Research
By Anthony W. Antolic
Letters
to the Editor / Located in the December 2007 issue of Archeology
Magazine
Page: 008
Sich: A reader was offended by the
uses of the term “Jesus Cult”.
Results: The Editor educated the
reader, on the uses of the term: however, the editors answer was
incomplete. The Editor was correct when he said:
...Scullers use the term “Jesus
Cult” in reference to the short span of time in the early church's
history, before Emperor Constantine made the Christian faith the
official religion of the empire. (Editor)
Flushing it out: The problem with the
Editor's response is that he or she left out the fact that the word
“Cult”
refers to any
practice of faith that is not accepted by
the mainstream culture of the time. The Christian movement went
underground after Jesus was killed. The did so out of both necessity
and fear: therefore, the term is correct. But not just for this
reason. You see cults are also defined by the need to practice out
side of plain view of the rest of the world. What denomination of any
religion does not practice their faith behind closed doors. Weddings
have always been a private affair between God and the couple: the
priest is only there to wittiness the union as little more than a
guest. My point is as long as a church practices behind closed doors
instead of out on the streets they are a cult. It is unfortunate, but
our American separation of Church and State, has made it
uncomfortable to even talk of our Christian faith. In short we should
not be offended about the world, rather we should embrace it with
pride.
One
thing that never ceases to amaze me is the fact that people seem to
confuse the words “cult” and “O-cult.” The word “O-cult”
is the word that should offend any Christian if used in reference to
Jesus. For it is “O-cult” which is the word referring to Devil
worship, Wica, and Witch Craft.
When
we louse the meaning of a word, we also louse the meaning of future
interpretations. For example the word cousin does not exist in the
Hebrew language. However, some take the Bible out of context when the
book refers to the brothers and sisters of Jesus. Further the
misunderstanding gets embed into a culture as each generation is
taught the misinformation. So with every new generation, the heresy
becomes harder to disprove.