LESSON 6
THE CHURCH AND CULTS
According to the
Center for the Study of Global Christianity (CSGC) at Gordon-Conwell
Theological Seminary (as reported by About.com), there are as many as 41,000
denominations and organizations in the world that consider themselves to be
Christian. These break down into
sects or divisions of three major groups – Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox,
and Protestant. The report
admits that a number of these divisions are reported primarily because of
cultural distinctions, and not specifically because of doctrinal
distinctions. Nevertheless, with
so many divisions among what is supposed to be one body of Christ, how can we
know for certain which groups are legitimately “Christian” and which ones are
false? As a matter of disclosure, this lesson has been written from a very
distinctly Protestant perspective, and so there may be areas in this lesson
where Roman Catholic or Eastern Orthodox believers may not agree. Apologies are asked in advance. Remember: In necessary things unity, in
doubtful things liberty, and in all things charity.
Scripture is clear
that we ought to be highly concerned about false doctrines within the
church. In 1 Corinthians 11, Paul
expresses deep concern over the Corinthian Church’s tolerance for false
teachings that had infiltrated their assembly. In Galatians, Paul identifies the Judaisers as false
brothers who were causing significant trouble in that church. In 1 Timothy, Paul urges Timothy to
address the false teachers in Ephesus.
And in 1 Peter 2, Peter warns us that false prophets will attempt to
infiltrate the church. When,
however, does a false teaching go from being a minor error in interpretation to
becoming a major deviation from the truth of the gospel? When does a group of so-called
Christians become a cult?
The study of cults
can be a very tricky one, primarily because the idea of a cult depends highly
upon one’s own perspective.
Everyone wants to believe that their specific set of doctrines are the
right ones; and so it can be easy to view all others as outsiders – even to the
point of considering them cults. Even
evangelical Christianity can be viewed as cultish – not only from the
perspective of the non-religious, but sometimes even from the perspective of
Orthodox (Catholic and Eastern) Christianity. Even within protestant Christian groups, differences
in beliefs can be viewed with skepticism that borders on cultish.
However, we have
already seen that there can be legitimate differences in interpretation on some
non-essential doctrines. Unless
such differences are associated with essential doctrine, we must be very
careful when using the term “cult” when talking about other “Christian”
groups. Instead, it may be more productive to discuss differences in
Christian theology in terms of degrees of theological error. How significant must the error be
before a group is considered a cult?
Another way that
cults have been historically viewed has been the extent to which the leader of
the cult considers himself a “messiah” or “savior” to those who follow
him. These “cults” are often led
by a charismatic personality who bestows upon himself a level of absolute
authority over his followers or even a sense of personal infallibility. Typically, those caught up in the
cult are exposed to psychological conditioning that approaches brainwashing and
are often isolated and removed from family members and friends to strengthen
and reinforce the cult leader’s control over the individuals. The problem with this approach to the
classification of cults is that many view Christianity in precisely these same
terms. Christian doctrine is often
viewed as brainwashing. Many
atheists openly consider taking children to church and teaching them biblical
stories a form of indoctrination, claiming that it approaches child abuse. New
believers often separate themselves from their non-believing families and
friends to avoid prior temptations.
This radical change can seem cultish to their unbelieving loved ones.
Defining Terms
It is a legitimate
question, therefore, to ask how one knows for certain whether a particular
denomination or religious group is a cult. It is also a very legitimate question to ask about the
eternal disposition of those who may be caught up in cults. Is it possible for a Christian to be
deceived by a cult? Can you be
saved and still be part of a cult?
These are very difficult questions. Furthermore, because of the issue of
personal perspective, even the very use of the word “cult” can be
misleading. Therefore, it may be
better to speak in terms of “false religions” rather than speak in terms of
cults. Before we can answer these
questions, however, we must first learn to differentiate between the three key
terms that can help us answer those questions - error, heresy, and apostasy.
Heresy. Until modern times, heresy was defined
clearly as any deviation from truth – where truth was defined clearly as
orthodox Christian doctrine. For
hundreds of years, this definition was used legitimately to identify and cast
out significant theological error in the early church. Whenever there was a question as to the
true biblical interpretation, Christian leaders came together in great councils
to establish the single orthodox belief and would proclaim as heresy any
dissenting views. As time
progressed, it became more and more difficult for church leaders to come to a
single understanding on certain aspects of theology, and divisions and schisms (formal
separations) in the church resulted.
Under the traditional definition of heresy, therefore, all of these
divisions are heretical – except one.
And which one is correct? Yours? Mine? Therein lies the problem with the traditional definition of
heresy.
To make matters
worse, in the middle-ages, many corrupt Catholic bishops used the concept of
heresy to bully and extort their way to political power. Today, the word heresy is rarely if ever
used to describe any organization that claims Christian roots. Perhaps that is going too far in
the other direction. In our
pluralistic society where it seems like we are asked to be tolerant towards any
and all religious movements, there is a clear need to identify those that are
truly outside the faith. What is
needed, therefore, is a definition of heresy that identifies those movements
that are not faithful to the gospel of Jesus Christ but that also allows for legitimate
differences in opinion regarding interpretation of non-essential doctrines.
Perhaps a better
definition of heresy, therefore, is a belief that represents an incorrect
interpretation of scripture that changes the nature of our salvation. For example, it would be heresy to say
that we can be saved through faithful observance of the Mosaic Law because
scripture is clear that the law cannot bring righteousness. Likewise, it would be heresy to say
that truth can be found through some other means than the Holy Bible or through
some religion other than Christianity.
These things affect the very nature of our salvation and so we must get
them right. Certainly this
definition is not perfect, but there is certainly a need to differentiate the
very fine line between simple doctrinal error (see below) and a belief that
truly threatens one’s eternal salvation.
The danger of heresy, therefore, is that it leads to a condition in
which one may believe he is saved, but in actuality is lost. Is it possible for one to believe in a
heresy and still be saved? Can one
have a saving faith in Jesus and yet still hold to a heretical view of some
form? That is a difficult
question. We cannot be absolute
about that because only God knows for certain who is saved and who is not
saved. However, holding to a heretical
doctrine certainly places one’s eternal soul in extreme danger.
Error. Error is nothing more than having an incorrect
interpretation of scripture. Error
is not always heresy, but it can be.
For example, consider two men discussing their salvation. Both say that salvation only comes
through the blood of Jesus. Both
say that they are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. However, one says that they chose of
their own free will to believe in Jesus while the other says that God chose
them to believe in Jesus such that it was not of their own free will. They cannot both be right. One of them is right and the other is
in error. However, it would be
incorrect to say that this difference of opinion means one of these men is
saved while the other is lost.
This doctrinal error does not affect either one’s faith in Christ. Of course the real question revolves
around how to differentiate simple error from the more critical heresy. This is why the issue of essential vs.
non-essential doctrines is so important.
If we are too narrow in our scope of essential doctrines, then basically
everyone is a heretic. If we are
too broad in our scope of essential doctrines, then nobody is. Spiritual discernment and faith is an
absolute necessity. As the Apostle
John says in 1 John 4:1, we are to test every spirit to see if they are from
God.
Apostasy. Apostasy is intentional abandoning of
the faith. Apostasy and heresy are
related, but different. The
difference is that heretics still claim to be Christian while apostates do
not. Technically, anyone who at
one point claims to have been “Christian” but no longer holds to those claims
is an apostate. This can happen
for any number of reasons, but the primary reasons are persecution and
suffering. During times of
persecution, many who claim to be Christian will fall away, abandoning the
faith. During times of suffering,
many who claim to be Christian will lose faith and turn away from God. This, of course, raises the question as
to the state of their salvation.
Are they in grace or not in grace?
This also gets into the question as to whether someone can “lose” their
salvation or whether they were ever saved to begin with. While these are important issues
resulting in many theological disagreements, the important fact here is that
there are those who intentionally – or unintentionally – abandon the faith. In so doing, they may choose a religion
other than Christianity as a replacement or they may simply become irreligious
– claiming no religion at all or even becoming an atheist. An apostate, therefore, is one who
stands apart from Christianity. In
a very practical sense from the Christian perspective (if not technically an
accurate one), all non-Christian religions are based in apostasy.
With these
definitions, therefore, we can be more specific with respect to how we address
false religions. We can categorize
them into two categories:
1. Heretical
religions - those religions that claim to be “Christian” but have significant
heretical teachings and
2. Apostate
religions - those religions that are separate and apart from Christianity.
Essential Orthodox Beliefs
The key to
identifying heretical doctrines is to first understand the essential orthodox
beliefs. By “orthodox” we do not
mean The Orthodox Church (as in Eastern Orthodox Catholicism) nor do we mean the
highly liturgical, orthodox style of worship. Instead, orthodox beliefs are those beliefs that the
majority of Christians throughout history – and in particular the Christians of
the first three-four centuries – have found to be essential and absolute. This
concept was addressed in depth in the Designs For Hope course “Bible and Bible
Doctrine.” While there will always
be some disagreement among “orthodox” Christians regarding exactly which
doctrines are essential and which are not, most can agree that the doctrines
established by the early creeds (in particular, The Apostle’s Creed, The Nicene
Creed, and the Athanasian Creed) define these essentials. The creeds themselves are not essential
or authoritative, but they represent doctrinal interpretations of the scripture
that are. The following represents
a brief summary these doctrines.
The Trinity. This is the doctrine that there is one
God, but that he exists in three persons – The Father, The Son, and The Holy
Spirit. Each person of the Trinity
is referenced as God in numerous places in scripture; and all three are listed
together in several places (notably at Jesus’ baptism and in the Great
Commission). The doctrine of the
Trinity is essential to our salvation and it is essential to our life as Christians
– with each of the three persons of the Trinity playing key and critical
roles. Furthermore, given the way
in which the concept of the Trinity was heavily debated, formally adopted at
several early church councils, and then subsequently incorporated into several
creeds, we can certainly say that there is consensus among Christians both past
and present.
The Inerrancy (and
authority) of Scripture. This is
the doctrine that scripture is the inerrant Word of God and there is,
therefore, no higher authority than scripture. The bible itself speaks very
clearly that all scripture is the very inspired words of God – and we know from
the character of God and from scripture that God cannot lie. Our entire faith depends upon the
inerrancy of scripture, and Christians both past and present have believed in
and relied upon its inerrant truth.
Because it is God’s Word, it must have ultimate authority because there
is no higher authority than God.
The Hypostatic
Nature of Jesus. This is the
doctrine that Jesus is both 100% God and 100% Man. Like the Trinity, this is a doctrine that wasn’t so clearly
based strictly on scripture because it is not explicitly stated anywhere in
scripture. However, scripture does
clearly refer to the MAN Jesus Christ, and scripture does clearly refer to
Jesus Christ as GOD. This doctrine
is absolutely critical to our salvation; and, like the doctrine of the Trinity,
it is an issue that was hotly debated but ultimately settled through early
church councils. Christians
throughout history have believed in the hypostatic nature of Jesus Christ.
The Death, Burial,
and Resurrection of Jesus. This is
the doctrine that Jesus physically died, was buried for three days, and then
physically arose from the grave in bodily form. In terms of biblical clarity,
we need no further proof of the essential nature of this doctrine than the
Apostle Paul’s discussion of its importance in 1 Corinthians 15. Paul makes it unquestionably clear why
this doctrine is so essential to our faith. Without it, our faith is hopeless.
Salvation by Grace
through Faith in Jesus Alone. This
is the doctrine that salvation comes only by God’s grace through faith in Jesus
Christ and not by any work of man (Ephesians 2:8-9). We can rely once again on Paul for our evidence that this is
an essential doctrine. Not only
does Paul repeat it frequently in his writings, but he also wrote an entire
book – the Epistle to the Galatians – to expressly make this doctrine
clear. Any doctrine, therefore,
that requires man to “work” for his salvation would be in violation of this
doctrine.
The Return of
Christ. While we may have many
differences on the events leading up to or the timing of historical events
prior to the return of Christ, the fact that Christ will return to judge the
world is an essential of the faith.
Jesus spoke of it in all four gospels, Paul spoke of it repeatedly, and
it is the culmination of the book of Revelation.
Heretical Religions
There are a
several religious groups that claim to be “Christian” but have wandered far
from the faith. These groups are founded
on doctrines that have significant heretical teaching. They could easily be categorized as
“cults” or “false religions” from the Christian perspective with little or no
challenge from the majority of mainstream Christians. There are other religious groups (also calling
themselves Christian) that are not so drastically far from the faith in the
majority of their doctrines, but have certain aspects of their doctrine that
many (if not all) in mainstream Christianity would consider to be heretical. These may be more difficult to classify
specifically as cultish or false, but the majority of Christians outside of
those groups would recognize the heresy in their teaching. The following addresses some examples
of both.
The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (The Mormons). The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints claims to be
a restoration of the true Christian faith. Using the Book of Mormon as a text equal (if not greater) in
authority to the Bible, the Mormons actually believe that non-Mormon
Christianity is a form of apostasy; and through revelation to Joseph Smith,
Jesus Christ restored true Christianity.
Mormons believe in the existence of multiple gods and that the three
persons of the Trinity – The Father, The Son, and the Holy Spirit – are not the
one true God, but rather are three among many gods. They believe that our God was once a human-like being that
ascending to divinity and that subsequently all of us are capable of ascending
to deity as well. The Mormons believe that the sacrifice of Jesus (the
offspring of God the Father and some unspecified heavenly mother) provided
salvation to all men. Therefore,
all men – except those who are the vilest and most spiritually perverse - will
go to some form of heaven. They
believe there are three heavenly kingdoms and that belief in the one true God
is not necessary to enter into one of these kingdoms. Belief in Christ AND following the principles of Mormonism
will obtain entrance into the highest of these kingdoms. Only the worst of
mankind will be sent to hell. All
of these doctrines are heretical in nature, from denial of the Trinity and the
universalist approach to salvation to the elevation of another scripture above God’s
Word. There is no question that
Mormonism, despite its ardent claims to Christianity, is a cult and a false
religion; and orthodox Christians should not be in ecumenical fellowship with
them.
The Jehovah’s
Witnesses. The Jehovah’s Witnesses
believe that God’s true name is Jehovah.
Many Christians also believe that Jehovah is the personal name of God,
although biblically Jehovah is actually a translation error. In the original Hebrew, God’s personal
name was actually Yahweh. However,
orthodox Christians who still use the name Jehovah know and believe in their
heart that they are referring to the one true God – the Trinity – God the
Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. This is not the case for Jehovah’s Witnesses, who do not
believe in the Trinity. Jehovah’s
Witnesses believe that the Holy Spirit is only the spiritual presence and power
of Jehovah, not a separate person of the Trinity. They believe that Jesus was originally Michael, the
archangel – a created being rather than the eternal God. They believe Jesus was born human (not
God incarnate) and that his resurrection was spiritual (not physical and
literal). Jehovah’s Witnesses
believe that salvation (eternal life) requires faith in Christ, association
with the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses, and obedience to the rules of the
church. Of all of these faithful,
144000 will be considered anointed and will actually rule with Jesus Christ.
Jehovah’s Witnesses do not believe in an eternal soul and that non-believers
will not go to a physical place of punishment (hell), but rather they will
simply cease to exist. The lack of
belief in a soul and the lack of belief in hell are problematic doctrines. However, the denial of the Trinity and
the requirement to be obedient to the rules of the church (works-based salvation)
are significant heretical doctrines.
There is no question that the Jehovah’s Witnesses, despite their claims
towards Jesus Christ, represent a cult and a false religion; and orthodox
Christians should not be in ecumenical fellowship with them.
The Church of
Christ, Scientist (Christian Science).
The word “Christian” in Christian Science is perhaps the closest thing
to Christianity associated with this false religion. Members of the Church of Christ, Scientist view the writings
of its founder, Mary Baker Eddy, as authoritative alongside the Bible. Eddy viewed everything in the Bible as
spiritual and to be taken allegorically.
Therefore, all of its doctrines are spiritual perversions of orthodox
truth. For example, Christian
Science is pantheistic, meaning they believe everything is God and God
is everything. Since God is
everything and everything is God, all humans are divine. Jesus, therefore, was nothing more than
a human who fully embodied the divine nature – a quality to which all Christian
Scientists aspire. For this
reason, Christian Scientists believe that sin, sickness, and death are all
illusions and manifestations of incorrect thinking. Since all men are divine,
there is no need for a savior.
Salvation, therefore, comes when one ceases to believe in sin, sickness,
and death. Heaven is right
thinking, while hell is wrong thinking. Virtually everything (if not literally everything)
about Christian Science is heresy.
There is no question that Christian Science represents a cult and a
false religion, and orthodox Christians should not be in ecumenical fellowship
with them.
Seventh Day
Adventist. The Seventh Day
Adventist is the result of a series of failed revelations and prophesies in the
mid-19th century regarding the return of Christ (advent means
“coming”). After a series of such
revelations failed, the Adventist movement declared October 22, 1844 as a day
of spiritual advent, when Jesus entered into the holy of holies and determined
which “Christians” were worthy of salvation. This “worthiness” of course would not be determined by one’s
faith in Christ, but rather one’s obedience. The revelations of one prophetess in particular, Ellen
Harmon White, were elevated to a level equal to Holy Scripture. The movement adopted sabbatarianism
(worship on the Sabbath – or seventh day – that is, Saturday) and belief in the
Sabbath as a sign of the true church.
Traditionally, orthodox Christianity has viewed the Seventh Day
Adventists as a cult because of their elevation of Ellen White’s prophesies to
the level of scripture and their focus on works. In recent years, however, the Seventh Day Adventists have
softened their views on the status of her prophesies and have placed a greater
focus on justification by faith rather than observance of the law. This has made their identification as a
false religion more complicated.
Its roots (and possibly still its official doctrine) are clearly false and
heretical in nature and origin.
This raises an important question.
How many people are a part of the Seventh Day Adventists, believe in the
gospel of Jesus Christ including salvation by faith alone in Jesus Christ, do
not believe that Ellen White’s prophesies are superior in authority to
scripture, do not believe in salvation by works, but simply believe that
worshipping on the Sabbath (i.e., Saturday) is proper interpretation of
scripture? Are these people
saved? That is a difficult
question. However, it is probably
best for orthodox Christians not to be in ecumenical fellowship with Adventists. If your organization decided to be in
ecumenical fellowship with Seventh Day Adventists, great care should be given
regarding the theological influence they have on your people.
The Churches of
Christ (Church of Christ). Although
all orthodox Christians believe themselves to be a part of the universal church
of Christ, the denomination known as The Church of Christ considers itself to
be the one and only true church of Christ, established by Jesus Christ himself
in 33AD. The classification of the
Church of Christ is an extremely sensitive one. In many respects, their doctrine appears orthodox and most
Church of Christ members would likely admit to believing in all of the
established essential doctrines. However, the Churches of Christ are
congregational, and so each local congregation is autonomous. Unlike other congregational groups such
as the Baptists, the Churches of Christ do not believe in adhering to any
specific creed other than the bible and will not establish any formal statement
of faith. Therefore, it is
impossible to say precisely what any specific congregation believes with
respect to the essential doctrines as it can vary from congregation to
congregation. One belief that is problematic within
the Church of Christ is the fact that all Churches of Christ believe that baptism
is a necessary component to salvation. Many mainstream Christian groups would view this as teaching
salvation by works because you must “do” something (be baptized) in order to
achieve salvation. Therefore, this
doctrine could be considered heretical.
The silver lining in all of this is the fact that the Churches of Christ
hold tightly to belief only in the Bible as the authoritative Word of God. As a result, the vast majority of non-Church
of Christ believers, however, would not consider someone to be unsaved simply
because of their association with the Church of Christ. This author has known many Church of
Christ adherents who, in his opinion, displayed all the fruits of righteous
redemption. This raises many
questions. Is this difference in
doctrine relative to the baptism heresy or simply a doctrinal error? If it is heresy, are those who believe
it truly saved? Should other orthodox
Christians be in ecumenical fellowship with the Churches of Christ? These are difficult questions. However, the issue might be moot as it
is more likely that the Churches of Christ will refuse fellowship with
non-Church of Christ organizations than the other way around.
Catholic and Orthodox Churches versus Protestant Churches
Roman Catholicism. The issue of Catholicism is even more
sensitive than the issue of The Church of Christ. There are more Catholics in the world than in any other
Christian denomination or organization. It would be ludicrous to call the Catholic Church a cult or
false religion; and yet the very division between Protestantism and Catholicism
is based upon the fact that certain critical doctrines of the Catholic Church
were considered unbiblical by 16th century reformers. Indeed, the 16th century
condemnations of the Catholic Church by the Protestant Reformers and the
subsequent condemnation of the Protestants by the Catholic Church resulted in
no small part from differences in opinion regarding justification, the
infallibility of declarations of the Pope, and the traditions of the church. With respect to justification, the
Catholics held to justification by grace through faith, but that grace came not
solely as a result of faith, but also through the sacraments and good
works. With respect to the Pope,
the Catholics held to the fact that the final word on the interpretation of
scripture was his. And with
respect to church tradition, the Catholics held to the belief that church
tradition had equal authority as scripture. All three of these were considered heretical by early church
reformers because they believed them to be departures from orthodoxy. Although many of the other aspects of
the Protestant Reformation (corruption in the clergy, the issuances of
indulgences, etc.) were later corrected in the Catholic Church’s own reformation
of itself, these three issues remained a critical difference between Catholic
and Protestant Christians and continue to divide them today. Because these doctrines existed, a number of other
doctrines entered into Catholic dogma that the informed Protestant would also find
extremely problematic – even heretical.
Among these are the use of idols, the veneration of saints, the doctrine
of the immaculate conception of Mary (that Mary was born
without original sin), seeking intercession from Mary (or other saints), the
doctrine of purgatory, and others.
The fact that – in the mind of the Protestant - there exists no biblical
basis for these doctrines is lost on the average Catholic believer because of
their adherence to both the authority of the Pope and the authority of church
tradition. In fact, the informed
Catholic finds it equally problematic – even heretical - that the Protestant
does not recognize these doctrines.
Thus division continues between the two groups. Indeed, it has only been since
the mid-late twentieth century that there has been any recognition by either
group that the other may, in fact, be a part of the one true church. The true irony is that for the average
Catholic and the average Protestant, there seems to be little practical
difference in the faith of one who claims to be a Christian in a Catholic
Church and one who claims to be a Christian in a Protestant Church. They both trust in Jesus Christ for their salvation. Underneath, however, these doctrinal
differences are critical. Most are
simply unaware of their existence or their significance. To them, we are all just Christians
trusting in our Savior, Jesus Christ, for our eternal salvation. What does this say about the redemptive
state of either the Catholic or the Protestant? It would be inappropriate for any non-Catholic to make a
judgment regarding the redemptive state of a Catholic believer simply because
of his association with the Catholic Church. Likewise, it would be inappropriate for any Catholic to make
a judgment regarding the redemptive state of a non-Catholic believer simply
because of his lack of association with the Catholic Church. In this author’s experience (notably a
Protestant viewpoint), there are large numbers of Roman Catholic believers who
clearly and unmistakably display the fruits of redemptive righteousness,
despite the differences in Roman Catholic dogma that a Protestant might deem
heretical. In recent years, there
have been significant attempts at ecumenical reconciliation between Catholics
and Protestants. And while
great ecumenical strides have been made, those issues that Protestant scholars
consider to be heretical continue to be a barrier to full ecumenical fellowship.
Officially, that fellowship remains fragile at best.
Orthodox
Catholicism (Eastern Orthodox). The Eastern Orthodox Church officially and formally separated
from the Roman Catholic Church in 1054 AD primarily over issues related to the
authority of the Pope (although the division and differences in belief existed
for many years prior). The Eastern
Orthodox Church does not consider itself to be a split from the Roman Catholic
Church, but rather a preservation of the one true Catholic (i.e., universal)
church. Eastern Orthodoxy holds
primarily to the teachings of the seven major early church councils that took
place between 325AD and 727AD. By
name and by definition the majority of the church’s doctrines are orthodox – as
is their liturgical style of worship. However, there are still a few items in their doctrine
that Protestant believers find problematic – and for which Eastern Orthodox
believers find problematic that Protestants do not observe. Primary among these are the belief by
the Eastern Orthodox Church that they are the one true Church of Christ
(excluding Protestants from that category), the fact that the Eastern Orthodox
Church gives church tradition equal authority to scripture, and the use of
icons in their liturgical worship.
The Eastern Orthodox Church also specifically gives the outcome of the
first seven ecumenical church councils equal authority to scripture. Protestants will not give the outcome
of these councils equal authority to scripture, but they do hold that these
councils reiterate doctrine that is a rightful interpretation of
scripture. Despite the fact that
there is far more in common between Eastern Orthodox Christians and
Protestants, there is considerably less ecumenical fellowship between
them. This could possibly be due,
in part, to the great schism between the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern
Orthodox Church combined with the fact that Protestantism came to existence as
a split from the Roman Catholic Church several hundred years after the schism between
the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church. Perhaps as a result of the
commonalities between Protestant and Orthodox churches, some protestant groups
in recent years have begun drifting more towards the Eastern Orthodox Church,
with some actually joining and becoming a part of the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Conclusions
Identifying false
religions and cults can be tricky, but the reality is that the more one has
familiarized himself (or herself) with the essential truths of God’s Word, the
easier it is to spot falsehood.
Some so-called “Christian” organizations are clearly false religions and
as orthodox Christians it is important that we recognize them as false
religions and refrain from ecumenical fellowship with them. For other organizations, the issue is
not so clear and it may be more appropriate to look at them from the
perspective of “degrees of error” or “degrees of heretical doctrine” rather
than look at them specifically as a false religion – understanding that from
their perspective it is you that holds to the erroneous or even heretical
doctrines. Without a doubt, there
may be millions in these organizations who are redeemed, despite the fact that
you may believe that their official doctrine contains heresy.
