In a cult, the individual is not free to disengage their free will from that groups belief systems and or rules. How many people have been oppressed or killed in a Communist country as its ideology was brutally imposed upon the populace. More people have been killed in the spread and implementation of Communism and other causes than any ‘religious’ inspired wars.
Central to a nation built on Judaeo Christian roots is the freedom of religion. That is, you are free to choose to believe or not believe without suffering intimidation and abuse if you choose to disengage your free will from a world view revealed to man by God that we have in the Bible. You will experience consequences of your decisions; but that is clearly laid out for you and you get to choose which way you will go, knowing that God will not violate your free will to choose that. The key to Christianity, to use the words of Christ, is that if you do hear His words and choose His way of life you will know the truth and the truth will set you free! After Jesus laid out truth and its consequences of either enacting or rejecting it; His following words are recorded at the end of the discourse ,’ He who has an ear let him hear!
The choice is always ours, God will never violate someones sovereign free will and therefore no man has the right to do the same. People’s free will and right to their own opinion and decisions in life must never be violated.
Cults don’t give you this freedom! If you choose to disengage or adhere to their culture it will cost you your life, your dignity, your family, your freedom of choice about your future as you become bound and controlled by them that feed into or on your own appetites and passions.
Tragically, people become so engaged in the cults ideology and do things that at the time the cult provided a reason that validated their behavior only later to live with the guilt and shame of what they did. The path that they are required to travel on to come to terms that what they believed and have done was detrimental to themselves and others is a road that many people find to painful to travel on! Yet it is possible to break free and start again as allow yourself to see the truth and take responsibility for what you believe and the resultant actions you perform.
Look out for the next blog on what are the key human drivers that exist in all of us that become the seed bed around which a world view can take root for good or evil and how to avoid being led down the wrong path. These will cover four key areas
All these are common to mankind and our the fertile ground that all ideas find a resting place, take root and produce outcomes that direct the course of our lives, societies and history. Once we understand this then we are able to discern what is a cult and what isn’t with some form of clarity!
