Have you ever wondered where many pseudo-Christian American cults such as Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, Christadelphians, Seventh-day Adventists, Christian Scientists, the Unity School of Christianity and others have come from? Most people have never really stopped to ask that question. Larry Wessels, director of Christian Answers of Austin, Texas/ Christian Debater (see websites: BIBLEQUERY.ORG, HISTORYCART.COM & MUSLIMHOPE.COM) tackles this very seldom asked question & the answer he gives may surprise you.
The Protestant Reformer Martin Luther once said, "My dear pope, I will kiss your feet and acknowledge you as supreme bishop if you will worship my Christ and grant that through His death and resurrection, not through keeping your traditions, we have forgiveness of sins & eternal life. If you will yield on this point, I shall nottake away your crown & power; if not, I shall constantly cry out that you are the Antichrist, and I shall testify that your whole CULT & religion are not only a denial of God, but also the height of blasphemy against God and is idolatry. - ("What Luther Says", II:1069). It is obvious from Luther's definition of CULT he means a religious group that is "a denial of God," "a blasphemy," & is considered "idolatry." Cult expert & author Walter Martin defined "cult" as "a group of people gathered about a specific person or person's misinterpretation of the Bible." Authors John Ankerberg & John Weldon define "cult" as "a religious group having Biblically unorthodox and/or heretical teachings & which may fail to meet basic ethical standards of Christian doctrine & practice." Author Bob L. Ross (one of world's leading publishers of the works of Charles Haddon Spurgeon) defines "cult" as "a counterfeit of the true faith of the Bible." The shortest definition of the word cult is "organized heresy."
It is interesting to note that the American "cults" began in the 1800s (Mormonism - 1830, Christadelphianism - 1848, Seventh-day Adventism - 1861, Jehovah's Witnesses - 1879, Christian Science - 1879, Unity School of Christianity - 1895) but why? What happened to cause all these sects to suddenly appear on the face of the earth? The answer is Campbellism which began in 1823. Campbellism (also know as Restorationism) is the theological "mother" spawning all these groups.
The religious movement known as "Campbellism" (Restorationism) and adhered to by groups known as "Church of Christ," "Christian Church," and "Disciples of Christ," had its beginning primarily through the influence of two immigrants from Ireland. Thomas Campbell, the father, and Alexander Campbell (referred to by followers as the "Master Spirit"), the son, rebelled against Presbyterianism and ultimately created the Campbellite movement after coming to America in the early 1800s. To make a long story short, these two "Restorers of the Ancient Gospel" (as they were called by their followers) were joined by two other "Restorers" named Walter Scott and Barton W. Stone who discovered that the gospel message in the Bible had been lost & now they were going to restore it (Walter Scott actually claimed to have restored the gospel when he baptized a Baptist named William Amend on November 18, 1827). Utilizing a Campbellite interpretation of baptism verses found throughout the Bible (Acts 2:38, etc.) the "Restoration" of the lost gospel was water baptism "in order to the remission of sins;" i.e. water baptism (plus other obediences) was essential for salvation. Therefore, the Campbellite "Restorationist Plan of Salvation" meant an adherent had to do the following to be saved: hear + believe + repent + confess + be water baptized by immersion + local congregation + Lord's supper + giving on first day + non-instrumental singing + prayer + benevolence + bible study + no creed + bible name + second law of pardon + obedience to elders + good morals + no Christians in other denominations + scriptural marriage (if married) + no indwelling of the believer by the Holy Spirit, only in the Word + believe whatever the evangelists preach as the Word of God. From this Campbellite religion then came its influence on the birth of other American cults such as Mormonism (Sidney Rigdon, for instance, a close associate of the "Restorers" left the Campbellite organization & joined up with Joseph Smith, Jr. to help begin the Mormon religion). The links between Campbellism & the various cults go on & on.
Those interested in further information on the various cults mentioned here can go to GOOGLE VIDEO & once on their homepage type "LARRY WESSELS" in the search box & see other related videos posted online.
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The Cult of the Tele-Evangelistsby BereanBeacon4,361 views
Yes, I am in one.
SvedskiKuvar 1 month ago
@davidmorrison09 - no, you don't need to be water baptized to be saved. However, being water baptized is an act of obedience as it serves as an outward testimony of an already inward spiritual condition that occurred previously. In other words, the baptism of the Holy Spirit that occurs at the moment of salvation is what saves you, and that's between you and God; water baptism happens afterward as a public expression of your already existing relationship with God at salvation.
pmptrainer 1 month ago
If someone were not a Christian and they were trying to figure out which church to become a member of they would have a terrible time trying to decide. Theres over 30,000 different religious organizations who all call themselves Christian. Eph 4:5 says one Lord, one faith, one baptism but how would one know if they had never been taught. How many of you folks reading this would be a hindu if you had been born in India and brought up that way. Probably more than 90%
horseman528 2 months ago
hate to burst your bubble we CHRISTADELPHIANS are NOT i repeat are NOT a cult we beleave everything that god has written or inspired people to write we are not like many other religions we dont change it we believe everything
benbrothy1 2 months ago
Because Gods teachings is a far more promising than your false doctrine. I don't know what kind of man of God you are but you are wrong.
ElbertoSanchezlollol 3 months ago
You proclaim hollow facts and hollow promises without any wisdom to back yourself up. Your doctrine is false, and your teaching is weak, I suggest you take careful steps in your growth before saying such things.
You could talk on and on about how another mans bable is worser than yours, but at the end of the day his bable makes more sense than yours.
And also do realize that all that your saying are your words not his. If you truly are great show me the wisdom you learned from Gods teaching.
ElbertoSanchezlollol 3 months ago
As far as I am concerned, a Christian cult is an organization that rejects sola scriptura and puts additional books and revelators between the congregant and the Bible. There is an over-arching desire to control information and the congregants personal life as well.
thermionic1234567 5 months ago
You Protestant sectarians need to read your history to find out that you are just as false and just as much of a cult as the Jehovah's Witnesses, SDA's, Mormons, Baptists, Pentacostals, etc. You sectarians are a false monstrosity and a total mockery of Christianity. You don't even accept the Incarnation because you reject calling Mary Theotokos and therefore you are Crypo-Nestorian because you do not believe Jesus was fully God and fully man. You are NOT Christians one bit!!!
magnus56j 5 months ago
I'm having trouble seeing the difference between the cults being described in this video and the 'organization' the speak is part of...it has all the same characteristics.
SloMoHeap 5 months ago
@channing76 It's not in the Bible\, but this is.
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? Jeremiah 17:9
But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. Isaiah 64:6
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BereanBeacon1 7 months ago