These doctrines so comprise the essence of the Christian faith that to remove any of them is to make the belief system non-Christian. Because these central doctrines define the character of Christianity, one cannot be saved and deny these. Central doctrines should not be confused with peripheral issues, about which Christians may legitimately disagree. The relatively minor disagreements between genuinely Christian denomination, then, cannot be used to argue that there is no objectively recognized core of fundamental doctrine which constitutes the Christian faith. Cults deny at least one central doctrine of the Christian faith Denial of even one central doctrine is enough to make the belief system cultic.
Cults typically deny more than one central doctrine.
This is hardly surprising since one's interpretation of a particular doctrine affects other doctrines in the system. For example, if a group denies that people need salvation from sin, it is also likely that it redefines Christ's atoning death on the cross accordingly. Some cults explicitly deny central doctrines of the Christian faith. Victor Paul Wierwille, founder of The Way International , wrote a booklet entitled Jesus Christ is not God. Other cults implicitly deny central doctrines.