Are you a member of a cult?

Scary title, but bear with me for a moment. The term cult is thrown around a lot to disparage churches whose doctrine we don’t agree with. I don’t want to minimize real Jim Jones-like cults, but I want us to think about the definition for a moment. What are the three main attributes of a cult?

1. Religious devotion to a single individual who alone defines doctrine and lifestyle
2. Separation from the world, including family and friends
3. Unorthodox theology and practice

Now consider the following:

1. John 14:6
2. Luke 14:26
3. John 6:60

The notion in Chapter 4 of Mere Churchianity is that our churches actually don’t want to follow Jesus. After all, wouldn’t that make them a cult?

So my question this week is, Is Your Church a Cult?

Please come back later today for more discussion on Mere Churchianity.