Cult Classic
Taking Every Thought Captive for Christ
Christians are to pursue a life mission: taking every thought captive for Christ. A recent commenter on that mission described it as “cultic” and “scary” but failed to elaborate. This comment prompts reflection on cult characteristics, their fear factor, and whether “captive thoughts for Christ” fits that description.
Twisted Religion
“Cult” is a word that originally meant “religion.” And religion is worldview put into practice. Based on this, everyone is a cultist regarding something because everyone has a worldview. Worldviews are the templates through which we interpret reality, the paradigms used to evaluate, classify, critique, and conclude on all matters, even the most mundane. Through these paradigms, we construct dogmas, doctrines, and rituals which we implement as guidelines and repetitive practices through which to live out our lives.
Since no one exists in a vacuum, differing cults may come into conflict and cause confrontation between peoples as we engage in the everyday praxis of communal living. Some such conflicts have become violent, but mostly, religion has influenced far less wars than secular atheism (a cult, though many proponents deny it) and/or politics. Land grabs have fueled many wars throughout history. The worst, however, resulted from tyrannical regimes forcing ideologies upon unwilling populations.
The latter is an example of a scary cult. These religions, or cults, boast secret knowledge, promising salvation only to their members who must show absolute loyalty. They meet disobedience or attempts to leave with harsh consequences. Seclusion is typical for such cults. They prevent members from outside contact, ensuring exposure only to approved ideologies and rituals (e.g., Waco and Jonestown). These cults are more akin to antebellum slave plantations than regular public religions. They rely on mind control, propaganda, censorship, and brute force instead of ideological superiority. Whenever one of these cults attempts to enter the public sphere, these cults use the same tactics on a mass scale over a prolonged period to confuse and entice the populace. They take every measure to gain a larger following and alter reality (“normalize”).
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The Great Conversation
The alternative to violent confrontation or mental/physical enslavement is philosophical intellectual discourse. Political diplomacy is closely related to philosophy, which is Greek for “love of wisdom.” It aims to consider all perspectives before forming reasoned judgments based on evidence.
Philosophy uses logic to evaluate belief systems. Many rely on the whims of emotions (pathos) instead, and this only returns us to anger and violence, destroying civility. There is a time and place for pathos, but when evaluating ideas, emotions like anger, sadness, empathy, sympathy, etc. muddy the water. Dispassionate contemplation steered by logic, while not the only step in intellectual evaluation, is the most essential and equality-driven first step, since it is impartial.
The term’s Greek origin has led to widespread familiarity. However, all humans have employed philosophy since the beginning, as it is the practice of thinking. All major religions (except for Islam) have remained publicly acceptable via disbursing themselves through the process of philosophy rather than violent warfare. Although imperfect, these groups, unlike dangerous cults, have promoted their ideas peacefully. They’ve offered explanations for life’s big questions. All groups, including secular atheists, attempt to indoctrinate their members and even outsiders with their beliefs. People then evaluate these beliefs. This is the normal and appropriate process for learning and growing individually and as societies.
Paul, the Risen Christ, and the Corinthian Dilemma
The passage I am quoting from when saying my goal is to take every thought captive for Christ is 2 Corinthians 10:1-6:
“10 I, Paul, myself entreat you, by the meekness and gentleness of Christ—I who am humble when face to face with you, but bold toward you when I am away!— 2 I beg of you that when I am present I may not have to show boldness with such confidence as I count on showing against some who suspect us of walking according to the flesh. 3 For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, 6 being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.”
Paul presents Christ’s message to the Corinthians, viewing it as supreme truth. This letter containing the passage is one of his later letters to them, following 1 Corinthians. There, he confronted them about their misgivings regarding the Gospel and the prevalence of behaviors among them that were contrary to the Word.
Their initial misunderstanding demands a second explanation. He’s reiterating his ministry’s legitimacy and Christianity’s intellectual viability. The argument arose because false teachers entered the church. They contradicted Paul’s teachings and competed intellectually. Their boasting about their understanding of the Gospel was a man-made competition. The Corinthians were siding with these phonies over Paul and also had an issue with Paul’s harshness in his writings to them, thinking him feeble when in their presence.
Paul explains his harsh writing stems from a desire to avoid in-person conflict. While he prefers cordiality, he cannot tolerate false teachings in their churches. The consequences are too significant. Paul, echoing Ephesians 6, clarifies that Christians’ battles, especially his and the apostles’, aren’t physical. Their divinely empowered weapons dismantle strongholds.
The important statement is: “We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.” This follows from the previous discussion. Christians are equipped to crush spiritual giants.
Paul is using and describing philosophical persuasion, not forced control, and is declaring that the Christian worldview is a worthy ideological competitor among the mass collection of views. This is peaceful diplomacy. He only mentions “punishment” regarding Christians. The Greek word used, ekdikeo, means “vindication,” signifying justification and ensuring righteousness. Paul emphasizes discipline, training Corinthians to follow Gospel teachings.
Chapter 10 later explains this: Corinthians should glory solely in the Lord. This aligns with what he says in his letter to the Romans. Chapter 12 calls on Christians to renew their minds. It also encourages them to offer themselves as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God. True believers will permit the truth of Christ to permeate every fiber of their beings, reform their thinking, and be able to speak about their faith and its merits with confidence. And this process is voluntary. Christ-followers are called to show the appeal of the Gospel message within the intellectual-philosophical gauntlet and invite others to join.
Conclusion: Scare Tactics?
Taking every thought captive for Christ is cultic in the sense that Christianity is religious, but it is not forceful nor scary. We hold, like Paul, that the Gospel stands up as a worthy option in the Great Conversation, and we have an obligation to articulate it with boldness, confidence, clarity, and cordiality. It needs no forcing; a truth contender, believers see it as ultimate Truth. We should ignore mockery, insults, and slander. Our focus is the eternal prize in Christ, courageously overcoming spiritual strongholds built by the Evil One. Darkness is the real enemy. We can defeat it through prayer, honesty, integrity, and devotion to God—a stark contrast to today’s oppressive cults.