Fr. George C. Papademetriou - Cults in America

In and around the fringes of Christendom today, there is a bewildering array of heretical cults attempting to seduce people away from the Orthodox faith. Most vulnerable of all to these allures are young people. Why is that? Because, for good or ill, the older we get, the more set we become in our ways and in our thoughts. The target group, then, both for the Church and for the cults, is youth; the issue, at once both simple and complex, is worship of the true God. The growing numbers of religious cults which surround us utilize a variety of means to draw people into their devious systems, their "doctrines of demons." Fr. Papademetriou has shown that their methods of attraction center upon certain areas of human weakness. They dwell among peoples' emotions and insecurities, particularly upon the spiritually sensitive person's gnawing doubt that he is truly serving God with his whole heart. Then, dwelling upon religious emphasis, they utilize highly-touted accounts of deep religious experience to draw in the net.