Church of God a Cult?

Is Church of God, World Mission Society, a Cult?

When my friend first spoke to me about Second Coming Christ from Korea ( a man by the name of Christ Ahnsahnghong) and that he establish her church and revealed a Mother God only one idea came to my mind…definitely a cult. So before I went to her Church, as I promised her I would, I look up the definition of what a cult is in various dictionaries so that I could be aware of what to look out for. The following are the results of my search: Dictionary definitions of the term "cult" include at least eight different meanings.

The Merriam-Webster online dictionary lists five different definitions of the word "cult."
1. Formal religious veneration
2. A system of religious beliefs and ritual; also: its body of adherents;
3. A religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious; also: its body of adherents;
4. A system for the cure of disease based on dogma set forth by its promulgator;
5. Great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement, or work (as a film or book).
The Random House Unabridged Dictionary's eight definitions of "cult" are:
1. A particular system of religious worship, esp. with reference to its rites and ceremonies;
2. An instance of great veneration of a person, ideal, or thing, esp. as manifested by a body of admirers;
3. The object of such devotion;
4. A group or sect bound together by veneration of the same thing, person, ideal, etc;
5. Group having a sacred ideology and a set of rites centering around their sacred symbols;
6. A religion or sect considered to be false, unorthodox, or extremist, with members often living outside of conventional society under the direction of a charismatic leader;
7. The members of such a religion or sect;
8. Any system for treating human sickness that originated by a person usually claiming to have sole insight into the nature of disease, and that employs methods regarded as unorthodox or unscientific.


Webster's New World College Dictionary defines "cult" as:
1a. a system of religious worship or ritual
1b. a quasi-religious group, often living in a colony, with a charismatic leader who indoctrinates members with unorthodox or extremist views, practices or beliefs
2a. devoted attachment to, or extravagant admiration for, a person, principle or lifestyle, especially when regarded as a fad [the cult of nudism]
2b. the object of such attachment
3. a group of followers, sect
Once I read these definitions I came to the conclusion that instead of having some sort of defense against my friends church I started to reflect on my own beliefs based on these definitions. For Lack of time I’m going to express what I mean through a few definitions.


The Merriam-Webster online dictionary:
2. A system of religious beliefs and ritual; also: its body of adherents; {What denominations doesn’t, that whats separates the various denominations}

3. A religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious; also: its body of adherents; {2,000 years ago when Jesus Christ preached the Gospel the people of that time, those who believed in the same creator God and Bible that you and I do, regarded Jesus as the ringleader of the Nazarene Sect because he did things drastically different then what they were accustomed to by the tradition passed on by the forefathers yet were clearly written in the Bible. However, Christ teaching remain the same as they were 2,000 years ago yet now because 1 billion believe in Jesus now it is no longer a cult. Isn’t it kind of hypocritical?

5. Great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement {So if I’m a republican and I support President Bush, or a pacifist and revere the teachings of Gandhi then I’m in a cult? That doesn’t sound right.}

The Random House Unabridged Dictionary's definitions:
4. A group or sect bound together by veneration of the same thing, person, ideal, etc; {Isn’t that every religious denomination ?}

5. Group having a sacred ideology and a set of rites centering around their sacred symbols; {As a catholic my whole life , I can’t think of a denomination that is more ritualistic or filled with more symbols, statues and images then Catholics. So that must mean that my parents raised me in a cult?}


6. A religion or sect considered to be false, unorthodox, or extremist, with members often living outside of conventional society under the direction of a charismatic leader; {My aunt Cindy was always very religious, but after college her devotion got even stronger and she decide to be a Nun so she went off to live in a covenant to devote herself to God. My family was always so proud of her and they think that shes so holy yet by this definition she’s actually a cult member. Kind of Ironic isn’t it?}

Thus after trying to attack my friend and her new church I ended up realizing that as a Catholic, a Republican and an admirer of Gandhi’s moralistic teaching that I am actually a member of various cults. This is riduculous as you can well see. A cult is merely a group of people who believe in something that is outside that of the mainstream point of view. Yet 2,000 years ago that is exactly why the apostles were martryed because they believed in something and someone who the rest of the world rejected. They views, and ways of worship were thought to be radical and rebelious for the time yet they understood through the scripture that Jesus was the Christ, the Savior, God almighty in the flesh and for that they willing died. What if my friend is not wrong and Second Coming Christ came from Korea and his name was Christ Ahnsahnghong and there is a Mother God, if she can prove it to me 100% through the Bible then I’d be in the same situation as the disciple 2000, that is, choose between God and peoples opinion. I choose God. I’m going to study more about these topics and return to you all with my report. May God bless you all.



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