Last night I watched a great video of Dr. Ravi Zacharias responding to the question, "Is Roman Catholicism a cult?"
Over the years that I have been doing Christian apologetic writing, I have often been asked a similar question, "Is Roman Catholicism a heresy?" Or I have been told emphatically, "Roman Catholicism is a heresy!" And my response is that even though I spent many years of my early life attending the Roman Catholic church, since becoming a Christian believer in 1987 I could no longer be comfortable attending the Roman Catholic church.
Does that mean that I do not believe a person can be Roman Catholic and still be a Christian believer? No, I believe there are Christian believers in the Roman Catholic church and there are people who just attend out of habit or birthright. The same is true in the Baptist church, or any other denominational church. In any denominational church we will find true believers - and we will find those who profess, but do not possess, the Christian faith.
In the video below I believe that Dr. Ravi Zacharias gives a good analogy. He tells us that while different denominations may have varying doctrines and practices - what makes a Christian is our personal relationship with Jesus Christ - not our label.
For me, there is a Gospel song which says this very clearly. It has long been one of my favorite songs, "It's Not What's Over The Door."
Just a sample of the lyrics:
You can find a great rendition of this beautiful Gospel song by The Cathedrals on YouTube. It speaks to my heart, I believe it will speak to yours also.
That said, I believe that Dr. Zacharias hits the nail on the head - when he tells us that most often a cult church is one that was started by "one man" with that one man setting the theology, doctrines, and teachings of that church or group of churches.
It does not matter which label that church wears, i.e., Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist, Roman Catholic, Independent, etc., - if "one man" is at the helm, sets all the doctrines, and does all the teaching - that church can be in danger of becoming a cult church.
That is one major reason I would always suggest to anyone who has a calling to be a Christian leader - pastor, elder, lay teacher, etc. - and wants a solid Christian education - attend a major conservative Christian seminary which offers a well rounded faculty of solid Christian teachers. Good examples are: Biola University Talbot School of Theology, Dallas Theological Seminary, California Baptist University, Chafer Theological Seminary, Liberty University Theological Seminary, etc.
In contrast to the conservative theology seminaries, there are those which lean heavily toward liberal modernism in their theology and teaching. Examples of such seminaries are: Duke Divinity School, Harvard Divinity School, Yale Divinity School, Princeton Theological Seminary, etc.
The ironic thing about these typically Ivy League schools is that they were the first Christian colleges founded in America - and they were founded primarily to provide higher education for future pastors and Christian leaders. But over the centuries they somehow took the more popular liberal and modernist path - and strayed away from conservative theology teaching.
"But, Bill, what is the difference? Don't all seminaries teach the Bible?" Great question. Glad you asked.
So, what is the difference between the teaching found in conservative theology schools - and that found in the more liberal schools? Traditional or conservative schools provide stronger emphasis on systematic theology - taking a more expositional indepth approach to Scripture.
While the liberal schools place heavier emphasis on social/moral theology and often treat Scripture as only a source for inspiration. Liberal theology tends to focus on the Bible as an evolving story and seeks to understand Scripture as an unfolding, ever changing narrative. And, of course, the liberal theology school of thought has found appeal to a wider, often secular, audience.
And many of the liberal theology churches and denominations have also moved toward a more ecumenical "one religion fits all" teaching.
Am I saying that liberal theology churches and followers are not Christian? No, in no way. But they seem to have missed the point in the full revelation which God has given to us in His Written Word, the Bible. The liberal Christian will end up in heaven alongside we conservative theology Christians. The main difference is that they will find many pot holes and pitfalls along the way in their daily Christian walk. And they will find their path more crowded.
Jesus tells us, in Matthew 7:13-14, "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it."
Yes, it is my belief that our liberal theology brethren will always find the path they have chosen toward the narrow gate more crowded - for it will be full of those who attend church to only be made to feel good and assured that God will overlook their favorite sins and they can find many "feel good" churches and pastors who will cater to those desires. And they will be walking alongside the many secularists who smirk at our Christian faith - and those who teach a different Gospel, i.e., the cult churches.
One of the most obvious cult groups in America has long been the Worldwide Church of God which was started in 1933 by Herbert W. Armstrong. When Armstrong died, his successor, Joseph W. Tkach, began a movement to bring that church in line with mainstream Christian theology. And they changed the name to the Grace Communion International to divorce themselves from the shadow of Herbert Armstrong. This angered many of Armstrong's followers - who split off and started about six other churches which still teach Armstrong theology. All of them are cult churches.
Why are they, the Worldwide Church of God and its offshoots, cult churches? First, they deny the Trinity, claiming that the Holy Spirit is merely a "power" emanating from God. They deny hell for unbelievers, instead teaching annihilationism, that the unbelievers will be totally destroyed and have no eternal existence in hell. They teach "second chance" salvation, i.e., that a person who dies while still rejecting Jesus Christ - will be given a second chance after death. They are cult churches.
Another cult god-father was Oral Roberts, the virtual god-father of Prosperity Theology. Other cult leaders who followed in the steps of Oral Roberts in Prosperity Theology include Robert Tilton, Joel Osteen, Creflo Dollar, Jesse Duplantis, Kenneth Copeland, Reverend Ike, Frederick K.C. Price, T. D. Jakes, Kenneth Hagin, Paul Crouch, etc. - and female versions are Joyce Meyer, Paula White, etc.
That said, I believe that a person who has put his faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior - is a Christian believer - regardless of the name over the door of their church. But I would have a difficult time going back into Roman Catholicism - after being a Baptist-flavored believer for over 30 years.
Yet, just as Dr. Zacharias tells us, I would not say that a person is not a believer because he worships in the Roman Catholic church. Still I would wonder how that person can go along with the worship of and prayers to non-deity such as Mary and all the other church appointed saints.
So, watch Dr. Ravi Zacharias' video and consider what he is telling us.
God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,
Bill
Over the years that I have been doing Christian apologetic writing, I have often been asked a similar question, "Is Roman Catholicism a heresy?" Or I have been told emphatically, "Roman Catholicism is a heresy!" And my response is that even though I spent many years of my early life attending the Roman Catholic church, since becoming a Christian believer in 1987 I could no longer be comfortable attending the Roman Catholic church.
Does that mean that I do not believe a person can be Roman Catholic and still be a Christian believer? No, I believe there are Christian believers in the Roman Catholic church and there are people who just attend out of habit or birthright. The same is true in the Baptist church, or any other denominational church. In any denominational church we will find true believers - and we will find those who profess, but do not possess, the Christian faith.
In the video below I believe that Dr. Ravi Zacharias gives a good analogy. He tells us that while different denominations may have varying doctrines and practices - what makes a Christian is our personal relationship with Jesus Christ - not our label.
For me, there is a Gospel song which says this very clearly. It has long been one of my favorite songs, "It's Not What's Over The Door."
Just a sample of the lyrics:
Some people think today, If heaven you would see, You must belong to their one church, Or be lost eternally. But according to God's word, What He's still looking for, Is what He finds within your heart, And not what's over the door.
It's not what's over the door Of the church that you attend, That makes you a child of God, And a heavenly citizen. As the eyes of the Lord look this world o'er, There’s just one thing He's lookin’ for Can’t you see that’s what’s in your heart, And not what's over the door.
You can find a great rendition of this beautiful Gospel song by The Cathedrals on YouTube. It speaks to my heart, I believe it will speak to yours also.
That said, I believe that Dr. Zacharias hits the nail on the head - when he tells us that most often a cult church is one that was started by "one man" with that one man setting the theology, doctrines, and teachings of that church or group of churches.
It does not matter which label that church wears, i.e., Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist, Roman Catholic, Independent, etc., - if "one man" is at the helm, sets all the doctrines, and does all the teaching - that church can be in danger of becoming a cult church.
That is one major reason I would always suggest to anyone who has a calling to be a Christian leader - pastor, elder, lay teacher, etc. - and wants a solid Christian education - attend a major conservative Christian seminary which offers a well rounded faculty of solid Christian teachers. Good examples are: Biola University Talbot School of Theology, Dallas Theological Seminary, California Baptist University, Chafer Theological Seminary, Liberty University Theological Seminary, etc.
In contrast to the conservative theology seminaries, there are those which lean heavily toward liberal modernism in their theology and teaching. Examples of such seminaries are: Duke Divinity School, Harvard Divinity School, Yale Divinity School, Princeton Theological Seminary, etc.
The ironic thing about these typically Ivy League schools is that they were the first Christian colleges founded in America - and they were founded primarily to provide higher education for future pastors and Christian leaders. But over the centuries they somehow took the more popular liberal and modernist path - and strayed away from conservative theology teaching.
"But, Bill, what is the difference? Don't all seminaries teach the Bible?" Great question. Glad you asked.
So, what is the difference between the teaching found in conservative theology schools - and that found in the more liberal schools? Traditional or conservative schools provide stronger emphasis on systematic theology - taking a more expositional indepth approach to Scripture.
While the liberal schools place heavier emphasis on social/moral theology and often treat Scripture as only a source for inspiration. Liberal theology tends to focus on the Bible as an evolving story and seeks to understand Scripture as an unfolding, ever changing narrative. And, of course, the liberal theology school of thought has found appeal to a wider, often secular, audience.
And many of the liberal theology churches and denominations have also moved toward a more ecumenical "one religion fits all" teaching.
Am I saying that liberal theology churches and followers are not Christian? No, in no way. But they seem to have missed the point in the full revelation which God has given to us in His Written Word, the Bible. The liberal Christian will end up in heaven alongside we conservative theology Christians. The main difference is that they will find many pot holes and pitfalls along the way in their daily Christian walk. And they will find their path more crowded.
Jesus tells us, in Matthew 7:13-14, "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it."
Yes, it is my belief that our liberal theology brethren will always find the path they have chosen toward the narrow gate more crowded - for it will be full of those who attend church to only be made to feel good and assured that God will overlook their favorite sins and they can find many "feel good" churches and pastors who will cater to those desires. And they will be walking alongside the many secularists who smirk at our Christian faith - and those who teach a different Gospel, i.e., the cult churches.
One of the most obvious cult groups in America has long been the Worldwide Church of God which was started in 1933 by Herbert W. Armstrong. When Armstrong died, his successor, Joseph W. Tkach, began a movement to bring that church in line with mainstream Christian theology. And they changed the name to the Grace Communion International to divorce themselves from the shadow of Herbert Armstrong. This angered many of Armstrong's followers - who split off and started about six other churches which still teach Armstrong theology. All of them are cult churches.
Why are they, the Worldwide Church of God and its offshoots, cult churches? First, they deny the Trinity, claiming that the Holy Spirit is merely a "power" emanating from God. They deny hell for unbelievers, instead teaching annihilationism, that the unbelievers will be totally destroyed and have no eternal existence in hell. They teach "second chance" salvation, i.e., that a person who dies while still rejecting Jesus Christ - will be given a second chance after death. They are cult churches.
Another cult god-father was Oral Roberts, the virtual god-father of Prosperity Theology. Other cult leaders who followed in the steps of Oral Roberts in Prosperity Theology include Robert Tilton, Joel Osteen, Creflo Dollar, Jesse Duplantis, Kenneth Copeland, Reverend Ike, Frederick K.C. Price, T. D. Jakes, Kenneth Hagin, Paul Crouch, etc. - and female versions are Joyce Meyer, Paula White, etc.
That said, I believe that a person who has put his faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior - is a Christian believer - regardless of the name over the door of their church. But I would have a difficult time going back into Roman Catholicism - after being a Baptist-flavored believer for over 30 years.
Yet, just as Dr. Zacharias tells us, I would not say that a person is not a believer because he worships in the Roman Catholic church. Still I would wonder how that person can go along with the worship of and prayers to non-deity such as Mary and all the other church appointed saints.
So, watch Dr. Ravi Zacharias' video and consider what he is telling us.
Is Roman Catholicism a cult? - Ravi Zacharias at Texas A&M's Veritas Forum
Dr. Ravi Zacharias answers the question, "Is Roman Catholicism another example of how unity does not equal uniformity within the Christian community or is it at its core a derivative of true Christianity?" at Texas A&M's Veritas Forum on March 19, 2014.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CisY1QTgEis
God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,
Bill
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