Characteristics of a cult: Isolationism | Rapp Report Daily 0034 | Andrew Rappaport | SFE | Striving for Eternity

Welcome to The Rapid Pull, daily edition, where we provide a quick biblical interpretations and applications. This is a ministry of striving for eternity.

Scripture Twisting, Exclusivism, and Control

As we've been seeing this week, the different characteristics of cults, we've been noticing how they progressively become more and more controlling. They start with Scripture twisting, changing the meaning of Scripture, that will lead to them saying that some organization or individual is the only one that has the authority to be able to interpret Scripture that leads to exclusivism, that leads to the fact that if you're outside of their organization, you can't have the truth because you need their authority to rightly interpret God's Word.

That leads to then the next characteristic, and that is isolationism. It is the idea that members of the organization are not to speak to outsiders about doctrine unless to convert them. The organization often states that it has these rules because they want to protect their members, because the people outside will deceive them and lie to them and try to brainwash them, when in fact it's the cult that is doing the brainwashing.

Why Isolationism Is a Warning Sign of a Cult

Any group that tells you you cannot talk to other people is one to be weary of. You must run away from them because they are using forms of control to prevent you from hearing anything else other than what they want you to hear.

So they isolate their people. Sometimes they bring them into compounds. Sometimes they say that you should just work and fellowship and only talk to people of that group. But when you see people that are isolating you from others, they do that for a reason.

The Dangers of Brainwashing and How to Learn More

They do that because they don't want you to have any other influence than them so they can keep the brainwashing going. That's one of the dangers of a cult. If you want to get more information, get my book, What Do They Believe? at whatdothebelieve .com.

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