1965
The outstanding work on cults in the twentieth century has been Walter R. Martin's The Kingdom of the Cults. It was preceded by J. R. Van Baalen's The Chaos of Cults, John Gerstner's The Theology of the Major Sects, and earlier by G. Atkins's Modem Religious Cults and Movements, but Martin's 443-page, 15-cult analysis clearly replaced them.
In the final decades of the century, cults have generally been defined as groups that are dangerous socially and led by a charismatic leader, luring impressionable youths into psychological bondage. But Martin identifies a cult (as does Charles Braden in These Also Believe) 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 expressions of religion in our total culture." In other words, by identifying a group as a cult, Martin is not charging it with being malicious, criminal, and damaging to the psyche. Certainly the Unitarians, which are included in his mix, have had many people who have made great contributions to society. But they are included because Unitarian beliefs are divergent from Christian beliefs in major areas.
The book also has chapters on Jehovah's Witnesses, Christian Science, Mormonism, Spiritism, Father Divine, Theosoph-ical Society, Zen Buddhism, Swedenborgianism, Bahai, Black Muslims, Unity, Anglo-Israelitism, and Rosicrucianism. His most lengthy treatment, however, deals with Seventh-day Adventism, which after thorough investigation, he concluded was not a cult after all. Though it had some cultlike appearances: a strong leader, writings that supplement Scripture, and some unique beliefs, its core beliefs were in accord with historic Christianity.
Quoting from the writings of each group, Martin looks to see how each cult considers key Christian doctrines, such as Scrip-
ture, the Trinity, Jesus Christ, saivation and atonement, and the resurrection. Most chapters begin with a review of the cult's history, then explore the group's theological structure.
In early chapters, "Scaling the Language Barrier" and "The Psychological Structure of Cultism," Martin points out how cults redefine historic doctrines in ways that can easily make the average Christian think there is no difference at all. "Let it never be forgotten," he warns, "that cultists are experts at lifting texts out of their respective contexts, without proper concern for the laws of language, or the established principles of biblical interpretation."
The Kingdom of the Cults has thus become a valuable reference book for use when cultists come knocking at the door—not to n . mention when a family member gets involved in one. Some of * the older cults seem to have their belief systems stabilized, but
others are still in flux. The Worldwide Church of God founded by Herbert W. Armstrong, for instance, is a far different group now than it was when Martin wrote about it. Some of the newer cults, particularly those with Eastern roots, have been imported to America since Martin's classic book was published.
Because the average cult today is much more aggressively evangelistic than the average Christian church, the problem of cults is increasing. As long as cults continue to meet psychological and social needs that churches are not meeting, books like Martin's will be important resources for evangelical Christians.