Mind sciences like Christian Science, Religious Science, and Unity Church of Christianity each add their own “prophetic” sources—the writings of Mary Baker Eddy for Christian Science; Ernest Holmes for Religious Science; and the pronouncements of Charles and Myrtle Fillmore, along with the “sacred books” of other major religions, for Unity. Progressive “Christian” churches substitute the authority of self over Scripture as the ultimate guide for doctrine and ethics.

If you want to quickly spot any form of “Christianity” gone south, watch for three specific telltale signs—a hat-trick of errors that, in whole or in part, characterize virtually every single Christian-sounding group that is off the reservation.

When you encounter a group you suspect may be theologically questionable, find out their answers to this trio of key questions. First, “Who or what is your spiritual authority?” Second, “Who is Jesus?” Third, “What must I do to be saved?”

The answers to these questions separate the wheat from the chaff, theologically. Invariably, aberrant groups falter on either their ultimate source of spiritual authority, or the person of Christ, or the work of Christ. Usually, they err on all three.

The first pitfall—adding some additional authority to the Word of God—is the most important one since mistakes about revelation compromise the foundation, frequently leading to the next two theological failures (and often a host of others). With virtually every group using the name “Christian,” the Bible plays a role of some sort in their theology. However, when other “authorities” are added on par with Scripture—either explicitly or implicitly—it’s the first indication that there’s trouble ahead.

There’s a reason for this. In my observation, whenever a group adds another equally weighty authority to the mix, God’s Word ends up in the back seat, allowing serious errors to gain a foothold.

With Jehovah’s Witnesses, for example, the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society rules over the text for its faithful, even authorizing their own corrupted New World Translation to advance its non-Christian theology.

Your Mormon friends at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) add the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price to their revelation mix—along with the authoritative pronouncements of their leadership.

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