I have been reading Margaret Thaler Singer book "Cults in Our Midst" religious cults all have one thing in common, their leaders are all the worst of humanity, Jim Jones was the devil incarnate. What he did to those people is unbelievable. You can not posses the Holy Spirit and sentence people to be burned at the stake because they don't believe the same way that you do. John Calvin was the tyrant of Geneva. He sentenced hundreds of people to prison for no reason other than that some fell asleep during one of his sermons or did some minor thing that displeased him.
I present to you... "Why is Calvinism a Cult" by Angelfire
"Calvinism is a cult for many reasons. childlike behavior is always marked by an idolatrous desire to the cult itself. This is especially true in Calvinism. You will not find in every Presbyterian or reformed Baptist to be mired down in a cult-like behavior of Calvinism. There are many people who attend Calvinist churches do so for reasons other than Calvinism and such members essentially place little emphasis on Calvinism itself. it is those people that have committed themselves to Calvinism that are caught up in the cult. These people are those that have immersed themselves in five point Calvinism and perceive it to be the gospel.
Firstly, like all other cults. Calvinist claim that all other theological systems are "false gospel." This is certainly true when it comes to their concept of salvation.
Secondly, Calvinist have a belief very similar to the Gnostics, the first cult-like group to preach heresy in the Christian church. Gnostics believed that "the elect" were those elite who comprehended the secret knowledge of god. like the Gnostics. Calvinist also believed that the elect are the only people who well accept and can comprehend Calvinism because only they are capable of understanding and accepting this knowledge. The interpret 1 Corinthians 2:14 in this way thinking that anyone who does not ultimately accept Calvinism must be a non-elect and non-regenerate persons and cannot see the mystery knowledge of Calvinism.
Thirdly, Calvinism is a cult because those who adhere to it doctrines idolize Calvinism. Now of course the Calvinist will not admit he is an idolator. how many idolators do you know who admit that they are idolators?
If you observe a Calvinist carefully and watch him work, you will see that he has little regard for the true and intended meaning of the Bible message. The only message that he will allow himself to see is the message of Calvinism. All Biblical passages are run through the Calvinist mill. Any messages that seem to be contrary to his doctrines are interpretively reworked to fit his system. Like all cults, the Calvinist will not change his beliefs under any circumstances, including the message of scripture. rather than conforming his beliefs to the bible, the Calvinist tries to conform the Bible to his beliefs. Instead of trying to understand what the bible really says, he first asks himself how any given passage will effect Calvinism. Then, instead of trying to understand the intended message of any given passage, he develops an interpretation that will suit Calvinism. thus all interpretations are custom fit to suit Calvinism rather than investigated to comprehend the meaning.
Because a Calvinist does this he is an idolator. an idolator is one that serves his idol. The Calvinist serves the idol of Calvinism. he serves his belief system first and foremost and the Bible must be interpreted to conform to his belief system. All interpretations of the Bible are subject to the whims of his idol, his God that is Calvinism. He must first consult Calvinism before he does any interpreting since any interpreting of a passage which does not meet the approval of his god, Calvinism, will never do.
For example, in the gospel of John, Calvinist interpret the word "world" in John 1:29 and John 3:16 to mean "definitely the Elect" and only the elect. But at John 17:9, they interpret the word "world" to mean "definitely not the elect" Therefore they give the exact same word "world" (Grk Kosmos) totally opposite meanings from one passage to the next. They must do this so that their idol, Calvinism, would not be pleased if they defined the word "world" at John 1:29. and 3:16. the same way that they do at John 17:9. There are myriads of examples of Calvinism just like this one. Those who are not caught up in such cults have a fluid belief system. if a Bible passage comes up that impacts their present beliefs, most people will change their beliefs to conform to the Bible. Not so with Calvinist. He approaches such thing just like a Jehovah's witness. Both the Calvinist and the Jehovah's witness serve their belief system's first and no Biblical passage is going to change them. If a Bible passage comes up that threatens their belief system, his idol, he lays awake endless nights devising an interpretation that can be made that will fit Calvinism. In such cases he never asks himself, "what does this passage really mean and does it prove that at some point Calvinism is wrong?" He never entertains such notions because he is committed to his idol rather than to God. Thus he cannot learn many passages of the Bible because he never lets it speak to him apart from prior approval of his idol, his god, Calvinism. The purpose of reading the Bible is to find out what it says and arrive at an intended meaning through understanding the context, grammar and following accepted objective interpretive principles. Most people read the Bible to discover the treasures therein. Not the Calvinist. He uses the Bible for nothing more than to please his idol. Although the Calvinist may claim he interprets any verse in its own context and follows accepted practices of interpretation, in reality his context is not the passage in question but the system of Calvinism itself and the only accepted practices of interpretation is to develop an interpretation of any given passage which does not fit or anger his god - Calvinism.
Like other cults, Calvinist do not try to coherently piece the ideas of the Bible together to arrive at the big picture such that all pieces fit in their proper place. rather they hunt down passages which seem to suit them best and either ignore or rework all other passages that do not uplift Calvinism. Thus they gather together a bunch of passages and build something for themselves - a belief system of their liking. in short, they create their own belief system rather than seeking out a belief system which the whole Bible will convey. In the end their create their own God, an idol called Calvinism, their own god."
