Rewind: Characteristics of a Cult: Authoritarianism

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Welcome to The Rapid Bull, Daily Edition, where we provide a quick Biblical interpretation and application.

This is a ministry of striving for eternity. As we're looking at five different characteristics that define cults, those are abusive organizations that take the scriptures and twist them to use for their own purposes and mislead people.

We see a second characteristic is authoritarianism. That is when an individual interpretation on subjects are not allowed.

Only the cult leaders or leader or organization can interpret and no private interpretation is allowed without them.

Most of the time, the personal organization becomes the authority on the proper interpretation of scriptures.

Some of these cults will state that only the authority can properly interpret scripture and therefore they can twist it and explain it to the average person any way they want, even if it is opposed to the natural reading of the text, because the cult leader or organization is the final authority on the interpretation of scripture.

Therefore, if a person disagrees with the interpretation based on a normal reading of scripture, the cult leader can have an answer that the individual cannot know on his own.

Authoritarianism allows the cult authority to twist the scriptures as we saw yesterday is required.

There will always be some form of authoritarian in every cult. This is how they run this and this is the use that they use for control, the organization that will be the controller.

You can get more information about this and other world religions at my book, What Do They Believe at whatdotheybelieve .com.

This podcast is part of the Striving for Eternity ministry. For more content or to request a speaker or seminar to your church, go to strivingforeternity .org.

Transcribed by https://otter .ai