Matthew 13:31–32 (KJV 1900)
31 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: 32 Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.
- Cults today are growing
- What all cults have in common
- Doctrinally weak Christianity strengthens cults
- Spiritually weak Christians strengthen cults
- The Solution is Pastors
In the last thirty days, I have discussed the identity of Jesus with Jehovah Witnesses on my front porch, witnessed a funeral hosted by Black Hebrew Israelites and debated whether Allah and Yahweh were the same person with a Muslim man at work.
All three of these groups have been around for a long time. The difference today is their growth and prevalence in America as a whole and among black people in particular.
Recently I wrote a blog entitled “My Favorite False Prophet” about the minister Gino Jennings of Philadelphia, a pastor who is the head of a movement that has captured the imagination of many black Christians and unbelievers.
This growth in the following of these groups and individuals is accompanied by a decline in the Christian population, especially among young people. COVID had a part in contributing to this decline, but the numbers were declining pre-COVID.
This blog addresses the reasons why the influence of Christianity upon society is decreasing, creating a vacuum that is being filled by various cults and false teachings. It will discuss why these trends are a danger to the continued existence of the United States. It will identify the biblical solution to the problem and relate that solution to the rescue of the nation.
Cults Today are Growing…
Because Christian Identity is Disappearing
“Only a few decades ago, a Christian identity was so common among Americans that it could almost be taken for granted. As recently as the early 1990s, about 90% of U.S. adults identified as Christians. But today, about two-thirds of adults are Christians.6 The change in America’s religious composition is largely the result of large numbers of adults switching out of the religion in which they were raised to become religiously unaffiliated.
“In other words, a steadily shrinking share of young adults who were raised Christian (in childhood) have retained their religious identity in adulthood over the past 30 years. At the same time, having no religious affiliation has become “stickier”: A declining percentage of people raised without a religion have converted or taken on a religion later in life.”[i]
Because Spirituality is Being Redefined
“As Table 1 shows, from 1998 to 2018 there have been major changes in people’s religious vs. spiritual identification. The more religious than spiritual group declined from 16.7% in 1998 to 11.9% in 2018 (- 4.8 percentage points) and those saying they are equally religious and spiritual also decreased from 64.8% to 55.1% (-9.7 points). Rising notably, the more spiritual than religious group climbed from 18.5% to 33.0% (+14.5 points). The gains of the more spiritual than religious group resulted from a weakening of religiousness ratings and a rise in spirituality ratings.”[ii]
This data revealed that the younger the age group, the more likely they were to consider themselves spiritual but not religious.
Because Doctrinally Weak Christianity Creates Opportunity for Cults
All religious cults have one thing in common: they all make Jesus Christ less than God or elevate others to equality with Christ. Any definition of Jesus Christ that differs from that provided in the Christian Bible as evidenced in its 66 books is another Jesus, a Jesus that cannot provide eternal life because he never existed.
Doctrinally weak Christianity begins with giving people an excuse not to accept all the Bible for what it is, the inspired Word of God. This is typically done by enabling believers to modify or reject one or more true doctrines of the Scriptures. Once accomplished, the believer learns to apply this same disrespect to other portions of Scripture, eventually adding to, subtracting from and corrupting doctrines of the Bible at will.
An early example of this process set America upon a spiritual path from which it has never departed. The modification of the Bible for the purpose of justifying American slavery, a practice which stood upon the three pillars of the theft of labor, extreme violence and rape, has resulted in the steady decline of the moral fiber of the nation. The spiritual effort to segregate the financial rewards of slavery in perpetuity and to maintain the systems of inequality born of that infernal industry has debased our people, destroyed our government and compromised gospel effectiveness.
Doctrinally weak Christianity has also been dramatically advanced by the Pentecostal/Charismatic doctrine, which has grown from a fringe movement of proven error to the dominant form of Christian belief in America. The Pneumatic Revolt has changed the interpretation of scores of scriptures and concepts to conform to doctrinal ideas that were disproven by the apostles and repeatedly disproven by others down through history. Through this false movement, Christian practice is made indistinguishable from that of the New Age teachings and the Old and New Testament pagan cults.[iii]
Doctrinally weak Christianity opened the doors wide to cults who could use the doubt created by these erroneous systems and others to ask “hath God said?” [Gen 3.1] False religious systems of every denomination have arisen to address every category of spiritual need, each pointing to a false Jesus, or to no Jesus at all.
Because Spiritually Weak Christians Create Opportunity for Cults
Weak Christian doctrine must manufacture spiritually weak Christians. The prevalence of versions of Christianity that rely upon political solutions, racial solutions, extraordinary experiences, altered states of consciousness and even technological advances to achieve apparently spiritual objectives is clear evidence of the existence of a class of individuals that Scripture predicted would exist in the last days:
1 Timothy 4:1–3 (KJV 1900)
1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; 2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; 3 Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.
2 Timothy 4:3–4 (KJV 1900)
3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
2 Timothy 3:1–5 (KJV 1900)
1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
Weak Christians are a positive danger to the permanence of the State, which is stabilized by the spiritual impact of true disciples upon individuals and institutions. It is the properly functioning local church that provides the moral example and spiritual protection for the community through its prayers, witnessing and righteous way of life. When that spiritual covering is demolished by false doctrine and cults, the marriages and families of the entire community are weakened. The State is nothing but the sum of its marriages and families.
The Solution Is Pastors
It is axiomatic that no nation or people have ever survived the nullification of its pulpits/Pastors. This is because the engines of society are not economic, political or military, but spiritual.
Psalm 127:1 (KJV 1900)
1 Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: Except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.
Proverbs 11:10–11 (KJV 1900)
10 When it goeth well with the righteous, the city rejoiceth: And when the wicked perish, there is shouting. 11 By the blessing of the upright the city is exalted: But it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked.
Pastors must change their priorities, if need be, from self-preservation to a willingness to preach the whole counsel of God frequently, accurately and systematically.[iv]
- They must preach the truth, but also identify error without fear of reprisal.
- They must address the sins of the congregation and the community fearlessly.
- They must meet the needs of the congregation for teaching in being spouses and parents, employees and citizens.
- The black pastor must address the problems caused by racial oppression and the damage it has done to the minds and bodies of his people. Some cults are growing because they are not afraid to deal with these realities.
- They must proclaim an accurate Gospel and teach the congregation to do so.
- Finally, they must teach and train disciples and avoid the temptation to “give the people what they want.”
Many will lose members from this approach, and some will no doubt be fired, but you will not be fired by God. The revival of the community begins with the revival of the local church and that begins with the revival and repentance of the Pastor. This is the way in which America is changed, or at least your part of it.
[i] How U.S. religious composition has changed in recent decades | Pew Research Center
[ii] Spirituality and Religion in the United States, 1998-2020
[iii] “MacArthur, John. Strange Fire: The Danger of Offending the Holy Spirit with Counterfeit Worship. Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, 2013.
Walker, Richard G. The Spiritual Gift of Tongues. Second. The New Fundamentals Series: Book One 1. Kindle Direct Publishing, 2022.
[iv] Walker, Richard G. Revival and Nationbuilding: A Biblical Guide to Black Nationbuilding. A Richer Walk Ministries, 2023.
A Richer Walk 