Coram Deo
Puritan Board Junior
I am confused over the whole definition of a cult.. It seems we Christians use it differently then the dictionary definition...
So where and how do we get our definition..
It wouldn't just be easier to avoid the term (since sociologist and medical people have a different definition) and just use Heresy or false religion?
Is the word cult just an emotional used word?
Here is the definition of cult:
The literal and traditional meaning of the word cult is derived from the Latin cultus, meaning "care" or "adoration."
In non-English European terms, the cognates of the English word "cult" are neutral, and refer mainly to divisions within a single faith, a case where English speakers might use the word "sect," as in "Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy and Protestantism are sects (or denominations) within Christianity." In French or...weaner... Spanish, culte or culto simply means "worship" or "religious attendance"; thus an association cultuelle is an association whose goal is to organize religious worship and practices.
By comparison, the non-English European cognates of "sect" mean what "cult" does in English: secte (French), secta (Spanish), sekta Russian, and Sekte (German) which also has other definitions.
The Merriam-Webster dictionary definitions of the word "cult."
1. Formal religious veneration
2. A system of religious beliefs and ritual; also: its body of adherents;
So where and how do we get our definition..
It wouldn't just be easier to avoid the term (since sociologist and medical people have a different definition) and just use Heresy or false religion?
Is the word cult just an emotional used word?
Here is the definition of cult:
The literal and traditional meaning of the word cult is derived from the Latin cultus, meaning "care" or "adoration."
In non-English European terms, the cognates of the English word "cult" are neutral, and refer mainly to divisions within a single faith, a case where English speakers might use the word "sect," as in "Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy and Protestantism are sects (or denominations) within Christianity." In French or...weaner... Spanish, culte or culto simply means "worship" or "religious attendance"; thus an association cultuelle is an association whose goal is to organize religious worship and practices.
By comparison, the non-English European cognates of "sect" mean what "cult" does in English: secte (French), secta (Spanish), sekta Russian, and Sekte (German) which also has other definitions.
The Merriam-Webster dictionary definitions of the word "cult."
1. Formal religious veneration
2. A system of religious beliefs and ritual; also: its body of adherents;