Denomination: A Sample Of Baptist Cults
I live in the south where you cannot throw a rock without hitting a church of some kind. Usually, it is some sort of Baptist church. Southern Baptist is the most popular and Independent Fundamental is gaining in popularity. Here, you cannot go an entire day without someone trying to hug you or pray for you (I wish I was exaggerating). I did not grow up in a religious family so this is strange to me. One of the first things I remember being asked in school was where I went to church. When I answered “nowhere,” I got a strange look and dead silence. This followed me to the workplace and when I became a mom and went to my kid’s school events. “Where do y’all go to church?”
“We don’t.”
I would be met with the same strange looks but this time it was usually followed with, “Oh, that’s okay, you should visit our church.” My husband and I tried attending different churches, several different times over the last twenty years. We tried for several reasons, looking for somewhere to belong, my husband being from a religious family, has had it drilled into his head since birth that if you are not saved and not in church then you are going to hell. After we left two of the four churches we had attended for various reasons, we found out that members at two of the churches had been caught for inappropriate sexual conduct. Guess what? It was not brought to our attention until after the preacher and deacons decided what needed to be done, they were asked to leave but were not stopped from going to other churches or reported. As you read this article you will see that is a recurring theme with this religious denomination. So much abuse and so little punishment. Before I began researching Baptists, I thought I had a wealth of knowledge about them, it turns out I knew nothing.
Here’s an acronym about the Baptist church I found handy.
Baptist
B- Biblical Authority
A- Autonomy of the local church(self-governing)
P- Priesthood of all believers
T- Two Ordinances (believers’ baptism and the Lord’s Supper)
I- Individual Soul Liberty (accountability of each person before God)
S- Saved and Baptized church members
T- Two Offices of the church (pastor and deacon)
Baptists are a group of Protestant Christians who share the basic beliefs of most Protestants but who insist that only believers should be baptized and that it should be done by immersion rather than by the sprinkling or pouring of water.
Baptist churches are self-governing and independent from other churches. Each church has a pastor, deacons, and trustees but all members vote on leadership and doctrine. Conservative Baptists oppose gambling, drinking, and alcohol use. Some Baptists even forbid dancing, watching certain movies, listening to rock music, reading books such as Harry Potter, tattoos, and more. Baptists believe that the Bible is free of errors and the only source of God’s truth. Any view that is not in the Bible is considered based on human traditions and is not the teachings of God. Baptists believe that Jesus is the mediator to God. Ordination does not grant special access or privileges. They believe being ordained represents a commitment to caring for God’s people.
Here are a few sects of the Baptist church I find concerning and would label a cult.
Westboro Baptist Church
Southern Poverty Law Center and the Anti-Defamation League classifies Westboro Baptist Church as a hate group and a family cult, as they should. WBC is known for its raucous anti-gay beliefs and crude signs. They protest events with their gratuitous slogan, “God Hates Fags.”
Westboro Baptist Church was founded by Pastor Fred Waldron Phelps in Topeka, Kansas in 1955. The church is made up of Phelps and nine of his 13 children, their spouses, and grandchildren. Phelps’s estranged son accused Phelps of abusing his children and wife, cultivating fear to maintain his authority. Members of WBC believe that God chose some people to be saved, and those lucky few cannot resist God’s call. They believe the unfortunate souls that God does not choose will burn in hell forever. One of Westboro’s specialties is anti-gay vitriol. That’s evident in the name of their website, God Hates Fags. Their website states, “The only true Nazis in this world are fags. They want to force you by law to support their filth, and they want to shut you up by law when they hate what you say.” According to the group, America has damned itself through its tolerance of homosexuality and God is punishing the county by inflicting tragedies, like 9/11 and Covid-19.
Phelps raised his family on the WBC compound. The houses are arranged in a box formation and share a large backyard. In 1964, Phelps found a law firm that represents the church’s many civil lawsuits. All five attorneys at the firm are Phelp’s children. The Kansas City Supreme Court disbarred Phelps in 1979, stating that he showed “little regard for ethics.”
The WBC came to the public’s attention in 1991 when it began its “picketing ministry”. Their goal with this is not to gain followers but to warn people of their coming damnation. The group has claimed to have picketed more than 40,000 times since 1991. On their website, it states, “God doesn’t just hate the sin but also the sinner.” In one instance, the church has used its right to protest to harass a local restaurant every day for three years because it is owned by a lesbian. They have protested Justin Bieber’s concerts because he was not using his fame to promote God. They have also targeted: Bill Clinton’s mother, Sonny Bono, Lady Gaga, and Bob Dole. WBC members children often use hate language in interviews, and it is reported they do not have friends at school. They are raised to hate anyone who does not believe like them and people who do not belong to WBC are going to hell. They are so strict in their views that they believe no other churches are taken to be legitimate.
Several members of WBC work for the state of Kansas in various positions including several positions in the Department of Corrections. Complaints have been filed against some of the members of the Department of Corrections because of the extreme hate directed toward LGBTQ on a radio show. The state’s office declined to pursue it, citing the First Amendment. This is a common theme with WBC, any information or complaints and lawsuits have been dismissed due to their First Amendment rights. Personally, I see it as harassment.
The decision to protest the funeral of Matthew Shepard, a gay student who died from injuries sustained during a hate crime, is unfortunately what gained WBC worldwide recognition. The group also attempted, unsuccessfully, to build a monument in a public park in Casper, Wyo. declaring: “Matthew Shepard, Entered Hell October 12, 1998.”
WBC is also known for protesting the funerals of American soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. They offered two reasons for this: the first was the usual “God is punishing us for homosexuality” and the second was because of an IED attack on the WBC campus in 1995. Fred Phelps told Fox News during an interview in 2005, “God is visiting the sins upon America by killing their kids with IEDs...and the more the merrier.” On March 10, 2006, the WBC protested the funeral of Matthew Snyder, a Marine killed while serving in Iraq. Members help signs reading, “Thank God for dead soldiers” and “You’re going to Hell”. Matthew’s father sued WBC for defamation, invasion of privacy, and emotional distress. He originally won a $10 million settlement, but it was turned over on appeal. The Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal. While waiting for the Supreme Court to hear the case, the local court who overturned the settlement ordered Matthew’s father to pay more than $16,000 for WBC’s court costs. Almost one year later, the Supreme Court ruled WBC’s had the right to hold protests at funerals due to the First Amendment.
In June 2007 Shirley Phelps-Roper (one of Fred’s daughters) was arrested while protesting in Bellevue, Nebraska. She had allowed her son to stand on an American flag while wearing a flag around her waist, letting it drag the ground. Roper was charged with flag desecration. She was also charged with negligent child abuse, disturbing the peace, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. The city of Bellevue dropped the charges of flag desecration and contributed to a child’s delinquency because a federal judge declared the flag desecration law unconstitutional. The city also paid Phelps-Roper $17,000 in a settlement in exchange for her dropping a pending lawsuit against the city. This is the main way WBC makes money. They win settlements and civil lawsuits.
Fred Phelps died in March 2014 from natural causes. It is said that the last year of his life he suffered from dementia and showed “softened” beliefs causing him to be excommunicated from the church. It was reported that a non-profit group bought a house across the street from the WBC compound and painted it with the LGBTQ flag and Phelps yelled to them and told them that they were “good people” which is what led up to the ex-communication. However, it seems his teachings are still believed by his family and church members.
Southern Baptist Convention
The Southern Baptist Convention is the world’s largest Baptist denomination, the largest Protestant denomination, and the second-largest Christian denomination in the United States. It is estimated to have 16 million members. Southern Baptist share the same basic beliefs as regular Baptist but have more strict rules when it comes to race, women, homosexuality and how they handle sexual abuse cases. Southern Baptist members trace its history back to 1845 when it broke off from other Baptists over its stand on slavery. SBC was founded because these particular Baptists wanted to own other human beings. They still adhere to their rule of white men are in charge of everyone and everything.
The SBC prohibits teaching Critical Race Theory so, instead of teaching current and future church members and leaders about systematic racism they have chosen to deny the problem.
Southern Baptist affirm the possibility of reorientation from same-sex attraction and supports “ex-gay” ministries. According to the SBC website, “homosexuals may become new creations in Christ.”
In 1984, the SBC passed a resolution against women’s ordination. Women were excluded from ordained ministry to “preserve a submission God requires because the man was first in creation and the woman was the first in Edenic fall.” They also argued for the preservation of “God’s delegated order of authority.” This delegated authority is, “God is the head of Christ, Christ is the head of man, man is the head of woman.” Baptist policy is local churches are autonomous and free to govern themselves and some of the more liberal Southern Baptist churches have decided to let women be ordained. The SBC “disfellowships” these congregations and will not allow them to participate in the local association. In 2000, the SBC changed its faith statement, stating the men and women “are of equal worth before God” BUT “A wife is to submit herself graciously to the servant leadership of her husband.”
Sexual Abuse in the SBC
As early as 1980, a survivor of a sexual assault by a Southern Baptist missionary tried to bring attention to the problem of sexual abuse in the church but the denomination was unwilling to address it. In 2009, another survivor criticized the denominations minimizing and enabling abuse. Southern Baptist churches (like many Baptist churches) often allow abusers to move onto a new congregation without reporting the abuse.
In February 2019, the Houston Chronicle and the San Antonio Express-News reported on the widespread sexual abuse in Southern Baptist churches. An estimated 380 clergy, leaders, and volunteers have faced allegations of sexual misconduct resulting in 700 victims since 1998. The article also brought attention to the habit the SBC has of allowing these offenders to move around to different churches. At least ten churches have welcomed pastors, ministers, and volunteers charged with sexual misconduct and were registered sex offenders. The former vice president of the SBC was accused by at least three people of molestation and solicitation for sex. The former president of the SBC has been accused of ignoring claims of sexual assault. Several leaders in the SBC called for a database to track ministers accused of sexual abuse. This was suggested three times and never implemented. The autonomy they are so proud of causes a problem because they do not nationally ordain or license clergy. The national office does not have the authority to revoke licenses or force the churches to report sexual misconduct.
Some of the sexual assault survivors were asked to get abortions after being raped. Southern Baptists strongly oppose abortion. I guess that changes if they are facing criminal charges. In 2018, trustees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary fired then-President Paige Patterson after he discouraged seminary students from reporting rape to police. Research suggests that men who have sexist beliefs such as husbands being dominant over their wives are more likely to accept the myths, “women ask for it” or “if a woman is wearing provocative clothes, she asked to be raped” or “most women lie about being raped.” Research also suggests that fundamentalist and sexist clergy also tend to have more negative attitudes toward rape victims. The Southern Baptist Convention has fostered a culture where sexual abuse, denial, and lack of response will unlikely change as long as the beliefs about women’s submission stay in place.
Independent Fundamental Baptist
The Independent Baptist tradition began in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Some Baptist congregation members were concerned about the advancement of modernism and liberalism. The church is made up of saved, baptized believers. The baptism has to be by immersion and cannot be from another church. If you are not familiar with Independent Fundamental Baptist some of their beliefs and practices are listed below. You will some of the beliefs are similar to the Southern Baptist, just more extreme:
The King James Version is the only true word of God and is the final authority on all things. All other translations of the Bible are the work of the devil.
Satan is real, and the instigator of all false religions.
The theory of evolution is unscriptural and without merit.
Hell is real and if you die without having accepted Christ as your Savior you will burn in hell for eternity.
Each IFB church is autonomous and free from any outside rules. The pastor is divinely appointed and not accountable to any earthly authority. The pastor speaks for God and answers to God only. If you question the pastor, you question God and risk separation from the church.
According to the IFB, men are the only ones suitable to hold any positions in the church and be the head of the home.
In order for a woman to please God, she must remain perfectly submissive, first to her father then to her husband.
The primary function of a woman is to have children.
It is a sin for women to wear anything that might cause a man to have lustful thoughts. Women must wear below-the-knee skirts and dresses, some churches do not allow women to wear pants.
Human life begins at conception. Every abortion regardless if it is the result of rape or incest, is considered murder.
The IFB believes homosexuals are evil perverts who hate God and should be kept away from society and especially children.
They believe there is no moral distinction between homosexuality, bestiality, incest, child molestation, or rape in the eyes of the IFB.
The IFB believes that people of color bear the “mark of Cain.”
Members are called to keep themselves separate from the world and its sinful temptations such as movies, dancing, and any music with an addictive beat.
They only sing hymns in church and reject the use of drums and recorded music.
Members only socialize with other IFB members.
The IFB takes the “I” for Independent seriously. Each church is a kingdom unto itself and is not obliged to cooperate with any other church, IFB or otherwise.
IFB members also believe that the will of a child must be broken. They even believe that a crying baby is exerting selfish will. This will needs to be eliminated
because if there is human will then God’s will cannot be. IFB parents pick and chose lines in The Book of Proverbs that “justify” infant “training”. Some of the lines they use are:
Thou shalt beat him with the rod and shalt deliver his soul from hell. (23:14)
The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame. (29:15)
He that spareth his rod hateth his son; but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes[early on; speedily](13:24)
The blueness of a wound cleanseth away evil. (20:13)
“To Train Up a Child” by fundamentalist Christian minister Michael Pearl and his wife is very popular with IFB members and has sold more than 670,000 copies. Here is a quote from this “manual” on how to choose the right instrument to beat your child with:
“Select your instrument according to the child’s size. For the under one-year-old, a little, ten-to-twelve-inch long, willowy branch(striped of any knots that might break the skin) about one-eighth inch diameter is sufficient. Sometimes alternatives have to be sought. A one-foot ruler, or its equivalent in a paddle, is a sufficient alternative. For the large child, a belt or larger tree branch is effective.”
The New Independent Fundamental Baptist Movement
The New IFB movement was started by Steven Anderson, pastor of Faithful Word Baptist Church in Tempe, Arizona. Anderson made headlines in 2009 for telling his congregation he prayed for the death of President Obama. The new IFB strongly believes they are the only true believers and everyone else is going to hell.
The New Independent Fundamental Baptist (New IFB) movement is a loose, growing network of approximately 30 churches in the United States and around the world that promotes hate and bigotry under the guise of religious doctrine. Women attending these churches have long hair, wear long dresses and skirts, homeschool their children, and are highly discouraged from working outside the home. Anti-LGBTQ bigotry and antisemitism are fundamental to New IFB ideology, as demonstrated by the doctrinal statements on their websites and the content of their sermons.
At Verity Baptist Church in Sacramento, Pastor Roger Jimenez encourages his congregation to separate themselves from the way of the modern, and he believes wicked world. Jimenez tells his congregation to “burn Harry Potter books, throw away rock CDs, do not vaccinate their children, and stay away from gay people.”
Jimenez is quoted as saying, “If I go down in history as the hardest preacher against homos, praise the Lord.”
Verity Baptist Church holds the Red Hot Preaching Conference every year and it features some of the most virulently anti-gay pastors in the country. Jimenez started the conference in 2016 after gaining national notoriety for praising the mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando that killed 49 people. On day two of the conference, Pastor Manly Perry spoke about his fantasy of a future “millennial reign of Christ”(where Jesus rules the earth for 1000 years). Perry joked that he has a rifle called his “S.A.D weapon(Sodomite Apocalypse Defense) and envisions a day when gay people surround his house like zombies, trying to get in to avoid God’s wrath.” On day four of the conference, hundreds of attendees went “soul-winning” which is knocking on people’s doors to talk about salvation. The attendees did not let anything stop them, they slipped past driveway gates and ignored “No Soliciting” signs. Several pastors including Jimenez have called for the U.S. government to start executing LGBTQ+ people. Jimenez said his congregation will knock on every door in the area and plan to evangelize to young people outside of their schools. As with most of these new IFB groups, Jimenez’s group keeps getting kicked off of social media, however, they keep finding ways to come back and spread their hateful views.
Grayson Fritts is the pastor of All Scripture Baptist Church, a new Independent Fundamental Baptist Church located in Knoxville, Tennessee. Fritts is also a former Knox County Sheriff’s Office detective who was fired in June 2019 after preaching to his congregation about his belief that the government should arrest, try, convict, and execute people within the LGBTQ community.
The church that Fritts is pastor for, All Scripture Baptist Church describes their church the following way on social media: “the King James Bible is our only book. Soul-winning and the Great Commission is our only business.” The Great Commission refers to several passages in the gospel of Matthew where Jesus urges his apostles to make “disciples of all the nations” and “baptize them”. They believe the King James Bible is “the perfect, preserved word of God without error.” On their website, Fritts and his congregation strongly reject the idea of a universal church and believe local churches exist for the purpose of fulfilling the Great Commission by sharing the gospel through door-to-door soul winning. Plastered all over their social media are statements about homosexuality being a sin and should be punished by death. It is also posted several times that if you are gay, you will not be allowed inside of their church. Fritts like his mentor Anderson loves to use the word fag when describing LGBTQ+. Fritts also likes to remind the women in his church that being submissive is required, as is dressing like a woman and not being allowed to wear pants. Comments are turned off of their Youtube channel. Also, any negative remarks on other social media outlets are quickly deleted.
The Baptist denomination spreads hate, fear of hell, and being cast out of their church if you do not follow their rules. I have seen this fear in people, the whole church is their life and everything they do has to be acceptable to the church and its leaders. Their influence and “teachings” spread to who they vote for and whether or not you vaccinate yourself and your children against deadly diseases.
The fear, hate, and control preached and spread by the Baptist denomination make it a cult. Maybe this is not the case with every cell of the church, but these examples are telling. I’ll think twice before taking religious advice from my neighbors.
