Rise Of The Cults: Where Did All These Strange American Religious Sects Come From?

Larry Wessels, director of Christian Answers of Austin, Texas/ Christian Debater (YouTube channel CANSWERSTV at https://www.youtube.com/user/CAnswersTV; see websites: http://www.BIBLEQUERY.ORG, http://www.HISTORYCART.COM & http://www.MUSLIMHOPE.COM) tackles this very seldom asked question & the answer he gives may surprise you.
The Protestant Reformer Martin Luther once said, "My dear pope, I will kiss your feet and acknowledge you as supreme bishop if you will worship my Christ and grant that through His death and resurrection, not through keeping your traditions, we have forgiveness of sins & eternal life. If you will yield on this point, I shall nottake away your crown & power; if not, I shall constantly cry out that you are the Antichrist, and I shall testify that your whole CULT & religion are not only a denial of God, but also the height of blasphemy against God and is idolatry. - ("What Luther Says", II:1069). It is obvious from Luther's definition of CULT he means a religious group that is "a denial of God," "a blasphemy," & is considered "idolatry." Cult expert & author Walter Martin defined "cult" as "a group of people gathered about a specific person or person's misinterpretation of the Bible." Authors John Ankerberg & John Weldon define "cult" as "a religious group having Biblically unorthodox and/or heretical teachings & which may fail to meet basic ethical standards of Christian doctrine & practice." Author Bob L. Ross (one of world's leading publishers of the works of Charles Haddon Spurgeon) defines "cult" as "a counterfeit of the true faith of the Bible." The shortest definition of the word cult is "organized heresy."