What's the difference?

[Umaro]

i used to think like you, being an ex-atheist.the reason why fanatic Christians look like a cult is quite simple, you're skeptical, and they're fanatical often caught up in the love of god, some are occasionally just oddballs. be careful of the more extreme people though the bible warns us of anti-christs and false prophets [cult leaders]. ive seen some of jesus camp they are a little crazy but they talk of "spiritual warfare" not real war.

lots of people in the united kingdom adore footballers, and even have minaiture shrines built to them.. pictures of a footballer on their wall all of the latest gear signed t-shirts shorts, books, photographs of the teams, etc.does that mean football is a cult? mo some people make it into a cult.i see nothing in the bible that says let him who disbelieves in christ answer to the sword, for he must be killed, the bible teaches love and freedom.

you're free to go to church, or not to nobody will attempt to take your house, force you to give them all of your money, force you to commit suicide, or keep your children hostage but they do in cults.

That's quite a generalization. While there are a large number of cults that force those things, there are also a large number that don't. Theocracies force those things as well, and I seem to remember the Crusades where there was much forced religion. The football example doesn't really stand because it is not supernatural, but I do view those sorts of people in the same light as well.

 

[heron]

Getting a prophecy never made anyone divine. A supernatural being relays information to us, and we either listen or we don't.

An apparition could give someone a heart attack on a prescribed day ... does that make someone divine for hearing voices beforehand? I believe that God speaks to people who aren't believers (Twain or anyone) ... but that's another topic.

Christianity hits a majority of these aspects you posted. Does that make it a cult?

Well, which came first, the religion or the variant? Probably every religion hits on most of those. What you have to decide for yourself is, have people taken away your autonomy? Have you hit a point where you are no longer capable of making decisions or questioning truths. Are you so afraid to leave that you feel you need to sneak out...

That could happen in a tiny home Bible study, or a megachurch, or a rifle-wielding jungle cult. But Christianity encompasses so many theologies and practices and systems, that it really can't be pinned down that tightly.