Dorothy is like a lot of Christians who hardly think about cults or other belief systems until someone they love becomes entangled in a faith that at odds with Christianity. Many times, the loved one is involved in a group that is much less obviously different than the Hare Krishnas. Frequently family members vacilate between thinking, on the one hand, the group is just another kind of Christianity or, on the other hand, the group must be a cult from the pit of hell. Dorothy and other concerned Christians need a clear understanding of what a cult is to begin their education. Unfortunately, when Christians attempt to find out what a cult is, they discover that there are almost as many definitions of a cult as there are writers and speakers on the subject.
Sociologists often define cults by their cultural idiosyncracies.
Journalists seem to describe cults in terms like bizarre, suicidal, secretive, and fanatical. Within the Christian church these variations sometimes are coupled with strong religious pronouncements that any group other than their own denomination is a cult, or some assume that any faith is better than no faith and think the term is always pejorative and should never be used by a Christian. In the midst of this confusion of opinion, there is a core of biblical clarity that can help concerned Christians discern between truth and error, biblical standards and opinion. In this century, the Church has usually defined the term cult by doctrinal or theological standards. In this sense, a cult is a sectarian religious group that identifies itself with Christianity and yet fails one or more core doctrinal tests of orthodoxy.