Читать книгу Field Guide to the Wild World of Religion: 2011 Edition - Pamela J.D. Dewey - Страница 32

Although the six troubling trends listed above each have certain aspects which may be unbalanced and unbiblical, the most serious troubling trend goes far beyond that. In every generation since the first century AD beginnings of the Christian faith, there have been religious teachers and preachers who have gathered around themselves a following through the use of deceptive and abusive tactics. However, it is only the development of the technology of the late twentieth century that has allowed this phenomenon to reach epidemic proportions. A hundred years ago, the influence of most such individuals would have been limited, by time and finances, to one town or one county. Now they can extend their tentacles around the whole world instantly through television, short wave radio, and the Internet. Men with serious character flaws that would have been painfully obvious up close in the past can now fool their followers into believing that they are spiritual giants. They can conduct international ministries through the electronic media, which keeps them isolated from face-to-face interaction with most of their supporters.

Thus a rapidly growing number of teachers and groups can be found attracting and retaining supporters through deception, coercion, and scripture twisting. Many of these use mental, emotional, and spiritual abuse. Some even use physical abuse. These groups range from small home fellowships to multi-congregational denominations with thousands, tens of thousands, or even more members. Some, such as the Jehovah’s Witnesses, have been around a long time, but are now able to grow more quickly and affect more people than ever before. Some started just last year, last month, or last week, and are able to grow quickly and affect significant numbers of people in a very short time.

Most people are absolutely sure that they could never become attracted to a “cult” or be deceived by a false teacher. They assume that only emotionally disturbed or very naïve and ignorant people could possibly fall for strange beliefs and weird practices at the edges of Christianity. But close examination of some of these very abusive and deceptive groups indicate that just common, average people by the millions are indeed capable of being misled down some very dark paths.

The following chapters offer some guidelines on how to evaluate your involvement, or the involvement of friends and family members, in religious groups. You may be surprised to find that religious deception might be closer to home than you have thought.