The Kingdom Come

We must first ask what makes an "ism" within theology? For LuthernISM, CalvinISMⁱ, or ArminianISM. All of the men these "isms" were named after certainly would rather had their names not become an ISM. So, why did they? They didn't use those terms to describe their views; although these terms help us to quickly sum up a perspective or at least get the general idea.

However, the "isms" come along especially when an advocate begins to propose perspectives they often claim are "their" teaching or "their" view.

WHAT IS TALBOTISM?

Talbotism is still in the making but it is a perspective around the teachings and practices of a man named Kenneth Talbot. Talbot and some of his followers like to deride people for pointing out the rise of his own personal "ism" and his own "followers"; who have been called "Talbotites", "Talbotians", and "Talbotists". But the fact remains, Talbot is making his own personal "ism". This is especially evident in the fact that Talbot has created his own denomination, his own seminary, and his own church. This far exceeds what Martin Luther and John Calvin did in personalizing their perspectives; so if those men have had their names turned into "isms", certainly Talbot's name is more a candidate.

First, what is a counter-cult ministry? A counter-cult ministry is an effort by one or more people to expose and address a cultic group.  A cultic group is defined not merely by something extreme such as an individual leader controlling followers but by any abnormal devotion to one or more leaders that often results in the followers behaving unethically or even illegally in support of the leader(s). And the leader(s) need not even ask the followers to behave in this way, however the leader(s) often will turn a blind eye to the actions of their followers.

DEFINING A CULT

As stated, a cult is not merely an individual leader controlling followers. A cult need not even be religious in nature, although that is perhaps the easiest vehicle to use to get followers to be that devoted. Also, just because followers are very devoted to leadership doesn't make it a cult. Obviously, religions in general call for the express devotion of its adherents, if not to its founders and leaders at least to its principles and teachings. The kind of cult we're talking about is the kind of group that causes its followers to manifest unethical and often illegal behavior in support of the leadership. It is an almost, "protect the leadership at all costs" mentality.  Often, no matter how much documentation and evidence is brought to bear that the leadership is corrupt, the followers will still remain devoted and sometimes even become more entrenched.  We see this with some political parties, unions, and even yes religious leaders.