Supriya Ghosh (Editor)

The Kingdom of the Cults

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ISBN
  
978-0764228216

Author
  
Walter Ralston Martin

Subject
  
New religious movements

4.2/5
Goodreads

Language
  
English

Originally published
  
1965

Country
  
United States of America

The Kingdom of the Cults t2gstaticcomimagesqtbnANd9GcQV6wNv6Rq2fOwN6l

Page count
  
703 (2003 revised edition)

Pages
  
703 (2003 revised edition)

Similar
  
The Kingdom of the Occult, Rise of the cults, Jehovah of the Watchtower, The New Cults, The New Age cult

The Kingdom of the Cults, first published in 1965, is a reference book of the Christian countercult movement in the United States, written by Baptist minister and counter-cultist Walter Ralston Martin.

Contents

Summary

Martin examines a large number of new religious movements; included are major groups such as Christian Science, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Jehovah's Witnesses, Armstrongism, Theosophy, the Bahá'í Faith, Unitarian Universalism, Scientology, and the Seventh-day Adventist Church, as well as minor groups including various New Age and groups based on Eastern religions. The beliefs of other world religions such as Islam and Buddhism are also discussed.

He covers each group's history and teachings, and contrasts them with those of mainstream Christianity, from a decidedly critical, evangelical perspective.

Martin defines "a cult" as "a group of people gathered about a specific person—or person's misinterpretation of the Bible", while admitting that in spite of "distorting Scripture" such groups' teachings may contain "considerable truths" which have Biblical support but have become de-emphasized by mainstream Christianity, such as divine healing and prophecy.

Influence and reception

By 1989, The Kingdom of the Cults had sold over 500,000 copies and was one of the ten best-selling American spiritual books. The book has been described as being regarded by evangelicals as "the authoritative reference work on major cult systems for nearly 40 years." However, it has been criticized by members of some of the groups it discusses, particularly Mormons, upset that their faith should be labeled a "cult."

There have been several editions over the years with some changes. In the 1985 edition the Nation of Islam was not mentioned, and in the 2003 edition it was put back in a chapter on Islam itself. After Martin's death, a revised and expanded edition was issued which listed Ravi K. Zacharias as co-author.

References

The Kingdom of the Cults Wikipedia