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Are
You Being Recruited into a Totalistic Group?
Check it Out With an Ex-Member!!!
Twenty-two Differences in Content,
Emphasis,
Methods, Church life and Lifestyle
| You are valuable.
Many people and groups would like to recruit you for your talents,
resources, and the network of friends that you could recruit. Don't be
naïve. Ask questions and get real answers. Don't let them take advantage
of you. Don't get sucked in by their friendliness and their
"love-bombing." Check it out with the Office of Student Affairs.
Check it out with ex-members of the group. Groups that are cultic never
talk about ex-members except to say that they were bad or unspiritual.
They never let you talk with ex-members. The ex-members know too much.
Some groups you can only join. You cannot disjoin. The only way out is by
their marking you, shunning you, or excommunicating you. And, then, some
people are caught for life. They never get free. No one would knowingly
join a cultic, totalistic group. Check with an ex-member before you
consent to meeting with them. |
Healthy
church:
Content is BIBLICAL
1. Leads to growth, maturity
2. Leaders open to any questions
3. Truth is the bottom line
4. Teaches whole Bible |
Cultic/Totalistic
Group:
Content is TOTALISTIC
1. Clones/Enslaves/Dependency
2. Unquestioning obedience
3. Love and loyalty to the group are
the bottom line
4. Teaches a particular emphasis of
Bible |
Emphasis
is BIBLICAL
1.
Teaching (Freedom to form your
own conclusions)
2. Emphasis on unity
3. Denominational1 |
Emphasis
is TOTALISTIC
1.
Indoctrination (You accept their
conclusions)
2. Emphasis on uniformity
3. Sectarian/Elitist |
Methods are BIBLICAL
1.
Open (program)
2. Influences
3. Leaders shepherd the flock2
4. Integration with church universal
5. Mainstream/Traditional |
Methods are TOTALISTIC
1.
Hidden (agenda)
2. Manipulates
3. Leaders lord it over flock
4. Isolationist
5. New in the last 20+ years |
Church
life is BIBLICAL
1.
Can join/disjoin
2. Results in diversity & freedom
3. Many options in serving the Lord
4. Accountability of funds3 |
Church
life is TOTALISTIC
1.
Can join/cannot disjoin
2. Results in conformity & rigidity
3. One option in serving the Lord
4. No real accountability. You are
guilt-tripped into always giving. |
Lifestyle is BIBLICAL
1.
You are responsible for your life
2. God's will is something you
individually seek to know and
follow
3. Holy Spirit directed
4. Critical thinking encouraged
5. Complex, no simple answers
6. Reasoned approach based on
whole counsel of God, all available
information, and seeking God's
direction through prayer,
circumstances,
and counsel. |
Lifestyle is TOTALISTIC
1.
You are responsible to your
leaders
2. God's will is something that they
are able to tell you.
3. Leaders become the Holy Spirit.
4. Thinking, especially critical
thinking, not allowed
5. Simplistic approach to life
6. Find a verse to lead you |
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1 While this article was written to help others avoid
totalistic groups, today many churches have become apostate,
liberal or compromising. More and more churches are becoming members of Willow Creek
Association. Read:
The
People's Church (a Wayward Vessel) and see our links under
Apostasy in the Church.
2 Read: Identifying a Cultic Church
to spot the wrong type of "shepherds."
3 Healthy churches provide full
disclosure of their finances; cultic and totalistic groups do not.
(See what a genuine
Christian financial church statement looks like) |
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