A church should be a place of faith, guidance, and spiritual growth. It should not be a place of control, fear, or manipulation. A healthy church will encourage you to grow in your relationship with God, allow you to ask questions, and support your personal spiritual journey. However, some religious groups cross the line into cult-like behavior, using biblical teachings to manipulate and control their members. It is important to recognize the warning signs and understand the differences between a church that guides and one that seeks control.
If you are in a cult, you probably do not think you are. Most people in cults genuinely believe they have found something good—whether it is truth, purpose, or community. If someone suggests otherwise, your first reaction is likely denial. That is because cults do not advertise themselves as cults. They present themselves as the only right path, the only ones who truly understand, while outsiders just do not get it. Questioning is discouraged, doubt is treated as weakness, and leaving is made to seem impossible or dangerous. By the time you even consider the possibility, you have already been conditioned to reject it.
Signs of a Controlling Religious Group
If a church or religious organization does any of the following, it may be exercising control rather than providing guidance.
Claims to be the Only True Path – A controlling group will insist that their interpretation of scripture is the only correct one and that leaving the group results in spiritual destruction.
Discourages Independent Thinking – Members are discouraged from questioning leadership or studying scripture on their own.
Uses Fear and Guilt – Fear of punishment, shunning, or divine wrath is used to keep members in line.
Strictly Controls Behavior – Every aspect of life, including personal relationships, education, and finances, is dictated by the group.
Demands Absolute Loyalty – Members are required to prioritize the group over family, friendships, and personal well-being.
Isolates Members from Outsiders – Leaving the group often results in excommunication or shunning from family and friends who remain in the organization.
Has a Controlling Leader or Governing Body – A single leader or small group of leaders has unchecked power and enforces strict obedience.
How Cults Manipulate Using Biblical Teachings
Many cults use scripture to justify their control. They may take verses out of context to instill fear, promote extreme obedience, or discourage questioning. Some groups teach that they alone have the authority to interpret the Bible, preventing members from seeking outside perspectives. Others will claim divine revelation that supersedes scripture, elevating their leader to an unquestionable status.
For example, Jehovah’s Witnesses teach that their Governing Body is God’s sole channel of communication on Earth, and members must accept its teachings without question. Scientology uses a complex system of teachings that demand financial and emotional commitment, claiming that only through their system can a person achieve true enlightenment.
Biblical Warnings About Spiritual Control
The Bible repeatedly warns against false teachers and religious leaders who manipulate others for their own gain. A true church should guide and teach, not demand blind obedience or instill fear to maintain control. Scripture makes it clear that faith should bring freedom, not bondage.
2 Corinthians 3:17 – "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom."
Spiritual leaders who misuse their authority often twist scripture to suit their own agenda. The Bible cautions against such deception.
Colossians 2:8 – "See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ."
Cults and manipulative religious groups often appear trustworthy and righteous on the surface. However, scripture warns about these people.
Matthew 7:15 – "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves."
Christ set believers free from the yoke of oppression, and no religious group should demand submission that contradicts God's will.
Galatians 5:1 – "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery."
True faith is about following God, not human leaders. As the apostles boldly declared when brought in to be questioned by the high priest.
Acts 5:29 – "Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than human beings!"
God holds religious leaders accountable when they exploit their followers rather than serve them.
Ezekiel 34:2-4 – "Woe to you shepherds of Israel who only take care of yourselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock? You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock. You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally."
Believers are urged to question what they are being taught and to test whether it aligns with God's truth.
1 John 4:1 – "Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world."
On the Topic of Shunning
There are several Bible verses that are often cited regarding excommunication or shunning, though the context and application can vary. Some religious groups misuse these verses to justify extreme isolation, while biblical teachings emphasize discipline with the goal of repentance, not control or permanent separation.
Verses Often Used to Justify Shunning
1 Corinthians 5:11-13 – Paul speaks about not associating with those who claim to be believers but persist in serious sin: "But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people... Expel the wicked person from among you." This refers to unrepentant sin and church discipline, not cutting off family or friends completely.
2 Thessalonians 3:14-15 – Paul advises believers to distance themselves from those who reject instruction but not to treat them as enemies: "Take special note of anyone who does not obey our instruction in this letter. Do not associate with them, in order that they may feel ashamed. Yet do not regard them as an enemy, but warn them as you would a fellow believer."
Verses That Oppose Cult-Like Shunning
Matthew 9:10-13 – Jesus ate with sinners and tax collectors, showing mercy instead of rejection: "On hearing this, Jesus said, ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.’”
Luke 15:1-7 (Parable of the Lost Sheep) – Jesus emphasizes seeking the lost rather than casting them out: "Then Jesus told them this parable: 'Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?'"
John 9:22 – This verse describes how the Pharisees used excommunication as a form of control, much like cults do today: "His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who already had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue."
Romans 8:38-39 – No one should be cut off from God’s love: "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Cults: Past and Present
Throughout history, certain groups have crossed the line from faith-based communities to manipulative organizations that exert control over their members. Some have faded into history, while others continue to operate today, using fear, isolation, and strict obedience to maintain power.
Peoples Temple (Jim Jones) – Founded in the 1950s, this group ended in the mass suicide of over 900 members in Jonestown, Guyana, in 1978. Jones manipulated his followers through fear and isolation.
Branch Davidians (David Koresh) – A religious sect that followed Koresh, who claimed to be a prophet. The group’s standoff with the U.S. government in Waco, Texas, in 1993 resulted in the deaths of 76 people.
Heaven’s Gate (Marshall Applewhite) – A UFO-based cult that led to a mass suicide of 39 members in 1997, believing they would ascend to another level of existence.
Children of God (The Family International) – A group that encouraged disturbing practices, including child exploitation, under the claim of religious enlightenment.
NXIVM (Keith Raniere) – A modern cult disguised as a self-improvement organization, where leader Keith Raniere manipulated women into a secret society that included branding and coercion. He was convicted and sentenced to 120 yrs. in prison for racketeering activity, including human trafficking, sex offenses and fraud.
Scientology (L. Ron Hubbard) – A system based on Hubbard’s teachings, demanding high financial investments, psychological control, and strict loyalty, with members being cut off from dissenting family members.
Jehovah’s Witnesses (Charles Taze Russell)– A religious group that enforces strict obedience to its Governing Body, shuns former members, and discourages higher education and independent thinking.
Final Thoughts
The Bible consistently emphasizes the importance of truth, freedom, and accountability in faith. Jesus warned against religious leaders who burdened people with human-made rules and instead called His followers to a relationship built on love and grace. While church discipline has biblical precedence, it is meant to guide believers toward restoration, not control them through fear. True spiritual guidance empowers believers rather than restricting them, leading with love instead of manipulation.
A healthy church encourages spiritual growth, allows for honest questions, and ultimately leads people toward Christ—not toward allegiance to a human leader or organization. Faith should strengthen and uplift you, not bind you in fear and control. If a group discourages questioning, isolates you from loved ones, or controls major aspects of your life, it is not guiding you—it is controlling you. Recognizing these signs can help protect yourself and others from falling into harmful religious manipulation.
John 4:24 "God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”
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