Is there a Biblical answer to the “cult boom”?

on Jun 6, 2024

From the writings of the Rev. Billy Graham

Q: I’m a baby boomer who survived the turbulent ’60s and I’m thankful to the Lord. But I’m not blind to the devastation we’re still watching as a result of the “free love” cult that emerged out of the rebellion. An article from UC Berkeley explored why people are so obsessed with cults. There’s the out-of-control cult of self. It seems that people live in a state of chaos and crisis! Is there a Biblical answer to the “cult boom” that is so pervasive in the 21 st century — even in some churches? Is this a sign of the times — the last days? – C.B.

A: Cults never deliver what they promise. They will all fail because they aren’t based on God’s Word. There’s a price to pay for the fallout of the recklessness of the freethinking ’60s. Think of the health classes taught in public schools that emerged in the 20 th century — even before kids reached high school! The material presented would have been considered pornographic a generation before. Just because society slips it under the umbrella of education does not change the fact that all sacredness to personal relationships has been destroyed. No wonder young people have no shame. They have no idea what a standard of sacred respectability is. And this has become an epidemic in many churches.

There is but one power available to redeem the course of events — the power of prayer and the proclamation of the Gospel of God’s redemption for man’s sins. From one end of the Bible to the other, there’s the record of those whose prayers were answered — lives changed — by God’s power. The Gospel is a message of life and hope for all the world and it will not be snuffed out even in the last days. What a glorious truth!

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(This column is based on the words and writings of the late Rev. Billy Graham.)