Cults: Jesus said call no man father, why do Christian cults call leaders daddy

Cults:  Jesus said call no man father, why do Christian cults call leaders ‘daddy’

Cults come in all shapes, sizes and forms.  They also span the gamut of religious organizations from Christian to New Age and then some.  In fact, the words “Christian cults” may seem a misnomer since a cult is actually so far from an original denomination it is no longer associated with the parent group.  Still, in today’s society, many people recognize and refer to a number of cults as Christian.  Jim Jones of Jonestown, David Koresh of the Branch Davidians, even Warren Jeffs of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FDLS) are referred to by some as being “Christian.”  A clear example of this could be seen in the Westboro Baptist Church.  The group has all the qualities of being a cult, while many feel they are a Christian church.  Note, this word is used loosely, is not in its true sense of the word and is used in error- however, it is common for many in society to refer to these leaders and churches as Christian. 

What may be most disturbing, however, is that not only do many of these cult leaders refer to themselves as true Christians, but they frequently twist and manipulate Scripture.  One glaring factor that is prevalent in many pseudo Christian cults is referring to the guru, leader, pastor or priest as father or daddy.  Jim Jones, Warren Jeffs, David Koresh, David Berg and so on were referred to by their followers as father or daddy.  Some cult leaders just plain out change their name to Father.  Father Divine was a cult leader who was born in 1876 and died in 1965.  To this day, no one even knows what Father Divine’s real name was!  He thoroughly convinced his followers he was God incarnate and many people knew him solely as Father Divine.

The idea of cult leaders referring to themselves as father is not limited to pseudo Christian cults as Sun Myung Moon who leads the cult: Unification Church is known as Father, Father Moon, True Father and his wife is known by terms such as Mother, True Mother and Mother Moon.  Though there are many different cults that use the term, in this article we are focusing on pseudo Christian groups and are using the Bible as evidence that Christianity and Jesus Christ in his own words, did not condone the practice of calling spiritual teachers or leaders father or daddy.

It is with great hope that those who believe they are in Christian organizations yet call their leader daddy or father will open their eyes and realize they have already been subdued into placing a man in the role of God in their lives.

The following passage of Scriptures is from Matthew 23 and in it, Jesus clearly states that we are to call no one father or daddy.  This is not talking about abandoning parental relationships but is speaking about religious organizations as the passage begins by Jesus Christ calling the religious teachers of the day hypocrites.

If you are in a church, group, believe you are in a new sect or just starting a wonderful new movement and refer to the leader of your organization as father or daddy, there is a 99.999% chance you are in a cult or spiritually abusive organization that is on its way to becoming a full blown cult.  The remainder of you may just be the natural born child of the leader and you too should open your eyes and look clearly at your situation.

We are not to call anyone daddy, father or even teacher!  If you believe you are in a Christian church and must call your leader by these names, it’s time to get out.  There’s no ifs, ands or buts about it- get out while you still can!

The passage is called a warning about hypocrisy and following the scripture is the seven woes to teachers of the law and Pharisees (false teachers, false prophets).

Matthew 23

 1 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: 2 “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. 3 So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. 4 They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.

   5 “Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacterieswide and the tassels on their garments long; 6 they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; 7 they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by others.

   8 “But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. 9 And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. 10 Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Messiah. 11 The greatest among you will be your servant. 12 For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

Do cult leaders expect their followers to do everything they tell them to do?

Do cult leaders expect their followers to live by one standard while they live and practice something else?

Do cult leaders live a lazy, relaxed life while making their followers work to the bone to support the organization?

Do cult leaders feed off pride, demand respect and have narcissistic personalities?

Do cult leaders demand their followers to call them teacher?

Do cult leaders demand their followers to call them father?

These organizations are not Christian groups.  True Christians have one father who lives in Heaven and they will never place a man in the position of God.

*Bible passage from the NIV

Click here to read Matthew 23 in the King James Version: Matthew 23 King James Version