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Why is Christianity different? What makes our belief the truth and others false? By comparing these simple facts you can see the difference for yourself. Every religion claims to have "the truth" and I'm sure that you have met some really decent people that claim they have the truth, but then their beliefs turn out being a bit too flaky for you. But I'm also certain you've met more hypocrites than people who live up to what they preach (as I've exposed in "Christian Extortionists"). Being human, you know it's hard to live up to your own standards and values much less a perfect God's standards. Some people find it hard to even comply with the laws of man. So, how can we measure up to God?

Well, fortunately, He came down to our level, in the form of Jesus Christ. He experienced the most brutal treatment mankind could offer, to not only show us how far He was willing to go to reach us, but to be the final sacrifice for our sins. He does love us. I know that so many people have said that, and everyone's interpretation of love is different. But if you take time to read the Bible you will understand that love must have a balance of mercy, grace, forgiveness, judgment, and discipline. I encourage you to read all the Scripture references, and study them without any outside interpretations such as "The Watchtower" or "The Book of Mormon" or things like that, because those cults place the teachings of their publications above the teachings of the Bible, and the Bible forbids that we add to or take away from God's Word. Also, it is the opinion of this author, along with many other scholars and theologians, that those publications were (and are) written by false teachers, who were (and are) in rebellion against God.

Some of the founders of these cults were proven to be liars in secular courts, as well. Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormons, was arrested for treason because he burned a newspaper printing press. He and his militia had control over the town of Nauvoo, Illinois where they built the Nauvoo temple, thus freedom of the press was not observed. Joseph Smith also could not read Egyptian, nor is there anything called Modified or Reformed Egyptian Hyroglyphics as he claimed. Joseph Smith married between 33 and 38 wives throughout his life, some were forced through condemnation by the Mormon "prophet" in the name of God. That is the reason the Nauvoo Expositor exposed Smith's cultic activities. He was also an alcoholic, and practiced witchcraft, which the Bible expressly forbids, by using "seer stones" and divination to allegedly interpret the Book of Mormon. His predecessor, Brigham Young ordered the slaughter of about 120 innocent settlers, in the Mountain Meadow Massacre, for their money and possessions. The only Mormon to take the blame for the massacre was John D. Lee who testified to his dying day that Brigham Young ordered the attack. Young eventually gained control over the Utah territory.

Charles Russell, the founder of the Jehovah's Witnesses, lied in court about being able to read the orginal Greek language of the Bible, but when presented with a Greek Bible he had to admit he couldn't read it. So, that means he didn't know what he was talking about when he "interpreted" the prophecies from the original Biblical text. He was also an adulterer. The "interpreters" of the Jehovah's Witnesses version of the bible also admitted in court that they could not interpret a verse of Scripture from the original languages. Only one of the men working on their bible had any exposure to the Greek language, and that was only 2 years worth. He claimed to be self-taught in Hebrew.

So, test the spirits and find out the true history of these religions, not what they may tell you is the religion's history. Many religions will keep their members in the dark, or blantantly lie, to cover their true history. The Mormon Encyclopedia is full of changed history and lies. Dare to ask questions and challenge them, and if they say something like, "You won't understand, because it's a spiritual secret only the elders can understand," or "It's beyond your comprehension," or my favorite, "You are misinterpreting what's being said." Remember God doesn't have any "secrets," and He is truth and light. God may have certain unfathomable mysteries but never secrets. God is not going to make salvation available to us then hide how to attain it. He made His word simple enough for everyone to understand, afterall, Jesus preached to the uneducated poor, and they understood.

Common Characteristics of Cults

1. They strip Jesus of his diety or humanize Him, making him a "lessor god" or only a prophet.
2. They deny the Trinity Doctrine (God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit being one God in 3 persons).
3. They mimic Christianity, though they are only a pseudo-form of the truth, or only partially true.
4. Cultsists deny that man can be saved by faith in Christ alone. They teach that man can make himself right with God by good works and by obeying the teachings of the cult.
5. Some deny the work of redemption and salvation that Jesus did on the cross, or they twist it to make it seem less important and not the only way that man could be saved.
6. Cults twist the Scripture to suit their platform of beliefs, rather than conform their beliefs to what the Scripture teaches.
7. They use various forms of brainwashing techniques, or manipulation (i.e. lying, guilt, threats, etc.) to gather and retain their converts.
8. They use holy deception (which is really lying) to trick a person into their midst, then on tearing down the barriers of the person's old belief system they slowly indoctrinate them with the new, cultic doctrines (i.e. brainwashing).
9. Some cults claim that you can even become God or a god, or raise man to the level of Christ.
10. They teach that there are other ways to get to heaven or God rather than through Jesus. Jesus is considered one of the "many ways" to God.
11. Some, more dangerous cults, teach that violence, murder, torture, or suicide is the way to heaven or a higher level in the cult.
12. Some cults extort great amounts of money from their followers, with the promise of a higher plain of consciousness, godhood, or spirituality.
13. Cults will separate you, either physically or emotionally, from your loved ones and/or friends, to keep you from hearing the truth or anything that is contrary to the cult's teachings.
14. They usually place their teachings, publications, or doctrines equal to or above the Bible, eventhough they claim to believe in the Bible.
15. Cultist believe the statements of their leaders who claim to have new interpretations of the Bible, or valuable additions to it.
16. They believe that all Christian churches are wrong and that their cult is a special group that has the real truth about God.
17. Some cultists don't want to believe that God will send people to hell or an everlasting fire, so they deny hell or the sinfulness of man.

Those deceived by cults are walking a pathway that can only lead to eternal damnation in the next life. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me" (John 14:6). Our Lord teaches there's only one way to God: Faith in the historic and Biblical Person of Jesus Christ. Anything that distorts that simple Gospel message is cultic, and leads to anything but Heaven. (Paragraph originally from http://www.bibleteacher.org/Dm063h.htm)

(Several of the cult characteristics were originally from http://www.bibleteacher.org/Dm063h.htm, the book So What's the Difference? by Fritz Ridenour, and from a tract called, "The Spirit of Truth and the Spirit of Error 1, What God Has Said on Seven Fundamentals, and What Men Are Now Saying," compiled by Keith L. Brooks and revised by Irvine Robertson, © 1985 Moody Press.) Other Resources: Jehovah's Witnesses Prophets, Promises... and Problems by American Tract Society

Articles © 2005-2009 The Final Stand and Final Days Project Biblical Ministry unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved.
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