1. By finding fault with other ministries and movements, many people will (falsely) get the impression that "..well then , MacArthur must be o.k."
There are at least 2 other cults that do the same thing. One is Jesus People U.S.A. (JPUSA) in Chicago, that used to have a ministry called Cornerstone Apologetics Research Team (CART) that did research on other cults. CART even managed to get itself accepted into a counter-cult umbrella group known as Evangelical Ministries to New Religions. (EMNR still has Eric Pement - a former JPUSA member - as it's v.p. Pement still endorses JPUSA, thus ruining EMNR's credibility.)
The other cult, which has even been a source of info for 20/20 and other news/info shows is the despicable Trinity Foundation of Dallas, Texas. "I Can't Hear God Anymore", by ex-Trinity member, Wendy Duncan, exposed this cult for what it is. Trinity STILL provides info on other cults to the news media, but has never been exposed by the media as a cult.
2. Many cults will threaten/intimidate people into silence by various means, in an attempt to keep people silent. This happened to me ( see my report at [
www.eth-s.com] ) but eventually I got rid of the fear of speaking up, and quit thinking that "they're everywhere and they're after me!!!" All by the grace of God.
3. Many cults will establish an elitist mindset in their followers ( such as the pride-inducing heresy of Calvanism/MacArthurism ) that will cause them to be dismissive of critics and criticisms, and, worse yet, will cause them to look down on those who are not part of their clique.
On those 3 points alone, MacArthurism is a freaking CULT.
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One other thing: Does anybody have a photo of MacArthur's mansion that can be posted on the net?