cult
characteristic of a relationship between a king and a council of elders (1
Chron. 11.30). It is also used as an expression of love (Num. 25.12) and
a marriage vow (Prov. 2.17). The covenant also expresses the relation-
ship between God, Noah, and the animal kingdom (Gen. 9). Within the
natural sphere, it also is a metaphor for night and day (Jer. 33.20).
Further reading: Eichrodt (1961); Mendenhall (1953); Peters (2003)
CULT
This is a notion with acquired negative connotations in the contemporary
world because it is associated with that which is suspicious, bizarre, and
exploitive. If one looks beyond these types of negative accretions to the
notion, a cult is usually a small group of people who gravitate around a
leader who may be charismatic. A good example is the early Jesus move-
ment with its charismatic teacher and his body of followers. A cult group
is distinguished from a church, denomination, or sect. A cult stands in
tension with the prevailing culture, and it is marginal to that culture.
Some scholars have defined cults as ephemeral, tending to fragment after
the leader’s death. They tend to be more focused on individual problems
than the broader issues of society. Before the birth of Jesus, there are
important cults in ancient Greece that are called mystery cults because of
the necessity for a vow of secrecy.
The Greek mystery cults are known to function as voluntary religious
options and supplements to the prevailing civic religion instead of a via-
ble alternative. Myths are associated with the cults that relate tales of the
supernatural beings. The cults promise a means of enhancing a person’s
life and afterlife. During the secret initiations, aspirants are able to con-
struct a unique relationship with the cult’s deity. The Eleusinian myster-
ies have initiates drink a concoction called kykeōn in imitation of the
goddess Demeter. On the fifth day of this mystery, initiates don white
garments and carry torches on a pilgrimage from Athens to Eleusis.
During the pilgrimage, initiates have yellow ribbons tied on their right
hands and left legs. This event culminates on the third day with the ini-
tiation within the confines of a walled area.
A couple of the Greek mystery cults are centered on male divine fig-
ures. Attracting soldiers and others by stressing brotherhood, the cult of
Mithras embraces seven grades of initiation with the central role played
by the sacrifice of a bull. The Bacchic mysteries focus on Dionysus