By Dr. Glenn Pietruski,
Serious challenges to the historic Christian faith are initiated by the Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons. Because of the large numbers of adherents to these groups, as well as their rates of expansion, they give cause for one of the major concerns among evangelical Christians. At this year’s National Conference on Christian Apologetics I will be presenting a talk titled “What Do the Major Cults Believe?”
Each of these groups claims to be Christian, but, in fact, they are not. The goal of this presentation is to help Christians become equipped to defend their faith in light of the teachings and claims that these groups make.
These challenges to the historic Christian faith do not merely involve secondary issues, but the most essential issues of the faith: the nature of God, the nature and work of Christ, and the nature of salvation, to name a few. The kingdom of Christ must not stand in silence while the ultimate truths of God are denied and assaulted. There is far too much at stake for the individuals who are deceived and for the church.
As believers, we are directly commanded to bring the gospel to those outside the faith (Mark 16:15; Matt. 28:18-20; Acts 1:8). The target of our evangelistic effort needs to be all people, and that includes those in the cults. It is all too easy to forget that people caught up in cults are individuals that God loves dearly and wants to reach. But sadly, the unfortunate response of many genuine Christians is to shrink back and ignore the cults, choosing not to answer the door when the Jehovah’s Witnesses or Mormons ring the bell. Why? Often because of fear.
Cult expert Walter Martin famously said, “The average Jehovah’s Witness can twist the average Christian into a theological pretzel in less than a minute.” Unfortunately he was right. Christians need to be better equipped.
Therefore, this presentation will examine what Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons believe about primary Christian doctrines, affording believers greater confidence and ability to actively engage those in these cults, with the ultimate purpose of bringing them to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. This year’s National Conference on Christian Apologetics is going to be amazing! I hope to see you there!
