Having been first printed in 1965, this work is
a classic reference work on cults. The book has gone through at
least thirty-six printings, and the latest edition has been revised
and expanded. Walter Martin is a recognized expert on the cults.
He is a Baptist, founder and director of the Christian Research
Institute.
The book defines a cult as the following: "A
cult ... is 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 expressions
of religion in our total culture ... a group of people gathered
about a specific person or person's misinterpretation of the Bible."
The author discusses the psychological patterns
impacting the cults. It is important to understand the conditioning
that some religious groups exercise over their disciples. The
writer also discusses the importance of understanding the language
among the cults. Often groups re-define terms beyond the original
meanings in order to build support for their doctrine. This work
addresses the following religious groups: Jehovah's Witnesses,
Christian Science, Mormonism, Spiritism, Zen Buddhism, Baha'i,
AngloIsraelism, Scientology, Eastern Religions, Islam, Seventh-Day
Adventism, Unitarianism, and other cults.
Walter Martin attempts to approach each cult with
a historical analysis of the rise of the cult. He then completes
an evaluation of the particular teachings relating to the cult,
and, using the Bible, provides a reply against the errors of the
cult.
The study of cults can be very interesting and
intriguing. This writer spent several years studying Mormonism
from many reference works within and without the Mormon Church.
He has visited special Mormon sites such as Johnson Farm in Hiram,
OH where Joseph Smith claimed to have a vision. He has also been
to the Mormon Temple around Washington, D.C. The sincerity of
the people in Mormonism has never been questioned at any time;
however, they have been misguided into a maze of circular reasoned
contradictions. Their religion is a progressive one, which is
a classic sign of a cult. When one becomes a Christian, he or
she has the opportunity of learning all the teachings of the Bible
prior to becoming a member. With Mormonism, small incremental
doses of the poisonous doctrine of Joseph Smith and other Mormon
leaders are interjected along the way. The material in The
Kingdom of the Cults is an excellent beginning point in studying
the various religious groups we may come across. It is important
we have an understanding of these groups, their teachings, their
vocabularies, and the weaknesses that can be used to try and reach
and pull some of them from the abyss.
I highly recommend adding this book to the church
library. One important suggestion: Do not buy an older edition
of this book. Purchase the latest edition of this book available.
Unlike the teachings of the Bible that change not, the cults'
teachings change over time, which make revisions necessary. -29
Flora Drive, Bedford, OH 44146-2011. DRKenney@email.com For previous
book reviews, visit www.streetsborochurch.org