At least that's the rumor going about some of the people at the church i used to pastor. That's a strange thing to me. It once again points out the power of words, especially labels that can be used to confine, define, and then dismiss. Here's one definition of cult:
"A group's cult status begins as rumors spread of its novel belief system, its great devotions, its idiosyncratic practices, its perceived harmful or beneficial effects on members or its perceived opposition to the interests of mainstream cultures and governments. Persistent rumors may follow relatively small and recently founded religious or non-religious groups when they are perceived to engage in excessive member control or exploitation."
The group i'm part of is more like a support group of recovering fundamentalists trying to keep their faith in Jesus and his kingdom. Yet because it's not part of the institutional status quo (that i spent 17 years defending) it's cultic to some. I think these kinds of words say more about the people who use them than it says anything else. People are afraid of things they don't understand. Labeling them helps them dismiss them, feigning understanding.
I think about the other labels i've used or that have been used of me:
Depression
Abuse
Victim
Narcissist
Anorexic
Heretic
I suppose these things can help insofar as finding patterns to cope with them that in the past have worked with others. But when a PERSON is reduced to a LABEL a terrible violence is done to them and the image of God in them.
God protect me from using labels to mask people. Help me see people in their full humanity, good and bad, sinful and saintly, evil and good, broken and whole. Lord help me resist the urge to dismiss people with the words I use to describe them.
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2 comments:
Isn't it true! Words can encapsulate a thought somewhat accurately or try to display to a reader/listener what the writer/speaker wants to say, but they will never capture the emotion behind the idea.
But you are right. God doesn't fit in words. Not unless he wants to.
You've helped me through my spirtual crisis... illuminated my path a little when I couldn't see the way. Ministering to the flock doesn't have to fit into a nice neat little ordered listing... I think we learn the most about ourselves and our relationship with God when we wander off the "beaten path."
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