Cult-Proofing Your Kids
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| Cult-Proofing Your Kids | |
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| Author | Dr. Paul R. Martin |
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| Cover artist | Jack Foster |
| Country | United States of America |
| Language | English |
| Subject(s) | Cults |
| Genre(s) | Christianity, Parenting |
| Publisher | Zondervan |
| Publication date | 1993 |
| Pages | 256 |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-310-53761-4 |
Cult-Proofing Your Kids is a book written by Dr. Paul R. Martin on cults and fringe churches, specifically written for Christian parents with a focus on how to keep children from joining such groups. The message of the book has been described as, "an alarm - that cults can come disguised with the trappings of evangelical Christianity."[1] The book was written after the author's own experience counseling thousands of former cult members at the Wellspring Retreat, as well as his experience with the group Great Commission International.[1] The book has been praised by Dr. Ronald Enroth as "A very practical tool for parents, counselors, youth leaders, and anyone else concerned about the potential dangers lurking in today's spiritual supermarket."[2]
Contents |
[edit] Motivation
Dr. Paul Martin explained his motivation for writing Cult-Proofing Your Kids in the introduction chapter of the book, where he wrote, in part:
As a Christian I know well the problems of the world. I had read most, if not all, the books of C. S. Lewis, Francis Schaeffer, Jacques Ellul, Os Guinness, Clark H. Pinnock, B. B. Warfield, Hal Lindsey, G. K. Chesterton, John Warwick Montgomery, Friedrich Nietzche, Karl Marx, and Søren Kierkegaard, along with numerous biblical commentaries, various theological works, some of the church fathers, and much more. I also read books on cults, such as James Bjornstad's Counterfiets at Your Door, Kenneth Boa's Cults, World Religions, and You, Pat Means's The Mystical Maze, and Jan Karel Van Baalen's The Chaos of the Cults, to name just a few. At that time I held the traditional view of what a cult is ― any religious body that holds beliefs and practices clearly in opposition to historic Christianity as expressed in the Apostles' Creed.
Ironically, however, I was being swept away by an evangelical Christian movement that was growing more and more cultic itself. In the early seventies the group was known informally as "The Blitz." Later it gave itself the name "Great Commission International" (GCI) and "Great Commission Church." A few of the cultic practices I began to see exercised by GCI in 1977 were the use of deceit, the claim that our group had discovered the only correct way to evangelize the world (a practice that was lost after the first Christian generation and then was rediscovered by the founder of our movement), and the suppression of any sort of questioning or confrontation of the leadership. Nothing I had read prepared me to see the warning signs when I joined.
...So I write this book to sound an alarm. Christians have overlooked a great enemy ― the enemy disguised as evangelical Christianity. Much of the current harm is done by the most subtle of errors. Great danger threatens the unsuspecting while appearing neutral or even non-religious, and simple Christian faith alone offers little defense against the lure.
[edit] Myths of cult involvement
In the book, Paul Martin lists what he believes are six myths people often hold regarding cult involvement. These myths include:
- Myth #1: Ex-cult members do not have psychological problems. Their problems are wholly spiritual.
- In the book he writes, "Although this is often believed by both Christians and ex-cultists, this myth has little basis in reality. As a result of extensive research with some three thousand former cult members, clinical psychologist Margaret Singer of the Berkeley campus of the University of California observed significant instances of depression, loneliness, anxiety, low self-esteem, overdependence, confusion, inability to concentrate, somatic (bodily) complaints, and, at times, psychosis." (Page 47,48)
- Myth #2: Ex-cult members do have psychological disorders. But these people come from clearly "non-Christian" cults.
- In the book he writes, "This myth assumes one of two things. First, it wrongly assumes that genuine Christians never have psychological problems. ... Second, this myth wrongly assumes that there are only non-Christian cults. Yet some Christian groups are in fact cultic in practice, believing that they have an exclusive corner on a particular biblical truth, or that, while there are other Christians outside the group, theirs is the only one that has God's fullest blessing. Many, if not most, of these groups usually require unquestioned obedience to their leader in virtually every detail of life. This being the case, abusive Christian groups can and frequently do cause psychological problems." (Page 48,49)
- Myth #3: Both Christian and non-Christian groups can produce problems, but all of the people invoved in the groups must have had prior psychological hand-ups that would have surfaced regardless of what group they joined.
- In the book he writes, "I encounter this myth regularily among both Christian and secular psycholigists. It seems that no amount of contradictory evidence can persuade some of that "normal" people can get involved in cultic groups. Sometimes I try reminding my colleagues about Nazi Germany to help dispet this myth from their thinking. I ask, "Were all those Germans suffering from individual pathologies that made them vulnerable to the Nazi religion?" Or I might ask, "How about Iran and Ayatollah Khomeini? Are all of his followers fanatical, or were they fairly normal people who became fanatical because of following him?" Some clinical research shows that only a minority of cult members had prior psychological problems before getting involved in cults or extremist religions." (Page 51)
- Myth #4: While normal non-Christians may get involved with cults, born-again evangelical Christians will not. Even if they did, their involvement would not affect them quite so negatively.
- In the book he writes, "This is perhaps the most dangerous myth of all because it blocks the way for any real help. However, even God's sheep can be abused by wicked shepherds ... Evangelicals and other Christians are not immune from cults. And certainly we should recognize that our children are also at great risk and very vulnerable." (Page 52,53)
- Myth #5: Christians can and do get involved in these aberrational groups and they can get hurt emotionally, but all they really need is some good Bible teaching and a warm, caring Christian fellowship. Then they will be fine.
- In the book he writes, "Many Christian young people join groups after the group passes a quick test for doctrinal purity. But true "doctrinal soundness" isn't the exclusive elixir for recovery. In fact, most people don't join for doctrinal reasons. Rather, they want to see their efforts in life make some difference. Sadly, they may look at their own churches and not see much happening, so they go to the fringe churches where there are signs of vitality, growth, and vision. ... even correct Bible teaching and caring fellowship will not enable all former cult members to recover completely. ... Although many ex-members of the extremist Christian groups do return to evangelical churches, they often continue to suffer." (Page 54,55)
- Myth #6: Perhaps the best way for former cult members to receive help is to seek professional therapy with a psychological, psychiatrist, or other mental health counselor.
- "As with the previous myth, this myth is only half true. It is therefore also particularly dangerous. Professional therapy is helpful -- bult only if the therapist has some expertise regarding cultic phenomena. Unfortunately, therapists have been known to fail miserably if they are not sensative to the issues of cult involvement. For example, in their ignorance some therapists downplay the damaging effects of cults. Other uninformed therapists may unconsciously subscribe to myth #3, and play the 'blame the victim' game, or what social psycholigists call the "attribution error" (that the problem lies within the person rather than within the group). Such therapy actually is no therapy and unforuntately can make the ex-member even worse." (Page 57,58)
[edit] Categories of cults
Also in the book, Paul Martin lists what he believes are several categories of cults, including:
- Eastern-Mystical Groups
- Groups Martin includes in this category include: The Hare Krishnas, Zen Buddhists, the Divine Light Mission (now Elan Vital), the “Healthy, Happy, Holy Organization” (aka 3HO or Sikh Dharma Yoga), Soka Gakkai (formerly “Nichiren Shoshu of America”), Ananda Marga, Meher Baba Movement, and the Self-Realization Fellowship.[2]
- Aberrant Christian Groups
- Groups he includes in this category include: “The Family” (formerly the “Children of God”), the Holy Alamo Christian Church, the Church of Bible Understanding, the “Love Family” (or “Church of Armageddon”), Faith Assembly, the Church of the Living Word (“The Walk”), The Way International, the Christ Family, University Bible Fellowship, the Fundamentalist Army, the International Churches of Christ, Maranatha Christian Ministries, Great Commission International (now Great Commission Association of Churches), and the excesses of the Shepherding Movement.
- Psycho-spiritual or Self-improvement Groups
- Groups he includes in this group include: Synanon, Landmark Education or "The Forum" (formerly Erhard Seminars Training or "est Training"), Transcendental Meditation, Lifespring, and Scientology.
- Eclectic/Syncretistic Groups
- Groups he includes in this category: Unification Church (also known as Moonies), the Church Universal and Triumphant, Eckankar, Bahá'í, and Sufism.
- Psychic/Occult/Astral Groups
- Groups he includes in this category include: The Aetherius Society, various UFO cults, the Association for Research and Enlightenment (founded by Edgar Cayce), and astrology.
- The Established Cults
- Groups he includes in this category: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, “Christian Science,” Jehovah's Witnesses, and the Unity School of Christianity.
- Extremist Political/Social Movement
- Groups he includes in this group include: The Aryan Nations, Posse Comitatus, the Ku Klux Klan, the White Aryan Resistance, Lyndon LaRouche’s political movement, and unspecified "extremist terrorist movements."
[edit] Analogous books
- Churches That Abuse, by Ronald Enroth
- The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse, co-authored by David Johnson and Jeff VanVonderen, published in 2004 (ISBN 1-556-61160-9).
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- What is a Cult? Revised and expanded version of chapter one from the book.
- Excerpts from Cult-Proofing Your Kids, including full Introduction
[edit] See also
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