Catholic Church A "Cult"?

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CountrySteve said:
hey i used too be the same i remember at work about a year ago i got in a argument with a Catholic and i said praying to Saints was wrong and was a anit-catholic now im Catholic lol and im stubborn as a mull and i never change my mind so the RCC has too be of God lol 😃
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You used to be Protestant? I never knew that.
 
bz5 said:
As someone alluded to and I heard a priest on the radio say, the word ‘cult’ is in its original sense is neutral. But of course, what people mean today is usually a group of the brainwashed and other negative things. Of the people who “bash” other religions, they so often go after the Catholic church rather than fellow Protestants who also don’t agree with them on many doctrines. So why does the Catholic church fall under so much scorn? I think it’s because, whether they admit it to themselves or not, they see that the only church in continual existence from the apostolic times, teaching the doctrines the church still teaches, is clearly the Catholic church, and they feel a need to justify why they are not in it.
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Yes, and if only they would go back and read the Early Church Fathers they would stop being Protestants! 🙂 Peace, Carlan
 
ATeutonicKnight said:
Why do people say the Catholic Church is the cult? I have been Catholic all my life and I have found no traces of anything cult-related. Where did they get this dubious claim from?
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“Cult” is one of those words that is used in very confusing ways.

The Baptist pastor who recently called Mormonism a cult (he refused to apply the term to Catholicism, even though he made the absurd claim that Catholics deny that “historic Christian doctrine” of salvation by faith alone!) distinguished between a “theological cult” and a “sociological cult.” By the former he really meant “a heresy.” But some Protestants don’t like the word “heresy,” so they confusingly say “cult.”

Also, the claim is sometimes made that Catholicism is controlling and based on “human authority” and authorities other than God’s Word, and thus is a “cult.”

As I said, the usage is very confused. I generally avoid using the word at all.

Edwin
 
The times that I followed a link and stumbled on an anti-Catholic fundamentalist site, I have seen the Catholic Church described as a cult that practices idolatry.

We need to pray for them.
 
ASimon said:
FWIW, here is Merriam-Webster’s definition:

Definition of CULT
1
: formal religious veneration : worship
2
: a system of religious beliefs and ritual; also : its body of adherents
3
: a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious; also : its body of adherents
4
: a system for the cure of disease based on dogma set forth by its promulgator
5
a : great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement, or work (as a film or book); especially : such devotion regarded as a literary or intellectual fad b : the object of such devotion c : a usually small group of people characterized by such devotion

merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cult

Some folks obviously think there’s enough here to merit a fair comparison.
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Well then I am proud to belong to the Cult of Jesus Christ!
 
Contarini said:
“Cult” is one of those words that is used in very confusing ways.

The Baptist pastor who recently called Mormonism a cult (he refused to apply the term to Catholicism, even though he made the absurd claim that Catholics deny that “historic Christian doctrine” of salvation by faith alone!) distinguished between a “theological cult” and a “sociological cult.” By the former he really meant “a heresy.” But some Protestants don’t like the word “heresy,” so they confusingly say “cult.”

Also, the claim is sometimes made that Catholicism is controlling and based on “human authority” and authorities other than God’s Word, and thus is a “cult.”

As I said, the usage is very confused. I generally avoid using the word at all.

Edwin
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I’m quite surprised that you said that since you are Episcopalian. Do Episcopalians not believe in Faith alone?
 
Where I live in SW TEX almost everyone is a fundamentalist, even Latinos and Irish leave the church and become Baptist, Pentecostal and “non-denominational”. There is so much social pressure.

It is very common for people to thinkof Catholics as members of a non-Christian “pagan” cult, and the are often proseletyzing us away ftrom the church to their form of Christianity frequently with great success.

I have noticed the SDAs and Jehovah Witnesses are the worst in this regard. And I consider them to be cults in the modern sense of the word.
 
ATeutonicKnight said:
Then you obviously have not debated with half as many Protestants as I. 😃
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I learned a long time ago that debating with people who do not have open minds & hearts is a pointless endeavor.

I have had lots of discussions with protestants who were very mis-guided and have been told lots of lies & half-truths about the Catholic faith.
In my experience, any sincere Christian would not use any rhetoric (“The Chruch is the whore of Babylon”, Catholics worship statues, etc.)
when discussing religous differences. I may not change their mind, but I can give them the truth and let it guide them the way the Holy Spirit feels it should.
 
We have to remember that there are two different types of ‘cult’:
  • Sociological cult
  • Theological cult
Sociological cults normally have a religious basis and are lead by a single charismatic leader who guides the group’s practices and beliefs. Sociological cults use methods of control over their members, for example keeping members exhausted so they cannot think properly, or making members give all their money to the cult, thus making the members dependent on the group. These cults also use methods of discipline, often including fear of humiliation to members who cause trouple, or in more extreme cases, using sexual or physical abuse to chastise group members. Once a member is completely dependent on the group, the cult will try to severe the member’s ties with family and friends, therefore making the cult their new ‘family’. Sociological cults can have absolutely devastating effects on individuals.

Theological cults are significantly different to a sociological cult. Theological cults are religious groups who are very unorthodox, to the point where they deny the necessities of the faith they subscribe to. This of course is subjective to whoever’s opinion. For example, we as Catholics can probably call the Mormons and Jehovah’s witnesses ‘Theological cults’, in addition to ‘sociological cults’, because their faith is completely different from historic Christianity. They are already widely recognised as sociological cults.

When you hear a protestant calling the Catholic Church a ‘cult’, they are using it in the theological sense. The Catholic Church does not match up to what their personal interpretation of Scripture calls ‘Christian’, therefore, they call us a cult.

Hope this helps. God Bless.
 
Oneofthewomen said:
I learned a long time ago that debating with people who do not have open minds & hearts is a pointless endeavor.

I have had lots of discussions with protestants who were very mis-guided and have been told lots of lies & half-truths about the Catholic faith.
In my experience, any sincere Christian would not use any rhetoric (“The Chruch is the whore of Babylon”, Catholics worship statues, etc.)
when discussing religous differences. I may not change their mind, but I can give them the truth and let it guide them the way the Holy Spirit feels it should.
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I completely agree. This is why I never debate these days. I’ve played the role of the great Crusader for Christ on Youtube long enough that I feel fifteen is a good retiring age. 😃
 
Something I think I should bring to light here is the cultural meaning of the term cult in the english and spanish-speaking worlds.

I find that it’s the English-speaking world’s culture when they say cult to someone to mean offense. But in the spanish-speaking world, saying cult, or culto, as they say, are not seen as a derogatory term. So, in all retrospect, we can see how the use of the term cult today is viewed in both worlds.

I figured this was a piece of information I should share, regarding my extensive knowledge of different cultures.

-MontChevalier
 
ATeutonicKnight said:
Why do people say the Catholic Church is the cult? I have been Catholic all my life and I have found no traces of anything cult-related. Where did they get this dubious claim from?
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Coming from a Protestant background here (and not all Protestants would agree on this issue), they take issue with the Catholic Church’s stances on Mary veneration, saint veneration, sacrament of holy orders, etc. Depends on the Protestant.
 
It HAS TO BE a cult for Protestantism to make sense, of course.

It is of my opinion actually that Protestantism is closer to being cult-like, but not quite, than
the Catholic Church. WHY?! It essentially deviated away from the ORIGINAL CHURCH.

This is actually where these accusers of the Catholic Church fail, because they got it
backwards. When a certain body in the Pentecostal Church became Unitarian, it was
excommunicated, becoming the United Pentecostal Church International, and is now
deemed by it’s ancestral church as a Cult. Such is the conflict between the Catholics
and Protestants, as I see it.

But anyway, back to why the Catholic Church “HAS TO BE a cult” “in order for Protestantism
to make sense.” If the Roman Catholic Church is not the Whore of Babylon, if the Pope is not
the Antichrist or False Prophet, if the Catholic Church is NOT a CULT, then maybe Protestant
churches have been wrong this whole time.

“NO!” some Protestants say, “My Church is True, BECAUSE the Catholic Church is cult,
and mine is not,” is the train of thought of **some **Protestants. The key is to vilify the One
Holy Catholic & Apostolic Church, because once somebody does that, he/she has justif-
ied his/her own sect in his/her own mind.

Heavy Question Now:The Roman Catholic Church was here FIRST, then Protestantism showed up, **
in the 16th Century**, while the Catholic Church has been since the days of
Saint Peter . . .
So come on now, Who’s the the cult here?

​
No, I’m not necessarily calling Protestantism a cult, just
saying that anyone who calls the Catholic Church a cult
is really not in a good position to talk.
​
 
Cristiano said:
I think that the problem arises from the understanding of the present common usage of the word “cult” and adopting it instead of the proper usage of the word “cult” coming from the Latin. Just look at the present common usage of the word mistress and its original meaning, you will see that in the last 50 years there is a major departure from what it meant in the previous 300 years.
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Same with the word “gay.”
 
I’m curently a Protestant who gets that the Catholic Church is not a cult, but have argued with an Evangelical Protestant who says Catholics aren’t Christian lol!
 
The part where I get lost in the idea that the Catholic Church is not Christian is this:
Where was Christianity before Protestantism? Did the Gates of Hell truly
prevail for a time? and the True Church that Christ established went miss-
ing for a while? Such an idea is ignoring the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
(John 14:15-17)
youtube.com/watch?v=MZ5tEzXxSvs
 
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