“What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” Ecclesiastes 1:9 I just read an interesting article ‘Lessons from Waco, Understanding the chaos of cults and sects’ written by Caleb Rosado, published in the Ministry Magazine, July 1993. Caleb gives an-eye-opening genesis and DNA of sects and cults. He defines a sect as “a religious movement that claims to be the true expression of a traditional religious faith.” Sects leave the mother body not to form a new faith but to reestablish the old from which the parent body has supposedly ’drifted’. On the other hand, a cult is defined as “a new religious movement that represents a radical break from existing religious traditions.” Caleb argues that sometimes a sect will evolve to a cult as they claim to have ‘new light’. Over the years the Seventh day-Adventist Church has seen dissident or offshoot groups mushrooming as sects and some developed to cults. I hereby cite a few individuals/’bright stars’ who left the SDA church and offshoot movements that have emerged in the past: Dr John Harvey Kellogg, A.T. Jones, D.M. Can right, A. Ballenger, Desmond Ford, the Messenger Party (1853-1854), The Hope of Israel and the Marion party (1858,1866), the Reformed Seventh-day Adventists, Davidian Seventh-day Adventists (1929) and many others that have emerged in the recent past. Caleb rightfully says that “…most cult leaders are obsessed with power.” Every era has seen sects and cults coming and going and regrettably these have swept away gullible members who lack the gift of discernment. Fortunately, we know their fate because history is the best teacher, “there is nothing new… ” Nevertheless, the church has survived for it is built on the Rock, Jesus Christ. To prove this Ellen White says, “Many of our people do not realise how firmly the foundation of our faith has been laid…” Selected Messages, Vol.1, p. 206
Posted on: Fri, 14 Nov 2014 19:25:07 +0000
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