Vol. 6, No. 8, 1989

Articles on Cults and New Religions

James Walker

"And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." (Matt 10:24)

Christian concern over the cult movement in America has been historically focused mostly on the afterlife... and rightly so. With all the destructive aspects of cultic religions, the real tragedy is the untold millions of souls which are led to an eternal hell.

While the secular media has turned its attention to the physically destructive aspects of cults, Christians have been most vocal about the spiritual dangers.

The secular press has turned its spotlight on the shocking and gruesome cult related deaths such as the 913 killed in the Jonestown massacre a decade ago, or the more recent occult related murders in Matamoros, Mexico.

Christians, while deeply concerned about the loss of physical life, have realized that for every one which dies in the highly publicized cultic murders, there are thousands more who lose "both soul and body" in those cults which have gained acceptance in the eyes of the media and the public.

But the physically destructive nature of the cults should not be ignored by concerned Christians. While not minimizing the spiritual dangers, this month's Expositor highlights the hazards to physical life and health posed by the cults.

In surveying the history of cult related deaths and murders, it becomes quickly apparent that bloodshed and the loss of innocent lives are not restricted to the likes of Jim Jones, Charles Manson, and the "Son of Sam." "Cults that Kill" include those cults that have gained the acceptance and respect of the general public and media such as Mormonism, Jehovah's Witnesses, Christian Science, and Armstrongism.

Often cults kill by denying their followers valid lifesaving medical treatment. By proclaiming simple medical treatment as forbidden by God, untold hundreds of lives have been sacrificed on the altar of false doctrine.

Other cults kill through teachings such as Brigham Young's "Blood Atonement" doctrine which has been linked to murders from the Mountain Meadows Massacre of over one hundred years ago down to the recent murders by Mormon polygamous splinter groups in Texas.

This month's survey of "Cults that Kill" can only offer a brief sample of the kinds of cultic teachings that have cost the lives of men, women, and children. But it should serve as a reminder that the subject of the cults is a matter of life and death -- both now and for eternity.