Eight Questions for Evaluating Religious Movements: Part 1

Mary and her family just moved into town. It is her first day of work at her new job. She is going around introducing herself and meeting all her new co-workers. As she does, one of the women, named Allison, asks, “Have you and your family found a local church to attend?”

“No, not yet,” says Mary, “but we will probably start looking this Sunday.”

“Why don’t you and your family be our guests this week at our church,” Allison says.

“Oh, how nice of you to ask,” replies Mary, happy to know another Christian is in the office. “What church do you attend?”

“We are members of Dynamo Church here in town. Here I’ll give you directions.”

“Dynamo Church?” thought Mary. “I never heard of that. I wonder what it is and what do they believe?”

Mary is wise to wonder about Allison’s church. Not that anything may necessarily be wrong, but with all the new religious movements, sects, and cults springing up around the country, we should never take anything for granted. Christians need to develop a healthy sense of discernment when it come to religious movements.

Based on my more than forty years of studying various faith groups and belief systems, in this article I want to suggest eight key questions that Christians need to ask to adequately evaluate any religious movement they may encounter. Believers should take the time to investigate the beliefs and practices of any faith group, especially before they commit themselves to join.

I can’t tell you how many times I have counseled people who got involved in a religion only to find it wasn’t what they expected. In many cases, it was hard for them to extricate themselves from it. Often, leaving a religious movement can cost a person their family, friends, job, or finances. Better to examine ahead of time what’s in the water before jumping in – there may be sharks.

In this installment and the next we will look at eight questions for evaluating a religious movement.

Question #1: What is the religious movement’s basic worldview?
If you have followed MarketFaith Ministries for any length of time, you know that we major on the issue of worldview. It is the most basic issue for any system of belief or culture. We have narrowed the number of worldviews to just four, with some hybrid combinations. The four worldviews are (1) Naturalism; (2) Animism; (3) Far Eastern Thought; and (4) Theism. Every religion or philosophy reflects the presuppositions of its worldview. In numerous articles on our website, we have provided information on how identify which worldview a movement may embrace [see the following links for a basic introduction to this subject: What is a Worldview? (http://www.marketfaith.org/what-is-a-worldview) and The Seven Questions That Define a Worldview (http://www.marketfaith.org/the-seven-questions-that-define-a-worldview)].

Obviously, any religion that does not have a clear Theistic worldview would be one that a Christian would never want to join. If it embraces any of the other three (or a hybrid form of them) it will be operating virtually in a different universe than Theism. Theism asserts that only one creator God exists. Any group that believes there is more than one god is, at best, heretical and, at worst, guilty of outright idolatry.

Of course, just because a group believes in one god does not necessarily mean it is the True God. So this first question about worldview, when answered, naturally leads to the second question.

Question #2: What does the religious movement believe about God?
Years ago, when I first learned to share my faith in Christ, I could assume that people in America had some familiarity with the Bible and Christian terminology. For instance, I might ask someone, “Do you believe in God?” Most of the time she would answer “yes.” Rarely did she answer “No.” I would assume she was talking about the God of the Bible (Old and/or New Testament). If I asked her what religion she identified with she would almost always name a Christian denomination (usually Protestant or Catholic) or Judaism. From there I could tell her why and how to accept Jesus as her Savior and Lord.

Today, however, we can no longer assume anything. We may ask, “Do you believe in God?” Almost ninety percent of Americans would say they do. However, that says nothing about what they believe about God or even which god they believe in! A better question is, “What is God like according to your understanding?”

The same principle applies when evaluating religious movements. Even a group that claims to be Christian may have unbiblical concepts about God. For example, Christian Scientists say they believe in God, but what they mean, according to its founder Mary Baker Eddy, is that “God is incorporeal, divine, supreme, infinite Mind, Spirit, Soul, Principle, Life, Truth, Love.” That is to say, an impersonal energy that exists only in the mind (this is comparable to Far Eastern Thought).

A similar notion is found in the Unity School of Christianity. In that system, God is that spark of divinity that is present in all people. The goal is to discover that divinity, and the power it provides.

Therefore, to analyze a movement, we can start by investigating whether or not it affirms the biblical doctrine of One God in Three Persons (Trinity). A good place to begin is with the group’s statement of faith. Most churches will have a general statement of beliefs. In many cases, it can be found on the church’s website or in its literature. If it’s not easily available, you may need to ask for one.

Another clue is to ask about the church’s denominational affiliation, if any. If it doesn’t have a published statement, resists letting you see it, or has no denominational affiliation, then you may want to be careful. Any religious movement that is not fully candid about its beliefs, practices, and associations should be viewed with caution.

Question #3: Does the religious movement affirm the full deity and humanity of Christ?
Once we have established a religious movement’s concept of God, we next want to know what it believes about the Person and Work of Jesus Christ. As with talking about God, asking someone “Do you believe in Jesus?” is inadequate. Most religions have some place for Jesus in their system. So, the question is not “Do you believe in Jesus?,” but “Which Jesus do you believe in?” or “Who is Jesus according to your understanding?” 2 Corinthians 11:4 warns of … “another Jesus whom we have not preached.”

We already discussed the essentialness of the Trinity, but a major aspect of that doctrine is the full deity and humanity of Christ. Jesus was the Word made flesh who dwelt among us (John 1:1-14). We also should inquire about what the group teaches about the meaning of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. Even though a religious movement may have a theistic worldview, it still may not be sound in its teachings about Jesus.

For instance, the Jehovah’s Witnesses are thoroughly theistic in their worldview, and monotheistic in their theology. However, though they honor him, they absolutely deny the full deity of Christ. They teach that he was Jehovah God’s first created being, a super angel named Michael. He was not, and is not, equal with God.

So, we should always investigate what a movement believes about Jesus. Again, we can start with its statement of faith (if it has one). Or we can ask questions of people in the group to tell us how Jesus fits into their system.

Question #4: Does the religious movement rely on the Bible alone for its authority?
Recently I was visited in my home by a couple of young missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS/Mormons). I asked them if they studied the Bible. They answered yes, but wanted me know that they believe it does not contain all that is necessary to understand God. They showed me a copy of The Book of Mormon – Another Testament of Jesus Christ. Of course, I am well acquainted with that book and the other extra-biblical LDS scriptures, The Doctrine and Covenants, and The Pearl of Great Price.

The question of authority is key to evaluating any religious movement. For Christians, the Bible is the only text that has ultimate authority for faith and practice. We regard it as the unique and finished Word of God. The Bible consists of 66 books (39 in the Old Testament and 27 in the New Testament). Any church or religious group which claims they have different or additional inspired texts should be rejected.

For example, The Christian Science church regards the books written by its founder, Mary Baker Eddy, as divinely inspired, especially Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. That church audaciously claims that a person cannot truly understand the real meanings of the Bible by reading it literally. It says that Baker was able to comprehend the deeper metaphysical meanings. Therefore, a person must have her books to guide him to ultimate truth.

In the next installment we will consider four more important questions for evaluating a religious movement.

© 2016 Tal Davis