“The Handmaid’s Tale” is television’s latest show depicting a loosely based biblical cult and it is actually damaging for the Christian Church. The show is based on Margaret Atwood’s 1985 novel, which is an imagination of a dystopian world in which women are oppressed and strong-armed into child-bearing servitude.
“The Handmaid’s Tale” is set in a post-United States country known as Gilead. After a civil war, fertility rates have severely declined to nearly non-existent due to pollution. So, the ruling class — the commanders and their wives — forcibly impregnate slaves — known as a handmaid.
Not only is the city Gilead in the Bible, but the cult bases its instructions on biblical stories surrounding Matriarchs. Sarah was infertile and impatient so she took matters into her own hands and offered her husband, Abraham, her handmaid, Hagar, as a concubine to birth children who would be credited to her.
This scenario happened again with Rachel and Leah when Jacob married the sisters. Later, each wife gave him their handmaids in order to have more children.
This type of abuse of women was also played out in the early stages of the Mormon Church when their founder Joseph Smith received his message to form the church via a “seer” stone.
The church practiced polygamy — or more correctly polygyny, the marriage of more than one woman to the same man — as it was a part of the teachings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for a half-century.
Since that time, it has been prohibited, yet hundreds of other cults have popped up over the centuries twisting the Bible for their self-gain.
Examples include the tragic mass suicide of the People’s Temple in Guyana, the horrific flaming destruction of the Branch Davidians in Texas, and the self-destruction of the members of Heaven’s Gate in California.
These were considered cults defined by Dictionary.com as “ a great veneration of a person, ideal, or thing, especially as manifested by a body of admirers; a religion or sect considered to be false, unorthodox, or extremist, with members often living outside of conventional society under the direction of a charismatic leader.”
What makes it a cult? All cults redefine, twist, or completely omit any or all essential Christian doctrines. For example, the LDS redefines the Trinity to mean the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are three separate personages or gods, and Jehovah’s Witnesses absolutely deny the deity of Jesus.
Why Do Cults Use God Falsely in Their Mission?
Ask any cult member and they will come up with an explanation that has been ingrained into their beliefs, often couched in the language of testimony. This is meant to redirect your attention away from the question to the claims of the cult thrown in a positive light.
This is because their cult leader claims to be divinely inspired by God. These so-called leaders use the Bible because it’s easy to use Christian language to trap Christians into believing what he is saying is God’s own Word.
In Matthew 7:15-17, Jesus gives us a warning about the coming of the cults. He states, “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them.”
What Jesus was warning was that cultists will look, act, and sound like Christians. They use the Bible as part of their mission because God’s Word is the ultimate authority. But what each of these leaders is doing is manipulating people to gain access to their bodies, families, and wealth.
Leaders prey on individuals’ weaknesses in order to get them to join. These leaders specifically attack the full sufficiency of Christ’s work on the cross in order to render salvation dependent upon our own work. Usually, the claim is made that both faith and works are necessary for salvation.
Paul calls out all of these motives in 2 Timothy 4:3-4: “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires; and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to myths.”
What Does a Cult Look Like?
In an article entitled “The Power Abusers,” Ronald Enroth demonstrates some of the tools used by cults to control their members with the acronym B.I.T.E.:
- Behavior Control: An individual’s associations, living arrangements, food, clothing, sleeping habits, finances, etc., are strictly controlled.
- Information Control: Cult leaders deliberately withhold or distort information, lie, propagandize, and limit access to other sources of information.
- Thought Control: Cult leaders use loaded words and language, discourage critical thinking, bar any speech critical of cult leaders or policies, and teach an “us vs. everyone else” doctrine.
- Emotional Control: Leaders manipulate their followers via fear (including the fear of losing salvation, and the fear of being shunned, etc.).
How to Avoid Being a Victim of a Cult
Study Scripture in order to know true doctrine and biblical teaching. Know what Scripture says so you can catch the little ways someone is twisting God’s Word.
Keep in mind, no one should ever add or subtract from the Bible. Compare their beliefs with what God says.
Many cults will twist Scripture about the traditional family unit, sexual purity, emphasize special doctrines outside Scripture, ask for inappropriate loyalty to their leaders, and separate from the Church,
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16).
Consciously pray for the filling of the Holy Spirit,
Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18).
Put on the spiritual armor of God every morning,
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes... the belt of truth... the breastplate of righteousness... the shoes out the gospel of peace... the shield of faith… the helmet of salvation... the sword of the Spirit... and pray in the spirit... (Ephesians 6).
Because not all cults are immediately recognized as such, it is critical to follow the example of the Bereans in Acts 17:11: “Now the Bereans . . . received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.”
Before joining any church or group claiming to be committed to God, always examine its behaviors and doctrines in light of the Bible.
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