This book is, without doubt, one of the easiest-to-use cult and sect reference books available. Its chart format clearly lays out the history and doctrines of major cults, sects and religious movements, along with their membership, worship practices, leaders and publications. Additionally, it compares all major doctrines to orthodox Christianity, all in an accessible, accurate and relevant fashion.
H. Wayne House is a professor of biblical studies (apologetics), law, and theology. His research on cults, sect, and religious movements is invaluable, with extensive quotations from primary sources, offering one of the most accurate looks at the history and doctrines of various cults and sects.
For this book, House chose to emphasize those groups that reflect a dependence on historical Christianity but deviate from orthodox doctrine, and those groups which are built upon Eastern foundations, yet incorporate aspects of Christian terminology and theology into their practices. The groups examined are: Alamo Christian Ministries; Association for Research and Enlightenment (A.R.E.); Christadelphians; the Christian Identity Movement (includes Aryan Nations, Neonazism, Skinheads, the Ku Klux Klan, etc.); the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS or Mormons); the Church Universal and Triumphant; A Course in Miracles (actually a set of three books containing channeled information); Eckankar; The Family/Children of God; Freemasonry; Jehovah's Witnesses; Mind science groups; the New Age Movement; the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (an offshoot of Mormonism early in its history); Rosicrucianism; the Unification Church (Sun Myung Moon and the Moonies); United Pentecostal Church (Oneness Pentecostalism); the Urantia Foundation; and The Way International.
If you are looking for accurate, easy-to-use and easy-to-find information on the major cults, sects, and religious movements of our time, you will not be disappointed with this book. Its use of primary sources sets it apart from many anti-cult books, and its side-by-side comparison of cultic beliefs and practices with the beliefs and practices of orthodox Christianity is unique and informative. Don't miss this opportunity to add this insightful book to your library.
