What is a cult?

By Gary Amirault

Religious men and women have often been guilty of changing the meaning of words that at one time were perfectly good words, but became sources of confusion after the theologians twisted them. Such is the word "cult".

Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Fifth edition, defines a cult:

1. "A system of worship of a deity; as, the cult of Apollo. 2. Hence: a) the rites of a religion. b) great devotion to some person, idea, or thing, esp. such devotion viewed as an intellectual fad. c) a sect."

Webster's definition is a perfect definition of every denomination of Christianity, that is, a system of worship, great devotion to a person, and a sect.

With that in mind, why do mainline Christian organizations always label those who are not in their systems "cults" meaning it in a derrogatory way, when in fact they themselves perfectly fit the true meaning of the word "cult?"

For a further study on what is a cult, write for the audio tape entitled, "Cults Calling Cults, Cults."