Why cults have continued to attract many followers

The unfortunate quadruple murders and suicide of lawyer Paul Magu’s family in circumstances linked to strange forms of worship, happening so soon after the Pastor Kanyari expose must lead to serious introspection by those of us who subscribe to the Christian faith. The two events point to a growing number of “faith” groups whose doctrine and rules of conduct are generally aberrant. Despite their deviant teachings and practices, these new groups amazingly continue to attract followers in their thousands.

When the sort of occurrences publicised in the last few weeks happen, our natural tendency is to condemn, not just the crooked “pastors” but also the numerous “flock” falling prey to their manipulation and exploitation. It’s no wonder that our gut reaction has been to call for application of criminal sanctions and for strict regulation of the church to rid it of miscreants.