Dr Ralph Wilson: It is typical of cults, however, to see themselves as the only right way of serving God, and the only ones who will be saved when God judges mankind.
Reply: When I read this I am reminded the book, "True for you, but Not for Me" by Copan. In it he writes, "The Hindu philosopher Swami Vivekenanda came to Chicago in 1893 to address the World's Parliament of Religons. He told the delegates, 'We [Hindus] accept all religions to be true,' and '[it] is a sin to call a man [a sinner].'
What a problematic and self-contradictory view! The swami calls someone a sinner - because that person has called another a sinner. If the exclusivist is a sinner for calling all people sinners, then the Hindu is just as much a sinner for calling the exclusivist a sinner." p.34
Dr Wilson condemns some groups for saying that they are the only right way of serving God, yet the whole point of his article is to show that Wilson is right and these "cults" are wrong.
If we take a look at say, Bob Larson's Book of Cults, we realize that according to mainstream evangelicals, there are many many cults. According to the criteria set out in this book, five American presidents are cultists, as was Isaac Newton and other prominent people. People write to me to tell me that Catholicism is a cult, as is Islam and the Eastern religious cults. This accounts for most of the world's population. Evidently, anyone is a cultist if they simply don't believe the same as you. The word "cult" is so overused it has completely lost its power.
Someone (JH) once wrote to me to tell me that "Independent fundamental local church Baptists do hold the only true saving faith (salvation by grace through faith in Christ apart from any works), but we are not the only ones that have this saving faith....Independent fundamental local church Baptists are, however, Christ's true churches whereas the Roman Catholic 'Church', all Protestant 'churches', Universal 'Church', and cults [including SDA] are not."
Others believe similarly (these links are rather old and may not work now):
"Now, when I was growing up, I heard that the Baptists were the only true faith because we went back past Peter, to John the Baptist, who baptized Jesus by immersion. Anybody that had not received believer's baptism by being dunked under the water, not some little sprinkling, had a defect."
By Pastor Lanny Peters
http://www.oakhurstbaptist.org/obc/Sermons/Sermon_2000_10_01_WorldCommunion=.htm
"It is not to be understood that each of these groups was entirely free from error or entirely embraced the truth. Through these groups can be traced the people called Baptists. In these groups is to be found the true church -- not in Catholicism.
http://members.aol.com/libcfl/history.htm
"Baptists did not come out of the Reformation under Martin Luther, for they were never a part of the Catholic Church. In fact Baptists were on the scene long before the Catholic Church ever came into existence. For those who are interested in studying more on this subject we highly recommend The Trail of Blood, by J. M. Carroll.
We do not believe in a so-called "Universal Invisible Church." We believe that Jesus established a local, visible church, and we are sure that this is the only kind of true church that is in existence today.
http://www.victorybaptist.org.uk/whatwebelieve.html
"At another extreme, the follower of one faith approaches the other from a position of superiority. She/he assertively presents theirs as the only true religion. Other faiths, including the religion of the listener, may [sic] described as inferior, filled with errors, and even Satan-inspired. The proselytizer might state that the other will spend eternity being tortured in Hell unless they convert to the proselytizer's religion...."However, the implicit suggestion in Southern Baptist prayer guides is that 'others, including Christians, who do not practice the Christian faith as they do are not as Christian,' contended United Methodist Bishop C. Joseph Sprague, a member of the inter-faith council. 'That is insulting to us and conducive to real hurt.' With the recent defamation of synagogues and deaths attributed to hate crimes in the Chicago area, the bishop said, 'it's no stretch to look back at history and see cause and effect.'"
"Sprague said the incident reflects the theological divide between Christians about evangelism. Evangelical Christians, like Southern Baptists, believe that salvation comes only by accepting Jesus Christ as savior. Others consider Christ as the decisive revelation and that believers witness their faith by living life 'with Jesus Christ as savior, living and proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ.' It is clear as the Southern Baptist leadership has communicated that they have a hold on truth, and others who do not agree are outside the fold of salvation,' the bishop said. 'That is offensive and theologically suspect...This raises deep historic wounds, particularly in the Jewish community. It is important for us as Christians to remember that this is still the century of the Holocaust.' "
http://www.religioustolerance.org/chi_decl.htm
Of course, it is not only Baptists:
"Is Evangelism the only true faith? It is the truest. The Lord decides [I'm a big believer in the absolute sovereignty of God] what is best for each of us and guides us to what food we can digest."
http://www.atheists-for-jesus.com/cgi-bin/archive.cgi?action=oct99_1&startwith=40
"The Pentecostals of Clearwater is part of the United Pentecostal Church International, which has 2.6-million members around the world. Greg Bowe, 30, an analyst at an insurance and security firm, said he began attending a year ago "because it's the only true faith ... it doesn't cut things out of the Bible." "The spirit of God is like nothing else," he said about speaking in tongues. "It's a joy no amount of alcohol, money or drugs can give you."
http://www.sptimes.com/2002/07/06/NorthPinellas/Congregation_is_thril.shtml
"the only true Church of Christ is the Catholic Church."
http://www.truecatholic.org/baltapx.htm
"I would like to teach this week on the deity of Christ, and the truth concerning the Jesus only faith, which is the only true faith set forth by God's apostles and the old testament writings that firmly establish the oneness of God."
http://truelightpentecostal.org/042902.html
"The Slavophils thought that Russian people live by the Orthodox faith, which is the only true faith containing the entire
truth... http://www.earlham.edu/archive/opf-l/May-2001/msg00043.html
"it has Apostolic foundations and it has the Apostolic Succession. The Orthodox Church believes it is the only true Church which has kept all these distinctive marks." http://latter-rain.com/ltrain/ortho.htm
Orthodox Church
"Thinking (like so many others) that they are the One And Only True Church" http://www.godulike.co.uk/az.php?order=o
You cannot condemn one group as a "cult" for believing they have true faith, and at the same time embrace the same view for yourself.
Buy these Books: And the Word was a god: A New Book on the Most Disputed Text in the New Testament - John 1:1 and The Dark History of the Trinity, is now available on Amazon by clicking here...and both are only 99 cents
No comments:
Post a Comment