8 Characteristics of a Counterfeit Christian Church

With the leaders of thousands of different religions and churches attempting to make their beliefs appear authentic, it behooves a person to carefully ascertain truth from error. In fact, many leaders of these faiths may call themselves "Christian" and even attempt to convert Christians into their churches.

After all, Jesus Himself said in Matthew 7:15, "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves." This is why John warned the believers in 1 John 4:1 to "believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world." And 1 Thessalonians 5:21 adds, "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good."

Jesus told the Pharisees in Matthew 23:27 that they were "like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness." How can we tell whether or not a particular religious leader (like the Pharisees) ought to be believed, especially when such a person may appear authentic and even claim to be Christian? Let's then consider eight basic doctrinal characteristics of counterfeit groups.

The rejection of fundamental Christian tenets such as the historical definition of God should be a major warning sign to any perceptive believer. Groups that deny the Christian viewpoint of the deity of Christ and the Trinity typically follow in point-by-point succession each of the other characteristics in this article. One example is The Way International, a group founded by Victor Paul Wierwille, (He once served as a former evangelical pastor. In fact, several cult leaders had their start in authentic Christian denominations and churches.) Wierwille's view of God is Unitarian rather than Trinitarian as he denies that there are three persons in the Godhead. He also claims that Jesus was not God, teaching that the deity of Christ was not a Christian teaching for the Christian church's first 300 years. This is a common (though false) assertion of many cult leaders. Because Wierwille and his church deny the very essence of what makes God who He is, this is a group to avoid.

Although a counterfeit's doctrine may include the idea that God's grace is important in the role of salvation, the leader normally emphasizes the idea that "salvation" ultimately comes through one's own efforts. Take the Hare Krishna devotees, for instance. These dedicated followers believe that they are in the middle stage of their reincarnation cycle. The way for a dedicated devotee to be born into the next level of existence is to deny himself on this earth while performing good works, including the repetition of the Hare Krishna mantra a total of 1,728 times a day. It may take a devotee who wakes up at 4 A.M. several hours a day to maintain this goal. Those who belong to such work-oriented groups are normally told that they can never know if their works are good enough to please God; instead, they are told to keep trying even harder.

Counterfeit Christian churches often make it a point to cast doubt and suspicion on other churches or denominations, with the leader oftentimes claiming that only his church is true. While many groups hold that the Christian churches do have partial truth, it is taught that full truth has somehow been lost and can now only be found in the "one true church." This may involve utilizing Christian terminology while having a different meaning behind those particular words. An example is the Watchtower Society, also known as the Jehovah's Witnesses. This group, founded by Charles Taze Russell in the 19th century, teaches that those who belong to any church outside of "Jehovah's" church are doomed to annihilation. Only those who belong to the Watchtower organization have a chance to attain "Paradise Earth." This is why Jehovah's Witnesses are adamant in sharing their faith door to door, even attempting to convert those who already attend Christian churches. The Jehovah's Witnesses will often use words that sound reasonable to a nominal Christian (i.e. "Jehovah's Christian Witnesses," "salvation," "Jesus Christ," etc), but they are usually reluctant to tell potential converts that the meanings behind these words are completely different than what has been historically meant.

A group where the leader(s) has an authoritative role, even to the extent that they say they speak for God, is another cause for concern. Such leaders claim to have special revelation with God, and their words hold special precedence over their followers. A classic example is Jim Jones, who led almost 1,000 followers to their deaths in the jungle of Guyana in 1978. When men in his charge killed Rep. Leo Ryan (D-CA), a congressman who was visiting "Jonestown" in response to complaints from the relatives of church members, Jones called for his followers to drink cyanide-laced Kool-Aid. The majority of the people willingly followed his commands because they had come to accept his words as truthful and from God. Those who refused were shot. Trusting someone so much that you listen to any command, even to the point of moving to another country and then taking your own life, is something that God never intended.

Another heretical trait is when a church regulates the giving of its people or requires a certain amount of financial giving in order to receive certain privileges related to salvation. For example, the Church of Scientology teaches that people need to discover their true nature through a process called "auditing." This is accomplished by "clearing Engrams" from one's life. One Los Angeles Times article on Scientology religion estimated that it would cost a full "Operating Thetan 8" participant between $200,000 to $400,000 from the beginning of the lessons to the completion. Without these courses, the adherent is unable to clear himself of these unwanted "Engrams." Using finances as a requirement to reach salvation goals is much different than what Jesus, Paul, and Peter preached.

Many counterfeit Christian churches insist that if a member decides to leave the group, for whatever reason, they jeopardize their salvation before God. One group with such a belief is the Boston Church of Christ, also known as the International Churches of Christ. The leaders of the ICC teach that there should only be one church in any particular city, which they say is the New Testament model. Members who decide to leave are considered spiritually lost and their salvation is considered negated. This is true even for those who leave because they decide to attend a Christian church outside the ICC network. Since the ICC does not recognize the baptisms of other denominations, and since the doctrine of baptism is considered a necessity in order to receive salvation, leaving the ICC negates the baptism that was given when the person joined the church. Holding a person's salvation hostage in such a way is certainly not biblical.

Although the Bible is sometimes utilized and even considered beneficial by a number of counterfeit groups, it is not considered as a completely authoritative scripture. Therefore, extrabiblical writings are necessary. Normally these scriptures are considered to have more authority than the dated Bible. The Christian Science religion is one example. Those who inquire into this religion are told that Mary Baker Eddy's 1875 pantheistic book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures is a "reference book for life," which is needed by a person who hopes to discover "practical, spiritual answers for health and healing, security, and lasting relationships." This book must be studied in order to ascertain full truth. When the Bible contradicts Eddy's book, then the Bible is considered to be wrong or misunderstood.

The idea that a hidden mystery or new truth is available through a particular church should be taken as a strong sign that this group is a counterfeit Christian religion. In addition, many such groups may change their doctrines over time. Christians believe that God has very clearly shown His truth through the pages of the Bible; therefore, new or fluctuating doctrine—especially that which contradicts the Bible—ought to be taken with a great deal of caution. The Unification Church (numerous front names include "Association of Families for Unification and World Peace" or "Family Federation for World Peace and Unification") was founded by Korean "Rev." Sun Myung Moon. He teaches that Jesus never fulfilled his mission. Therefore, Moon says that he was commissioned to finish the job that Jesus never finished. Moon's followers (often known as "Moonies") accept Moon as a Christ-like representative on earth whose teachings supersede the Bible. The Unification Church theology has evolved over time, and there may be some drastic changes once he dies in the very near future.

I agree with Joann37, well said!

To our new poster, JosephSmithNAW, please excuse the “rudeness” you encountered. I honestly don’t think their replies were meant to be rude, they were just having fun at your expense which is due more to immaturity I bet. And being a Christian, I am quite sure you have already forgiven them.
Welcome to FreeRepublic. I even printed out a copy of your article and stuck it in the back pocket of my Bible. I have a feeling that it might come in handy. Just between you and me, I have never had the gift of being able to successfully witness the Gospel story to people so I am not speaking of that being the reason. But I see more and more situations these days when I am needing to defend my faith to others (even close friends, relatives, and other people who profess to be Christian, even a “pastor” in a Sunday School class I was visiting the other day with a friend). Anyway I need all the armor I can gather... so thank you for your contribution.

"He deserves a bit of razzing"

Oh he does, does he? Just because he is a newbie? And you just joined in May of this year.... so relatively speaking you are quite the newbie yourself I think.

I was trying hard to be "lightened up". Didn't you see my "LOL"? And I did add a comment that the "hug" may indeed give some a much needed chuckle, now didn't I? I was just using your "hug" trap to point out a metaphor to you. You do know what a metaphor is, don't you? If anything I said was taken to be said with a hateful voice, then please forgive me for that was not my intention. That's one of the problems in forum posting when we can't see the posters smiles or hear the tone of their voices. Perhaps we need those silly little emoticons here in Free Republic so we can indicate our tone of voice.

no, you are wrong, i clicked his link, i know it is a anti mormon thread.
i responded to the posters satire, i clicked the link...
no, i am not mormon either, but to be frank i am sick of all the fighting on FR over a persons faith. are we called to witness, yes, but i see very little of that. i see a LOT of peeps simply being rude. dont get all upset, i dont mean every one, i am generalizing.
i do not agree with a website that encourages people to go to their gatherings and their activities and get in their face to witness. i know i sure would not like it if mormons showed up at my Church and preached at me and against my beliefs. would you?
plus he is new, and picked a subject he new would be controversial. as i said earlier he deserved a tad of razzing. plus my response was primarily to the other poster, not the starter of the thread.
had he opened his first thread with a anti romney, anti huckabee, anti thompson thread, would you all be so quick to apologize? dont apologize for me, please. if i was sorry for having a light moment, i would have said so.
it is OK in light of the political horrors we face to cut loose once in awhile....

"every one seems touchy these days and to be expected given the election and the obamanation coming!"

You are so very right my FRiend! We are all feeling the stress. My husband just reminded me yesterday that we can't fight Obama at this point. So we have to just find ways to improve the situation in a positive way and direction. I was very much involved politically in the Republican party (was even approached by them to run for local office when we lived in Charlotte years ago).... But after the election of Bush's first term when the party moved in the opposite direction from me, I lost all interest in working for the party. In my heart I know it's time to find a new party to work for and support, but deep down I know that a 3rd party will only insure Democratic victory. So politically I am a ship floundering without a rudder. And that makes me crazy sometimes. The only constant I can see in my life now (besides family of course) is God. And it is only God that keeps me sane. So, thank you for your kind words and I hope that we can still be FRiends.

I hope you know the whole hug thing was a josh, and you weren’t offput by it. I liked your post, and welcome to Free Republic (no irony).

I’d make a few comments, though:

2. Works-emphasis salvation

This doesn’t mean that spiritual exercises aren’t beneficial. One doesn’t “earn” salvation by prayer, almsgiving, sacraments, etc. But one who has been saved is inspired to these exercises. That inspiration often comes churches which rightfully prescribe them, intending for their flock to become perfected. The early Christian church referred to itself as “the way”.

3. The true church

There is such a thing as objective truth. Any denomination that doesn’t believe that it has a better understanding of the truth than all other denominations should adopt the beliefs of whatever other denomination is close to the truth! To do otherwise is to contradict reason. But a church may certainly be “less perfect” while many members within it members salvificly open themselves to receive God’s grace.

4. Authoritative leadership

This statement is very problemmatic: “A group where the leader(s) has an authoritative role, even to the extent that they say they speak for God, is another cause for concern. “

If someone claims a gift of prophesy to give them that authority, that’s dangerous. However, churches have pastors, who are granted authority, so that they can instruct those who are less educated or less initiated. Such authority should be based on an appeal to scripture (public revelation.)

6. Loss of salvation for leaving

Apostasy does indeed lead to damnation. A Corollary to my response to #3 include both that those outside a church may be saved. But if a person abandons more perfect truth for a less perfect truth, he is abandoning the truth. Yet if he would do so, he may have never possessed the more perfect truth, but rather belonged to a given church becuase of his upbringing. Thus, leaving for a lesser church may be either damnably abandoning the truth, or salvificly searching to discover the truth.

7. Authority beyond the Bible

In general, this is quite true. But, the bible does not self-define its terms or meanings. Historical contest exists beyond the bible, and may be essential in setting forth correct doctrine. For instance, abortion is not forbidden in the bible, but through historical context we know that the Jews and early Christians absolutely affirmed that life existed so we know that the prohibition of abortion is contained within the prohibition against the taking of innocent life.

yup, we sure are! this election hit a lot of us hard.
i dont think we need a third party, but to get back to basics and revamp the old one. if every one would stop focusing on the primaries and what we should have done, or on what wrong for a obama win (no votes, 3rd party votes in our party) we wont move forward! i am worried and that is a understatement!
i am lost at how we unite, right now our party is more like a herd of feral cats than a united and strong force to be reckoned with.
obama may be a empty suit with no original idea of his own, but his peeps know what they were doing. i talked to my SIL who voted obama, i ask why. she said she did not like obama, but she disliked sarah more. i reminded her that sarah was the VP. she seemed confused. ALL her friends, same deal. all voted obama none liked him but sarah was worse! talking to her you never would have known mccain was even running!
i thought he was dumb when obama debated her via the media, but appears strategically it was a wise move. who would have thought it?!! (and he is still running against her, per msm coverage)....
I think so too...God, family, focus on the constant and true! i forget at times to do that, which causes me a certain whackedoutness;)
maybe this election will be a strong reminder to not only our party, but all of us individually...i have to find a rainbow some where in this turbulent time!
i appreciate your kind words and hope we can be FRiends too:)

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