Introduction

Choosing how to begin this section is difficult because of the many variables associated with different cults. Theological cults and Sociological cults will have varying impact on their constituents, and use differing methods to indoctrinate them. I will begin with Theological issues.

Common Mistakes

There are some common mistakes made when dealing with religious cultists. I know, I've tried them all. Here are a few:

The Flame-thrower Approach

Always a favorite of the zealot, this occurs when a well meaning person gathers just enough information to make them dangerous on a cult or religious group and when the encounter begins he dumps everything in his arsenal on the cultist in one sentence, takes a deep breath, and says, "Well, what do you say to that? Huh? Huh? I can't hear you!"  While it may be satisfying to see the cultist run for cover (or at least get tongue tied), the truth is he could probably do it to you just as fast if not faster and you wouldn't be able to answer either. The problem with this approach is that it really offers no possibility of rational discussion (unless the cultist has total recall and can answer every one of your charges, all in a row, and all in one breath!). Now, there are times when a quick response is necessary, such as when encountering door knockers who just want you to take a pamphlet and leave them alone. In these cases, however, one well placed comment will do more than a barrage of information that only results in overload. This approach says, "I just want to win the argument." A more loving approach says, "I want to win you."

Theological Ping Pong

This usually begins by a statement from the cultist that is obviously flawed. The good student of Scripture explains the problem, then dutifully pulls out her Bible and quotes the appropriate verse to prove she is correct. The cultist then pulls out their Bible and quotes another verse, explaining how this verse makes them right. But it's not over yet! The Bible student is ready with another round already chambered and opens fire. Soon it's a battle...a battle literally to "the last verse" as each tries to come up with more Scripture to prove their view until one, inevitably, runs out of "ammo." Does that person lose? Does that person convert? Of course not. There are always other verses, other ways of explaining their opponent's verse in a different way...they'll just have to look it up. And, of course, all of this depends on both agreeing on what their ultimate authority is in the first place (this is the true issue, as we will see below).

False Accusations

This one is deadly. You here that such-and-such a group teaches such-and-such, the day comes when you meet up with one of "them" and in your best "superior" voice you tell them what they believe and that it's wrong. They respond that they do not, in fact, believe any such thing. Uh Oh. Did you check your sources? Can you show them where their leader taught that? You cannot tell someone what they believe, but you can tell them what their organization believes... IF you can document it. Do not even try it unless you've got prime sources available to you, or you can AT LEAST refer them to that source.

Now that we have looked at what is wrong let us to what is right. I would like to give an analogy from David Reed that I believe accurately sums up the problem most Christians face when dealing with cultists.

Picture a castle on enemy ground. To win the war you must defeat those inside. So you send your archers forward, and they let loose with a volley of arrows. Most miss, falling uselessly to the ground. A few hit, causing only minor damage. One or two hit the mark. Yet the castle stands. Now the enemy strikes back. Their archers rain arrows down upon your army. Again, most do no good, as you are properly armored (hopefully!). Some cause injury, only a few kill. Still, the castle stands. As each side scores a few hits, each becomes more sure that they will win the battle eventually, if only they can keep up the fight. This continues for days, both armies become worn out, hungry, tired of the fighting... and finally, run out of arrows. A temporary truce is called on both sides. You return home to gather more weaponry, sure that next time you will be the victors. They wait until you are out of sight, open the castle gates, and collect wood for more arrows. The moral of the story is: Arrows do not harm castles! In cult witnessing you may win one or two points, you may have a few more verses to back up your beliefs, you may have a couple more logical arguments... but you will not win. Why? Because the castle is still standing. What is the castle? In this case, it is authority.

One of the first questions I was asked by the Mormon missionaries was, "Where do you get your authority?" This was a very revealing question. What it revealed was that this issue was very important to Mormons. It was a question I needed to understand because it would have drastically affected my witness. You see, I was arguing fine points of doctrine with someone who did not share the same authority with me. The reason I was getting nowhere fighting the scriptural battle with my missionaries was not because I threw out too much at once, nor was it because I did not know what I was talking about. It was because I was under the impression that because Mormons use the Bible, they must be under its authority in matters of truth. I was wrong. What I have since discovered is that Mormons are under the Mormon Church's authority, not Scripture's. My interpretation means nothing - even if it is obvious from the text. Why? Because if the LDS church says a verse means something then that is what it means! Period. End of story.

What should I have done? Like the castle, to open someone's eyes to the falsehood of Mormonism, I needed to show them why the Mormon Church was not the true church. Doctrinal points couldn't really be discussed until then. Now when I am confronted by a Mormon missionary (or any other sect/cult) I get to the root of the tree instead of flailing around in the branches. When dealing with Mormons now, my arguments are with the teachings of its founder Joseph Smith, who was supposedly a prophet... If he wasn't, then the argument is over. And doing so is not difficult.

There are four basic steps to witnessing to a cultist, although HOW those steps are carried out vary from group to group.

• First, you must establish WHERE the cultist's authority lies. Usually this will be the founder or leader of the cult (in Sociological cults the leader is almost always still alive and is therefore the only authority).

• Second, you must find out WHAT that authority claims about himself/herself/itself. Why does this person think they are in authority? It may be some sort of vision, or visitation from God, or prophetic gift. This is very important - you must use their own literature for this. Do not rely on claims made by others.

• Third, you must show HOW that claim is in error. The Bible makes very strict guidelines regarding who God's spokespeople are... you need to show that they do not fit them.

• Fourth, you must be able to accurately SHARE the truth. See below.

You may be thinking, "Easier said than done!" Well, you are correct. No one said this would be easy. That is why it is SO IMPORTANT to be firmly grounded in your belief - BEFORE it happens. We are called to be READY WITH AN ANSWER to those who question us about our faith. Being prepared to do this may take some time. I suggest the following steps:

• Be able to give your testimony. You should be able to deliver your testimony in 30 minutes, or 30 seconds, given the situation. There are only three necessary things you need to get across:

• Know what you believe. Learn the basic, fundamental truths of Christianity and where to find them in your Bible. The most important involve: Who God (The Father, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit) is, Why we are separated from God, How we can be saved.

• Know why you believe. This part requires the most work, but you do not have to become an apologetics expert to be successful at defending your faith. The fact is that about 90% of the population (Christians included) are completely ignorant when it comes to the Origin of the Bible, Evolution vs. Creation, the Resurrection, Prophecy etc. Just a basic knowledge of these issues will put you in a position to accurately defend what the Bible teaches.

In no particular order, here are time tested treasures of witnessing to those in cults or other religions:

• Act fast. In the case of a family or friend who is just starting to investigate a cult, every second counts. Do what you have to do to stall them until you can find out what's going on. Do not hesitate. This is the one time that the flame-thrower approach is not a bad idea. You need to totally disrupt their interest and get the facts planted in their minds before they start making any commitments. Show proof that what you say is true while they are still reasonable enough to consider it. There is nothing wrong with curiosity, but while they are still on the fence don't just wait around to see if they fall off. The cult is ready for them.

• Take your time. In the case of friends or family already involved for some time, you need to build some rapport, let your life speak for itself.
  
 
• Learn their language. This is VERY IMPORTANT to successful witnessing. Realize that the cultist has been taught "group-speak," they may use words you know but pour radically different meanings into them. They may be using words you know, but using a different meaning. You need to know how to ask the right questions to arrive at the correct answers. For instance: If you ask a Mormon, "Are you polytheists, or do you only believe in only one God?", they may answer, "No, we believe in only one God." You know that this is not so, but to the Mormon he has answered truthfully.

• Find points of agreement. It may be the Bible, it may be moral laws, it may be the existence of reality... whatever you can agree on has to be your base, your starting point. Otherwise you will drift around the main issues, never getting anywhere near the heart of the matter. Agree together on what you both believe to be true, and agree to base your arguments on that.

• Ask them interested (and pointed) questions. Make sure you know the answer first!!! Ask questions that show curiosity, not defiance. If they think you are trying to talk them out of what they believe, you will be showing them that what their leader said would happen is! If, however, they think that they are teaching you, they will be much more open to discussing things that otherwise would have ended the conversation.

• Know the Scripture they use. Mormons use the King James Version exclusively. Jehovah's Witnesses would prefer practically anything to the KJV (and watch out for the "translation" they will be using, having a Greek Interlinear handy in cases of dispute is handy).

• Know the other writings they use. The best weapon against cults is usually their own writings. Let them see for themselves what is wrong with their group's views. Also, because most cultists are instructed not to read anything outside the cult, or anything that talks bad about the cult, they will not take anything from you. They will, however, be more than happy to supply you all the materials you could possibly want (get them up front). At the very least, get photocopies of their documents. How can they argue about reading their own material?

• Have them read passages out loud. When leading someone to a point in Scripture, let them read the passage, ask them what it says, ask them to read it again if they add to, subtract from, or try to change what it actually says. Be patient...very patient. Let the facts speak for themselves.

• Insist on documentation. Unless you know the information by heart, and that it is true, do not let unsubstantiated accusations or "facts" enter the conversation without proof. This definitely includes Bible verses!

• Love the cultist genuinely as Christ does. Do not forget that you are dealing with a person, not a project. If you are only trying to win, you have already lost.

• Pray with and for the cultist. You do the praying. Until you know that someone is praying to the true God, they should not lead your prayers.

• Talk to cultists alone. This may be difficult or impossible, but to confront a cultist with their cult family or teacher present is not a good idea. There is strength in numbers... that is why most cults send people out in twos (and probably why Christ did!). It is simply a good idea. If you are witnessing to visiting missionaries have another believer with you.

• Refer to the cult (or its leader) when speaking of false teaching. Avoid confronting the person... instead, confront the teaching. Assume it is "us against them," and not "me against you."

• Don't assume the cultist knows as much as you do about what their cult teaches. Always ask what the person believes before proceeding. If they do not believe what the cult teaches, ask if they are aware of that fact. If so, why do they remain? If they DO believe what the cult teaches you may proceed.

• Do not overfeed. Cultists are people too, and people can only absorb so much at once. If you can get one strong point across per conversation with a cultist you will do more for them than 100 points that become lost and forgotten in the confusion.

• Take and keep control of the discussion. This will be a battle, but you are not there to be taught. Do not let them change the subject or chase rabbit trails. Use words like "We were discussing.." or "Well, my question was..." to do this gently and with respect.

• Provide set amounts of time for meetings. Sometimes when things are not going so well for the cultist they will suddenly have "another appointment" to go to. By setting up specific time periods you will have more control and no worries about abrupt departures. Making dinner is a great way to do this, so you can talk while it is being made and know that they have no where else to go.

• Don't cause the cultist to stumble. If it can be avoided, do not engage in activities that will upset the cultist. For instance: drinking caffeine around a Mormon. Moral purity (in whatever form it takes) is almost always a major tenant of any cult... being offensive to them will only hurt your case.

• Talk to ex-members of the cult. These people will have much more knowledge of the "inside" than you can get out of a book. Having them with you to explain the induction process the cult uses to the cultist will help. Hearing their testimony, and seeing their new, happy life will cause them to reconsider the promises made by the cult leader.

• Be friendly and respectful. This may seem obvious, but realize that the cultist is probably being told that you are "the enemy" or "Satan" and that you hate them. Don't fulfill the cult's prophecy by being mean!

I hope these will help. I have provided a Links section on cults (mostly counter-cult) to further assist you in your battle. Remember again, prayer fires the winning shot. Nothing is too hard for God. Remember too that,

"...our struggle is not against flesh and blood,
but against the rulers, against the authorities,
against the powers of this dark world
and against the spiritual forces of evil
in the heavenly realms."
~Ephesians 6:12