Cults Series

Cults

Right now, as you read the title of this essay, you may be saying to yourself, “Well, I would never fall for that stuff.” Beware, cults can trick almost anyone into believing their deadly garbage. Unless an individual pays close attention to what a valid version of the Bible says and means, it is easy for a person to be led down the devil's primrose lane by the lies of his charismatic helpers. Someone can dupe people of every age and intelligence level not only into believing false religious doctrine, but can also be swept up and energized that they go out and try to recruit more converts for Satan.

What are cults? A cult consists of a group of people with a more or less unified ideological theme or cultural identity. Within that broad definition, the fanatical fans of the Greenbay Packers could be called a cult, as could any group of passionate, if not overzealous, devotees of any sports franchise, be it professional, college, high school or even Little League teams. The same can be said of those casting their adoration on movie stars and television celebrities.

Egypt, of Old Testament times, had more than 40 false gods, each with their own cult following, and some overlapping. These false idols included Osiris, lord of the afterlife; Thoth, god of wisdom, and Horus, god of the sun. Ra and Horus were so similar that they were sometimes considered two aspects of the same gods. Both represented the sun, the skies, and royalty, and were even said to share the service of Hathor, a goddess known as a consort or companion.

Apparently, the Hebrews were little, if anyway, directly affected by these false gods during their four centuries of captivity in Egypt. The ten plagues of god against Egypt were humiliations of ten specific Egyptian gods. These were;

Seth- god of storms had the plague of locusts

Hapi- god of the Nile and water was turned to blood

Geb- god of the earth where lice came up from the dust

Ra- The sun god was punished by three days of darkness

Nut- goddess of the sky suffered hail raining down in fiery balls

Heket- goddess of Fertility and Frogs coming from the Nile River

Hathor-goddess of love was plagued by the death of cattle and livestock

Isis- goddess of medicine and peace as ashes turned into boils and sores

Khepri- god of creation and sun's motion was plagued by swarms of flies

Pharaoh of Egypt, the god king, suffered the plague of death of the firstborn

Other Old Testament cults worshiped false gods in many forms. Baal was often revered as a sun god or storm god, plus he was a fertility god credited with making the earth bear crops and women bear children. Baal worshiping rites included prostitution and human sacrifice.

Chemosh was a lesser known god of the Moabites and also worshiped by the Ammonites. Religious rituals involving this god were said to be extremely cruel and also may have involved human sacrifice. Solomon erected an altar to Chemosh south of the Mount of Olives outside Jerusalem, on the Hill of Corruption. (2 Kings 23:13)

The Golden Calf is reported twice in the Bible: first at the foot of Mount Sinai, fashioned by Aaron, and second in the reign of King Jeroboam (1 Kings 12:26-30). In each instance, the idols were false physical representations of Yahweh and were judged by Him as sin, since He commanded that no images should be made of him.

While not being specifically named as satanic cults, the townships of Sodom, Gomorrah, and Nineveh's wantonly engaged in all manners of sinful activities, sexual immorality, and pride. Their ceremonial false-god offenses to God Almighty were the principal reasons for their righteous destruction.

America has also suffered the deadly stains of religious cults gone askew. Maybe the most notorious cult was the Charles Manson Family. Manson may be one of the most readily recognized cult leaders of America's last century. In the 1960s, he was able to lure many followers, especially women, under his power. The cult believed that “Helter Skelter,” a race war they named, was close at hand.

Do you recall reading about the Rajneeshee cult? This controversial movement ran into trouble in the 1970s due to the founder's hostility towards India's Hindu morals. In 1981, Rajneeshesh and its followers relocated to Wasco County, Oregon, and established what became known as the Big Muddy Ranch. In a short 3-year span this ranch became a city with 7,000 residents, its own police force, fire departments, parks, and restaurants. Tensions escalated when the cult attempted to take over the neighboring town’s government. The hierarchy leading members of the commune were arrested for crimes, including an attempted assassination plot to murder U.S. Attorney Charles Turne for their part of the first recorded bio-terror attack on American soil. After twenty-one countries denied him entry in 1985, Rajneeshesh was deported to Pune, India.