Vol. 7, No. 4, 1990

Articles on Cults and New Religions

James Walker

An old TV game show, To Tell the Truth used to end each program by asking the real guest to, "please stand up." Every episode featured three studio guests, all claiming to be the same person. One guest was who he said he was, but the other two were phonies.

The celebrity contestants had the difficult and often humor¬ous task of identifying the genuine article. At the climax of the program, the two impostors remained seated and the real guest stood to reveal his identity.

Jesus #1, Jesus #2, Or Jesus #3

Christians today witness many religious groups claiming a belief in Jesus. However, their stand on who Jesus is varies widely and it is often contradictory.

John Allegro started a church in California called the Sacred Mushroom of the Cross. They firmly believe that Jesus Christ is a mushroom. When asked if he believes in Jesus, John Allegro may answer, "Sure, I saw him just this morning!"

While most cults are not this bizarre on their doctrine of Christ, they are just as wrong.

The apostle Paul expressed this same concern when he warned the Corinthian Christians about false teachers who would present "another Jesus, whom we have not preached," (II Cor. 11:4).

The To Tell the Truth players had only two counterfeits to eliminate before casting their votes.

But today there are hundreds of competing Christs and each group produces lists of convincing Bible "proof texts" for their candidate.

Is Jesus really the spirit brother of Lucifer and the offspring of a heavenly mother and father as claimed by Mormonism?

Is Jesus really the archangel Michael, a created being who died on a stake and never rose bodily form the grave as claimed by the Watchtower?

Or is Jesus really God incarnate, both fully God and fully man, the second person of the Trinity, who died on the cross as total payment for men's sins?

A Deadly Case of Mistaken Identity

When the TV panelists were fooled by one of the fake guests there was no real damage done. In fact, part of the programs appeal was seeing a usually sharp celebrity deceived by a clever guest.

But the person who puts their trust in a counterfeit Jesus is involved in a deadly case of mistaken identity. Jesus himself pointed this out when he said, "...if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins," (John 8:24).

The Jews obviously believed in a Jesus (he was standing right in front of them), but they did not believe the right things about Jesus. Their Jesus was only a man, a carpenter from Nazareth who had become a radical rabbi.

Know who Christ is - or die in your sins. The statement certainly shocked the Jews with whom Christ was debating. They answered, "Who art thou?" (vs. 25).

In part, Jesus replied, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am," (John 8:58).

Jesus clearly identified himself as God, the I AM of Exodus 3.

Unfortunately these particular Jews rejected the deity of Christ and ultimately refused to trust Him alone as Savior. Their response to Christ's claim to be the "I AM" was unmistakably direct - "Then took they up stones to cast at him," (vs. 59).

Like those first century Jews, the cults today rejected the true identity of Christ. Besides a few historical similarities, the Jesus of the cults bear little resemblance to the Jesus of the Bible. Sometimes only the name is the same!

It Is Time "To Tell the Truth"

This issue of the Watchman Expositor examines the "Jesuses" of the cults and contrasts these various claims with the true Jesus revealed in the Bible.

This is no minor theological "hair-splitting" but strikes at the very essence of the Gospel and the fundamental differences between Christianity and cults.

"Whom do you say that I am?" This question is as relevant today as it was when Jesus asked it of Peter. And, conflicting answers to this question are even more numerous than in the first century.

This month's paper is designed to help Christians recognize these counterfeit Christs and to share the true Jesus with those they meet who have accepted "another Jesus," (II Cor. 2:4).

"And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent," (John 17:3).