“a religion or sect considered to be false, unorthodox, or extremist, with members often living outside of conventional society under the direction of a charismatic leader.”

I think this both simplifies AND complicates the question. On the one hand, while I believe the God of the Bible to be the one and only true god and all others to be false, I come to that conclusion based on personal experience and faith. On the other hand, because I have access to the Christian Bible, I can look at any church that claims to follow that bible and make perhaps a more supported case that such and such church/religion is a cult (unorthodox, false, extremist).

The argument that persecution and mainstreaming make a designation seems a bit off to me. Christians in China and other parts of the world are murdered every day simply because they are Christian. And try saying “Merry Christmas” in a public school this December and tell me where that gets you.

I think the terms “cult” and “cultist” we’re once meant to refer to any religion and anyone who practiced it devoutly.

To address something linc said:
“But doesn’t the Church show total unswerving devotion to a single leader? Obeying him in all things, never questioning? I think Jesus fits this bill.”

On the one hand, yes. However, the words and teachings of Jesus that we follow are all written down in a book for all to see. That’s not to say that they are always clear or that Christians don’t often take them out of context, but they are there all the same. And the Bible tells us to “Test everything. Hold on to the good.” Not quite the same as unswerving devotion.

Also, I think we might agree that cults pull away from society. Jesus tells us to be in community.

Great conversation so far. (Except for the person who said I am “sincerely stupid”. Although thank you for recognizing my sincerity!)

So basically, a cult is a group of people who aren’t part of the mainstream in their beliefs or practices. If Scientology became the mainstream, then yes, Christianity could be considered a cult again.

The only reason why Christianity isn’t thought of as a cult is because there are a lot of Christians and they don’t want to be thought of as cultists.

As for the changed and edited point, I was merely referring to the fact that both the Catholic Church and Constantine (among others) altered the bible to fit their needs. If you want to read about the topic in-depth, you should check out Misquoting Jesus by Bart Ehrman.

One comment, however, on the “changed and edited so many times” point – are you saying that the scriptural passages found in the Dead Sea Scrolls are dramatically different than the scriptural passages in Bibles that are printed today?

At a time when I was considering thoughts of suicide, I said a prayer to the “God of the Christian Bible”. Over the course of the following 2 weeks, I felt he answered my profoundly and deeply… more so that I could have imagined. That has made Christianity true for me.

Now I do read the bible regularly to try and understand it more. Christianity calls the bible “God breathed” and a “living document”. I have found that to be true. Words that mean nothing to me one day, rock my world a week or a year later.

Findings like the dead sea scrolls that reveal little actual change in the bible document give me enough faith to trust it as a decent source for learning about God. And measuring what it says against the backdrop of the world I live in. Most of the time it makes sense. Or at least confirms my confusion.

But at the end of the day, that’s just MY experience. I’m sure a Christian Scientist might have a similar story. Obviously, families have been destroyed by people of Christian faith AND C. Sci. followers, and every other religion. And look at faiths like Mormonism, which protestant Christians (like myself) call a cult and yet we share the same bible.

This is a big question, and I certainly haven’t answered it. Well, maybe I have, if only for myself.

- Mike