Precursors and pioneers Christians have applied theological criteria to assess the teachings of perceived non‑orthodox movements throughout church history. The
Apostles themselves were involved in challenging the doctrines and claims of various teachers. The
Apostle Paul’s
Galatians confronts teachers urging Gentile believers to adopt circumcision and/or other aspects of the Mosaic Law, a dispute also reflected in the Jerusalem Council narrative (cf.
Acts 15;
Galatians 1:6–10). Many interpreters read the
First Epistle of John as responding to early docetic or proto‑Gnostic teachings that denied Jesus’ coming in the flesh, reflected in the letter’s tests of christological confession and appeals to eyewitness testimony (
1 John 1:1;
1 John 2:22;
1 John 4:2).” The
early Church in the
post-apostolic period was much more involved in "defending its frontiers against alternative
soteriologies—either by defining its own position with greater and greater exactness, or by attacking other religions, and particularly the
Hellenistic mysteries." Much of the early Christian literature is devoted to the exposure and refutation of perceived unorthodox theology,
mystery religions and
Gnostic groups.
Irenaeus,
Tertullian and
Hippolytus of Rome were some of the early
Christian apologists who engaged in critical analyses of unorthodox theology, Greco-Roman
pagan religions, and Gnostic groups. In the
Protestant tradition, some of the earliest writings opposing perceived unorthodox groups (such as the
Swedenborgians) can be traced back to
John Wesley,
Alexander Campbell, and
Princeton Theological Seminary theologians like
Charles Hodge and
B. B. Warfield. The first known usage of the term
cult by a Protestant apologist to denote a group as heretical or unorthodox is in
Anti-Christian Cults by A. H. Barrington, published in 1898. Quite a few of the pioneering apologists were
Baptist pastors, like I. M. Haldeman, or
Plymouth Brethren, such as
William C. Irvine and
Sydney Watson. Watson wrote a series of
didactic novels like
Escaped from the Snare: Christian Science,
Bewitched by Spiritualism, and
The Gilded Lie (Millennial Dawnism), as warnings of the dangers posed by what he considered cultic groups. Watson's use of fiction to counter these perceived cults has been repeated by later novelists like
Frank E. Peretti. Early twentieth-century Protestant apologists generally applied the words
heresy and
sects to groups like the
Christadelphians, Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, Spiritualists, and
Theosophists. This was reflected in several chapters contributed to the multi-volume work released in 1915
The Fundamentals, where apologists criticized the teachings of
Charles Taze Russell,
Mary Baker Eddy, the Mormons and Spiritualists.
Mid-twentieth-century apologists Since the 1940s, the approach of Protestant Christians was to apply the meaning of
cult such that it included those religious groups who use other scriptures beside the
Bible or have teachings and practices deviating from Protestant Christian teachings and practices. Some examples of sources (with published dates where known) that documented this approach are: •
The Missionary Faces Isms, by John C. Mattes, pub. 1937 (Board of American Missions of the
United Lutheran Church in America). •
Heresies Ancient and Modern, by J. Oswald Sanders, pub. 1948 (Marshall Morgan & Scott, London/Zondervan, Grand Rapids). • • •
Heresies Exposed, by W. C. Irvine, pub. 1917, 1921, 1985 (Loizeaux Brothers). •
Confusion of Tongues, by C. W. Ferguson, pub. 1928 (Doran & Co). •
Isms New and Old, by Julius Bodensieck. •
Some Latter-Day Religions, by G. H. Combs. One of the first prominent countercult apologists was
Jan Karel van Baalen (1890–1968), an ordained minister in the
Christian Reformed Church in North America. His book
The Chaos of Cults, which was first published in 1938, became a classic among Protestant as it was repeatedly revised and updated until 1962.
Walter Ralston Martin Historically, one of the most important protagonists of the movement was
Walter Martin (1928–1989), whose numerous books include the 1955
The Rise of the Cults: An Introductory Guide to the Non-Christian Cults and the 1965
The Kingdom of the Cults: An Analysis of Major Cult Systems in the Present Christian Era, which continues to be influential. He became well known in conservative Christian circles through a radio program, "The Bible Answer Man", currently hosted by
Hank Hanegraaff. In
The Rise of the Cults, Martin gave the following definition of a cult: By cultism we mean the adherence to doctrines which are pointedly contradictory to orthodox Christianity and which yet claim the distinction of either tracing their origin to orthodox sources or of being in essential harmony with those sources. Cultism, in short, is any major deviation from orthodox Christianity relative to the cardinal doctrines of the Christian faith. As Martin's definition suggests, the countercult ministries concentrate on non-traditional groups that claim to be Christian, so chief targets have been, Jehovah's Witnesses, Armstrongism, Christian Science, and the Unification Church, but also smaller groups like the Swedenborgian Church. He defines Christian cults as groups that follow the personal interpretation of an individual, rather than the understanding of the
Bible accepted by
Nicene Christianity, providing the examples of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Christian Science, Jehovah's Witnesses, and the
Unity Church. Martin examines a large number of new religious movements; included are major groups such as Christian Science, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Jehovah's Witnesses, Armstrongism,
Theosophy, the
Baháʼí Faith,
Unitarian Universalism, Scientology, as well as minor groups including various
New Age and groups based on
Eastern religions. The beliefs of other world religions such as
Islam and
Buddhism are also discussed. He covers each group's history and teachings, and contrasts them with those of mainstream Christianity. Various other Christian leaders—among them
John Ankerberg and
Norman Geisler—have emphasized themes similar to Martin's. Perhaps more importantly, numerous other well-known Christian leaders and pastors have accepted Martin's definition of a cult as well as his understanding of the groups to which he gave that label.
Dave Breese summed up this kind of definition in these words: A cult is a religious perversion. It is a belief and practice in the world of religion which calls for devotion to a religious view or leader centered in false doctrine. It is an organized heresy. A cult may take many forms but it is basically a religious movement which distorts or warps orthodox faith to the point where truth becomes perverted into a lie. A cult is impossible to define except against the absolute standard of the teaching of Holy Scripture.
Discernment blogging Kenne "Ken" Silva is said by other discernment bloggers to have pioneered online discernment ministry. Ken was a
Baptist pastor who ran the discernment blog "Apprising". Silva wrote many blog articles about the
Emerging Church, the
Word of Faith Movement, the Jehovah's Witnesses, the
Gay Christian Movement, and many other groups. He started his blog in 2005 and wrote there until his death in 2014. Silva's work paved the way for other internet discernment ministries such as 'Pirate Christian Radio', a group of blogs and podcasts founded by
Lutheran pastor Chris Rosebrough in 2008, and 'Pulpit & Pen', a discernment blog founded by Baptist pastor and
polemicist J. D. Hall. ==Other technical terminology==