Is it a Cult?
According to Dr. Charles Braden in the book The Kingdom of the Cults a cult is defined as ". . .any religious group which differs significantly in some one or more respects as to belief or practice from those religious groups which are regarded as the normative expression of religion in our total culture."

Christians should be able to tell the difference between what is real and what is not real. 

Can you tell a real twenty dollar bill from a fake?
Do you know how people are trained to detect real currency from counterfeit currency?
They study the real thing so well that they can easily detect a counterfeit bill.
We as Christians should know what we believe so well, that we are able to detect where what we believe differs from what others believe.  We should always evaluate religious
groups according to biblical criteria.

            But there are some things to watch out for in identifying and recognizing a cult.
            Here are a few of them taken from Bob Larson's Book New Book of Cults.

1. Does the group demand ABSOLUTE LOYALTY (allegiance to the group is demanded and
    enforced)?
2. Does it demand EXCLUSIVITY (those outside the cult are viewed as spiritually inferior, creating
    an exclusive and self-righteous "we" versus "they" attitude)?
3. Does it ISOLATE FROM THE OUTSIDE (demand physical separation from family, friends,
    society)?
4. Does it foster UNQUESTIONING SUBMISSION to cult practices (the asking of questions is
    discouraged as well as natural curiosity)?
5. Does it demonstrate LOVE-BOMBING (physical affection and constant contrived attention)?