Cults are by no means a new phenomenon. A number of mystery religions existed in both the classical world, promising recruits benefits in this life or the next. The popularity of these religions was understandable. For the common person, their afterlife was expected to be even more drab than their earthly existence. If, therefore, there were some way to learn a secret or in some other way be bound to a deity so as to escape an eternity of misery and insignificance, there would be little reason not to jump in with both feet.
This is the context in which Christianity enters the classical world, preaching a God who loves all of His creatures and who has acted decisively to provide salvation for all those who would receive it. Eternal blessedness with God is suddenly not reserved only for the Emperor and an otherwise small group of elites, but it is open to all.
One would expect that the advent of Christianity, therefore, would once and for all consign the cults to the pages of history. Given that this is not the case, one must wonder why.
Cults today—at least in the West—can be divided into two categories. Among the first are those groups who claim that authentic Christianity was lost at some point in the past and has now been recovered exclusively by this particular group.
Given 20 centuries of Christian theology, much of it publicly accessible, it is entirely possible for the common person to counter the claims of such groups; all one needs is an internet connection or a library card and time, certainly less time than one might spend in therapy after joining one of them.
Also worrisome is the rise of a second category, groups which promise some benefit in this life. I was particularly horrified to learn of NXIVM, a secular cult which purported to offer members intellectual and spiritual enlightenment, as well as opportunities for career advancement and “experience more joy in their lives.” Classes included what might be gleaned from various self-help books as well as C-level freshman philosophy rumination on Plato and Aristotle. And yet, founder Keith Raniere successfully convinced a number of successful women within NXIVM to brand themselves with his initials and subject themselves to sexual slavery in return for his pearls of wisdom.
Why? A complete answer to this question would take some time, but one aspect of the answer is commonly ignored. If Christianity is true—and I believe it is—and if people today hunger for what it purports to give in this life and in the next, why are people willing to spend lots of money and even subject themselves to degradation in groups such as NXIVM when they could access both the intellectual and spiritual depths of the Christian faith free of charge?
When Christianity burst into history, it was weird, dangerous, and forbidden–a fringe group persecuted by the state, which promised both spiritual fulfillment and adventure. Joining the nascent Christian Church was thrilling and perilous. Today Christianity is ubiquitous in the West and becoming a Christian is safe and rather boring.
As seen from the outside, Christianity has lost its edge. There is some truth to this assessment. In the early Church, one was not merely invited into an adventure, they were forced into it. On the other hand, today one could comfortably enjoy a perfunctory Christian life, consisting of boring once-a-week Church services and occasional shallow reflections on a God that, to paraphrase C.S. Lewis, wishes good fun to be had by all.
This tepid experience is to real Christianity as a work acquaintance asking if you would like to go to Chipotle with him for your lunch break is to a marriage proposal. Perhaps the reason why cults are flourishing is because authentic Christianity is not so much lost as often untried. What these groups have that the Church is widely perceived to lack is the promise of adventure. If we believe ourselves to be part of the same family that produced the martyrs and doctors of the Church, then we must seriously ask if we are truly their brothers and sisters.
The Groom is on one knee, but we too often think He is merely tying His shoe. Christianity promises us a whirlwind adventure, a love story which overcomes even death, but unless and until we choose to participate in it, we should not perhaps be surprised that those around us will look for it in all the wrong places.
Gjergji Evangjeli served as the Editor-In-Chief of The Torch. He had previously served as the Executive Editor and the World News section editor. He is currently pursuing a ThM at the BC School of Theology and Ministry. Gjergji is interested in the patristic period, specifically in the apologists of the second century. He is an ardent defender of the Oxford comma.
- Encountering the Old Testament in the New Testament - December 25, 2021
- Cults and How to Overcome Them - November 2, 2021
- Thoughts on the Waning Days of the Pandemic - October 6, 2021