Cultish Attitudes Part 2: False Prophets/Teachers

[Guadalupe]

4 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

There seems to be an increase in personality cults, false prophets and false teachers again. From your own experiences, please share what you have seen are some characteristics of false prophets and false teachers?

1. The false teacher/prophet will twist the meaning of Bible verses to promote his or her own vision. Case in point: if you decide to leave the group to attend church elsewhere, the leader will say you are going to hell for leaving.

Any others you have observed?

[Brother Ben]

I found these on a site, RickRoss.Com. I thought it was very well worded.

Ten warning signs of a potentially unsafe group/leader.

1. Absolute authoritarianism without meaningful accountability.

2. No tolerance for questions or critical inquiry.

3. No meaningful financial disclosure regarding budget, expenses such as an independently audited financial statement.

4. Unreasonable fear about the outside world, such as impending catastrophe, evil conspiracies and persecutions.

5. There is no legitimate reason to leave, former followers are always wrong in leaving, negative or even evil.

6. Former members often relate the same stories of abuse and reflect a similar pattern of grievances.

7. There are records, books, news articles, or television programs that document the abuses of the group/leader.

8. Followers feel they can never be "good enough".

9. The group/leader is always right.

10. The group/leader is the exclusive means of knowing "truth" or receiving validation, no other process of discovery is really acceptable or credible.

[Guadalupe]

May 7, 2013 15:32:18 GMT -5 Brother Ben said:

I found these on a site, RickRoss.Com. I thought it was very well worded.

Ten warning signs of a potentially unsafe group/leader.

1. Absolute authoritarianism without meaningful accountability.

2. No tolerance for questions or critical inquiry.

3. No meaningful financial disclosure regarding budget, expenses such as an independently audited financial statement.

4. Unreasonable fear about the outside world, such as impending catastrophe, evil conspiracies and persecutions.

5. There is no legitimate reason to leave, former followers are always wrong in leaving, negative or even evil.

6. Former members often relate the same stories of abuse and reflect a similar pattern of grievances.

7. There are records, books, news articles, or television programs that document the abuses of the group/leader.

8. Followers feel they can never be "good enough".

9. The group/leader is always right.

10. The group/leader is the exclusive means of knowing "truth" or receiving validation, no other process of discovery is really acceptable or credible.

These are excellent. It describes to a "t" some groups we've observed.

[Guadalupe]

Biblical principles exist to check abusive Christian leaders

Charlie Butts (OneNewsNow.com) Wednesday, January 14, 2015

As in the case of Ernest Angley, abusive Christian leaders damage the church’s image, but there are ways for a congregation to determine if a pastor is off base.

Ernest Angley of Grace Cathedral in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, was accused of advising members not to have children, to undergo sterilization, and to shun members who left the church. According to The Associated Press, one woman claimed to have been pressured into having an abortion.

Alex McFarland is president of the Truth for a New Generation Apologetics Conference and director of Christian World View at North Greenville University. He tells OneNewsNow there's no condoning such acts in the church.

“In no way are we to coerce people or to exert manipulation or exploitation of people, and so it's tragic that a leader would do these things,” he tells OneNewsnow. “It's even more tragic that vulnerable, trusting people would follow him.”

McFarland adds that he has heard young Christians say they were turned off to Christianity because of failings in the church, and he has heard horror stories from others of how they were treated within the church.

“Some of these problems are due to the legalistic bondage people have been put in,” he remarks. “It's so unfortunate because in the aftermath of autocratic, cultic, domineering leadership there's often a very high body count, shall we say, of people who've been hurt and turned off from the gospel forever.”

The Christian apologist concludes by saying biblical knowledge can protect people from those few leaders who get out of hand. He says the New Testament books of 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus provide insight on responsibilities of Christian leadership.

www.onenewsnow.com/church/2015/01/14/biblical-principles-exist-to-check-abusive-christian-leaders#.VMJ282TF8b0