faith which was once delivered unto the saints” (Jude 3). See also II John 2:10. *In the D iscerner , publication of Re ligion Analysis Service, Minneapolis, Minn.
CULTS CRITIQUE by Betty Bruechert
F ollowing is an excerpt from an a r t i c l e by John E. Dahlin,* "What Constitutes a Cult?’ ’ Cultists demonstrate practically no regard for proper Bible exegesis. Verses of Scripture are wrenched out of their context without the slight est restraint, a n d dispensational truths are ignored altogether. When you link this procedure on their part with that of special revelation (usu ally claimed by cult leaders) then you have an abandonment of that which constitutes primary requisites for proper Bible study. The Seventh- Day Adventists and the Jehovah’s Witnesses e.g., build their doctrine of annihilation of the wicked around a few isolated passages which are ambiguous. If they were fair in their Scripture selection, they would take all the direct, clear, and decisive passages on such doctrine, and inter pret those which are the ambiguous ones in harmony with the basic passages dealing with the subject. Cultists of our time display a Bible exegesis which is not only a dem onstration of recklessness, but it ac tually involves an abandonment of Bible hermeneutics. Cultists take advantage of the utter gullibility of millions of peo ple in our generation who manifest an almost total lack of discernment. Invariably it is true that those who are victimized by the modern charla tans are those who manifest a glar ing deficiency in knowledge as to what the Bible teaches. On the other hand, it may be said, cultists make very little headway in gaining ad herents among those who are well taught in Scriptural truth. The gulli bility on the part of millions of peo ple allow cultists an open season every day of the year in promoting their spurious teachings. The only certain way of stemming the inroads of cultists is to indoctrinate church people with the fundamental truths of the Scriptures. The Christian faith rests upon the authoritative declarations of the Word of God. Every one of the New Testament writers warns us against false teachers. “ Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of our common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the
SUPERLATIVE WORDS The greatest word is GOD. The deepest word is Soul. The longest word is Eternity. The swiftest word is Time. The nearest word is Now. The darkest word is Sin. The meanest word is Hypocrisy. The broadest word is Truth. The strongest word is Right. The tenderest word is Love. The sweetest word is Heaven. The dearest word is JESUS.
MESSAGE FROM THE EDITOR
(continued from page 5) fifty years ago, was countenanced in the Presbyterian church because the denomination was “ too doctrinally sound” and “ too thoroughly planted on the scriptures ever to be disaf fected” by the modernistic system of unbelief, today the seeds of a whole new ideological view of life itself are being sown. One trembles to think of the fruit of moral degrada tion that will be produced in the next generation. The student of the Scriptures real izes that such conditions would one day come to pass, for in Luke 17:28- 29, we read, “ Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot . . . even thus shall it be in the day when the son of man is revealed.” The very word sodomy, which is another word for homosexuality, and the word sodom ite, which is another word for a homosexual, has been foretold as flourishing in the last days of this dispensation just prior to the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. In spite of this prophecy, however, we find our selves c o m p l e t e l y shocked and stunned to realize this heinous prac tice is apparently condoned in one of the great training centers which was started by godly men with the Lord’s money for the purpose of pro claiming the eternal truths of God’s Word. How low can “ religion” fall? N ote : Information for this editorial, as well as the one appearing in the August issue, was obtained from the Presbyterian Journal o f April 28,1965. The complete article may be obtained by writing to the Southern Presbyteri an Journal Co., Inc., Weaverville, No. Carolina, $1.00 per dozen. There is much more startling material in the complete article than appears in either of the King’s Business editorials.
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OCTOBER, 1965
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