Apply rule 1 after the others because it can cause an additional delay of one day. A cult is a religious group who adheres to major doctrines which are pointedly contradictory to orthodox Christianity. It deviates from the cardinal doctrines of the Christian faith. Dr. Walter Martin Characteristics of Cults Cults are deviations. They are far from authentic, biblical, orthodox Christian belief.
Cults are corrective attempts.
Cult founders often react to a belief or practice common to the churches of their day. Most cult converts come from religious backgrounds. Their journey to this new faith is usually from a former faith, not from no faith at all. Most cult converts were failed by their church or synagogue. Most will tell you that their spiritual journey, before they joined the cult, was in a church where they were disappointed or disillusioned by something that happened, such as a church quarrel.