heretics and cultists

By their own admission, heresy hunters are heretics and cultists.

I woke up in the middle of the night pondering “the cult of the heresy hunters”.

It doesn’t really matter what you call them – I prefer the term “heresy hunter” (HH), others like “Online Discernment Ministries” (ODM’s) or even “apologists”. These are not people who see a theological stance or movement, disagree with it, discuss it where necessary and move on with their lives. These are people whose sole purpose in life is to attack and sow discord among the brethren using whatever means they feel is necessary – lying, blaspheming the Holy Ghost, manipulation, fear tactics, etc.

I have taken some heat over the years because my position is that these people are not saved and/or have forsaken their salvation. Could I be wrong? Sure. Only God knows a person’s heart and only He knows what names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. But Jesus said that by their fruits we would know them, and the fruit of the heresy hunters is more poisonous than an unripe ackee.

Let’s look at what the heresy hunters use as a working definition of the word, “cult”.

Sandy Simpson of the “Apologetics Coordination Team” (Deception in the Church) writes,

“Any system of belief that desires to call itself by the name of a religion, but by its own beliefs teaches and promotes either explicitly or implicitly against the core beliefs of the religion whose name they desire to associate with, is rightly termed a “cult” of that religion.” (Sandy Simpson, Defining Terms) [source]

Sandy also quotes Alan Gomes (on the above site)

“A group of people, which claiming to be Christian, embraces a particular doctrine system taught by an individual leader, group of leaders, or organization, which system denies either explicitly or implicitly one or more of the central doctrines of the Christian Faith as taught in the sixty-six books of the Bible.” (Alan Gomes, Unmasking The Cults, Zondervan, 1995)

The heresy hunters teach and promote quite a few things that are explicitly and implicity anti-Christ and anti-Christian. Denying the redemptive power of the Cross. Sowing discord among the brethren. Denying the work and Person of the Holy Spirit. (and so on). Though they appear leaderless, as long as one touts their doctrine and toes their lines, they are considered to be “leaders” within the loose organizational structure and become “authorized” to teach this doctrine of hate to others.

Let Us Reason is another heresy hunter site that serves little purpose other than to attack Christians they disagree with. They include most revivalists, Pentecostals, and Word of Faith adherents in their “cults” category(along with Mormons, JW’s, and new-age gurus.

Let’s look at what LUR says about cults:

There are two ways a cult operates in falsehood. Theologically and sociologically. From belief and practice. Some are theologically dangerous others are sociologically dangerous. Not all cults are harmful to someone’s physical well being, but they are harmful spiritually if they mislead someone in their relationship to God through another gospel. They will all have control or manipulation over people in some fashion. They will hold the person to this particular group or church often with fear convincing them that there is no where else to go, no one else has the truth like they do. [source]

There are two ways the heresy hunters operate in falsehood: theologically and sociologically. They mislead people into believing that God is hateful, grace is inaccessible, and the Spirit of God is powerless. They further mislead people into believing that God wants them to be suspicious of everyone and everything, that the way of Christ is hatred, that lying is an acceptable practice, and that if one does not toe the line (as defined by the heresy hunters) that one is in danger of condemnation. They exercise fear and manipulation – attempting to convince people that they are hell-bound or even unsaved if they listen to certain teachers or engage in certain BIBLICAL practices. They go to great lengths to convince people that their way is THE way and that all churches (other than their own) are suspect – no one has the truth like they do.

Someone once said a cult is everyone who disagrees with your belief. This is essentially what the leaders of the these groups will state. If someone does not agree with their particular interpretation of the Bible or of God they are against God. This is their exclusivism at work. [source]

It’s interesting that the heresy hunters say this – and yet viciously apply the very same tactic. (If you’d like evidence, explore “Slaughtering the Sheep” or “End Times Prophetic Words” or “Christian Research Service” (but take care to protect your shoes, because I guarantee – you will throw up on them)

Several of them have come here and were so vile I had to stop them from posting (had to IP ban one guy who was so vile and malicious – all because I disagreed with him). I have gone to several of these sites and attempted to have a civil discussion with them. It doesn’t work. I was asked to leave Slaughtering the Sheep after posting a lengthy bit of Scripture that blew their position on the subject at hand right out of the water. My friend John Burton has tried to engage them as well, with much the same result. One can only conclude that since their theological positions cannot withstand challenge, they are unwilling to examine the Word of God and what it says and their only charge is, “Heretic! You’re against God! It’s obvious to everyone!”  (And, of course, anyone who disagrees with that statement is also labeled an anti-God heretic).

Christian apologist Robert Bowman defines a cult as A religious group originating as a  heretical sect and maintaining fervent commitment to heresy. Adj.: “cultic” (may be used with reference to tendencies as well as full cult status.( Robert Bowman, A Biblical guide to Orthodoxy and heresy.) [source]

Heresy hunters maintain fervent commitment to heresy. In fact, I have never met more committed, fervent, fanatical cultists in my whole life (and I’ve known quite a few genuine cult members)

Cult’s will say they are the way to Christ and Christ Himself is not the way. So they put themselves as a group or their teaching  in between man and God. They become mediators between God and man. They do not have the Christian distinctive, but will claim to be Christian in their beliefs and practices. It was Christ himself who Said “I Am the way, the truth the life.” [source]

This is an excellent example of the lying tactics of heresy hunters. Yes, it is true – genuine cults employ this tactic. However, none of the revivalist/Pentecostal/WoF teachers they lump in with “heretics” teach anything of this nature. Not a one. Yet the charge is leveled…

There are some groups that have right doctrine but are steeped in legalism. Legalism are laws that are unscriptural or biblical laws that are no longer to be practiced. They make ones walk heavy and the effect is having them lose their joy. They become toilsome, harsh and inflexible. The Pharisees couldn’t show mercy the heavier matters of the law because of their legalism although they knew the Scriptures well enough. Love and legalism don’t mix, love is flexible willing to yield. Love, grace and peace are a family they bring health and growth to an individual. While extra laws are a burden and often times bring bondage if not exercised by an individuals own free choice, legalism may not affect ones salvation as much as it will affect their spiritual growth. It certainly can affect their relationship to the Lord. churches that are orthodox in doctrine can fall under a pastor or leadership that goes beyond their God given authority and manipulate the congregation or individual members. [source]

The doctrine of the heresy hunters is 100% legalism. Even in cases where they are right in saying that a person is a cultist or heretic, the HH’s are Pharisaical in approach to the point of being 100% wrong.

Furthermore, the HH’s go well beyond any God-given authority for their actions. They often argue that Paul confronted heretics. There are some fundamental differences between Paul and heresy hunters – namely that Paul was an apostle who was in relationship with the people he was confronting, AND his desires were redemptive.

LUR also gives some “Common Characteristics” for cults. I am including the graphic from their page partly because it’s illustrative of heresy hunter tactics, and partly because LUR’s terms of use require content to be cited exactly. Since the graphic is there, I’m including it.

For abusive cults, the key word is CONTROL  CONTROL CONTROL by Submitting to the Leadership – leaders tend to be the absolute end, looked to as prophets of God, as specially anointed apostles. Or they can be a strong, controlling, manipulative personality who demands submission even if he changes his views or conflicts occur in doctrine or behavior. sometimes they can be looked on as God Himself. Often to obey a leader and their teaching is equal to obeying God.

It can take time for them to gain power over the new convert, but it will eventually be there. Control is usually overwhelming and can cover most aspects of the followers’ lives: Dress codes, activities, finances, time,  possessions and relationships. They can dictate to the member who to see, what to do, what is the right thing to say, and how to say it. Various degrees of control can be experienced, from subtle manipulation to blatant ordering. They will expect Rigid obedience of the members time and activities – involving their followers in physically and emotionally draining activities leaving little time for privacy and reflection, or questioning their authority. Expecting one to show up when everyone else does, and everything is usually done in groups.

The methods of control which are used is usually FEAR of displeasing God the leader or both. Fear of rejection, punishment, losing ones salvation, missing the rapture, going to hell. Guilt, Fear, intimidation are Weapons used to maintain their loyalty and devotion to the group.

Intimidation and accusation are the most often used. For example, any questioning of authority is treated as rebellion, and not trusting. They suppress questions and conform to the groups behavior. They Discourage Critical or Rational Thought and Questions they will reply with comments like, “Satan is the cause of all doubt; he is keeping you from the Truth,” or it will take time to understand the deep things of God. Critical thinking is discouraged being called prideful or sinful or rebellious. No independent thinking is encouraged.

They over simplify answers to life’s questions, making everything for all situations as simple as black or white. [source]

Those are 100% the tactics of the heresy hunters. That is precisely what LUR itself does. An examination of the list on the above page [HERE] further illuminates the cult tendencies of heresy hunters. In fact, there are only a few list items that are NOT espoused by the heresy hunter cult.

Here’s another common tactic, this time from Slaughtering the Sheep:

?However, there will always be watchmen who stand on the wall who sound the alarm when false doctrine enters the camp.  Todd Bentley and Rick Joyner call it persecution, and by token, we are persecutors.  But, God’s Word calls us Bereans.

This is the conclusion of a longish page that sounds off against what they call false doctrine (but the things they are talking about are biblically defensible). They attack the people who call them persecutors and claim the title of “Berean” though they are so unlike the Bereans of the Bible, such a claim is laughable at best. This is a very, very common cult tactic: paint a picture of a bad guy. You’re not the bad guy. Therefore, you are the good guy. Except, cultists are not “good” by any standard.

Lastly, I will draw from my own experience with Bud Press of “Christian” “Research” “Service” (in quotes because none of those three terms apply to Mr. Press or his site, in my opinion). He initially contacted me when I was the Director of ExWitch with a rather pressing problem (no pun intended): online Christian bookstores were (and still are) stocking occult titles. A few phone calls (including one to my former employer) showed that there isn’t really a whole lot the booksellers can do about the situation. They get a database of all books the publishers/distributors consider “Christian” – distributors are notoriously in error on this – and there it is! That’s the database. Most booksellers do not have the luxury of hand-selecting books.  If they find out about a specific title, there is a possibility they can block it – but even if they do, it may re-appear if the book is reprinted with a slightly different title or ISBN.

Mr. Press became increasingly unreasonable and hateful during our phone discussions about this topic, to the point that he began calling the booksellers heretics. Given that one of said booksellers is a friend of mine and one of the most devoted Christ-followers I know,  I took exception to that statement. Mr. Press would listen to no amount of reason on the subject – typical cult behavior.

Furthermore, Mr. Press attempted to recruit me into “the fold” – first by flattery (which didn’t work out too well for him), then by attempting to engage me in taking action against others (like Ravi Zacharias – another mistake as Ravi is one of my favorite authors) and then finally by asserting that since I came to Christ as a result of a vision, and since no one can have a vision of Christ (Mr. Press’s faulty interpretation of Scripture, in direct violation of several Scriptures in Acts), ergo, I’m not saved and I’d better do something about it.

At this point I distanced myself quickly. This is an extremely typical cult recruitment tactic (that many of the heresy hunters write about on their sites). Press into service, flatter, and if that doesn’t work – attempt to incite fear. Unfortunately for Mr. Press, I know my Savior and my salvation very, very well. One could say – on a face to face basis.   I pity those who he and others of his cult have managed to influence, though.

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I could go on – but I think I’ve posted ample evidence: There is a cult in the modern Christian church – the cult of the heresy hunters. They hate God’s people and, if He shows up and does anything, they hate God Himself. In fact, one cult member state that he would rather burn in hell than serve the same God that John Burton and I serve. Given that John and I both adore our risen, living Lord and Savior, the Jesus Christ the Bible talks about, the Jesus who is the same yesterday, today, and forever… that is a disturbing statement. I cried when I heard it.

AGAIN, I want to be very, very clear. Abundantly clear. I am not talking about disagreements about doctrine among people who love Christ. I am not talking about “well, the Baptists believe this, and the charismatics believe that” or the difference between Arminianism and Calvinism or how often communion should be served or when Jesus will return. This sort of difference is healthy (to the extent that it’s discussed with love) and is not a problem within the church. I’m not even talking about people who say there is no revival, that spiritual gifts are not for today, that there are no prophets or apostles today…

Lovers of Christ can differ on these things and still love Christ and still love those they are in disagreement with. And while we might attempt to persuade others to our position, if they do not embrace it that’s ok. We know they’re saved. We know they love Jesus. They know the same of us.

I am talking about people who eat, sleep, breathe, spew, and crap hatred. People whose sole purpose for getting out of bed in the morning is to spew hatred about other individuals. Their sole topic of conversation is alleged heresy. They gossip, conspire, malign, lie, and work very hard to “slaughter the sheep”. I’m talking about people who believe that I’m hell-bound for living a literal biblical lifestyle – for living out the Great Commission! For living the gospel!  They want to convert me (and you) from leading people to Jesus, healing the sick, raising the dead, cleansing the leper, casting out demons, prophesying and moving in the power and authority that Christ promised (and discipling others to do the same)… to promoting the same vile hatred that they promote. They travel earth and sea to win one proselyte and make him twice the son of hell that they themselves are… this is a travesty; a malignant cancer in the Church.

I know that quite a few heresy hunters read this blog. Here’s my challenge to you: stop, and see what the Bible really says. Don’t say another word until you read every single thing the Bible says about love. Be silent until you read everything the Word says about confrontation, about difference, about authority, about discord and about peace. Ask God to show you how those things are manifested in your life. Ask Him how your actions demonstrate your love for Him and for your neighbor. Ask Him to reveal to you those areas you need to change. Ask Him to show you the areas in your life that you have not sacrificed to Him. Climb on the altar and ask Him to burn those areas of your life. And most of all – ask Him to reveal Himself to you. Even one second in the presence of the Living God will utterly transform everything in you.

I issued a challenge like this on StS and didn’t get even one taker: Why not take some time to get to know a revivalist? I’ll even volunteer. Come and follow me around for a week. Go to church with me. Pray with me. Seek God with me. Go grocery shopping with me (it’s often an adventure). See how we live and how we minister. Ask questions and dialogue with us. Get firsthand information to form an opinion on, rather than gossip and spew. And all that I ask – ALL – is that your outward actions be subject to the spiritual authority present (that means in my home, your behavior is subject to my husband or me; in my church, your behavior is subject to the pastor. And all that means is that if you have nothing nice to say in a nice way, you don’t say it )

I’m betting I don’t get any takers here, either