity.</em></li>\r\n	<li>Do it with <em>anticipation.</em></li>\r\n</ol>\r\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Overall, this is a great book for learning to see where opportunities that \"have your name on them\" may exist.  Margot\'s writing style and sense of humor make this an enjoyable and easy read.  I would definitely recommend this book for just about anyone with a desire to serve those who live outside the margins, but just aren\'t sure how they can.</div>\r\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"></div>\r\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Disclaimer</strong>: Intervarsity Press provided a complimentary copy of this book to me.  I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions expressed are my own.   I am disclosing this in accordance with the <a title=\"Federal Trade Commission\" href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Trade_Commission\" rel=\"wikipedia\">Federal Trade Commission</a>’s 16 CFR, Part 255:“<a href=\"http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html\">Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.</a>”</div>','Book Review: Small Things With Great Love','','inherit','open','open','','3679-revision-3','','','2012-01-08 08:38:24','2012-01-08 16:38:24','',3679,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/08/3679-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(4070,1,'2012-01-15 13:00:27','2012-01-15 21:00:27','[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d15iaGyhWhQ[/youtube]\r\n\r\nParker Palmer explores the power of the human heart to stand up to injustice.\r\n<blockquote>Those movements were fomented by folks who had every external form of power taken away from then.  They had no status, they had no standing, they had no leverage. What they did was to access the only source of power that no one can take away from us, and that\'s the power of the human heart...the power of the soul, the power of identity and integrity.\r\n\r\nI think of about this sometimes as the Rosa Parks decision, or the Rosa Parks moment in life, where an apparently powerless person, an ordinary citizen say, \"I hold a truth on the inside that has power.  And the truth is that I\'m a full human being with all the rights and privileges pertaining there unto.  And I\'m no longer going to collaborate with a system that treats me as less than a full human being.</blockquote>\r\nHow does this statement speak to you?','Parker Palmer On The Power Of The Human Heart','','publish','open','open','','parker-palmer-on-the-power-of-the-human-heart','','','2012-01-15 10:17:48','2012-01-15 18:17:48','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=4070',0,'post','',2),(3807,63,'2012-01-15 10:14:24','2012-01-15 18:14:24','<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Illusion...</strong> the action of deceiving. The state or fact of being intellectually deceived or misled... an instance of such deception. <strong>Illusion</strong> is the perception of something objectively existing in such a way as to cause misinterpretation of its actual truth.<strong> Illusions</strong> are patterns capable of reversible perspective.</p>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.truthdig.com/chris_hedges\" target=\"_self\">Chris Hedges</a> in his book <a href=\"http://www.truthdig.com/arts_culture/item/20090730_book_excerpt_empire_of_illusion/\" target=\"_self\">Empire of Illusion</a> says this. \"<em> The flight to Illusion sweeps away the core values of an open society. It erodes the ability to think for oneself, to draw independent conclusions, to express dissent when judgement and common sense tell you something is wrong, to be self-critical, to challenge authority, to grasp historical facts, to advocate for change, to acknowledge there are other views, different ways, and structures of being that are morally and socially acceptable. A populace deprived of the ability to separate lies from the truth, that has become hostage to the fictional semblance of reality put forth by pseudo-events, is no longer capable of sustaining a free society.</em>\" (pg 52)\r\n\r\nAnd a bit further he talks about institutional hierarchies developing a highly specialized vocabulary. Chris Hedges remarks, \" <em>They organize learning around minutely specialized disciplines, narrow answers, and rigid structures designed to produce such answers.This vocabulary is the sign of the \" specialist \" and, of course, the elitist, thwarts universal understanding, It keeps the uninitiated from asking unpleasant questions. It destroys the search for common good. It dices disciplines, faculty, students and finally experts into tiny, specialized fragments. It allows students and faculty to retreat into these self-imposed fiefdoms and neglect the most pressing moral, political and cultural questions. Those who critique the system itself...are marginalized and shut out of the mainstream debate. </em>They refuses to question a self-justifying system.\" ( pg 90 ) ( <em>emphasis mine</em> )\r\n\r\nChris Hedges in his book is critiquing secular institutions and the illusions they create which like osmosis slowly cross the barrier in the collective mind of humanity where it becomes the perceived reality...the truth. I don\'t think Chris Hedges would find issue if I steered his musings into the religion of \" Christianity \" which in my mind if we follow Hedges line of thinking...is an Illusion.\r\n\r\nTo quote Chris Hedges again, \" <em>A populace deprived of the ability to separate lies from the truth, that has become hostage to the fictional semblance of reality put forth by pseudo-events, is no longer capable of sustaining a free society.\"</em>\r\n<em>\r\n</em>Christianity has become hostage to the illusion it created. It has lost the ability to separate lies from the truth...or where there was mystery it made illusion. It created a <em>pseudo-event</em>, an illusion in which to formulate rigid structures to produce narrow answers. A hierarchy that lives in self-imposed \" retreat \" neglecting the most pressing and urgent questions of our day...socially, economically, environmentally, culturally, militarily, globally, politically...and morally.\r\n\r\nMuch like in Jesus day, people were being held hostage to a religion of rigid structure that produced narrow answers. It was the religious elite, the moral authority policing the uninitiated creating barriers on every corner of life between everyday folk and God. I mean at this point God hadn\'t talked to anyone for some 400 years, and yet the religious elite still promote the illusion around the<em>pseudo-event</em> that keeps the structure standing and making them a living. It took Jesus to tear a hole in temple curtain saying, \" yoo hoo! nothing behind the curtain...God\'s not here.\"\r\n\r\nI just want to say...I am passionate about Jesus. I believe he was the God-man. I believe on the cross something so profound, so absolutely mind blowing, earth shattering, life changing...with the redemptive power and imagination that brought creation into being was there. It was an atomic explosion of cosmic proportion and we are still feeling the effects of its fall out today. But...do I have to believe the way you do, or to the <em>pseudo-event</em> that the religious elite enforce and protect?\r\n\r\nI just think the Illusion of Jesus christianity has created is perhaps more about the structure, it\'s narrow answers, it\'s moral authority as religious police than it is about Jesus and what he passionately lived and died for.\r\n\r\nIn the gospels, Jesus says, \" if you\'ve seen me...you\'ve seen the Father.\" Again, \" I only do and say what the Father does.\" Moses tucked into the cleft of a rock might have caught a passing glimpse of God as he passed. But, we, humanity has seen God in the flesh...he actually moved into the neighborhood for a while.\r\n<div>\r\n\r\nSo I mean what\'s going on, is there the crazy, bi-polar, Dr Jeckle and Mr Hyde, bad cop good cop...God as the crazy old man that one day decided to have a child and become a loving parent. I mean if the \" God \" is unchanging as we project him to be...he\'s all loving, or hell-bent on revenge. He can\'t be both.\r\n\r\nIs the God of the Old Testament consumed with fueling a human BBQ pit called \" Hell?\" And heavily invested in retirement real estate, like in my mother in-laws home town, called \" Paradise Lodge.\"\r\n\r\nIf you look close enough in the old book you\'ll see a strand and you\'ll pinch it between your fingers and pull. Keep pulling, it\'s long really long, and you\'ll find it entwines itself in the whole story. It is also wraps itself in Jesus, it makes up the very robe that Jesus clothes himself in. Take a close look at these words...\r\n<blockquote>\"The Lord is exalted\", proclaims Isaiah. \" He dwells on high; <strong>he filled Zion with <em>justice and righteousness</em></strong>.\" (33:5)\r\n\r\n\" I am the Lord \" announces Jeremiah in the name of God. \" I act with steadfast love, <strong><em>justice and righteousness </em>in the earth, for in these things I delight</strong>.\" (9:24)\r\n\r\nAgain Isaiah, \" Is such the fast I choose, a day to humble oneself? Is it to bow down the head like a bulrush, and lie is a sack cloth and ashes? Will you call this a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord? <strong>Is not this fast that I choose; to <em>break the bonds of injustice</em>, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin?</strong> (58:5-7)\r\n\r\nFrom Micah, \" <strong>He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you <em>but to do justice, and to love kindness</em>, and to walk humbly with your God</strong>. (6:6-8)\r\n\r\nLastly from Amos, \" I hate, I despise your festivals, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and the offerings of well-being of your fatted animals I will not look upon. Take away from me the noise of your songs; I will not listen to the melody of your harps. <strong>But <em>let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream</em></strong>. ( 5:21-24 )</blockquote>\r\nAm I missing something? It appears God is very passionate about justice and righteousness.\r\n\r\nThe<strong>illusion</strong> christianity has created is that about God as a Judge, laws must be enforced, and sentences against the guilty must be carried out...life sentences, solitary confinement and torture. It makes God so angry that you have to kill something, burn it to create a smoke screen to hide yourself from him...you had to keep feeding his wrath just to keep him happy. The idea of righteousness was the constant battle of keeping your clothes stainless, perfectly white...cleanliness is next to Godliness.\r\n\r\nBut if we look at that strand again we see the truth, God\'s justice is about the restoration of justice. It\'s as Isaiah sees it...It\'s about breaking the bonds of injustice in the world around us, its about the oppressed, the hungry, the homeless, the poor...its about all humanity. And righteousness is about like living, or lets go with what Micah says...and what does the Lord require of you <em>but to do justice, and to love kindness</em>, and to walk humbly with your God.\r\n\r\nYou could almost say this is what the fullness of humanity was meant to be.\r\n\r\nAnd then Jesus the God-man moves into our neighborhood, into the midst of humanity. The<strong>illusion</strong> christianity paints is, again it\'s all about morality, he\'s here to clean house...it\'s about believing, narrowed down to 2 choices...heaven, and hell.\r\n\r\nBut the reality, the truth is, Jesus starts telling these wild scandalous redemptive parables, mysteries to capture the imagination of humanity...to <strong>God\'s justice</strong>. It was not just loving your friends, it was about loving people you can\'t stand, people you hate...your enemies. It was not just making sure your rights were protected...it was about becoming a voice for the widow, the orphan, the most marginalized people around you. It was about forgiveness, seventy times seventy...it was scandalous. It was about setting the captives free. It was universal health insurance where as humanity we tried to heal everyone...not the ones who could afford to pay. It was the miracle of feeding the masses...to the point of sharing your last scrap of food knowing you\'d go hungry.  There was no in crowd; Jesus knocked down all fences, barriers and borders...as humanity we were one, and we were in this all together. And no one had ownership of God...it didn\'t matter where you worshipped...it was about doing it in a profound sense of truth. And well, <strong>right living, righteousness </strong>came down to...loving, God with all your heart, mind and soul...and loving your neighbor as yourself, almost echoing Micah\'s words.\r\n\r\nGod\'s <strong>Justice and Righteousness</strong> are about one thing, the very thing that cries of Jesus passion through out the gospels...that is the <strong>Kingdom</strong>.\r\n\r\nThe<strong> illusion</strong> of Christianity is to make Jesus\' life about <strong>heaven and hell</strong>. The <strong>reality</strong> is Jesus was consumed with the <strong>Kingdom</strong>...he lived in the profound mystery of it\'s redemptive reality constantly. If Jesus came to show us abundant life...living in the profound mystery of his parables, and acting them out as part of everyday life...this was what being human was about.\r\n\r\nThe pseudo-event is what christianity has created in the midst of the murder of Jesus...rather than sacrifice it as a cold calculated killing that is reflected in a parable Jesus told in Matthew 29...\r\n\r\nCould it be  much like the parable where after the vineyard owners have killed all the messengers…the master finally sends his own son.\r\n\r\nWe hear the story of a ( creator ) owner of a vineyard ( all creation ) who handed it over to tenants ( humanity ) and departed for a far country. When the time arrived for it to bear fruits ( the fullness of the Kingdom ), he sent his servants ( prophets ) to check on them, but the tenants ( humanity, the empire, religion ) beat some and killed others. Finally, the owner ( God ) sent his son ( Jesus ), saying, “Surely they will reverence my son.” But this was not the case. They laid hold of him, cast him out, and killed him.\r\n\r\nCould it be God, sends his son as humanity\'s last chance. At the game of life, God throws in all his chips to send his Son to finally reveal, and show humanity to live out the fullness of humanity in the Kingdom of God <strong>?</strong> We see this all through the parables in the gospels. Jesus passion is his Fathers passion...the voice of the prophets passion...the Kingdom of God.\r\n\r\nCould it be the same principalities and powers of darkness that have always roamed the earth, corrupted the empire of the day to inflict injustice, oppression...a life void of the abundant and just life that comes from being plugged into God <strong>?</strong> Could it be the empire deceived by the principalities and powers of darkness accused Jesus...and murdered Jesus <strong>?</strong>\r\n\r\nCould it be not so much a sacrifice for sin...but a horrid murder by the principalities and powers of darkness <strong>?</strong>\r\n\r\nCould it be on the cross, the principalities and powers of darkness were high-fiving each other that they had finally defeated the Kingdom of God. That now they would control the mind and imagination of humanity...this would be the new world order <strong>?</strong>\r\n\r\nCould it be Miraculously, God smashed his fist on the \" reset \" button of evolving creation and said \" Hell No!\" and in the pursuing after shocks the stone rolled away...and God resurrected Jesus and the Kingdom. The principalities and powers of darkness were finally conquered <strong>?</strong>\r\n\r\nSo, I think belief for me, moves me into the profound mystery of the cross, that Jesus did conquer death and evil ( the principalities and powers of darkness ) , and by faith, I move into the resurrection, I move into the radical scandalous life and teaching of Jesus found in the gospels. Through the spirit of God, that profound mystery is embedded in my DNA. It is no longer I that lives, but Jesus with in me.\r\n\r\nHere plugged into this new life, the new creation, the kingdom of God...he calls me, and humanity to be collaborators with him building his Kingdom now...and at the same time pointing to when the fullness of his Kingdom will come into being.\r\n\r\nIt\'s almost as if it is that answering of those profound words in Jesus prayer, \" Father, may your Kingdom come, on earth as in heaven.\" It is the profound redemptive mystery of God and humanity emerging into one.\r\n\r\n<strong>The Illusion of christianity\'s Jesus is sacrificing belief for heaven or Hell...the real Jesus is about living into the reality of the Kingdom.</strong>\r\n\r\n</div>','Selling The Illusionary Jesus...','','publish','open','open','','selling-the-illusionary-jesus','','','2012-01-10 10:24:28','2012-01-10 18:24:28','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=3807',0,'post','',0),(3808,63,'2012-01-08 09:16:07','2012-01-08 17:16:07','','315843_10150868947365156_817070155_21266051_964003517_n','','inherit','open','open','','315843_10150868947365156_817070155_21266051_964003517_n','','','2012-01-08 09:16:07','2012-01-08 17:16:07','',3807,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/315843_10150868947365156_817070155_21266051_964003517_n.jpeg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(3809,63,'2012-01-08 09:18:07','2012-01-08 17:18:07','<p style=\"text-align: left\"><a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/315843_10150868947365156_817070155_21266051_964003517_n.jpeg\"><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-3808\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/315843_10150868947365156_817070155_21266051_964003517_n.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"960\" height=\"720\" /></a></p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\"></p>','Selling the illusionary Jesus...','','inherit','open','open','','3807-revision','','','2012-01-08 09:18:07','2012-01-08 17:18:07','',3807,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/08/3807-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(3892,1,'2012-01-10 10:18:16','2012-01-10 18:18:16','<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Illusion...</strong> the action of deceiving. The state or fact of being intellectually deceived or misled... an instance of such deception. <strong>Illusion</strong> is the perception of something objectively existing in such a way as to cause misinterpretation of its actual truth.<strong> Illusions</strong> are patterns capable of reversible perspective.</p>\r\n\r\n<div>\r\n<div><a href=\"http://www.truthdig.com/chris_hedges\" target=\"_self\">Chris Hedges</a> in his book <a href=\"http://www.truthdig.com/arts_culture/item/20090730_book_excerpt_empire_of_illusion/\" target=\"_self\">Empire of Illusion</a> says this. \"<em> The flight to Illusion sweeps away the core values of an open society. It erodes the ability to think for oneself, to draw independent conclusions, to express dissent when judgement and common sense tell you something is wrong, to be self-critical, to challenge authority, to grasp historical facts, to advocate for change, to acknowledge there are other views, different ways, and structures of being that are morally and socially acceptable. A populace deprived of the ability to separate lies from the truth, that has become hostage to the fictional semblance of reality put forth by pseudo-events, is no longer capable of sustaining a free society.</em>\" ( pg 52 )</div>\r\n<div></div>\r\n<div>And a bit further he talks about institutional hierarchies developing a highly specialized vocabulary. Chris Hedges remarks, \" <em>They organize learning around minutely specialized disciplines, narrow answers, and rigid structures designed to produce such answers.This vocabulary is the sign of the \" specialist \" and, of course, the elitist, thwarts universal understanding, It keeps the uninitiated from asking unpleasant questions. It destroys the search for common good. It dices disciplines, faculty, students and finally experts into tiny, specialized fragments. It allows students and faculty to retreat into these self-imposed fiefdoms and neglect the most pressing moral, political and cultural questions. Those who critique the system itself...are marginalized and shut out of the mainstream debate. </em>They refuses to question a self-justifying system.\" ( pg 90 ) ( <em>emphasis mine</em> )</div>\r\n<div></div>\r\n<div>Chris Hedges in his book is critiquing secular institutions and the illusions they create which like osmosis slowly cross the barrier in the collective mind of humanity where it becomes the perceived reality...the truth. I don\'t think Chris Hedges would find issue if I steered his musings into the religion of \" Christianity \" which in my mind if we follow Hedges line of thinking...is an Illusion.</div>\r\n<div></div>\r\n<div>To quote Chris Hedges again, \" <em>A populace deprived of the ability to separate lies from the truth, that has become hostage to the fictional semblance of reality put forth by pseudo-events, is no longer capable of sustaining a free society.\"</em></div>\r\n<div><em>\r\n</em></div>\r\n<div>Christianity has become hostage to the illusion it created. It has lost the ability to separate lies from the truth...or where there was mystery it made illusion. It created a <em>pseudo-event</em>, an illusion in which to formulate rigid structures to produce narrow answers. A hierarchy that lives in self-imposed \" retreat \" neglecting the most pressing and urgent questions of our day...socially, economically, environmentally, culturally, militarily, globally, politically...and morally.</div>\r\n<div></div>\r\n<div>Much like in Jesus day, people were being held hostage to a religion of rigid structure that produced narrow answers. It was the religious elite, the moral authority policing the uninitiated creating barriers on every corner of life between everyday folk and God. I mean at this point God hadn\'t talked to anyone for some 400 years, and yet the religious elite still promote the illusion around the<em>pseudo-event</em> that keeps the structure standing and making them a living. It took Jesus to tear a hole in temple curtain saying, \" yoo hoo! nothing behind the curtain...God\'s not here.\"</div>\r\n<div></div>\r\n<div>I just want to say...I am passionate about Jesus. I believe he was the God-man. I believe on the cross something so profound, so absolutely mind blowing, earth shattering, life changing...with the redemptive power and imagination that brought creation into being was there. It was an atomic explosion of cosmic proportion and we are still feeling the effects of its fall out today. But...do I have to believe the way you do, or to the <em>pseudo-event</em> that the religious elite enforce and protect?</div>\r\n<div>I just think the Illusion of Jesus christianity has created is perhaps more about the structure, it\'s narrow answers, it\'s moral authority as religious police than it is about Jesus and what he passionately lived and died for.</div>\r\n<div></div>\r\n<div>In the gospels, Jesus says, \" if you\'ve seen me...you\'ve seen the Father.\" Again, \" I only do and say what the Father does.\" Moses tucked into the cleft of a rock might have caught a passing glimpse of God as he passed. But, we, humanity has seen God in the flesh...he actually moved into the neighborhood for a while.</div>\r\n<div></div>\r\n<div>So I mean what\'s going on, is there the crazy, bi-polar, Dr Jeckle and Mr Hyde, bad cop good cop...God as the crazy old man that one day decided to have a child and become a loving parent. I mean if the \" God \" is unchanging as we project him to be...he\'s all loving, or hell-bent on revenge. He can\'t be both.</div>\r\n<div></div>\r\n<div>Is the God of the Old Testament consumed with fueling a human BBQ pit called \" Hell?\" And heavily invested in retirement real estate, like in my mother in-laws home town, called \" Paradise Lodge.\"</div>\r\n<div></div>\r\n<div>If you look close enough in the old book you\'ll see a strand and you\'ll pinch it between your fingers and pull. Keep pulling, it\'s long really long, and you\'ll find it entwines itself in the whole story. It is also wraps itself in Jesus, it makes up the very robe that Jesus clothes himself in. Take a close look at these words...</div>\r\n<div>\r\n<blockquote>\"The Lord is exalted\", proclaims Isaiah. \" He dwells on high; <strong>he filled Zion with <em>justice and righteousness</em></strong>.\" ( 33:5 )\r\n\r\n\" I am the Lord \" announces Jeremiah in the name of God. \" I act with steadfast love, <strong><em>justice and righteousness </em>in the earth, for in these things I delight</strong>.\" ( 9:24 )\r\n\r\nAgain Isaiah, \" Is such the fast I choose, a day to humble oneself? Is it to bow down the head like a bulrush, and lie is a sack cloth and ashes? Will you call this a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord? <strong>Is not this fast that I choose; to <em>break the bonds of injustice</em>, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin?</strong> ( 58:5-7 )\r\n\r\nFrom Micah, \" <strong>He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you <em>but to do justice, and to love kindness</em>, and to walk humbly with your God</strong>. ( 6:6-8 )\r\n\r\nLastly from Amos, \" I hate, I despise your festivals, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and the offerings of well-being of your fatted animals I will not look upon. Take away from me the noise of your songs; I will not listen to the melody of your harps. <strong>But <em>let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream</em></strong>. ( 5:21-24 )</blockquote>\r\n</div>\r\n<div> Am I missing something? It appears God is very passionate about justice and righteousness. The<strong>illusion</strong> christianity has created is that about God as a Judge, laws must be enforced, and sentences against the guilty must be carried out...life sentences, solitary confinement and torture. It makes God so angry that you have to kill something, burn it to create a smoke screen to hide yourself from him...you had to keep feeding his wrath just to keep him happy. The idea of righteousness was the constant battle of keeping your clothes stainless, perfectly white...cleanliness is next to Godliness.</div>\r\n<div></div>\r\n<div>But if we look at that strand again we see the truth, God\'s justice is about the restoration of justice. It\'s as Isaiah sees it...It\'s about breaking the bonds of injustice in the world around us, its about the oppressed, the hungry, the homeless, the poor...its about all humanity. And righteousness is about like living, or lets go with what Micah says...and what does the Lord require of you <em>but to do justice, and to love kindness</em>, and to walk humbly with your God.</div>\r\n<div></div>\r\n<div>You could almost say this is what the fullness of humanity was meant to be.</div>\r\n<div></div>\r\n<div>And then Jesus the God-man moves into our neighborhood, into the midst of humanity. The<strong>illusion</strong> christianity paints is, again it\'s all about morality, he\'s here to clean house...it\'s about believing, narrowed down to 2 choices...heaven, and hell.</div>\r\n<div></div>\r\n<div>But the reality, the truth is, Jesus starts telling these wild scandalous redemptive parables, mysteries to capture the imagination of humanity...to <strong>God\'s justice</strong>. It was not just loving your friends, it was about loving people you can\'t stand, people you hate...your enemies. It was not just making sure your rights were protected...it was about becoming a voice for the widow, the orphan, the most marginalized people around you. It was about forgiveness, seventy times seventy...it was scandalous. It was about setting the captives free. It was universal health insurance where as humanity we tried to heal everyone...not the ones who could afford to pay. It was the miracle of feeding the masses...to the point of sharing your last scrap of food knowing you\'d go hungry.  There was no in crowd; Jesus knocked down all fences, barriers and borders...as humanity we were one, and we were in this all together. And no one had ownership of God...it didn\'t matter where you worshipped...it was about doing it in a profound sense of truth. And well, <strong>right living, righteousness </strong>came down to...loving, God with all your heart, mind and soul...and loving your neighbor as yourself, almost echoing Micah\'s words.</div>\r\n<div></div>\r\n<div>God\'s <strong>Justice and Righteousness</strong> are about one thing, the very thing that cries of Jesus passion through out the gospels...that is the <strong>Kingdom</strong>.</div>\r\n<div></div>\r\n<div>The<strong> illusion</strong> of Christianity is to make Jesus\' life about <strong>heaven and hell</strong>. The <strong>reality</strong> is Jesus was consumed with the <strong>Kingdom</strong>...he lived in the profound mystery of it\'s redemptive reality constantly. If Jesus came to show us abundant life...living in the profound mystery of his parables, and acting them out as part of everyday life...this was what being human was about.</div>\r\n<div></div>\r\n<div>The pseudo-event is what christianity has created in the midst of the murder of Jesus...rather than sacrifice it as a cold calculated killing that is reflected in a parable Jesus told in Matthew 29...</div>\r\n<div></div>\r\n<div>Could it be  much like the parable where after the vineyard owners have killed all the messengers…the master finally sends his own son.</div>\r\n<div></div>\r\n<div>We hear the story of a ( creator ) owner of a vineyard ( all creation ) who handed it over to tenants ( humanity ) and departed for a far country. When the time arrived for it to bear fruits ( the fullness of the Kingdom ), he sent his servants ( prophets ) to check on them, but the tenants ( humanity, the empire, religion ) beat some and killed others. Finally, the owner ( God ) sent his son ( Jesus ), saying, “Surely they will reverence my son.” But this was not the case. They laid hold of him, cast him out, and killed him.</div>\r\n<div></div>\r\n<div>Could it be God, sends his son as humanity\'s last chance. At the game of life, God throws in all his chips to send his Son to finally reveal, and show humanity to live out the fullness of humanity in the Kingdom of God <strong>?</strong> We see this all through the parables in the gospels. Jesus passion is his Fathers passion...the voice of the prophets passion...the Kingdom of God.</div>\r\n<div></div>\r\n<div>Could it be the same principalities and powers of darkness that have always roamed the earth, corrupted the empire of the day to inflict injustice, oppression...a life void of the abundant and just life that comes from being plugged into God <strong>?</strong> Could it be the empire deceived by the principalities and powers of darkness accused Jesus...and murdered Jesus <strong>?</strong></div>\r\n</div>\r\nCould it be not so much a sacrifice for sin...but a horrid murder by the principalities and powers of darkness <strong>?</strong>\r\n\r\nCould it be on the cross, the principalities and powers of darkness were high-fiving each other that they had finally defeated the Kingdom of God. That now they would control the mind and imagination of humanity...this would be the new world order <strong>?</strong>\r\n\r\nCould it be Miraculously, God smashed his fist on the \" reset \" button of evolving creation and said \" Hell No!\" and in the pursuing after shocks the stone rolled away...and God resurrected Jesus and the Kingdom. The principalities and powers of darkness were finally conquered <strong>?</strong>\r\n\r\nSo, I think belief for me, moves me into the profound mystery of the cross, that Jesus did conquer death and evil ( the principalities and powers of darkness ) , and by faith, I move into the resurrection, I move into the radical scandalous life and teaching of Jesus found in the gospels. Through the spirit of God, that profound mystery is embedded in my DNA. It is no longer I that lives, but Jesus with in me.\r\n\r\nHere plugged into this new life, the new creation, the kingdom of God...he calls me, and humanity to be collaborators with him building his Kingdom now...and at the same time pointing to when the fullness of his Kingdom will come into being.\r\n\r\nIt\'s almost as if it is that answering of those profound words in Jesus prayer, \" Father, may your Kingdom come, on earth as in heaven.\" It is the profound redemptive mystery of God and humanity emerging into one.\r\n\r\n<strong>The Illusion of christianity\'s Jesus is sacrificing belief for heaven or Hell...the real Jesus is about living into the reality of the Kingdom.</strong>','Selling The Illusionary Jesus...','','inherit','open','open','','3807-revision-6','','','2012-01-10 10:18:16','2012-01-10 18:18:16','',3807,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/10/3807-revision-6/',0,'revision','',0),(3810,63,'2012-01-08 09:19:08','2012-01-08 17:19:08','<p style=\"text-align: left\"><a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/315843_10150868947365156_817070155_21266051_964003517_n.jpeg\"><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-3808\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/315843_10150868947365156_817070155_21266051_964003517_n.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"960\" height=\"720\" /></a></p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\"></p>\n\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><strong>Illusion...</strong> the action of deceiving. The state or fact of being intellectually deceived or misled... an instance of such deception. <strong>Illusion</strong> is the perception of something objectively existing in such a way as to cause misinterpretation of its actual truth.<strong> Illusions</strong> are patterns capable of reversible perspective.</div>\n<div></div>\n<div></div>\n<div></div>\n</div>\n<div><a href=\"http://www.truthdig.com/chris_hedges\" target=\"_self\">Chris Hedges</a> in his book <a href=\"http://www.truthdig.com/arts_culture/item/20090730_book_excerpt_empire_of_illusion/\" target=\"_self\">Empire of Illusion</a> says this. \"<em> The flight to Illusion sweeps away the core values of an open society. It erodes the ability to think for oneself, to draw independent conclusions, to express dissent when judgement and common sense tell you something is wrong, to be self-critical, to challenge authority, to grasp historical facts, to advocate for change, to acknowledge there are other views, different ways, and structures of being that are morally and socially acceptable. A populace deprived of the ability to separate lies from the truth, that has become hostage to the fictional semblance of reality put forth by pseudo-events, is no longer capable of sustaining a free society.</em>\" ( pg 52 )</div>\n<div></div>\n<div></div>\n<div></div>\n<div>And a bit further he talks about institutional hierarchies developing a highly specialized vocabulary. Chris Hedges remarks, \" <em>They organize learning around minutely specialized disciplines, narrow answers, and rigid structures designed to produce such answers.This vocabulary is the sign of the \" specialist \" and, of course, the elitist, thwarts universal understanding, It keeps the uninitiated from asking unpleasant questions. It destroys the search for common good. It dices disciplines, faculty, students and finally experts into tiny, specialized fragments. It allows students and faculty to retreat into these self-imposed fiefdoms and neglect the most pressing moral, political and cultural questions. Those who critique the system itself...are marginalized and shut out of the mainstream debate. </em>They refuses to question a self-justifying system.\" ( pg 90 ) ( <em>emphasis mine</em> )</div>\n<div></div>\n<div></div>\n<div></div>\n<div>Chris Hedges in his book is critiquing secular institutions and the illusions they create which like osmosis slowly cross the barrier in the collective mind of humanity where it becomes the perceived reality...the truth. I don\'t think Chris Hedges would find issue if I steered his musings into the religion of \" Christianity \" which in my mind if we follow Hedges line of thinking...is an Illusion.</div>\n<div></div>\n<div></div>\n<div>To quote Chris Hedges again, \" <em>A populace deprived of the ability to separate lies from the truth, that has become hostage to the fictional semblance of reality put forth by pseudo-events, is no longer capable of sustaining a free society.\"</em></div>\n<div><em>\n</em></div>\n<div><em>\n</em></div>\n<div>Christianity has become hostage to the illusion it created. It has lost the ability to separate lies from the truth...or where there was mystery it made illusion. It created a <em>pseudo-event</em>, an illusion in which to formulate rigid structures to produce narrow answers. A hierarchy that lives in self-imposed \" retreat \" neglecting the most pressing and urgent questions of our day...socially, economically, environmentally, culturally, militarily, globally, politically...and morally.</div>\n<div></div>\n<div></div>\n<div></div>\n<div>Much like in Jesus day, people were being held hostage to a religion of rigid structure that produced narrow answers. It was the religious elite, the moral authority policing the uninitiated creating barriers on every corner of life between everyday folk and God. I mean at this point God hadn\'t talked to anyone for some 400 years, and yet the religious elite still promote the illusion around the<em>pseudo-event</em> that keeps the structure standing and making them a living. It took Jesus to tear a hole in temple curtain saying, \" yoo hoo! nothing behind the curtain...God\'s not here.\"</div>\n<div></div>\n<div></div>\n<div>I just want to say...I am passionate about Jesus. I believe he was the God-man. I believe on the cross something so profound, so absolutely mind blowing, earth shattering, life changing...with the redemptive power and imagination that brought creation into being was there. It was an atomic explosion of cosmic proportion and we are still feeling the effects of its fall out today. But...do I have to believe the way you do, or to the <em>pseudo-event</em> that the religious elite enforce and protect?</div>\n<div>I just think the Illusion of Jesus christianity has created is perhaps more about the structure, it\'s narrow answers, it\'s moral authority as religious police than it is about Jesus and what he passionately lived and died for.</div>\n<div></div>\n<div></div>\n<div></div>\n<div>In the gospels, Jesus says, \" if you\'ve seen me...you\'ve seen the Father.\" Again, \" I only do and say what the Father does.\" Moses tucked into the cleft of a rock might have caught a passing glimpse of God as he passed. But, we, humanity has seen God in the flesh...he actually moved into the neighborhood for a while.</div>\n<div></div>\n<div></div>\n<div>So I mean what\'s going on, is there the crazy, bi-polar, Dr Jeckle and Mr Hyde, bad cop good cop...God as the crazy old man that one day decided to have a child and become a loving parent. I mean if the \" God \" is unchanging as we project him to be...he\'s all loving, or hell-bent on revenge. He can\'t be both.</div>\n<div>Is the God of the Old Testament consumed with fueling a human BBQ pit called \" Hell?\" And heavily invested in retirement real estate, like in my mother in-laws home town, called \" Paradise Lodge.\"</div>\n<div>If you look close enough in the old book you\'ll see a strand and you\'ll pinch it between your fingers and pull. Keep pulling, it\'s long really long, and you\'ll find it entwines itself in the whole story. It is also wraps itself in Jesus, it makes up the very robe that Jesus clothes himself in. Take a close look at these words...</div>\n<div>\n<blockquote>\"The Lord is exalted\", proclaims Isaiah. \" He dwells on high; <strong>he filled Zion with <em>justice and righteousness</em></strong>.\" ( 33:5 )\n\n\" I am the Lord \" announces Jeremiah in the name of God. \" I act with steadfast love, <strong><em>justice and righteousness </em>in the earth, for in these things I delight</strong>.\" ( 9:24 )\n\nAgain Isaiah, \" Is such the fast I choose, a day to humble oneself? Is it to bow down the head like a bulrush, and lie is a sack cloth and ashes? Will you call this a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord? <strong>Is not this fast that I choose; to <em>break the bonds of injustice</em>, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin?</strong> ( 58:5-7 )\n\nFrom Micah, \" <strong>He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you <em>but to do justice, and to love kindness</em>, and to walk humbly with your God</strong>. ( 6:6-8 )\n\nLastly from Amos, \" I hate, I despise your festivals, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and the offerings of well-being of your fatted animals I will not look upon. Take away from me the noise of your songs; I will not listen to the melody of your harps. <strong>But <em>let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream</em></strong>. ( 5:21-24 )\n\n&nbsp;</blockquote>\n</div>\n<div> Am I missing something? It appears God is very passionate about justice and righteousness. The<strong>illusion</strong> christianity has created is that about God as a Judge, laws must be enforced, and sentences against the guilty must be carried out...life sentences, solitary confinement and torture. It makes God so angry that you have to kill something, burn it to create a smoke screen to hide yourself from him...you had to keep feeding his wrath just to keep him happy. The idea of righteousness was the constant battle of keeping your clothes stainless, perfectly white...cleanliness is next to Godliness.</div>\n<div></div>\n<div></div>\n<div></div>\n<div>But if we look at that strand again we see the truth, God\'s justice is about the restoration of justice. It\'s as Isaiah sees it...It\'s about breaking the bonds of injustice in the world around us, its about the oppressed, the hungry, the homeless, the poor...its about all humanity. And righteousness is about like living, or lets go with what Micah says...and what does the Lord require of you <em>but to do justice, and to love kindness</em>, and to walk humbly with your God.</div>\n<div></div>\n<div></div>\n<div>You could almost say this is what the fullness of humanity was meant to be.</div>\n<div></div>\n<div></div>\n<div>And then Jesus the God-man moves into our neighborhood, into the midst of humanity. The<strong>illusion</strong> christianity paints is, again it\'s all about morality, he\'s here to clean house...it\'s about believing, narrowed down to 2 choices...heaven, and hell.</div>\n<div></div>\n<div></div>\n<div></div>\n<div>But the reality, the truth is, Jesus starts telling these wild scandalous redemptive parables, mysteries to capture the imagination of humanity...to <strong>God\'s justice</strong>. It was not just loving your friends, it was about loving people you can\'t stand, people you hate...your enemies. It was not just making sure your rights were protected...it was about becoming a voice for the widow, the orphan, the most marginalized people around you. It was about forgiveness, seventy times seventy...it was scandalous. It was about setting the captives free. It was universal health insurance where as humanity we tried to heal everyone...not the ones who could afford to pay. It was the miracle of feeding the masses...to the point of sharing your last scrap of food knowing you\'d go hungry.  There was no in crowd; Jesus knocked down all fences, barriers and borders...as humanity we were one, and we were in this all together. And no one had ownership of God...it didn\'t matter where you worshipped...it was about doing it in a profound sense of truth. And well, <strong>right living, righteousness </strong>came down to...loving, God with all your heart, mind and soul...and loving your neighbor as yourself, almost echoing Micah\'s words.</div>\n<div></div>\n<div></div>\n<div></div>\n<div>God\'s <strong>Justice and Righteousness</strong> are about one thing, the very thing that cries of Jesus passion through out the gospels...that is the <strong>Kingdom</strong>.</div>\n<div></div>\n<div></div>\n<div></div>\n<div>The<strong> illusion</strong> of Christianity is to make Jesus\' life about <strong>heaven and hell</strong>. The <strong>reality</strong> is Jesus was consumed with the <strong>Kingdom</strong>...he lived in the profound mystery of it\'s redemptive reality constantly. If Jesus came to show us abundant life...living in the profound mystery of his parables, and acting them out as part of everyday life...this was what being human was about.</div>\n<div></div>\n<div></div>\n<div></div>\n<div>The pseudo-event is what christianity has created in the midst of the murder of Jesus...rather than sacrifice it as a cold calculated killing that is reflected in a parable Jesus told in Matthew 29...</div>\n<div>Could it be  much like the parable where after the vineyard owners have killed all the messengers…the master finally sends his own son.</div>\n<div></div>\n<div>\nWe hear the story of a ( creator ) owner of a vineyard ( all creation ) who handed it over to tenants ( humanity ) and departed for a far country. When the time arrived for it to bear fruits ( the fullness of the Kingdom ), he sent his servants ( prophets ) to check on them, but the tenants ( humanity, the empire, religion ) beat some and killed others. Finally, the owner ( God ) sent his son ( Jesus ), saying, “Surely they will reverence my son.” But this was not the case. They laid hold of him, cast him out, and killed him.</div>\n<div>\nCould it be God, sends his son as humanity\'s last chance. At the game of life, God throws in all his chips to send his Son to finally reveal, and show humanity to live out the fullness of humanity in the Kingdom of God <strong>?</strong> We see this all through the parables in the gospels. Jesus passion is his Fathers passion...the voice of the prophets passion...the Kingdom of God.</div>\n<div>\nCould it be the same principalities and powers of darkness that have always roamed the earth, corrupted the empire of the day to inflict injustice, oppression...a life void of the abundant and just life that comes from being plugged into God <strong>?</strong> Could it be the empire deceived by the principalities and powers of darkness accused Jesus...and murdered Jesus <strong>?</strong>\n\nCould it be not so much a sacrifice for sin...but a horrid murder by the principalities and powers of darkness <strong>?</strong>\n\nCould it be on the cross, the principalities and powers of darkness were high-fiving each other that they had finally defeated the Kingdom of God. That now they would control the mind and imagination of humanity...this would be the new world order <strong>?</strong>\n\nCould it be Miraculously, God smashed his fist on the \" reset \" button of evolving creation and said \" Hell No!\" and in the pursuing after shocks the stone rolled away...and God resurrected Jesus and the Kingdom. The principalities and powers of darkness were finally conquered <strong>?</strong>\n\nSo, I think belief for me, moves me into the profound mystery of the cross, that Jesus did conquer death and evil ( the principalities and powers of darkness ) , and by faith, I move into the resurrection, I move into the radical scandalous life and teaching of Jesus found in the gospels. Through the spirit of God, that profound mystery is embedded in my DNA. It is no longer I that lives, but Jesus with in me.\n\nHere plugged into this new life, the new creation, the kingdom of God...he calls me, and humanity to be collaborators with him building his Kingdom now...and at the same time pointing to when the fullness of his Kingdom will come into being.\n\nIt\'s almost as if it is that answering of those profound words in Jesus prayer, \" Father, may your Kingdom come, on earth as in heaven.\" It is the profound redemptive mystery of God and humanity emerging into one.</div>\n<strong>The Illusion of christianity\'s Jesus is sacrificing belief for heaven or Hell...the real Jesus is about living into the reality of the Kingdom.</strong>\n\n</div>\n<div></div>','Selling the illusionary Jesus...','','inherit','open','open','','3807-revision-2','','','2012-01-08 09:19:08','2012-01-08 17:19:08','',3807,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/08/3807-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(3811,63,'2012-01-08 09:20:19','2012-01-08 17:20:19','<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/315843_10150868947365156_817070155_21266051_964003517_n.jpeg\"><img class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-3808\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/315843_10150868947365156_817070155_21266051_964003517_n.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"576\" height=\"432\" /></a></p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left\"></p>\r\n\r\n<div>\r\n<div>\r\n<div><strong>Illusion...</strong> the action of deceiving. The state or fact of being intellectually deceived or misled... an instance of such deception. <strong>Illusion</strong> is the perception of something objectively existing in such a way as to cause misinterpretation of its actual truth.<strong> Illusions</strong> are patterns capable of reversible perspective.</div>\r\n<div></div>\r\n<div></div>\r\n<div></div>\r\n</div>\r\n<div><a href=\"http://www.truthdig.com/chris_hedges\" target=\"_self\">Chris Hedges</a> in his book <a href=\"http://www.truthdig.com/arts_culture/item/20090730_book_excerpt_empire_of_illusion/\" target=\"_self\">Empire of Illusion</a> says this. \"<em> The flight to Illusion sweeps away the core values of an open society. It erodes the ability to think for oneself, to draw independent conclusions, to express dissent when judgement and common sense tell you something is wrong, to be self-critical, to challenge authority, to grasp historical facts, to advocate for change, to acknowledge there are other views, different ways, and structures of being that are morally and socially acceptable. A populace deprived of the ability to separate lies from the truth, that has become hostage to the fictional semblance of reality put forth by pseudo-events, is no longer capable of sustaining a free society.</em>\" ( pg 52 )</div>\r\n<div></div>\r\n<div></div>\r\n<div></div>\r\n<div>And a bit further he talks about institutional hierarchies developing a highly specialized vocabulary. Chris Hedges remarks, \" <em>They organize learning around minutely specialized disciplines, narrow answers, and rigid structures designed to produce such answers.This vocabulary is the sign of the \" specialist \" and, of course, the elitist, thwarts universal understanding, It keeps the uninitiated from asking unpleasant questions. It destroys the search for common good. It dices disciplines, faculty, students and finally experts into tiny, specialized fragments. It allows students and faculty to retreat into these self-imposed fiefdoms and neglect the most pressing moral, political and cultural questions. Those who critique the system itself...are marginalized and shut out of the mainstream debate. </em>They refuses to question a self-justifying system.\" ( pg 90 ) ( <em>emphasis mine</em> )</div>\r\n<div></div>\r\n<div></div>\r\n<div></div>\r\n<div>Chris Hedges in his book is critiquing secular institutions and the illusions they create which like osmosis slowly cross the barrier in the collective mind of humanity where it becomes the perceived reality...the truth. I don\'t think Chris Hedges would find issue if I steered his musings into the religion of \" Christianity \" which in my mind if we follow Hedges line of thinking...is an Illusion.</div>\r\n<div></div>\r\n<div></div>\r\n<div>To quote Chris Hedges again, \" <em>A populace deprived of the ability to separate lies from the truth, that has become hostage to the fictional semblance of reality put forth by pseudo-events, is no longer capable of sustaining a free society.\"</em></div>\r\n<div><em>\r\n</em></div>\r\n<div><em>\r\n</em></div>\r\n<div>Christianity has become hostage to the illusion it created. It has lost the ability to separate lies from the truth...or where there was mystery it made illusion. It created a <em>pseudo-event</em>, an illusion in which to formulate rigid structures to produce narrow answers. A hierarchy that lives in self-imposed \" retreat \" neglecting the most pressing and urgent questions of our day...socially, economically, environmentally, culturally, militarily, globally, politically...and morally.</div>\r\n<div></div>\r\n<div></div>\r\n<div></div>\r\n<div>Much like in Jesus day, people were being held hostage to a religion of rigid structure that produced narrow answers. It was the religious elite, the moral authority policing the uninitiated creating barriers on every corner of life between everyday folk and God. I mean at this point God hadn\'t talked to anyone for some 400 years, and yet the religious elite still promote the illusion around the<em>pseudo-event</em> that keeps the structure standing and making them a living. It took Jesus to tear a hole in temple curtain saying, \" yoo hoo! nothing behind the curtain...God\'s not here.\"</div>\r\n<div></div>\r\n<div></div>\r\n<div>I just want to say...I am passionate about Jesus. I believe he was the God-man. I believe on the cross something so profound, so absolutely mind blowing, earth shattering, life changing...with the redemptive power and imagination that brought creation into being was there. It was an atomic explosion of cosmic proportion and we are still feeling the effects of its fall out today. But...do I have to believe the way you do, or to the <em>pseudo-event</em> that the religious elite enforce and protect?</div>\r\n<div>I just think the Illusion of Jesus christianity has created is perhaps more about the structure, it\'s narrow answers, it\'s moral authority as religious police than it is about Jesus and what he passionately lived and died for.</div>\r\n<div></div>\r\n<div></div>\r\n<div></div>\r\n<div>In the gospels, Jesus says, \" if you\'ve seen me...you\'ve seen the Father.\" Again, \" I only do and say what the Father does.\" Moses tucked into the cleft of a rock might have caught a passing glimpse of God as he passed. But, we, humanity has seen God in the flesh...he actually moved into the neighborhood for a while.</div>\r\n<div></div>\r\n<div></div>\r\n<div>So I mean what\'s going on, is there the crazy, bi-polar, Dr Jeckle and Mr Hyde, bad cop good cop...God as the crazy old man that one day decided to have a child and become a loving parent. I mean if the \" God \" is unchanging as we project him to be...he\'s all loving, or hell-bent on revenge. He can\'t be both.</div>\r\n<div>Is the God of the Old Testament consumed with fueling a human BBQ pit called \" Hell?\" And heavily invested in retirement real estate, like in my mother in-laws home town, called \" Paradise Lodge.\"</div>\r\n<div>If you look close enough in the old book you\'ll see a strand and you\'ll pinch it between your fingers and pull. Keep pulling, it\'s long really long, and you\'ll find it entwines itself in the whole story. It is also wraps itself in Jesus, it makes up the very robe that Jesus clothes himself in. Take a close look at these words...</div>\r\n<div>\r\n<blockquote>\"The Lord is exalted\", proclaims Isaiah. \" He dwells on high; <strong>he filled Zion with <em>justice and righteousness</em></strong>.\" ( 33:5 )\r\n\r\n\" I am the Lord \" announces Jeremiah in the name of God. \" I act with steadfast love, <strong><em>justice and righteousness </em>in the earth, for in these things I delight</strong>.\" ( 9:24 )\r\n\r\nAgain Isaiah, \" Is such the fast I choose, a day to humble oneself? Is it to bow down the head like a bulrush, and lie is a sack cloth and ashes? Will you call this a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord? <strong>Is not this fast that I choose; to <em>break the bonds of injustice</em>, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin?</strong> ( 58:5-7 )\r\n\r\nFrom Micah, \" <strong>He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you <em>but to do justice, and to love kindness</em>, and to walk humbly with your God</strong>. ( 6:6-8 )\r\n\r\nLastly from Amos, \" I hate, I despise your festivals, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and the offerings of well-being of your fatted animals I will not look upon. Take away from me the noise of your songs; I will not listen to the melody of your harps. <strong>But <em>let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream</em></strong>. ( 5:21-24 )\r\n\r\n&nbsp;</blockquote>\r\n</div>\r\n<div> Am I missing something? It appears God is very passionate about justice and righteousness. The<strong>illusion</strong> christianity has created is that about God as a Judge, laws must be enforced, and sentences against the guilty must be carried out...life sentences, solitary confinement and torture. It makes God so angry that you have to kill something, burn it to create a smoke screen to hide yourself from him...you had to keep feeding his wrath just to keep him happy. The idea of righteousness was the constant battle of keeping your clothes stainless, perfectly white...cleanliness is next to Godliness.</div>\r\n<div></div>\r\n<div></div>\r\n<div></div>\r\n<div>But if we look at that strand again we see the truth, God\'s justice is about the restoration of justice. It\'s as Isaiah sees it...It\'s about breaking the bonds of injustice in the world around us, its about the oppressed, the hungry, the homeless, the poor...its about all humanity. And righteousness is about like living, or lets go with what Micah says...and what does the Lord require of you <em>but to do justice, and to love kindness</em>, and to walk humbly with your God.</div>\r\n<div></div>\r\n<div></div>\r\n<div>You could almost say this is what the fullness of humanity was meant to be.</div>\r\n<div></div>\r\n<div></div>\r\n<div>And then Jesus the God-man moves into our neighborhood, into the midst of humanity. The<strong>illusion</strong> christianity paints is, again it\'s all about morality, he\'s here to clean house...it\'s about believing, narrowed down to 2 choices...heaven, and hell.</div>\r\n<div></div>\r\n<div></div>\r\n<div></div>\r\n<div>But the reality, the truth is, Jesus starts telling these wild scandalous redemptive parables, mysteries to capture the imagination of humanity...to <strong>God\'s justice</strong>. It was not just loving your friends, it was about loving people you can\'t stand, people you hate...your enemies. It was not just making sure your rights were protected...it was about becoming a voice for the widow, the orphan, the most marginalized people around you. It was about forgiveness, seventy times seventy...it was scandalous. It was about setting the captives free. It was universal health insurance where as humanity we tried to heal everyone...not the ones who could afford to pay. It was the miracle of feeding the masses...to the point of sharing your last scrap of food knowing you\'d go hungry.  There was no in crowd; Jesus knocked down all fences, barriers and borders...as humanity we were one, and we were in this all together. And no one had ownership of God...it didn\'t matter where you worshipped...it was about doing it in a profound sense of truth. And well, <strong>right living, righteousness </strong>came down to...loving, God with all your heart, mind and soul...and loving your neighbor as yourself, almost echoing Micah\'s words.</div>\r\n<div></div>\r\n<div></div>\r\n<div></div>\r\n<div>God\'s <strong>Justice and Righteousness</strong> are about one thing, the very thing that cries of Jesus passion through out the gospels...that is the <strong>Kingdom</strong>.</div>\r\n<div></div>\r\n<div></div>\r\n<div></div>\r\n<div>The<strong> illusion</strong> of Christianity is to make Jesus\' life about <strong>heaven and hell</strong>. The <strong>reality</strong> is Jesus was consumed with the <strong>Kingdom</strong>...he lived in the profound mystery of it\'s redemptive reality constantly. If Jesus came to show us abundant life...living in the profound mystery of his parables, and acting them out as part of everyday life...this was what being human was about.</div>\r\n<div></div>\r\n<div></div>\r\n<div></div>\r\n<div>The pseudo-event is what christianity has created in the midst of the murder of Jesus...rather than sacrifice it as a cold calculated killing that is reflected in a parable Jesus told in Matthew 29...</div>\r\n<div>Could it be  much like the parable where after the vineyard owners have killed all the messengers…the master finally sends his own son.</div>\r\n<div></div>\r\n<div>\r\nWe hear the story of a ( creator ) owner of a vineyard ( all creation ) who handed it over to tenants ( humanity ) and departed for a far country. When the time arrived for it to bear fruits ( the fullness of the Kingdom ), he sent his servants ( prophets ) to check on them, but the tenants ( humanity, the empire, religion ) beat some and killed others. Finally, the owner ( God ) sent his son ( Jesus ), saying, “Surely they will reverence my son.” But this was not the case. They laid hold of him, cast him out, and killed him.</div>\r\n<div>\r\nCould it be God, sends his son as humanity\'s last chance. At the game of life, God throws in all his chips to send his Son to finally reveal, and show humanity to live out the fullness of humanity in the Kingdom of God <strong>?</strong> We see this all through the parables in the gospels. Jesus passion is his Fathers passion...the voice of the prophets passion...the Kingdom of God.</div>\r\n<div>\r\nCould it be the same principalities and powers of darkness that have always roamed the earth, corrupted the empire of the day to inflict injustice, oppression...a life void of the abundant and just life that comes from being plugged into God <strong>?</strong> Could it be the empire deceived by the principalities and powers of darkness accused Jesus...and murdered Jesus <strong>?</strong>\r\n\r\nCould it be not so much a sacrifice for sin...but a horrid murder by the principalities and powers of darkness <strong>?</strong>\r\n\r\nCould it be on the cross, the principalities and powers of darkness were high-fiving each other that they had finally defeated the Kingdom of God. That now they would control the mind and imagination of humanity...this would be the new world order <strong>?</strong>\r\n\r\nCould it be Miraculously, God smashed his fist on the \" reset \" button of evolving creation and said \" Hell No!\" and in the pursuing after shocks the stone rolled away...and God resurrected Jesus and the Kingdom. The principalities and powers of darkness were finally conquered <strong>?</strong>\r\n\r\nSo, I think belief for me, moves me into the profound mystery of the cross, that Jesus did conquer death and evil ( the principalities and powers of darkness ) , and by faith, I move into the resurrection, I move into the radical scandalous life and teaching of Jesus found in the gospels. Through the spirit of God, that profound mystery is embedded in my DNA. It is no longer I that lives, but Jesus with in me.\r\n\r\nHere plugged into this new life, the new creation, the kingdom of God...he calls me, and humanity to be collaborators with him building his Kingdom now...and at the same time pointing to when the fullness of his Kingdom will come into being.\r\n\r\nIt\'s almost as if it is that answering of those profound words in Jesus prayer, \" Father, may your Kingdom come, on earth as in heaven.\" It is the profound redemptive mystery of God and humanity emerging into one.</div>\r\n<strong>The Illusion of christianity\'s Jesus is sacrificing belief for heaven or Hell...the real Jesus is about living into the reality of the Kingdom.</strong>\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n<div></div>','Selling the illusionary Jesus...','','inherit','open','open','','3807-revision-3','','','2012-01-08 09:20:19','2012-01-08 17:20:19','',3807,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/08/3807-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(3812,127,'2012-01-04 09:16:58','2012-01-04 17:16:58','The church: it’s a helluva way to run a railroad, but it’s his operation, not mine. It’s difficult to be in favor of the church when the church has let so many people down. The trail of disappointment leads right to our door, because each of us has experienced the failings of the church. Nearly everyone has stories of small-minded, mean-spirited people who use the church as an opportunity to act as if they are God’s gift to Christendom. So forget it. I give up. Jesus and I can hang out together at my house. I can meet him at Starbucks. Or the pub.\r\n\r\nAnd yet . . .\r\n\r\nJesus looked into the centuries and saw a bride. That very image seems to mock the church as we know it today. The scripture makes outrageous statements about the church--so outrageous I’m tempted not to believe them, because I’ve never experienced them. Like parenting, I marvel that Jesus would leave something so important in the hands of people so screwed up. Church Ladies of both sexes love to use Bible verse to beat us over the head:\r\n\r\nThat mouse-click sound you hear is people jumping off the train to some other topic way more fun and way less old-fashioned.\r\n\r\nBut wait . . .\r\n\r\nCan this blunt instrument of condemnation be redeemed? Is there more to this passage than a club for the small-minded to thump the rest of us? I believe so, because verse 25 does not stand alone, it lives among  a string of “Let Us” statements reaching back to Hebrews 10: 22:\r\n<blockquote>Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10: 22-25, there: that’s better!)</blockquote>\r\nInstead of allowing others to beat us over the head with just one verse, let’s consider the larger message of Hebrews 10. Five observations:\r\n\r\nLet us draw near to God (v 22): Jesus has done his part. Now it’s up to us to respond. “Draw near” is the first of the “let us” statements, and “meeting together” comes second to last. Do we see the connection? A word of caution: we should draw near with with a clean heart and a free conscience. Sometimes the criticisms we have of others are compounded by our own darkness and guilt. And not only our hearts: what about the darkness and guilt in others? We are commanded to draw near; we are not commanded to give in to guilt, manipulation or hype of the those who would use church life for their own purposes.\r\n\r\nLet us hold unswervingly to hope (23): Students of Jesus carry hope. We are called to speak words of hope. Imagine coming together with others filled with hope, each on eager to “profess” their hopes out loud. Hope is the real fuel of the church, but too often we are met with hype. It has to start somewhere: are we brave enough to carry hope into the church? The world knows the difference between hope and hype: one attracts, the other repels.\r\n\r\nLet us consider how we may spur one another on towards love and good deeds (v24): What a crazy image comes with the word, “spur.” Imagine a horseback rider giving her heels to the horse. Another translation suggests “provoke one another.” Here’s a crazy-evil Christian meditation: before I head for church I should ask, \"have I plotted some way to provoke others to love and good deeds?\" Conversely, who will be there to spur me on toward my calling to represent the grace of God? Remember, though--I’ve got a clean conscience and I’m not buying guilt, so the only way to provoke me is to demonstrate the real thing.\r\n\r\nLet us not give up meeting together (v25): Apparently there were reasons even back then to give up on the church, which means in our day we haven’t stumbled into some new revelation about jumping off the train. The additional challenge is the word, “meeting.” Church meetings back then may not resemble the form we have, but whatever it looked like it was regular and organized. When people say, “I don’t like organized religion,” what’s the alternative, disorganized religion? Do we think the Holy Spirit is incapable of organizing more than two or three people?\r\n\r\nLet us encourage one another (25): This final suggestion cuts to the heart of the matter--is your church a place of encouragement, or guilt? Does your church move in the vision of God’s awesome future or do they trade in hype that can’t last until Thursday? And of course, there’s the little matter of the word, “us.” Who carries the encouragement? Who has the vision? Do we go to church like we go to WalMart--to pick up inexpensive cheer--or do we go to church as the very vessels of hope and encouragement, ready to spill ourselves all over the place?\r\n\r\nI’d like to suggest that these five points are a call to move beyond blind obedience to a mere Bible verse. They are a call to vision, to move beyond following the rules of the Bible to capturing the heart of Jesus--and extending it to others--and yes, even others in the church. He sees something in the church we do not. Which one of us needs the eye exam?','Forget it, I\'m Going to the Pub','','inherit','open','open','','3564-revision-4','','','2012-01-04 09:16:58','2012-01-04 17:16:58','',3564,'http://provoketive.com/blog/2012/01/04/3564-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(5038,30,'2012-02-11 13:01:44','2012-02-11 21:01:44','This week, a dad <a title=\"Facebook Parenting: For the Troubled Teen\" href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&amp;v=kl1ujzRidmU\" target=\"_blank\">disciplined his daughter</a>. And at the time of me writing this piece, it has received over 14 million views.\n\nPersonally, I understand Hannah\'s father\'s frustration with being disrespected. There is nothing that gets me upset as a parent than when one of my children disrespects me or their father. It hurts any time that I see one of my children behaving in a way that is completely contrary to the way that I\'ve raised them, but there is a much deeper hurt that comes from being disrespected by my kids. If I found a letter like the one that Hannah posted on Facebook about her father, I would be profoundly upset. And if it happened more than once, I would be losing it big time.\n\nAs a result, I get why people are supporting the father. We\'re tired of seeing kids disrespect adults without consequence. We\'re tired of seeing kids sporting entitlement attitudes. We\'re ready to see parents take back parenting and expect more from their children. We\'re ready to see kids learn the value of hard work and respect. These are important values.\n\nThat said, I have concerns with the way this situation was handled. In the digital age, one of the things that most of try to instill in our kids is that the internet is forever. When our children post words or pictures or videos online, there is no way to get that content back. Even if it\'s something safe, we have no idea how it might be used by someone else. That is an important lesson and one that can\'t be emphasized enough when talking with our children. <a href=\"http://www.nacacnet.org/PublicationsResources/steps/Articles/Pages/MySpace.aspx\">Colleges and employers</a> are more and more likely to check your Facebook page or your Twitter feed or your blog for information about you as a person. Digital footprints are indelible.\n\nBut this dad (who is apparently an IT professional) has used the very public medium of YouTube to shame his daughter. He could have had this conversation with her at home. He could have read her letter to her aloud. He could have told her how to address the woman who works for them with more respect. He could have even shot her laptop in front of her. Instead, he wanted to be able to embarrass her in front of her friends the way that he felt he had been embarrassed in front of them. But this has gone far beyond her friends, and her shame has been made public.\n\nParenting in the midst of social media is new, and we need to be careful about how we do it. We become very accustomed to sharing every thought that we have with our followers and friends, so it\'s natural that when we\'re annoyed with our kids, we want to share that too. We want to blog about our bratty tween or post a quick tweet about our spoiled elementary aged kid or post a video where we teach our 15 year old a lesson.\n\nBut this isn\'t our right as parents. Our kids deserve to be treated with some level of dignity and when we malign our kids in public, we contribute to the culture that says that cyber-bull','Online Parenting','','inherit','open','open','','5034-revision-4','','','2012-02-11 13:01:44','2012-02-11 21:01:44','',5034,'http://provoketive.com/2012/02/11/5034-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(3814,63,'2012-01-08 23:43:54','2012-01-09 07:43:54','<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/315843_10150868947365156_817070155_21266051_964003517_n.jpeg\"><img class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-3808\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/315843_10150868947365156_817070155_21266051_964003517_n.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"576\" height=\"432\" /></a></p>\n\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><strong>Illusion...</strong> the action of deceiving. The state or fact of being intellectually deceived or misled... an instance of such deception. <strong>Illusion</strong> is the perception of something objectively existing in such a way as to cause misinterpretation of its actual truth.<strong> Illusions</strong> are patterns capable of reversible perspective.</div>\n<div></div>\n<div></div>\n<div></div>\n</div>\n<div><a href=\"http://www.truthdig.com/chris_hedges\" target=\"_self\">Chris Hedges</a> in his book <a href=\"http://www.truthdig.com/arts_culture/item/20090730_book_excerpt_empire_of_illusion/\" target=\"_self\">Empire of Illusion</a> says this. \"<em> The flight to Illusion sweeps away the core values of an open society. It erodes the ability to think for oneself, to draw independent conclusions, to express dissent when judgement and common sense tell you something is wrong, to be self-critical, to challenge authority, to grasp historical facts, to advocate for change, to acknowledge there are other views, different ways, and structures of being that are morally and socially acceptable. A populace deprived of the ability to separate lies from the truth, that has become hostage to the fictional semblance of reality put forth by pseudo-events, is no longer capable of sustaining a free society.</em>\" ( pg 52 )</div>\n<div></div>\n<div></div>\n<div></div>\n<div>And a bit further he talks about institutional hierarchies developing a highly specialized vocabulary. Chris Hedges remarks, \" <em>They organize learning around minutely specialized disciplines, narrow answers, and rigid structures designed to produce such answers.This vocabulary is the sign of the \" specialist \" and, of course, the elitist, thwarts universal understanding, It keeps the uninitiated from asking unpleasant questions. It destroys the search for common good. It dices disciplines, faculty, students and finally experts into tiny, specialized fragments. It allows students and faculty to retreat into these self-imposed fiefdoms and neglect the most pressing moral, political and cultural questions. Those who critique the system itself...are marginalized and shut out of the mainstream debate. </em>They refuses to question a self-justifying system.\" ( pg 90 ) ( <em>emphasis mine</em> )</div>\n<div></div>\n<div></div>\n<div></div>\n<div>Chris Hedges in his book is critiquing secular institutions and the illusions they create which like osmosis slowly cross the barrier in the collective mind of humanity where it becomes the perceived reality...the truth. I don\'t think Chris Hedges would find issue if I steered his musings into the religion of \" Christianity \" which in my mind if we follow Hedges line of thinking...is an Illusion.</div>\n<div></div>\n<div></div>\n<div>To quote Chris Hedges again, \" <em>A populace deprived of the ability to separate lies from the truth, that has become hostage to the fictional semblance of reality put forth by pseudo-events, is no longer capable of sustaining a free society.\"</em></div>\n<div><em>\n</em></div>\n<div><em>\n</em></div>\n<div>Christianity has become hostage to the illusion it created. It has lost the ability to separate lies from the truth...or where there was mystery it made illusion. It created a <em>pseudo-event</em>, an illusion in which to formulate rigid structures to produce narrow answers. A hierarchy that lives in self-imposed \" retreat \" neglecting the most pressing and urgent questions of our day...socially, economically, environmentally, culturally, militarily, globally, politically...and morally.</div>\n<div></div>\n<div></div>\n<div></div>\n<div>Much like in Jesus day, people were being held hostage to a religion of rigid structure that produced narrow answers. It was the religious elite, the moral authority policing the uninitiated creating barriers on every corner of life between everyday folk and God. I mean at this point God hadn\'t talked to anyone for some 400 years, and yet the religious elite still promote the illusion around the<em>pseudo-event</em> that keeps the structure standing and making them a living. It took Jesus to tear a hole in temple curtain saying, \" yoo hoo! nothing behind the curtain...God\'s not here.\"</div>\n<div></div>\n<div></div>\n<div>I just want to say...I am passionate about Jesus. I believe he was the God-man. I believe on the cross something so profound, so absolutely mind blowing, earth shattering, life changing...with the redemptive power and imagination that brought creation into being was there. It was an atomic explosion of cosmic proportion and we are still feeling the effects of its fall out today. But...do I have to believe the way you do, or to the <em>pseudo-event</em> that the religious elite enforce and protect?</div>\n<div>I just think the Illusion of Jesus christianity has created is perhaps more about the structure, it\'s narrow answers, it\'s moral authority as religious police than it is about Jesus and what he passionately lived and died for.</div>\n<div></div>\n<div></div>\n<div></div>\n<div>In the gospels, Jesus says, \" if you\'ve seen me...you\'ve seen the Father.\" Again, \" I only do and say what the Father does.\" Moses tucked into the cleft of a rock might have caught a passing glimpse of God as he passed. But, we, humanity has seen God in the flesh...he actually moved into the neighborhood for a while.</div>\n<div></div>\n<div></div>\n<div>So I mean what\'s going on, is there the crazy, bi-polar, Dr Jeckle and Mr Hyde, bad cop good cop...God as the crazy old man that one day decided to have a child and become a loving parent. I mean if the \" God \" is unchanging as we project him to be...he\'s all loving, or hell-bent on revenge. He can\'t be both.</div>\n<div>Is the God of the Old Testament consumed with fueling a human BBQ pit called \" Hell?\" And heavily invested in retirement real estate, like in my mother in-laws home town, called \" Paradise Lodge.\"</div>\n<div>If you look close enough in the old book you\'ll see a strand and you\'ll pinch it between your fingers and pull. Keep pulling, it\'s long really long, and you\'ll find it entwines itself in the whole story. It is also wraps itself in Jesus, it makes up the very robe that Jesus clothes himself in. Take a close look at these words...</div>\n<div></div>\n<div></div>\n<div>\n<blockquote>\"The Lord is exalted\", proclaims Isaiah. \" He dwells on high; <strong>he filled Zion with <em>justice and righteousness</em></strong>.\" ( 33:5 )\n\n\" I am the Lord \" announces Jeremiah in the name of God. \" I act with steadfast love, <strong><em>justice and righteousness </em>in the earth, for in these things I delight</strong>.\" ( 9:24 )\n\nAgain Isaiah, \" Is such the fast I choose, a day to humble oneself? Is it to bow down the head like a bulrush, and lie is a sack cloth and ashes? Will you call this a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord? <strong>Is not this fast that I choose; to <em>break the bonds of injustice</em>, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin?</strong> ( 58:5-7 )\n\nFrom Micah, \" <strong>He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you <em>but to do justice, and to love kindness</em>, and to walk humbly with your God</strong>. ( 6:6-8 )\n\nLastly from Amos, \" I hate, I despise your festivals, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and the offerings of well-being of your fatted animals I will not look upon. Take away from me the noise of your songs; I will not listen to the melody of your harps. <strong>But <em>let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream</em></strong>. ( 5:21-24 )\n\n&nbsp;</blockquote>\n</div>\n<div> Am I missing something? It appears God is very passionate about justice and righteousness. The<strong>illusion</strong> christianity has created is that about God as a Judge, laws must be enforced, and sentences against the guilty must be carried out...life sentences, solitary confinement and torture. It makes God so angry that you have to kill something, burn it to create a smoke screen to hide yourself from him...you had to keep feeding his wrath just to keep him happy. The idea of righteousness was the constant battle of keeping your clothes stainless, perfectly white...cleanliness is next to Godliness.</div>\n<div></div>\n<div></div>\n<div></div>\n<div>But if we look at that strand again we see the truth, God\'s justice is about the restoration of justice. It\'s as Isaiah sees it...It\'s about breaking the bonds of injustice in the world around us, its about the oppressed, the hungry, the homeless, the poor...its about all humanity. And righteousness is about like living, or lets go with what Micah says...and what does the Lord require of you <em>but to do justice, and to love kindness</em>, and to walk humbly with your God.</div>\n<div></div>\n<div></div>\n<div>You could almost say this is what the fullness of humanity was meant to be.</div>\n<div></div>\n<div></div>\n<div>And then Jesus the God-man moves into our neighborhood, into the midst of humanity. The<strong>illusion</strong> christianity paints is, again it\'s all about morality, he\'s here to clean house...it\'s about believing, narrowed down to 2 choices...heaven, and hell.</div>\n<div></div>\n<div></div>\n<div></div>\n<div>But the reality, the truth is, Jesus starts telling these wild scandalous redemptive parables, mysteries to capture the imagination of humanity...to <strong>God\'s justice</strong>. It was not just loving your friends, it was about loving people you can\'t stand, people you hate...your enemies. It was not just making sure your rights were protected...it was about becoming a voice for the widow, the orphan, the most marginalized people around you. It was about forgiveness, seventy times seventy...it was scandalous. It was about setting the captives free. It was universal health insurance where as humanity we tried to heal everyone...not the ones who could afford to pay. It was the miracle of feeding the masses...to the point of sharing your last scrap of food knowing you\'d go hungry.  There was no in crowd; Jesus knocked down all fences, barriers and borders...as humanity we were one, and we were in this all together. And no one had ownership of God...it didn\'t matter where you worshipped...it was about doing it in a profound sense of truth. And well, <strong>right living, righteousness </strong>came down to...loving, God with all your heart, mind and soul...and loving your neighbor as yourself, almost echoing Micah\'s words.</div>\n<div></div>\n<div></div>\n<div></div>\n<div>God\'s <strong>Justice and Righteousness</strong> are about one thing, the very thing that cries of Jesus passion through out the gospels...that is the <strong>Kingdom</strong>.</div>\n<div></div>\n<div></div>\n<div></div>\n<div>The<strong> illusion</strong> of Christianity is to make Jesus\' life about <strong>heaven and hell</strong>. The <strong>reality</strong> is Jesus was consumed with the <strong>Kingdom</strong>...he lived in the profound mystery of it\'s redemptive reality constantly. If Jesus came to show us abundant life...living in the profound mystery of his parables, and acting them out as part of everyday life...this was what being human was about.</div>\n<div></div>\n<div></div>\n<div></div>\n<div>The pseudo-event is what christianity has created in the midst of the murder of Jesus...rather than sacrifice it as a cold calculated killing that is reflected in a parable Jesus told in Matthew 29...</div>\n<div>Could it be  much like the parable where after the vineyard owners have killed all the messengers…the master finally sends his own son.</div>\n<div></div>\n<div>We hear the story of a ( creator ) owner of a vineyard ( all creation ) who handed it over to tenants ( humanity ) and departed for a far country. When the time arrived for it to bear fruits ( the fullness of the Kingdom ), he sent his servants ( prophets ) to check on them, but the tenants ( humanity, the empire, religion ) beat some and killed others. Finally, the owner ( God ) sent his son ( Jesus ), saying, “Surely they will reverence my son.” But this was not the case. They laid hold of him, cast him out, and killed him.</div>\n<div>Could it be God, sends his son as humanity\'s last chance. At the game of life, God throws in all his chips to send his Son to finally reveal, and show humanity to live out the fullness of humanity in the Kingdom of God <strong>?</strong> We see this all through the parables in the gospels. Jesus passion is his Fathers passion...the voice of the prophets passion...the Kingdom of God.</div>\n<div>Could it be the same principalities and powers of darkness that have always roamed the earth, corrupted the empire of the day to inflict injustice, oppression...a life void of the abundant and just life that comes from being plugged into God <strong>?</strong> Could it be the empire deceived by the principalities and powers of darkness accused Jesus...and murdered Jesus <strong>?</strong></div>\n</div>\nCould it be not so much a sacrifice for sin...but a horrid murder by the principalities and powers of darkness <strong>?</strong>\n\nCould it be on the cross, the principalities and powers of darkness were high-fiving each other that they had finally defeated the Kingdom of God. That now they would control the mind and imagination of humanity...this would be the new world order <strong>?</strong>\n\nCould it be Miraculously, God smashed his fist on the \" reset \" button of evolving creation and said \" Hell No!\" and in the pursuing after shocks the stone rolled away...and God resurrected Jesus and the Kingdom. The principalities and powers of darkness were finally conquered <strong>?</strong>\n\nSo, I think belief for me, moves me into the profound mystery of the cross, that Jesus did conquer death and evil ( the principalities and powers of darkness ) , and by faith, I move into the resurrection, I move into the radical scandalous life and teaching of Jesus found in the gospels. Through the spirit of God, that profound mystery is embedded in my DNA. It is no longer I that lives, but Jesus with in me.\n\nHere plugged into this new life, the new creation, the kingdom of God...he calls me, and humanity to be collaborators with him building his Kingdom now...and at the same time pointing to when the fullness of his Kingdom will come into being.\n\nIt\'s almost as if it is that answering of those profound words in Jesus prayer, \" Father, may your Kingdom come, on earth as in heaven.\" It is the profound redemptive mystery of God and humanity emerging into one.\n\n<strong>The Illusion of christianity\'s Jesus is sacrificing belief for heaven or Hell...the real Jesus is about living into the reality of the Kingdom.</strong>\n<div></div>','Selling the illusionary Jesus...','','inherit','open','open','','3807-revision-4','','','2012-01-08 23:43:54','2012-01-09 07:43:54','',3807,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/08/3807-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(3815,0,'2012-01-09 00:02:33','2012-01-09 08:02:33','Hi Jonathon,\r\n    Just submitting my blog, and I just submitted another article and wondering if you would mind adding my name to the writers list.\r\n\r\nMuch Love and Peace...Ron Cole\n<!--more-->\nAUTHOR: ron cole\nAUTHOR EMAIL: labmanster@gmail.com\nAUTHOR URL: http://thewearypilgrim.typepad.com\nSUBJECT: [Provoketive Magazine] Blog List\nIP: 24.68.68.41\nArray\n(\n    [Name] =&gt; ron cole\n    [Email] =&gt; labmanster@gmail.com\n    [Website] =&gt; http://thewearypilgrim.typepad.com\n    [Comment] =&gt; Hi Jonathon,\r\n    Just submitting my blog, and I just submitted another article and wondering if you would mind adding my name to the writers list.\r\n\r\nMuch Love and Peace...Ron Cole\n)\n','ron cole - 2012-01-09 00:02:33','','publish','open','open','','48f7cb05f9f13bae28316b1abfb63177','','','2012-01-09 00:02:33','2012-01-09 08:02:33','',683,'http://provoketive.com/?post_type=feedback&p=3815',0,'feedback','',0),(3816,1,'2012-01-09 00:15:24','2012-01-09 08:15:24','','Ron Cole','','publish','open','open','','ron-cole','','','2012-12-18 12:55:04','2012-12-18 20:55:04','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=3816',15,'nav_menu_item','',0),(3817,1,'2012-01-09 00:18:08','2012-01-09 08:18:08','','Google+','','publish','open','open','','google','','','2012-01-09 00:18:08','2012-01-09 08:18:08','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=3817',2,'nav_menu_item','',0),(3818,0,'2012-01-09 08:28:45','2012-01-09 16:28:45','Authenticity\n<!--more-->\nAUTHOR: Hugh Hollowell\nAUTHOR EMAIL: hughlh@gmail.com\nAUTHOR URL: http://hughlh.com\nSUBJECT: Provoketive Magazine Writing For Provoketive\nIP: 24.88.253.61\nArray\n(\n    [Name] =&gt; Hugh Hollowell\n    [Email] =&gt; hughlh@gmail.com\n    [Existing Blog or Website] =&gt; http://hughlh.com\n    [List the topic you are interested writing about] =&gt; Authenticity\n    [Current or New WordPress Login Name (We\'ll send you a password.)] =&gt; hughlh\n)\n','Hugh Hollowell - 2012-01-09 08:28:45','','publish','open','open','','6943ebc3ae91efd877dddbe905aa1e9b','','','2012-01-09 08:28:45','2012-01-09 16:28:45','',358,'http://provoketive.com/?post_type=feedback&p=3818',0,'feedback','',0),(3819,1,'2012-01-07 10:41:49','2012-01-07 18:41:49','[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ei6JvK0W60I[/youtube]\r\n\r\nThe images prevalent in a society or culture seem to reflect an idea of what the people in said society identify with as being valuable. If I show you an image deemed valuable long enough, get you to hear about it enough, you are likely to but into it. The images this beautiful girl is exposed to is this video reflect the ideas of what the media wants us to buy into. This is beneficial to them to get society to want to reflect or be this image, hence to purchase there products.\r\n\r\nGrocery store check outs, commercials, music videos and reality TV shows are full of people and products glamorizing the body, sex and anything related to pleasure. It appears to not be much different then a national geographic show on the mating rituals of most species of animals. Those with the best perceived genes and body get the most ladies, more sex, more food and dominance. That world works great for people who believe that is what they are.\r\n\r\nIf you have any spiritual value within you it is likely these images do not settle well within you. By asking some simple questions we can expose areas we have energized and identified with. Not as a means to judge, but to simple observe a paradigm.\r\n\r\nAre the images in the video real?\r\nIs your body the key to getting what you want?\r\nLook in the mirror at the face and body, do you love what you see?\r\nIs attraction to others/things and the desire to \'get\' the main motivator\'s of our lives?\r\n\r\nLet\'s bring some clarity to these questions by defining the difference between beauty and glamour.\r\nBeauty - That which you are.\r\nGlamour - That which you are trying to be something else in order to get a desired thing or outcome.\r\n\r\n<strong>Glamour uses seduction as a mean of attracting to itself a desired object that\'s value is projected onto it as a source of happiness</strong>.\r\n\r\nThe true source of happiness stems from within, the desire cannot be satisfied because it constantly projects value onto external things.  One\'s desires get fulfilled, the focus then moves on to another object of desire with endless procession.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Relate-101.jpg\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-3643\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Relate-101-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" /></a>This body image value system doesn\'t or will not change because we get upset and boycott these images. It changes by one\'s ability to ask the tough questions, to search for answers that are not found \'out there.\'\r\n\r\n<strong>I cannot be seduced by an image if I know what I am.</strong>\r\n\r\nLook in the mirror, do you love what you see?\r\nDo you smile at that image knowing it is what you have not what you are?\r\n\r\nA few years ago my wife and I were going through a trying time. I was completely honest and open with her about my life and they things that were running it. I told her that I did not need her to be my mom, or seductress anymore. I was detaching from her a pushing her away. I was projecting my fear of being controlled onto her so I could have an excuse for being afraid. Every morning I ascended a beautiful mountain at sunrise as a way of contemplating what really mattered to me. One morning on the way up I was holding my wife in mind asking for help with our situation. I cannot explain very well what happened next, but I will do my best.\r\n\r\nI suddenly found myself in an overwhelming presence of Love and Beauty. I then within saw my wife as she Is. Without a past or future, without my feelings about her, she simply was Beauty manifested, Lovely, Perfect and One. I saw that she had put on a mask to relate to me, she had chosen to serve my false image giving it the Grace and safety it needed to dissolve.\r\n\r\nI ran down the mountain into our home and straight to my wife. I grabbed her hands and I began to tell her about what I had realized. I asked her to forgive me for making her the enemy. I thanked her for staying true and walking me through my shit.  As I was saying these things I began to notice a very strong fragrance in the room. I asked her if she had lit a candle. She told me no, we both began to breathe in this beautiful fragrance. It then dawned on me, this is her, this smell is Beauty being seen as it is. We both wept and laughed realizing the drama I had created was nothing more than my attempts to control what can never be controlled.\r\n\r\n<strong>Fear is the only thing that seeks acceptance, Love knows by being what it is. So what are you?</strong>\r\n\r\n[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYhCn0jf46U[/youtube]','Am I That?','','inherit','open','open','','3641-revision-12','','','2012-01-07 10:41:49','2012-01-07 18:41:49','',3641,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/07/3641-revision-12/',0,'revision','',0),(3820,1,'2012-01-09 09:26:13','2012-01-09 17:26:13','','body_measure','','inherit','open','open','','body_measure','','','2012-01-09 09:26:13','2012-01-09 17:26:13','',3641,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/body_measure.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(3821,1,'2012-01-09 09:15:18','2012-01-09 17:15:18','[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ei6JvK0W60I[/youtube]\r\n\r\nThe images prevalent in a society or culture seem to reflect an idea of what the people in said society identify with as being valuable. If I show you an image deemed valuable long enough, get you to hear about it enough, you are likely to but into it. The images this beautiful girl is exposed to is this video reflect the ideas of what the media wants us to buy into. This is beneficial to them to get society to want to reflect or be this image, hence to purchase there products.\r\n\r\nGrocery store check outs, commercials, music videos and reality TV shows are full of people and products glamorizing the body, sex and anything related to pleasure. It appears to not be much different then a national geographic show on the mating rituals of most species of animals. Those with the best perceived genes and body get the most ladies, more sex, more food and dominance. That world works great for people who believe that is what they are.\r\n\r\nIf you have any spiritual value within you it is likely these images do not settle well within you. By asking some simple questions we can expose areas we have energized and identified with. Not as a means to judge, but to simple observe a paradigm.\r\n\r\nAre the images in the video real?\r\nIs your body the key to getting what you want?\r\nLook in the mirror at the face and body, do you love what you see?\r\nIs attraction to others/things and the desire to \'get\' the main motivator\'s of our lives?\r\n\r\nLet\'s bring some clarity to these questions by defining the difference between beauty and glamour.\r\nBeauty - That which you are.\r\nGlamour - That which you are trying to be something else in order to get a desired thing or outcome.\r\n\r\n<strong>Glamour uses seduction as a mean of attracting to itself a desired object that\'s value is projected onto it as a source of happiness</strong>.\r\n\r\nThe true source of happiness stems from within, the desire cannot be satisfied because it constantly projects value onto external things.  One\'s desires get fulfilled, the focus then moves on to another object of desire with endless procession.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Relate-101.jpg\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-3643\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Relate-101-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" /></a>This body image value system doesn\'t or will not change because we get upset and boycott these images. It changes by one\'s ability to ask the tough questions, to search for answers that are not found \'out there.\'\r\n\r\n<strong>I cannot be seduced by an image if I know what I am.</strong>\r\n\r\nLook in the mirror, do you love what you see?\r\nDo you smile at that image knowing it is what you have not what you are?\r\n\r\nA few years ago my wife and I were going through a trying time. I was completely honest and open with her about my life and they things that were running it. I told her that I did not need her to be my mom, or seductress anymore. I was detaching from her a pushing her away. I was projecting my fear of being controlled onto her so I could have an excuse for being afraid. Every morning I ascended a beautiful mountain at sunrise as a way of contemplating what really mattered to me. One morning on the way up I was holding my wife in mind asking for help with our situation. I cannot explain very well what happened next, but I will do my best.\r\n\r\nI suddenly found myself in an overwhelming presence of Love and Beauty. I then within saw my wife as she Is. Without a past or future, without my feelings about her, she simply was Beauty manifested, Lovely, Perfect and One. I saw that she had put on a mask to relate to me, she had chosen to serve my false image giving it the Grace and safety it needed to dissolve.\r\n\r\nI ran down the mountain into our home and straight to my wife. I grabbed her hands and I began to tell her about what I had realized. I asked her to forgive me for making her the enemy. I thanked her for staying true and walking me through my shit.  As I was saying these things I began to notice a very strong fragrance in the room. I asked her if she had lit a candle. She told me no, we both began to breathe in this beautiful fragrance. It then dawned on me, this is her, this smell is Beauty being seen as it is. We both wept and laughed realizing the drama I had created was nothing more than my attempts to control what can never be controlled.\r\n\r\n<strong>Fear is the only thing that seeks acceptance, Love knows by being what it is. So what are you?</strong>\r\n\r\n[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYhCn0jf46U[/youtube]','Is Your Body The Key To Getting What You want?','','inherit','open','open','','3641-revision-13','','','2012-01-09 09:15:18','2012-01-09 17:15:18','',3641,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/09/3641-revision-13/',0,'revision','',0),(3822,1,'2012-01-07 13:26:49','2012-01-07 21:26:49','We want . . .\r\n\r\nto be a church that weighs deeply the suffering of the world; that mourns it, contemplates it, and takes responsibility for it by contributing in some way and somehow to systemic change – politically, economically, and culturally – both locally and globally.\r\n\r\nto be a church that extends healing and forgiveness by first recognizing our own need for healing and forgiveness.\r\n\r\nto be a church that confesses individual sins and constantly calls for repentance; but in recognition of the costliness of social and structural sin, does not overemphasis or reduce sin to the personal-“private” level.\r\n\r\nto be a church that is constantly journeying on the path of discipleship and transformation while inviting others into the same journey.\r\n\r\nto be a church that honors both the revelation <em>and</em> mystery of God, guarding against the idolatrous distractions of human-centeredness and otherworldliness respectively.\r\n\r\nto be a church that does not hesitate to profess that Jesus is Lord, but that, in faith, humbly prepares a place at the table for the non-Christian and religious other and consistently articulates eschatological hope for everyone.\r\n\r\nto be a church that does not fear – fear the consequences of prophetic action, speaking truth to power, or the risks that come from making real material sacrifices for the cause of God’s justice.\r\n\r\nto be a church that does not take itself too seriously and spends time resting, laughing and enjoying the simple pleasures and gifts of life.\r\n\r\nto be a church that does not worry about money – not because it doesn\'t matter or isn\'t needed, but because we do not organize and establish ourselves in such a way that requires utter dependence on it.\r\n\r\nto be a church that is structured to actually direct a sacrificial portion of its resources <em>not</em> toward its own institutional preservation and vertical growth but toward the needs of others.\r\n\r\nto be a church that is led by the work of the people, where leadership is both democratized and earned and where the reproduction and training of new leaders is not outsourced to higher education professionals.\r\n\r\nto be a church that proclaims the gospel but does not try to control it, where theological authority is shared and open, marked by generous and deep orthodoxy.<em></em>\r\n\r\nto be a church that is intentional, patient, and unbusy; that does not over-plan or compete with other churches to attract new members, but that at the same time strives to live contagiously and make disciples.\r\n\r\nto be a church that reaches out relationally and focus on true friendship; that builds trust with neighbors and works together with community partners to better society.\r\n\r\nto be a church that does not mistake the meaning of counter-culturalism with culture warfare, and that instead seeks to subvert the status quo by implementing revolutionary social practices.\r\n\r\nto be a church that loves God and worships out of an authentic place of awe and appreciation for who God is – a God who has given us good news; who is righteous, just, gracious, sovereign, and desires redemption for all.\r\n\r\nIn sum, we want to be a church that loves, and that in doing so, participates passionately and faithfully in the Holy Spirit’s already-enacted mission and ministry of reconciliation for the coming of the Kingdom of God.\r\n\r\nIn a sense, this is just my list.  But I didn\'t write it alone, and I want it to be <em>ours</em>.  Maybe you can relate, have concerns, or other hopes and prayers.','The Church in 2012 and Beyond','','inherit','open','open','','3551-revision-9','','','2012-01-07 13:26:49','2012-01-07 21:26:49','',3551,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/07/3551-revision-9/',0,'revision','',0),(3823,1,'2012-01-07 14:10:58','2012-01-07 22:10:58','The title of this article is a quote from the film <a href=\"http://www.tuckermax.com/movie\"><em>I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell</em></a>, a crude movie about the escapades of Tucker Max.  I should note here that I haven\'t seen the film; I found the quote on a blog about rape culture.  Sadly, though it may be phrased more politely, far too many men echo the sentiment of the quote.  They are eager to blame women for their lack of sexual self-control.  One young man recently told me, \"What girls don\'t get is that if they dress a certain way, guys are going to <em>treat</em> them a certain way.\"\r\n\r\nI\'m crying baloney on that one.  Men have been using their sexuality to dominate women for thousands of years.  It has nothing to do with what women put on their bodies.  If it did, then rape wouldn\'t exist in cultures where women are covered head-to-toe.  And if it were about modesty, then we shouldn\'t have had rape in America before the turn of the century (excluding prostitutes, of course).  I don\'t know about anyone else, but I am sick to death of hearing about how a woman was to blame for the way a man treated her, based on whatever he deems \"leading.\"\r\n\r\nI\'m also tired of the way that too many churches teach this as faith-based sexuality.  Girls are shamed for dressing \"inappropriately,\" and warned about the visually-driven male libido.  But boys are given a pass if the girl seemed like she was asking for it.  The pressure is constantly on girls and women to make sure we don\'t send the wrong signals or put ourselves in situations where we might \"get ourselves raped.\"  There is very little pressure on guys to make sure they\'re treating us respectfully, regardless of our state of dress or level of intoxication.  Given that, it should come as no surprise that I was refreshed to see this photo posted on my friend\'s Facebook page:\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Men-Can-Stop-Rape.jpg\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-3568\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Men-Can-Stop-Rape-206x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"206\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nYes, men and boys, you <em>do </em>have the power to treat women and girls right, no matter the circumstances.  I want to see much more of this kind of thing taught to our sons.  I want to see much less of our daughters being blamed for mistreatment by males.','“Your gender is hardwired for whoredom.”','','inherit','open','open','','3562-revision-9','','','2012-01-07 14:10:58','2012-01-07 22:10:58','',3562,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/07/3562-revision-9/',0,'revision','',0),(3824,0,'2012-01-09 10:37:26','2012-01-09 18:37:26','I hope it\'s okay to nominate myself. I just ran across your blog and am really excited about your content because I feel like it\'s the kind of blog I would start if I hadn\'t already started one ;) I write a lot about radical Jesus following on my blog and recently wrote something about the obstacles that keep Christians from following Jesus. I hope you enjoy the article!\n<!--more-->\nAUTHOR: Nathan Creitz\nAUTHOR EMAIL: nathan.creitz@gmail.com\nAUTHOR URL: http://nathancreitz.net/2011/11/18/7-reasons-why-youve-never-made-a-disciple/\nSUBJECT: Nominating A Writer For Provoketive\nIP: 209.144.63.76\nArray\n(\n    [Your Name] =&gt; Nathan Creitz\n    [Your Email] =&gt; nathan.creitz@gmail.com\n    [The Writer\'s Name] =&gt; Nathan Creitz\n    [The Writer\'s Website or Post] =&gt; http://nathancreitz.net/2011/11/18/7-reasons-why-youve-never-made-a-disciple/\n    [The Writer\'s Email] =&gt; nathan.creitz@gmail.com\n    [Why You Think They Should Write For Provoketive?] =&gt; I hope it\'s okay to nominate myself. I just ran across your blog and am really excited about your content because I feel like it\'s the kind of blog I would start if I hadn\'t already started one ;) I write a lot about radical Jesus following on my blog and recently wrote something about the obstacles that keep Christians from following Jesus. I hope you enjoy the article!\n)\n','Nathan Creitz - 2012-01-09 10:37:26','','publish','open','open','','001becb72823d53ebbc4905f87eeca27','','','2012-01-09 10:37:26','2012-01-09 18:37:26','',1537,'http://provoketive.com/?post_type=feedback&p=3824',0,'feedback','',0),(3826,30,'2012-01-09 10:42:05','2012-01-09 18:42:05','Tim Tebow brought the pain to my boys in Black and Gold on Sunday night, beating them in overtime with a huge 80 yard bomb that made it the quickest ending to an NFL overtime in history. When it was over, he knelt down and prayed a prayer of thanks.\n\nAnd that act probably caused more arguments on Facebook last night than the actual outcome of the game.\n\nOn one side, you have the folks who point to Tim Tebow\'s success as proof of the sovereignty of God. Who see any criticism of his playing form as a criticism of his faith. Who trot out the \"if he was a Muslim\" argument, while generally being the same people who pair \"radical\" with Muslim far more liberally than necessary.\n\nOn the other side, you have the critics. The folks who hate that Tebow uses his platform to proselytize. The ones who toss around <a href=\"http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+6%3A6&amp;version=NIV\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"color: #990000\">Matthew 6:6</span></a> ad nauseum. The ones who seem just a little too eager to see him screw up.\n\nEither way, we end up creating an idol. And idols are good for one thing - to serve as a replacement for the the god they represent.\n\nIt\'s easy to see how the fans do that. His faith has become the stuff of legend. A Saturday Night Live skit becomes an example of religious persecution. Tim Tebow is the picture of all that is good and right and just. All praise Tebow.\n\nIt\'s the same from the critics. Tebow is every Christian that has ever been kind of an ass. Any praise that he receives is strictly because of his over-the-top Christianity, not because he might actually be pretty good at his job. He represents all that is phony and shallow and annoying. All hate Tebow.\n\nThe thing is, Tebow is <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1Pjlr23CMU\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"color: #990000\">just this guy</span></a>, you know? He plays a sport well. He wins some games, he loses some games. He goes to church. He uses his money to <a href=\"http://www.timtebowfoundation.org/\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"color: #990000\">support various causes</span></a>. He probably likes pizza. Some day he\'ll probably do pretty well on Dancing with the Stars. He likely sassed his mom at some point growing up.\n\nHe\'s not the embodiment of anything, he\'s a dude who plays football. Most of us don\'t know much more about him than that (I tried to find information about the pizza thing, but came up empty. I\'m just guessing, based on pizza\'s extreme popularity, that he likes it.).\n\nTurning people into idols or caricatures is really easy for us. We do it all the time. We do it with politicians. We do it with writers. We do it with <a href=\"http://rachelheldevans.com/mark-driscoll-real-marriage\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"color: #990000\">pastors</span></a>. We do it with any group or person that we don\'t know. We elevate them to a position that they never asked for and then we either worship them or knock them down.\n\nIn the meantime, we don\'t even know if they like pizza. Or <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_(TV_series)\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"color: #990000\">Community</span></a>. Or cats. Or flannel. Or Pina Coladas and getting caught in the rain.\n\nIf we don\'t know that, we certainly can\'t know every nuance of their character. Which makes them a poor representation of God, no matter how virtuous they are or are not.\n\nGod has provided us with <a href=\"http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians%202:6-11&amp;version=NIV\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"color: #990000\">one accurate representation of himself</span></a>. If we want to start kneeling, let\'s bow down to that. I\'ll take a spot right next to Tim on that.\n\nAs long as he likes pizza.','I Won\'t Tebow to Your Idol','','inherit','open','open','','3825-revision','','','2012-01-09 10:42:05','2012-01-09 18:42:05','',3825,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/09/3825-revision/',0,'revision','',0),