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The Christian countercult movement or the Christian anti-cult movement is a social movement among certain Protestant evangelical and fundamentalist[1] and other Christian ministries ("discernment ministries"[2]) and individual activists who oppose religious sects that they consider cults.[1]

## Overview

[edit]

Christian countercult activism mainly stems from evangelicalism or fundamentalism. The countercult movement asserts that particular Christian sects are erroneous because their beliefs are not in accordance with the teachings of the Bible. It also states that a religious sect can be considered a cult if its beliefs involve a denial of any of the essential Christian teachings (such as salvation, the Trinity, Jesus himself as a person, the ministry and miracles of Jesus, his crucifixion, his resurrection, the Second Coming and the Rapture).[3][4][5]

Countercult ministries often concern themselves with religious sects that consider themselves Christian but hold beliefs that are thought to contradict the teachings of the Bible. Such sects may include: Seventh-day Adventism, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Unification Church, Christian Science, and Jehovah's Witnesses. Some Protestants classify the Catholic Church as a cult. Many also denounce non-Christian religions such as Islam, Wicca, Paganism, New Age groups, Buddhism, Hinduism and other religions like UFO religions.[citation needed]

Countercult literature usually expresses specific doctrinal or theological concerns and it also has a missionary or apologetic purpose.[6] It presents a rebuttal by emphasizing the teachings of the Bible against the beliefs of non-fundamental Christian sects. Christian countercult activist writers also emphasize the need for Christians to evangelize to followers of cults.[7][8][9] Some Christians also share concerns similar to those of the secular anti-cult movement.[10][11]

The movement publishes its views through a variety of media, including books, magazines, and newsletters, radio broadcasting, audio and video cassette production, direct-mail appeals, proactive evangelistic encounters, professional and avocational websites, as well as lecture series, training workshops and counter-cult conferences.[1]

## History

[edit]

### Precursors and pioneers

[edit]

Christians have applied theological criteria to assess the teachings of non-orthodox movements throughout church history.[12][13][14] The Apostles themselves were involved in challenging the doctrines and claims of various teachers. The Apostle Paul wrote an entire epistle, Galatians, antagonistic to the teachings of a Jewish sect that claimed adherence to the teachings of both Jesus and Moses (cf. Acts 15 and Gal. 1:6–10). The First Epistle of John is devoted to countering early proto-Gnostic cults that had arisen in the first century CE, all claiming to be Christian (1 John 2:19).[citation needed]

The early Church in the post-apostolic period was much more involved in "defending its frontiers against alternative soteriologies—either by defining its own position with greater and greater exactness, or by attacking other religions, and particularly the Hellenistic mysteries."[15] In fact, a good deal of the early Christian literature is devoted to the exposure and refutation of unorthodox theology, mystery religions and Gnostic groups.[16][17] Irenaeus, Tertullian and Hippolytus of Rome were some of the early Christian apologists who engaged in critical analyses of unorthodox theology, Greco-Roman pagan religions, and Gnostic groups.[18][19][20]

In the Protestant tradition, some of the earliest writings opposing unorthodox groups (such as the Swedenborgians)[citation needed] can be traced back to John Wesley, Alexander Campbell and Princeton Theological Seminary theologians like Charles Hodge and B. B. Warfield.[21][22] The first known usage of the term cult by a Protestant apologist to denote a group is heretical or unorthodox is in Anti-Christian Cults by A. H. Barrington, published in 1898.[23]

Quite a few of the pioneering apologists were Baptist pastors, like I. M. Haldeman, or participants in the Plymouth Brethren, like William C. Irvine and Sydney Watson.[24] Watson wrote a series of didactic novels like Escaped from the Snare: Christian Science,[25] Bewitched by Spiritualism,[26] and The Gilded Lie (Millennial Dawnism),[27] as warnings of the dangers posed by cultic groups. Watson's use of fiction to counter the cults has been repeated by later novelists like Frank E. Peretti.[28][29]

The early twentieth-century apologists generally applied the words heresy and sects to groups like the Christadelphians, Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, Spiritualists, and Theosophists. This was reflected in several chapters contributed to the multi-volume work released in 1915 The Fundamentals, where apologists criticized the teachings of Charles Taze Russell, Mary Baker Eddy, the Mormons and Spiritualists.[30][31][32][33]

### Mid-twentieth-century apologists

[edit]

Since the 1940s, the approach of traditional Christians was to apply the meaning of cult such that it included those religious groups who use other scriptures beside the Bible or have teachings and practices deviating from traditional Christian teachings and practices. Some examples of sources (with published dates where known) that documented this approach are:

* The Missionary Faces Isms, by John C. Mattes, pub. 1937 (Board of American Missions of the United Lutheran Church in America). OCLC 1982891
* Heresies Ancient and Modern, by J. Oswald Sanders, pub. 1948 (Marshall Morgan & Scott, London/Zondervan, Grand Rapids). OCLC 1055434932
* Sanders, J. Oswald (1973). Cults and isms (Revised ed.). London: Lakeland. ISBN 978-0551004580.
* Baalen, Jan Karel van (1962). The chaos of cults; a study of present-day isms (4th rev. and enl. ed.). Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans Pub. Co. ISBN 978-0802832788. `{{cite book}}`: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
* Heresies Exposed, by W. C. Irvine, pub. 1917, 1921, 1985 (Loizeaux Brothers). ISBN 978-0872134010
* Confusion of Tongues, by C. W. Ferguson, pub. 1928 (Doran & Co). OCLC 903178756
* Isms New and Old, by Julius Bodensieck. OCLC 6565177
* Some Latter-Day Religions, by G. H. Combs. ISBN 9781150048920

One of the first prominent countercult apologists was Jan Karel van Baalen (1890–1968), an ordained minister in the Christian Reformed Church in North America. His book The Chaos of Cults, which was first published in 1938, became a classic in the field as it was repeatedly revised and updated until 1962.[34]

### Walter Ralston Martin

[edit]

Historically, one of the most important protagonists of the movement was Walter Martin (1928–1989), whose numerous books include the 1955 The Rise of the Cults: An Introductory Guide to the Non-Christian Cults and the 1965 The Kingdom of the Cults: An Analysis of Major Cult Systems in the Present Christian Era, which continues to be influential. He became well known in conservative Christian circles through a radio program, "The Bible Answer Man", currently hosted by Hank Hanegraaff.

In The Rise of the Cults, Martin gave the following definition of a cult:

> By cultism we mean the adherence to doctrines which are pointedly contradictory to orthodox Christianity and which yet claim the distinction of either tracing their origin to orthodox sources or of being in essential harmony with those sources. Cultism, in short, is any major deviation from orthodox Christianity relative to the cardinal doctrines of the Christian faith.[35]

As Martin's definition suggests, the countercult ministries concentrate on non-traditional groups that claim to be Christian, so chief targets have been, Jehovah's Witnesses, Armstrongism, Christian Science and the Unification Church, but also smaller groups like the Swedenborgian Church.[36] He defines Christian cults as groups that follow the personal interpretation of an individual, rather than the understanding of the Bible accepted by Nicene Christianity, providing the examples of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Christian Science, Jehovah's Witnesses, and the Unity Church.[37] 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 Baháʼí Faith, Unitarian Universalism, Scientology, 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.[37][38]

Various other conservative Christian leaders—among them John Ankerberg and Norman Geisler—have emphasized themes similar to Martin's.[39][40] Perhaps more importantly, numerous other well-known conservative Christian leaders as well as many conservative pastors have accepted Martin's definition of a cult as well as his understanding of the groups to which he gave that label. Dave Breese summed up this kind of definition in these words:

> A cult is a religious perversion. It is a belief and practice in the world of religion which calls for devotion to a religious view or leader centered in false doctrine. It is an organized heresy. A cult may take many forms but it is basically a religious movement which distorts or warps orthodox faith to the point where truth becomes perverted into a lie. A cult is impossible to define except against the absolute standard of the teaching of Holy Scripture.[41]

### Discernment blogging

[edit]

Kenne "Ken" Silva is said by other discernment bloggers to have pioneered online discernment ministry.[42] Ken was a Baptist pastor who ran the discernment blog "Apprising". Silva wrote many blog articles about the Emerging Church, the Word of Faith Movement, the Jehovah's Witnesses, the Gay Christian Movement, and many other groups. He started his blog in 2005 and wrote there until his death in 2014.[43]

Silva's work paved the way for other internet discernment ministries such as Pirate Christian Radio, a group of blogs and podcasts founded by Lutheran pastor Chris Rosebrough in 2008,[44] and Pulpit & Pen, a discernment blog founded by Baptist pastor and polemicist J. D. Hall.[citation needed]

## Other technical terminology

[edit]

Since the 1980s, the term new religions or new religious movements has slowly entered into evangelical usage alongside the word cult. Some book titles use both terms.[45][46][47]

The acceptance of these alternatives to the word cult in evangelicalism reflects, in part, the wider usage of such language in the sociology of religion.[48]

## Apologetics

[edit]

The term countercult apologetics first appeared in Protestant evangelical literature as a self-designation in the late 1970s and early 1980s in articles by Ronald Enroth and David Fetcho, and by Walter Martin in Martin Speaks Out on the Cults.[49] A mid-1980s debate about apologetic methodology between Ronald Enroth and J. Gordon Melton, led the latter to place more emphasis in his publications on differentiating the Christian countercult from the secular anti-cult.[50] Eric Pement urged Melton to adopt the label "Christian countercult",[51] and since the early 1990s the terms has entered into popular usage and is recognized by sociologists such as Douglas Cowan.[52]

The only existing umbrella organization within the countercult movement in the United States is the Evangelical Ministries to New Religions (EMNR), founded in 1982 by Martin, Enroth, Gordon Lewis, and James Bjornstad.[1]

## Worldwide organizations

[edit]

While the greatest number of countercult ministries are found in the United States, ministries exist in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, England,[53] Ethiopia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Philippines, Romania, Russia, Sweden, and Ukraine.[citation needed] A comparison between the methods employed in the United States and other nations discloses some similarities in emphasis, but also other nuances in emphasis. The similarities are that globally these ministries share a common concern about the evangelization of people in cults and new religions. There is also often a common thread of comparing orthodox doctrines and biblical passages with the teachings of the groups under examination. In some of the European and southern hemisphere contexts, however, confrontational methods of engagement are not always relied on, and dialogical approaches are sometimes advocated.[citation needed]

A group of organizations that originated within the context of established religion is working in more general fields of "cult awareness," especially in Europe. Their leaders are theologians, and they are often social ministries affiliated to big churches.

### Protestant

[edit]

* Berlin-based Pfarramt für Sekten- und Weltanschauungsfragen[54] (Parish Office for Sects and World Views) headed by Lutheran pastor Thomas Gandow[55]
* Swiss Evangelische Informationsstelle Kirchen-Sekten-Religionen (Protestant Reformed Zwinglian Information Service on Churches, Sects and Religions) headed by Zwinglian parson Georg Schmid[56]

### Catholic

[edit]

* Sekten und Weltanschauungen in Sachsen (Sects and ideologies in Saxony)[57]
* Weltanschauungen und religiöse Gruppierungen (Worldviews and religious groups) of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Linz, Austria[58]
* GRIS (Gruppo di ricerca e informazione socio-religiosa), Italy[59]

### Orthodox

[edit]

* Synodic Committee about Heresies of the Greek Orthodox Church[60]
* Center for Religious Studies in the name of Hieromartyr Ireneus of Lyon in Russia.[61]

## Contextual missiology

[edit]

The phenomena of cults has also entered into the discourses of Christian missions and theology of religions. An initial step in this direction occurred in 1980 when the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization convened a mini-consultation in Thailand. From that consultation a position paper was produced.[62] The issue was revisited at the Lausanne Forum in 2004 with another paper.[63] The latter paper adopts a different methodology to that advocated in 1980.

In the 1990s, discussions in academic missions and theological journals indicate that another trajectory is emerging that reflects the influence of contextual missions theory. Advocates of this approach maintain that apologetics as a tool needs to be retained, but do not favor a confrontational style of engagement.[64]

## Variations and models

[edit]

Countercult apologetics has several variations and methods employed in analyzing and responding to cults. The different nuances in countercult apologetics have been discussed by John A. Saliba[65] and Philip Johnson.[66]

The dominant method is the emphasis on detecting unorthodox or heretical doctrines and contrasting those with orthodox interpretations of the Bible and early creedal documents. Some apologists, such as Francis J. Beckwith, have emphasized a philosophical approach, pointing out logical, epistemological and metaphysical problems within the teachings of a particular group.[67] Another approach involves former members of cultic groups recounting their spiritual autobiographies, which highlight experiences of disenchantment with the group, unanswered questions and doubts about commitment to the group, culminating in the person's conversion to evangelical Christianity.[68]

Apologists like Dave Hunt in Peace, Prosperity and the Coming Holocaust and Hal Lindsey in The Terminal Generation have tended to interpret the phenomena of cults as part of the burgeoning evidence of signs that Christ's Second Advent is close at hand.[69] Both Hunt and Constance Cumbey have applied a conspiracy model to interpreting the emergence of New Age spirituality and linking that to speculations about fulfilled prophecies heralding Christ's reappearance.[70]

## Prominent advocates

[edit]

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### People

[edit]

* Constance Cumbey;
* Ronald Enroth;[71]
* Norman Geisler;
* Douglas Groothuis;
* Dave Hunt;
* Greg Koukl;
* Bob Larson;
* Walter Ralston Martin;[72]
* Josh McDowell;[73]
* J. P. Moreland;[74]
* Robert and Gretchen Passantino.

### Organizations

[edit]

* Answers in Action,[75] led by Robert and Gretchen Passantino;
* Apologetics Index;[76]
* Apologetics Resource Center,[77] led by Craig Branch;
* Apologetics Press,[78] led by Dave Miller;
* Apprising, a blog written by Ken Silva;
* Banner Ministries UK, led by Tricia Tillin;
* Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry (CARM), founded and led by Matt Slick;[79]
* Christian Research Institute (CRI), founded by Walter Martin;
* Cult Awareness and Information Centre,[80] founded by the late Jan Groenveld;
* Dialog Center International, founded by Johannes Aagaard;
* Evangelical Ministries to New Religions (EMNR);[81]
* Midwest Christian Outreach;
* Mormonism Research Ministry, led by Bill McKeever;
* Personal Freedom Outreach;
* Pirate Christian Radio, founded by Lutheran pastor Chris Rosebrough;
* Pulpit & Pen, a blog founded and written by Baptist pastor J. D. Hall;
* Reachout Trust, led by Michael Thomas;
* Spiritual Counterfeits Project, led by president Mark J. Harris;
* Stand To Reason, founded by Greg Koukl and Melinda Penner;
* Utah Lighthouse Ministry, led by Jerald and Sandra Tanner;
* Watchman Fellowship, founded by David Henke, led by James K. Walker;[82]

## See also

[edit]

* Religion portal

* Anti-cult movement

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d Cowan, D.E. 2003. Bearing False Witness?: An Introduction to the Christian Countercult. Praeger.
2. ^ Robert M. Bowman, Orthodoxy and Heresy: A Biblical Guide to Doctrinal Discernment, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1992, pp. 10, 106-107, & 123-124.
3. ^ Walter R. Martin, The Rise of the Cults, rev.ed. Santa Ana: Vision House, 1978, pp. 11–2.
4. ^ Richard Abanes, Defending the Faith: A Beginner's Guide to Cults and New Religions, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1997, p. 33.
5. ^ H. Wayne House & Gordon Carle, Doctrine Twisting: How Core Biblical Truths are Distorted, Downers Grove: IVP, 2003.
6. ^ Garry W. Trompf, "Missiology, Methodology and the Study of New Religious Movements," Religious Traditions 10, 1987, pp. 95–106.
7. ^ Walter R. Martin, The Kingdom of the Cults, rev.ed. Ravi Zacharias ed. Bloomington: Bethany House, 2003, pp. 479–93.
8. ^ Ronald Enroth ed. Evangelising the Cults, Milton Keynes: Word, 1990.
9. ^ Norman L Geisler & Ron Rhodes, When Cultists Ask: A Popular Handbook on Cultic Misinterpretations, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1997.
10. ^ Paul R. Martin, Cult Proofing Your Kids, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1993.
11. ^ Joel A. MacCollam, Carnival of Souls: Religious Cults and Young People, New York: Seabury Press, 1979.
12. ^ Saliba, Understanding New Religious Movements, pp. 45–74.
13. ^ Harold O. J. Brown, Heresies: The Image of Christ in the Mirror of Heresy and Orthodoxy from the Apostles to the Present, Garden City: Doubleday, 1984.
14. ^ J.W.C. Wand,The Four Great Heresies: Nestorian, Eutychian, Apollinarian, Arian, London: A.R.Mowbray, 1955.
15. ^ Eric J. Sharpe, Comparative Religion: A History, London: Duckworth, 1975, p. 9
16. ^ Brown, Heresies, pp. 38–69.
17. ^ Ronald H. Nash, Christianity and the Hellenistic World, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1984, pp. 213–24.
18. ^ Avery Dulles, A History of Apologetics, Eugene: Wipf & Stock, 1999, pp. 22–58.
19. ^ J.K.S.Reid, Christian Apologetics, Grand Rapids: William Eerdmans, 1970, pp. 36–53.
20. ^ Bengt Hagglund, History of Theology, trans. Gene J. Lund, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1968, pp. 31–105.
21. ^ Richard G. Kyle, The Religious Fringe: A History of Alternative Religions in America, Downers Grove: IVP, 1993.
22. ^ Philip Jenkins, Mystics and Messiahs: Cults and New Religions in American History, New York: Oxford University Press, 2000.
23. ^ A.H.Barrington, Anti-Christian Cults, Milwaukee: Young Churchman/London: Sampson Low, Marston, 1898.
24. ^ J. Gordon Melton,"The counter-cult monitoring movement in historical perspective," in Challenging Religion: Essays in Honour of Eileen Barker, edited by James A. Beckford & James T. Richardson, Routledge, London, 2003, pp. 102–113.
25. ^ Sydney Watson (1914). Escaped from the Snare: Christian Science. London: William Nicholson & Sons.
26. ^ Sydney Watson (1915). The Lure of a Soul (Bewitched by Spiritualism). London: W. Nicholson & Sons.
27. ^ Sydney Watson (1914). The Gilded Lie (Millennial Dawnism). London: W. Nicholson.
28. ^ Frank E. Peretti, This Present Darkness, Westchester: Crossway,1986.
29. ^ James R. Lewis, "Works of Darkness: Occult Fascination in the Novels of Frank Peretti" in Magical Religion and Modern Witchcraft, James R. Lewis ed. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1996, pp. 339–50.
30. ^ William G. Moorehead, 'Millennial Dawn A Counterfeit of Christianity', in The Fundamentals: A Testimony to the Truth, Volume 7. Chicago: Testimony Publishing.
31. ^ Maurice E. Wilson, 'Eddyism, Commonly Called "Christian Science", in The Fundamentals: A Testimony to the Truth, Volume 9. Chicago: Testimony Publishing.
32. ^ R. G. McNiece, 'Mormonism: Its Origin, Characteristics, and Doctrines', in The Fundamentals: A Testimony to the Truth, Volume 8. Chicago: Testimony Publishing.
33. ^ Algernon J. Pollock, 'Modern Spiritualism Briefly Tested By Scripture', in The Fundamentals: A Testimony to the Truth, Volume 10. Chicago: Testimony Publishing.
34. ^ J.K.van Baalen, The Chaos of Cults, 4th rev. ed. Grand Rapids: William Eerdmans Publishing, 1962.
35. ^ Walter R. Martin, The Rise of the Cults, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1955, pp. 11–2.
36. ^ Each of these movements are treated in separate chapters in Walter R. Martin, The Kingdom of the Cults, rev. ed. Ravi Zacharias ed. Bloomington: Bethany House, 2003.
37. ^ a b Michael J. McManus, "Eulogy for the godfather of the anti-cult movement", obituary in The Free Lance-Star, Fredericksburg, VA, 26 August 1989, p. 8.
38. ^ "unapologetically hostile to young and developing spiritual trends" Dackson, Wendy (Summer 2004). "New Religious Movements in the 21st Century: Legal, Political, and Social Challenges in Global Perspective". Journal of Church and State. 46 (3): 663. doi:10.1093/jcs/46.3.663.
39. ^ John Ankerberg & John Weldon, Cult Watch, Eugene: Harvest House, 1991, pp. i–x.
40. ^ Geisler & Rhodes, When Cultists Ask, pp. 10–1.
41. ^ Dave Breese, Know the Marks of Cults, Wheaton: Victor, 1975, 14.
42. ^ Marsha West, "Online discernment ministries – the new lepers" http://bereanresearch.org/online-discernment-ministries-new-lepers/ Archived 16 May 2020 at the Wayback Machine
43. ^ Amy Spreeman, "Online Memorial for Pastor Ken Silva" http://standupforthetruth.com/2014/10/online-memorial-pastor-ken-silva-10614/ Archived 22 March 2017 at the Wayback Machine
44. ^ "Contributors".
45. ^ Richard Abanes, Cults, New Religious Movements, and Your Family, Wheaton: Crossway, 1998.
46. ^ Ronald Enroth ed. A Guide to New Religious Movements, Downers Grove: IVP, 2005.
47. ^ Ron Rhodes, The Challenge of the Cults and New Religions, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2001.
48. ^ On sociological understandings see for example Eileen Barker, New Religious Movements: A Practical Introduction, London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1989. George D. Chryssides, Exploring New Religions, London & New York: Cassell, 1999.Jacob Needleman & George Baker ed. Understanding the New Religions, New York: Seabury Press, 1981. Mikael Rothstein & Reender Kranenborg ed. New Religions in a Postmodern World, Aarhus, Denmark: Aargus University Press, 2003.
49. ^ Ronald M. Enroth, "Cult/Counter-cult", Eternity, November 1977, pp.18–22, 32–5. David Fetcho, "Disclosing the Unknown God: Evangelism to the New Religions", Update: A Quarterly Journal on New Religious Movements Volume 6, number 4 December 1982 p.8. Walter R. Martin, Martin Speaks Out on the Cults, rev. ed. Ventura: Vision House, 1983, pp.124–5.
50. ^ Ronald M. Enroth and J. Gordon Melton, Why Cults Succeed Where The Church Fails, Elgin: Brethren, 1985, pp. 25–30.
51. ^ Eric Pement, 'Comments on the Directory' in Keith Edward Tolbert and Eric Pement, The 1993 Directory of Cult Research Organizations, Trenton: American Religions Center, 1993, p. x.
52. ^ Douglas E. Cowan, Bearing False Witness? An Introduction to the Christian Countercult, Westport: Praeger, 2003.
53. ^ See Reachout Trust.
54. ^ Pfr. Thomas Gandow. "Index - Informationen und Standpunkte". Archived from the original on 5 February 2012. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
55. ^ Pfr. Thomas Gandow. "Index - Informationen und Standpunkte". Archived from the original on 11 May 2006. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
56. ^ "Relinfo". Retrieved 8 August 2015.
57. ^ "Sekten und Weltanschauungen in Sachsen". Retrieved 8 August 2015.
58. ^ Diözese Linz. "Diözese Linz - Online Portal der Katholische Kirche in Oberösterreich". Retrieved 8 August 2015.
59. ^ "www.gris.org". Retrieved 8 August 2015.
60. ^ "H ΕΚΚΛΗΣΙΑ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΑΔΟΣ : Επιτροπές της Ιεράς Συνόδου - Συνοδική Επιτροπή επί των Αιρέσεων". Retrieved 8 August 2015.
61. ^ "Информационно-консультационный центр Св. Иринея Лионского - Главная". iriney.ru. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
62. ^ The Thailand Report on New Religious Movements Archived 17 January 2006 at the Wayback Machine
63. ^ Religious and Non-Religious Spirituality in the Western World Archived 17 January 2006 at the Wayback Machine
64. ^ Irving Hexham, Stephen Rost & John W. Morehead ed. Encountering New Religious Movements: A Holistic Evangelical Approach, Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2004.Gordon R. Lewis, "Our Mission Responsibility to New Religious Movements" International Journal of Frontier Missions Volume 15, number 3 July–September 1998, p. 116.
65. ^ John A. Saliba. Understanding New Religious Movements. pp. 212–223.
66. ^ Philip Johnson (Fall 2002). "Apologetics, Mission and New Religious Movements: A Holistic Approach". Sacred Tribes Journal. 1 (1): 5–220.
67. ^ Francis J. Beckwith & Stephen E. Parrish, See the gods fall, Joplin: College Press, 1997. Francis J. Beckwith, Carl Mosser & Paul Owen ed. The New Mormon Challenge, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2002.
68. ^ James R. Adair & Ted Miller ed. Escape from Darkness, Wheaton: Victor, 1982. Chris Elkins, Heavenly Deception, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1980. Joe Hewitt, I Was Raised a Jehovah's Witness, Denver: Accent Books, 1979. Latayne C. Scott, Ex-Mormons: Why We Left, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1990.
69. ^ Dave Hunt, Peace, Prosperity and the Coming Holocaust: The New Age Movement in Prophecy, Eugene: Harvest House, 1983. Hal Lindsey, The Terminal Generation, Old Tappan: Fleming H. Revell, 1976.
70. ^ Constance E. Cumbey, The Hidden Dangers of the Rainbow, Shreveport: Huntington House, 1983. Evaluated in Elliot Miller, A Crash Course on the New Age Movement, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1989, pp. 193–206. John A. Saliba, Christian Responses to the New Age Movement: A Critical Assessment, London: Geoffrey Chapman, 1999, pp.58–63.
71. ^ Sociologist and Christian author of books about cults and new religious movements.[according to whom?]
72. ^ Late Baptist minister who was the host of the Bible Answer Man radio broadcast—now hosted by Hank Hanegraaff—and the president of the Christian Research Institute, who often used his broadcast to promote arguments against Jehovah's Witnesses, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and other movements.[according to whom?]
73. ^ Christian author.[according to whom?]
74. ^ Biola University[according to whom?]
75. ^ "Answers in Action". Retrieved 8 August 2015.
76. ^ "Apologetics Index". Retrieved 1 November 2021.
77. ^ "Apologetics". Retrieved 8 August 2015.
78. ^ "History and Beliefs". Retrieved 8 August 2015.
79. ^ "Our Team". Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
80. ^ "Cult Help and Information - Home". Retrieved 8 August 2015.
81. ^ "EMNR - Evangelical Ministries to New Religions". Evangelical Ministries to New Religions. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
82. ^ Moore, Waveney Ann (17 September 2003), "Fundamental advice", St. Petersburg Times

### Primary sources

[edit]

* Abanes, Richard, Cults, New Religious Movements, and Your Family, Crossway Books, Wheaton, 1998.
* Ankerberg, John and John Weldon, Encyclopedia of Cults and New Religions, Harvest House, Eugene, 1999.
* Enroth, Ronald (ed)., A Guide to New Religious Movements, InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, 2005.
* Geisler, Norman L. and Ron Rhodes, When Cultists Ask, Baker, Grand Rapids, 1997
* House, H.Wayne, Charts of Cults, Sects and Religious Movements, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 2000.
* LeBar, James J. Cults, Sects, and the New Age, Our Sunday Visitor, Huntington, 1989.
* Martin, Walter R. The Kingdom of the Cults, edited by Ravi Zacharias, Bethany, Bloomington, 2003
* McDowell, Josh and Don Stewart, Handbook of Today's Religions, Thomas Nelson, Nashville, 1992
* Rhodes, Ron, The Challenge of the Cults and New Religions, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 2001
* Sire, James W. Scripture Twisting: Twenty Ways the Cults Misread the Bible, InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, 1980.
* Sire, James W. The Universe Next Door 4th ed., InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, 2004.
* Tucker, Ruth A. Another Gospel: Cults, Alternative Religions and the New Age Movement, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 2004.
* Vatican Report on Sects, Cults and New Religious Movements, St. Paul Publications, Sydney, 1988.

### History and critical assessments

[edit]

* Cowan, Douglas E. Bearing False Witness? An Introduction to the Christian Countercult (Praeger Publishers, Westport, Connecticut & London, 2003).
* Enroth, Ronald M. and J. Gordon Melton, Why Cults Succeed Where The Church Fails (Brethren Press, Elgin, 1985).
* Jenkins, Philip, Mystics and Messiahs: Cults and New Religions in American History (Oxford University Press, New York, 2000).
* Johnson, Philip, "Apologetics, Mission, and New Religious Movements: A Holistic Approach," Sacred Tribes: Journal of Christian Missions to New Religious Movements, 1 (1) (2002)
* Melton, J. Gordon., "The counter-cult monitoring movement in historical perspective," in Challenging Religion: Essays in Honour of Eileen Barker, edited by James A. Beckford & James T. Richardson, (Routledge, London, 2003), pp. 102–113.
* Saliba, John A., Understanding New Religious Movements, 2nd edition (Alta Mira Press, Walnut Creek, Lanham, New York & Oxford, 2003).

## External links

[edit]

* Apologetics Index; The counter-cult movement
* Douglas E. Cowan: Christian Countercult Website Profiles
* CESNUR: Overview of Christian Countercult movement by Douglas E. Cowan
* Counter Cult Movement at Religious Tolerance
* Jeff Lindsay's discussion of cults from an LDS perspective
* Article: Anti-"Minority Religion" Groups with "Big Religion" Ties

* v
* t
* e

Opposition to new religious movements

Concepts|

* Anti-cult movement
* Christian countercult movement
* Cult
* Deprogramming
* Doomsday cult
* Freedom of religion
* Heresy
* Heterodox teaching
* Mind control
* New religious movement

Secular groups|

* APA Task Force on Deceptive and Indirect Methods of Persuasion and Control
* Center for Religious Studies in the name of Hieromartyr Irenaeus of Lyons
* Cult Awareness Network
* Cult Information Centre
* Cultists Anonymous
* International Cultic Studies Association
* The Family Survival Trust
* Fight Against Coercive Tactics Network
* National Network of Lawyers Against Spiritual Sales
* People's Organised Workshop on Ersatz Religion

Secular individuals|

* Jean-Marie Abgrall
* John Gordon Clark
* Steve Eichel
* Martin Faiers
* Leon Festinger
* Carol Giambalvo
* Steven Hassan
* Ian Haworth
* Galen Kelly
* Stephen A. Kent
* Masaki Kito
* Janja Lalich
* Michael Langone
* Saul V. Levine
* Casey McCann
* Jesse S. Miller
* Sayuri Ogawa
* Ted Patrick
* Tsutsumi Sakamoto
* Rick Ross
* Chris Shelton
* Margaret Singer
* Eito Suzuki
* Alain Vivien
* Cyril Vosper
* Louis Jolyon West
* Lawrence Wollersheim

Religious groups|

* Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry
* Christian Research Institute
* Dialog Center International
* Dialogue Ireland
* Evangelical Ministries to New Religions
* Institute for Religious Research
* Personal Freedom Outreach
* Midwest Christian Outreach
* New England Institute of Religious Research
* Reachout Trust
* Spiritual Counterfeits Project
* Watchman Fellowship
* Wellspring Retreat and Resource Center

Religious individuals|

* Johannes Aagaard
* Graham Baldwin
* Robert M. Bowman Jr.
* Harold Busséll
* Gérard Dagon
* Maurice Davis
* Alexander Dvorkin
* Ronald Enroth
* Mike Garde
* Robin Garbose
* Norman Geisler
* Jan Groenveld
* Hank Hanegraaff
* Reinhart Hummel
* Roger Ikor
* Bob Larson
* Paul R. Martin
* Walter Ralston Martin
* Robert Passantino

Governmental organizations|

* 610 Office
* European Federation of Centres of Research and Information on Sectarianism
* Centre contre les manipulations mentales
* Union nationale des associations de défense des familles et de l'individu
* MIVILUDES
* Parliamentary Commission on Cults in France

Individuals in government|

* Nicolas About
* Serge Blisko
* Georges Fenech
* Ford Greene
* Stephen Mutch
* Catherine Picard
* Kenneth Robinson
* Paul Rose
* Tom Sackville
* Nick Xenophon

Historical events|

* About–Picard law
* Anti-Mormonism
* Assassination of Shinzo Abe
* Governmental lists of cults and sects
* Mass suicide of Heaven's Gate
* Jason Scott case
* Arrest of Apollo Quiboloy
* Persecution of Baháʼís
* Persecution of Falun Gong
* Persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses
* The Prohibited and Unlawful Societies and Associations Act
* Tokyo subway sarin attack
* Waco siege

Publications|

* All Gods Children (book)
* Another Gospel
* Bounded Choice
* Brainwashing: The Science of Thought Control
* Captive Hearts, Captive Minds
* The Challenge of the Cults and New Religions
* Churches That Abuse
* Combating Cult Mind Control
* Cults: Faith, Healing and Coercion
* Cults in Our Midst
* Cults of Unreason
* Deadly Cults
* The Incendiaries
* The Kingdom of the Cults
* The Making of a Moonie
* Misunderstanding Cults
* The New Vigilantes: Deprogrammers, Anti-Cultists, and the New Religions
* On the Edge: Political Cults Right and Left
* Recovery from Cults
* Snapping: America's Epidemic of Sudden Personality Change
* Strange Gods: The Great American Cult Scare
* Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism
* Twisted Scriptures
* When Prophecy Fails
* The Wrong Way Home
* Zealot: A Book About Cults

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