Friday, November 11, 2011

Religion 101: Confusion over word 'cult' can be blamed on 'wordnapping'

Saturday, Nov. 05, 2011


By Clark McCall

When Robert Jeffress, a Dallas evangelical megastar, introduced Rick Perry at a gathering in Washington, D.C., he told reporters afterward that Mitt Romney belonged to a "cult" and a Christian "should always prefer a competent Christian to a competent non-Christian like Mitt Romney."

The firestorm Jeffress ignited makes me think that some of the modern definitions for "cult" might be examples of what I would term "wordnapping." I suggest this because an obsolete word, "napper," meaning "thief," is the term from which the well-known "kidnapper" has been derived. A wordnapper would be someone who takes the original meaning of a word and turns it into something that conveys another intent.

When I turn to my Britannica-Webster Dictionary, I find "cult" is defined as "formal religious veneration." It also tells me it represents "a system of religious beliefs and ritual of those who practice it." A wordnapper would be someone who takes the original meaning for "cult" and turns it into a term conveying a different and negative intent.

    In the 1950s, Walter Martin, a prominent evangelical scholar and author, started a modern usage of "cult" when he wrote a series of books, "The Kingdom of the Cults." He suggested that some groups who considered themselves Christian were really only cults. They may have some beliefs in common with evangelically oriented churches, but were divergent enough in their doctrines to not qualify as true Christian organizations, from Martin's perspective.

    The word "cult" continued to evolve until it developed into an evil connotation for fanatical groups, such as Jim Jones and his People's Temple followers. On Nov. 18, 1978, more than 900 people died in a murder-suicide tragedy at a remote South American compound in Jonestown, Guyana.

    The word "cult" continued to solidify into something sinister when David Koresh and 75 Branch Davidians perished in flames at their Waco, Texas, compound on April 19, 1993, after a lengthy standoff with federal authorities.

    Consequently the word "cult" has changed from "a system of religious beliefs" to something deemed heinous by many Americans today.

    We don't know what version of the word "cult" Jeffress meant when he said Romney's faith disqualified him as a presidential candidate. We also don't know the essence of what Romney believed he was asking Perry to "repudiate" in Jeffress' remarks. Nor do we know what Perry was thinking he disagreed with when he simply said he did not "agree" with Jeffress' remarks.

    This whole unfortunate incident may have come from a history of wordnapping surrounding the word "cult."

    What is most sad is the whole matter should have been a nonissue. It involved shooting down a straw man because when the founders of our Constitution put Article 6 in place, it was designed to prevent a religious test for anyone pursuing political office.

    The author is pastor at Olive East Seventh-day Adventist Church, 2222 E. Olive Ave.


    Source: http://www.mercedsunstar.com/2011/11/05/2109506/religion-101-confusion-over-word.html#ixzz1dTFpLjT4

    1 comment:

    Arsenio A. Lembert Jr. said...

    I don't know if it's hindsight; things seem easier after the fact, as time passes. After all that Kingdom of the Cults book issue took place nearly 60 years ago. But, I don't see why 'the GCSDA' was so fixated with the possibility of being considered a Cult; Are we to please man or God? We must maintain a peaceful coexistence with our fellowmen; But, we are not to worry of what they think about our religious beliefs. That is between us and our Creator, the Heavenly Father, our Savior JesusChrist.

    Our Savior Jesus suffered a terrible sacrificial death and never once complained. He was beaten, spat upon, humiliated, scorned, stripped of his garments, and nailed to a tree, then His abdomen was pierce with a spear. And some people worry about being called a CULT? What Bible are you people reading, for goodness' sake? Are we representatives of the same Christ who laid down His life so that man could live?
    My Lord warned me that I would be persecuted for His name's sake. What were you folks expecting a medal or a complimentary cruise in the Mediterranean?

    For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.
    Galatians 1:10