Religion and Cultism; Reviewing the Beliefs from a Nonmember's View

People believe in a lot of things. Sometimes incomprehensible beliefs are what they dearly embrace. From the outsider's perspective, it's hard to get why people believe Wanyonyi can be a Jehovah. But, from the insider's view, their beliefs are grounded in common sense, and anybody not staunchly adhering to its teachings is lost. So, does what appears to be cultism from a nonmember's point of view appear cultic to the followers?  

The best way to respond to the above question is to review what different churches teach and what members believe. The beauty of religion is that despite every church teaching that there is only one God, people are allowed to explore different beliefs, and even the mainstream churches have these diverse teachings that distinguishly separate, for example, Catholicism from Orthodox Church.

1.       Kikuyu Traditional Church

It had dwindled, but it is coming back. They have 3 major beliefs;

·     Ancestors are closer to God than the living, so you get closer to God by getting closer to the ancestors.

·   The European church distorted the African religion. Anything by the whiteman is to be hated.

·    Scarifies. If you need anything in life, just pay the ancestors.

A concerning belief is their glorification of the FGM

2.       Catholicism

They are not very stauch in beliefs, so Catholics get along with anybody from any religion. They can marry whoever they want and even change religion without any strings attached to their previous faith.

· They believe the Mother of Jesus has it covered. She is the to-go intercessor. They believe in forgiveness. No sin is too big. So long as you honestly repent and pronounce your repentance, God is always ready to forgive.

·         What is their major source of contentions? They dearly believe in Symbolism. This is probably what non-Catholics fault them the biggest-accusing them of idolism…how they perceive Hail Mary, the Rosary, and the Pope

Repentance and Holiness

They believe in prophetic messages. Unless it is communicated through a prophet, it is not true. Also, there is a prophecy about the last days having many false prophets. So, Prophet Owuor is the God chosen.

Repentance and Holiness believe in purity. Everything that impurifies the soul should be kept at bay, including sexual immorality, drugs, alcoholism, and even mixing religions.

What is that belief that seems overstretched? They believe that Prophet Owuor is a reincarnation of both Elisha and Elijah. So, he is two in one.

Presbyterian

They are the PCEA. They are just Christians. Just the normal beliefs of going to church and practicing Christianity. Nothing overstretched. No prophets, no a lot of speaking in tongues, no exorcism. That is probably the reason why many people who don't like drama prefer PCEA.

Their main undoing is that they are accused of being less religious. If you attend a Sunday church service, you won't get a lot of spiritual nourishment. Going to church is more of a norm than a spiritual thing.

Jehovah's Witnesses

They believe that every other religion is wrong and they are the only true church. They perceive other religions as earthly and not inspired by the Holy Spirit. They don't believe in anything beyond what the Bible teaches and are very judgmental; Either you are a Jehovah's Witness; thus God's chosen, or you are headed straight to hell.  

They don't believe in Holy Trinity. God is the Supreme One, and Jesus is his son. They are not equal. Jesus is not God.

·    Their main undoing is their tendency to isolate the believers from other people. As a Witness, you cannot freely interact with others, especially on religious matters. They also violate 'freedom of religion' by defrocking members. You cannot marry outside the church.

·    Another major area that seems overstretched is their radicalization tendency. Their preaching is designed to recruit members to join the church.

·         But, they are well-behaved.

Seventh Day

They are two, Adventists and the Church of God. Just like Jehova's Witnesses, both believe they are the only true churches.

·         They believe in Sabbath. It's either you go to church on a Saturday, or there is no discussion.

·         They believe in conservativeness. They do not mix beliefs and religious practices, including marriages.

·         Their major undoing is that Seventh Day is more of a zoned church. Almost everyone from the Western region is a Sabbath observer.

·         Also, they don't entertain any other belief. It could be seen as being over-religious by non-believers.

·         But, they are well-behaved.

Jehova Wanyonyi

They believe in anything and everything their God, Wanyonyi, believes in. He believes he is the creator of earth and heaven, so they also believe it. Sadly, he kicked the bucket.

Atheists

They believe that Christians are wrong.

 

Writers' Take

Any comment or view about a religion you follow that elicits negative feelings is highly regretted. Any comprehensive comments about the topic or your religion are welcome and can be shared with me through benja34njuguna with "Publish" as the email header if you would like us to publish your comments.