9 Marks of a Calvinist Cult: Conclusion and Links

(I'll be posting a lot less in the New Year, gonna focus on reading instead of writing.  Happy New Year.  And God bless you all!)

[This series is "The 9 Marks of a Calvinist Cult" split up into smaller, individual posts.] 

Conclusion:

Sadly, the Psychology Today article lists some of the lasting effects of cults, the devastation it has on people's hearts and minds, such as (among others): extreme identity confusion, panic/anxiety attacks, depression, anger and guilt and shame, inability to make their own decisions (to trust their own judgment), fear of intimacy and commitment, distrust of others, grieving the loss of family and friends, loss of meaning or purpose, PTSD, etc.

I think Calvinism does this to people too.  I think the longer someone stays in a Calvinist church, the more it will destroy their faith (what should be a simple faith), their relationship with God, their trust of God, and their ability to discern truth for themselves, to understand the Bible the way God meant it to be understood.  And if and when someone leaves a Calvinist church, it may destroy their relationships with others and their ability/desire to get involved in a new church.

A totally sweet little song: It's a Beautiful Day

Oh my goodness, I'm totally loving this sweet little song (by The Kiffness and Rushawn): 

It's a Beautiful Day (click on it)

Take three minutes today to watch it and smile!

(Could you imagine how you would feel if you watched this song every morning or evening for the next month?  I might try it along with my Bible reading.  A New Year's resolution.)  

9 Marks of a Calvinist Cult #9 (authoritarian narcissists)

[This series is "The 9 Marks of a Calvinist Cult" split up into smaller, individual posts.] 

Cults are authoritarian (disagreeing with or opposing the leaders is not allowed), and cult leaders are malignant narcissists.

9. "Cults are authoritarian (disagreeing with or opposing the leader is not allowed)"...

The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association - in the article "How do cults differ from Christianity?" - lists these things as characteristics of a cult (my paraphrase): 

Cults reject the basic beliefs of the Chistian faith.  They act like they alone have the truth and that we must come to them to get it.  They have their own writings which they add to the Bible or replace the Bible with. They have a strong leader who demands obedience and claims to speak for God. 

Now, of course, Calvinists don't reject the basic beliefs of the Bible; they just redefine them, qualify them, or add other layers to them until they become something completely different.  

And they do believe they have the truth.  But don't we all?  We all think we have "the truth."  No one willingly believes a lie.  

But what makes Calvinism different than mere Christianity is this: 

Merry Christmas and God bless!

 Merry Christmas, Everyone!  God bless you today and in 2024.

Enjoy these two great Christmas songs: Hallelujah Christmas (by Cloverton) and Little Drummer Boy (My favorite!  By For King and Country)

"Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the LORD." Luke 2:11

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."  John 3:16

"... if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.... Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."  Romans 10:9, 13

9 Marks of a Calvinist Cult #8 (gaslighting)

[This series is "The 9 Marks of a Calvinist Cult" split up into smaller, individual posts.] 

(Merry Christmas, everyone!  Hope you have a blessed holiday season.)

8. Silencing the members' inner voices

Gaslighting: manipulating people into doubting their own sanity, memory, or powers of reasoning.  

And "manipulating people into doubting their own power of reasoning" is what Calvinists do (even if they don't mean to).  It's one of the reasons it spreads so unopposed, so easily.

In addition to manipulative-shaming, Calvinists have ways of getting us to doubt our abilities to correctly think, judge, and understand things.  They make us feel like if we disagree with Calvinism, then there's something wrong with us, not with their theology.  This causes us to question our discernment and to possibly ignore any doubts or "red flags" we get.  (Or at least to keep quiet about them because we fear others distrusting our discernment too.)

And if we can't trust our own judgment and discernment, guess whose we'll trust?  

That's right: theirs.  Just like they want.  

Celebrating with Danica McKellar!

 "... there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." (Luke 15:10)

Let's celebrate the new birth of another celebrity who recently-ish came to faith in Christ: Danica McKellar (best remembered by those in my generation as Winnie Cooper from "The Wonder Years")

"'The Holy Spirit Came to Me': Hollywood Star Danica McKellar Embraces Christianity, Finds 'Amazing Freedom'"

(Click on the video in the article.  She's such a darling.)  

God bless her!  And...

9 Marks of a Calvinist Cult #7 (thought-reform)

 [This series is "The 9 Marks of a Calvinist Cult" split up into smaller, individual posts.] 

7. Mind-Control, Thought-Reform

Reforming people's thoughts is absolutely necessary for Stealth Calvinism (or even non-stealth Calvinism) to be effective.  Strategic brainwashing.  (A lot of how they control/modify our thoughts has already been addressed, so I won't repeat all that.  Much.)

Controlling the language: Remember, whoever controls the language also controls the conversation and destination.  

Calvinist pastors control the direction of the church by controlling not just the resources and staff, but also controlling the definitions of words, the theological language we speak.  And by controlling the words (and verses), they can slowly modify our thinking and our perspectives on God and His Word, causing us to see everything through the lens of Calvinism - until we can't remember how to read the Bible in a clear, plain, commonsense way anymore.

(See "Calvinist Bad Logic #1: Never Let a Calvinist Define the Terms!".)

9 Marks of a Calvinist Cult #6 (fear, coercion)

[This series is "The 9 Marks of a Calvinist Cult" split up into smaller, individual posts.] 

6. Fear and Coercion

None of us wants to be an unhumble, divisive, God-dishonoring, glory-stealing Christian, do we?  These are fears of any good Christian.

Calvinist pastors know this and use it their advantage (even if it's not totally deliberate).

In that "10 things to know..." article I linked to above, the author points out this mark of a cult: "Cults maintain their power by promoting an 'us vs. them' mentality."

Calvinists will use flattery and shaming (forms of manipulation) to do just this: to create an "us vs. them" dichotomy, to coerce people into Calvinism.  They will talk in such a way that makes those who agree with them feel like good Christians and those who disagree feel like bad Christians.  

Calling Out High-and-Mighty, Holier-Than-Thou Judges in Defense of Kat Von D

I read a post from a Christian the other day that bugs me so much I've gotta address it.  It's a post from the Rapture Ready website called "An Artist's Testimony or Agenda?"  And it's basically a Christian calling a newly-born-again celebrity a "false convert."  

And the "proof" that this Christian uses to support their case are things like the celebrity said she wasn't planning on changing her goth looks, that she didn't burn her witchcraft books but merely threw them out, that she's "BFF's" with a satanist, that she thinks skulls are beautiful, that she recently released a song with some nasty lyrics (and yes, I agree they're nasty), and that she said she refuses to talk about her faith on her social media accounts anymore, etc. 

And because of things like these, this Christian "judge" (named Candy) declares the celebrity guilty - a "false convert" and possibly one of the "Satanists/Luciferians" who are "God-haters who use every chance they get to mock our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, even to the point of using 'Trojan Horse assimilation' into the church."

But do you know what I think?

9 Marks of a Calvinist Cult #5 (isolation, control)

[This series is "The 9 Marks of a Calvinist Cult" split up into smaller, individual posts.] 

Cults use isolation, control, fear, coercion, mind-control, and thought-reform to enslave the members to the cult.  The members' "inner voices" are suppressed.

5. Information Isolation and Control

Of course, Calvinists don't physically isolate members in a commune or anything like that, as more extreme cults have.  But Calvinist pastors do practice various forms of "mental" isolation by controlling the information and resources.  

From the very beginning, Calvinist pastors set out to carefully control the information we get, the resources we have access to, the verses we hear, who's in charge, etc.

Verses: Calvinists will ignore verses that contradict or disprove Calvinism, but highly favor those that can be twisted/interpreted to support it.  

For example: Calvinist pastors fill their sermons with verses that appear to fit their view that God preplans, causes, controls everything, such as Job 42:2 "... no plan of yours can be thwarted" and Proverbs 21:1 "The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases".  [Notice that these verses record Job and Solomon's words about God.]

But they ignore verses that contradict their Calvinist views, such as Jeremiah 19:5 "They have built the high places to Baal to burn their sons in the fire as offerings to Baal - something I did not command or mention, nor did it enter my mind" and 1 Kings 20:42 "He said to the king, 'This is what the Lord says: 'You have set free a man I had determined should die.''" [Their response to a verse like this would be the ridiculous - and possibly blasphemous - "God decrees that people break His decrees." (And notice that these verses record God's own words about Himself.)]

Celebrating with Rob Schneider!

"... there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."  (Luke 15:10)

I don't really pay attention to the personal lives of actors or actresses, because I don't really care what they do.

But I do pay attention when anyone comes to the faith in Jesus Christ, because I really care about people and want everyone to experience the forgiveness, healing, hope, and eternal life that can only be found in Jesus.  And I especially enjoy the testimonies of people who come to Christ as adults.  They usually have such rich stories to share, such thoughtful reasons for why they left the life they had to turn to Christ.

And so today I am writing this in honor of actor Rob Schneider who recently came to faith in Jesus.  

The angels are celebrating his salvation right now, so let's celebrate it too!

(And I had no idea he had such deep thoughts about some really significant things until I read this message from him on X.  It's really good!  Thank you for sharing, Rob.)

Congratulations, Rob!  God bless you and guide you on your journey of faith.  And welcome to the family!

9 Marks of a Calvinist Cult #4 (strategic tactics)

[This series is "The 9 Marks of a Calvinist Cult" split up into smaller, individual posts.] 

4. The Fun Stuff (Strategic Tactics)

Besides their hidden "buts" and multiple layers, Calvinists employ a wide range of other tactics to hook, trick, trap, and reel us into Calvinism slowly, covertly.  (But they don't do it to just us.  They are victims of these tactics too, having allowed themselves to be tricked and trapped by them also.)  

The tactics they use (no matter how unintentional they might be) are things such as: 

... false dichotomies.  

      "Either God saves us, or else we save ourselves... Either God controls everything, or else He controls nothing... Either God is in charge, or else we are in charge."  It's super-polarized - and badly-polarized - on purpose, to force you to reject the ridiculous option and pick the Calvinist one.  See Calvinist Bad Logic #7: False Dichotomies. 

Healing your soul from Calvinism's damage

[updated April 2024]

For the 6 years that the new Calvinist pastor was at our church, subtly teaching his Calvinism, my soul was starving.  I'm not kidding; I could feel it starving.  Shriveling up dry.  It wasn't dying - because I have a very strong faith, and my faith is in God, not in some preacher - but it was starved for truth and encouragement and joy, etc.  (See "Why Is Calvinism So Dangerous?")

And it wasn't just because of what he was teaching, but it was also because of what he wasn't teaching.  He hardly talked about God's love for us, how God cares about us, how He helps us in the hard times, etc.  There was no real encouragement, compassion, grace, love, hope, etc.  At least not in my eyes.  

Instead, it was often lofty, academic knowledge for the head, hardly ever comfort for the heart.  (I think he was more "professor" than "shepherd," more "this is what I think and how I do things, and so should you" than "Let me come alongside you in this hard life and help you on your journey of faith."  But maybe that's just me.)  And it was often about how depraved we are, how much we don't deserve God's love, how much we deserve hell, how we should just ignore that God predestines people to hell and be thankful that He chose to save any of us wretched sinners (the lucky lottery winners!), and how God "ordains" every evil that happens and every tragedy we go through - including childhood abuse - for our good, for His glory, and to keep us humble.  

No wonder my heart was aching and my soul was starving!  

(See "Are we only here for God's glory?  What about God's love?" and "Is God only concerned about His glory and being famous?" and "Does God cause childhood abuse?" for more on this.)