Are The Cults Really Coming?
Kidnapping is a crime. Yet Steve Kemperman believes it was justified in rescuing him from the Moonies, and praises his parents. His book, Lord of the Second Advent (Regal), is a gripping story of three-and-a-half years in the Unification Church, his kidnapping, and his subsequent conversion to Christianity by deprogrammers. The book ends with an appeal for the establishment of cult information programs, legislation to discourage deception and fraud by the cults, support groups for the rehabilitation of cult victims, and evangelism by Christian churches to meet the cult challenge. It is a powerful book, designed to mobilize Christians to action against the cult movement.
Strange Gods (Beacon Press) is about books like Kemperman’s. Its subtitle is “The Great American Cult Scare.” In it sociologists David G. Bromley and Anson D. Shupe challenge many widely accepted views about the cults. They claim “there is no avalanche of rapidly growing cults … furthermore, the size of these groups has been grossly exaggerated … much of the cult explosion has been a media hype. There is no mysterious brainwashing process used to trap and enslave millions of young Americans … Finally, there is no bona fide mental health therapy called deprogramming …” (pp. 4–5).
These are strong words. Christians will be tempted to dismiss the authors of Strange Gods as ivy-towered intellectuals who are either misled or employed by the cults. But such a reaction might be unjustified. Bromley and Shupe are aware of the problems created by the cults and have no illusions about cultists’ methods. However, they argue that the problems are not as great as most people have been led to believe and that proposed solutions may pose more problems for civil and religious liberties than those created by the cults.
Evangelical Christians often visualize Moonies and members of groups like the Hare Krishna Movement as brainwashed zombies, but they need to be careful not to generalize the concept of brainwashing. Indeed, many secular opponents accuse evangelicals of using the same techniques.
In Snapping (Lippincott), Flo Conway and Jim Siegelman argue that “the Evangelical movement shares many characteristics with religious cults … many Born Again Christians have been severed from their families, their pasts, and society …” (pp. 44, 46). The only difference they can find between evangelicals and the cults is that “For the most part, the expressed doctrines and values of Evangelicalism are in keeping with the most basic ideal of American life” while those of the cults are not (p. 44).
British psychiatrist William Sargent is even more critical of evangelicals in his book Battle for the Mind (Pan Books). Writing about recent revivals in his own country, he describes widespread ignorance of brainwashing techniques, accusing the revivalists of using similar methods. Such statements show the importance of the brainwashing debate for evangelicals, who need to keep their methods free of any alien influence. They should avoid even the appearance of evil in such a sensitive area.
In Strange Gods, the authors present carefully documented evidence to show that although anticult propagandists claim millions of Americans are trapped by the cults, in reality, cult membership is relatively small. They point out that a person who joins a cult will most likely choose to leave of his own volition after a relatively short time. They also argue that using the concept of brainwashing to explain the cult phenomenon “is a distortion of a real, understandable process of attitude change that is neither mysterious nor unusual in American society” (p. 124).
Their chapter on deprogramming is perhaps the most controversial. By “deprogramming” they mean coercive deprogramming that involves kidnapping and forcible detention. Denouncing this, Bromley and Shupe claim that “What really occurs is … a situation where the conflict of interest is resolved in favor of the parents” who are embarrassed or threatened by the fact that their child has rejected their lifestyle and joined a strange religious group (pp. 202–4). In response to the horror stories so many former cult members tell to justify deprogramming, Bromley and Shupe argue that “the horrific stories they tell are necessary, to provide fuel to attack unpopular movements, but, more important, to absolve families (and themselves) of any responsibility for their actions” (p. 201). But in fact, according to Bromley and Shupe, such actions are not really necessary because the vast majority would leave anyway if left to themselves. They conclude therefore that “deprogrammers are self-serving, illegal and, fundamentally, immoral” and present a threat to both civil and religious liberties (p. 204).
It is worth rereading Kemperman’s book after this critique. His conversion was a slow process, motivated by a desire “to learn about the group firsthand … an experiment” (p. 77). The effect was that the Unification Church fostered “a growing awareness of life after death, of the spiritual universe and of death itself; accordingly, girl thoughts and sexual thoughts fled my consciousness …” (p. 78). This occurred when he found that Moonies practice what they preach.
While at first he attempted to probe the truth claims of the Unification Church, after three months he was confronted with the challenge that “the best way to understand the Divine Principle is to live it” (p. 88). He had many doubts after joining the Moonies full-time. Although, as a result of his deprogramming, Kemperman claims he realizes Moonies are “victims of mental, psychological and spiritual bondage” (p. 174), he provides no evidence of brainwashing to refute the counterarguments of Bromley and Shupe. Indeed, there is every reason to believe that if his parents had not attempted earlier deprogramming, which failed, he might have left the Unification Church of his own accord.
However one may react to these arguments, both books are worth reading. Kemperman shows that cults are a genuine menace to the Christian faith, and Bromley and Shupe issue a warning regarding how to handle them. In effect they are saying, don’t use their methods: this only creates more problems than it solves.
Christians who want more information about cults may be tempted to buy Walter Martin’s Cult Reference Bible (Vision House). The idea of such a work is good and Martin is the person to write it. But it is a bit disappointing and overpriced. It would be better to write to Spiritual Counterfeits Project (Box 4308, Berkley, Calif. 94704) for information. An annotated bibliography and newsletter about new religions will also be available soon from the Research Working Group on New Religious Movements (Institute of Social and Economic Research, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Man., Canada, R3T 2N2).
Reviewed by Irving Hexham, assistant professor, Department of Religion, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada.
Keeping The Cults Away
Answers to the Cultists at Your Door, by Robert & Gretchen Passantino (Harvest House, 1981, 206 pp., $4.95), is reviewed by Jerry Root, college pastor, College Church, Wheaton, Illinois.
From the unexpected knock at your door to the airport solicitations or son or daughter caught in their webs, everyone is affected by the cults. It is not unusual when thinking about the cults to wonder, “Why their sudden growth?” “When they come knocking, what will I say?” “Will my child leave home for one?” “Is the situation hopeless?”
Robert and Gretchen Passantino answer these and other questions in their book. As professional research associates with Walter Martin (Kingdom of the Cults) for several years, as well as successful outreach workers among cultists, the Passantinos are qualified to write authoritatively in this area.
The book is written simply, clearly, and concisely. It is not technical, but very practical. The focus is on the Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, Moonies, Hare Krishnas, and The Way International. Little time is spent dissecting all the intricate oddities of each group. In its concentration on essential doctrines maligned by the cults, the book becomes a valuable tool. Its aids are easily transferred to other similar groups that also err in their view of Scripture, God, Christ, and the way of salvation. In light of this, the Passantinos have also provided the reader with a good, uncomplicated review of Christian orthodoxy.
The concluding chapter, “Help for Your Loved Ones in a Cult,” is worth the price of the book. The authors give advice on how to prevent your children from becoming the prey of these organizations. According to the Passantinos, cults play on loneliness and insecurity. Children who are loved and encouraged in the Scriptures are least vulnerable. For those caught in a cult, it is consistent love and guidance to help them think for themselves that is the best medicine.
Testimonies of people who have come out of various cults are given throughout the book. The reader must remember, however, that these examples are highlights of ten years’ ministry. All the same, these valuable personal glimpses provide a vivid picture of how witnessing to the cultist can be done, as well as the hope that it can be done successfully.
Don’T Hop On One Leg
Eastern Paths and the Christian Way, by Paul Clasper (Orbis, 1980, 136 pp., $5.95), is reviewed by Jack Buckley, a teacher at Covenant Circle, Berkeley, California.
Like it or not, East and West continue to meet for cultural and religious trysts. Western Christians are understandably reluctant to endorse the romance. Believing in Jesus’ uniqueness among world religions, we want both to build on points of contact and avoid confusion or compromise.
Paul Clasper’s experience as a missionary teacher in the Orient gives him firsthand knowledge of the problem. This book, winner of Religion in Media’s “Silver Angel” award, addresses the issues with reverent diplomacy.
Sharing C. S. Lewis’s perspective on world religions and mythologies as not so much counterfeits of Christian truth as incomplete graspings after God’s whole truth, Clasper sketches themes in three “Eastern Paths”: Hinduism, Teravada (classical) Buddhism, and Zen. Hinduism’s erotic polytheism expresses compulsive longing for divine love, Buddhism offers a disciplined quest for truth, and Zen is Japan’s unique development of Buddhism in search for unfrantic, spontaneous life.
In his longest chapter, Clasper eloquently expounds Christian faith as both unique and universal. It is unique because Jesus is “the way, the truth, and the life”; it is universal in that those elements are what all religions systematically search for. The loving, giving, dying God has actually come among us in Jesus. Christ has demonstrated what true wisdom is, how real power works, and the extent to which divine love will go.
But how can pilgrims on the Christian way meet those on the Eastern paths without losing the gospel’s uniqueness or universality? Clasper reminds us that life’s journey is traveled on two legs. Hopping on one foot is an absurd, tiring way to move forward, so we must put equal weight on each leg of uniqueness and universality. Thanks to John S. Dunne (Notre Dame) and John V. Taylor (Church of England), he advocates a method of “passing over and coming back.” It is in this way that Christians are enabled to retain integrity and get good mileage by meeting Eastern thinkers as friendly visitors in their own living space. We would be compelled to spend time, listen closely, and truly understand their words and actions.
“Passing over” is to enter a new world; “coming back” means returning as a new person. “One is bound to look at one’s own world with fresh eyes and with fresh questions once the journey of friendship has been taken,” warns Clasper.
Change is inevitable for everyone involved on such a road. Clasper says we cannot program what kind of changes will happen, or their degree. It is risky, but he is sure that Christianity, uniquely and universally true, is worth the risk.
Evangelicals may cringe at some points along the way as Clasper spells out his theme. His empathy for foreign points of view and ways of life may seem too optimistic, his zeal for friendly encounter naïve or syncretistic. But the unique, universal Christ we meet in the Gospels seems strangely to fit Clasper’s model. This book can help us to follow in his steps.
To Be A Mother
The Wedded Unmother, by Kaye Halverson with Karen M. Hess (Augsburg, 1980, 128 pp., $3.95); and The Gift of Life, by Sally Lentz Palmer (Westminster, 1980, 151 pp., $7.95), are reviewed by Patricia Gundry, free-lance writer, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
The Wedded Unmother meets a definite need among evangelicals. Christians generally assume that everyone—or almost everyone—will marry and produce children, and that it is a woman’s central function to bear children and nurture them. Kaye Halverson has written this small book out of her own anguish and experience as one of those women who cannot have a child.
This is not a scholarly treatise, but it does give important information and provides resource material concerning infertility and adoption. It is written with deep feeling, and that is how we need to hear it. The unintentional cruelties committed against those who long for children but cannot have them are preventable.
This book is the first in a needy area. It belongs in every church library, every pastor’s study, every doctor’s waiting room.
The Gift of Life is a candid personal account of one woman’s entrance into motherhood. She reflects on her perceptions and experiences, and relates them to her personal faith and relationship to God and her husband. This book has the depth and scope to make it worthwhile reading not only for men and women contemplating parenthood, but also for those who are anticipating birth or who already have had children.
Sally Lentz Palmer is a wife and mother. She is also a woman with a theological education, and is now a minister. She writes from the vantage point of a woman who is not indifferent to, nor ignorant of, the inward and outward struggles of today’s woman. She writes with insight, feeling, and skill.
The book’s only disadvantage is its graphic and potentially frightening description of her own delivery. Readers need to be told that not every prospective mother undergoes the feelings and events the author describes, but that she is relating her own very unique experiences and how they affected her.
Briefly Noted
Doctrine. James M. Boice continues his easy-to-read “Foundations of the Christian Faith” with Volume IV, God & History (IVP). It would be difficult not to be helped by reading this fine material. The Voice of Our Fathers (Reformed Free Publishing Association), by Homer Hoeksema, is an exposition of the Canons of Dordrecht. It is high Calvinism, logically and relentlessly developed, with Arminianism coming off as the bad guy (“no covenant, no reconciliation, no grace, no sin, no salvation—nothing at all in the Scriptural sense” [p. 411]. Paul Mickey writes as an Arminian in Essentials of Theology: A Contemporary Affirmation (Zondervan), covering the loci from God to ethics. Somewhere between these approaches is The Word of Truth (Eerdmans), by the Southern Baptist theologian Dale Moody. It is traditional in format, biblically oriented, irenic in tone, and should be a good textbook for basic courses in theology.
Three shorter surveys of basic doctrine are: Basic Beliefs of Christians (Judson) by Douglas Beyer, which is evangelical but almost too brief to be of much value; Credo (Augsburg), by Gustaf Wingren, essentially a look at Father, Son, and Spirit in a spirit of reverence and sound scholarship; and Ingredients of the Christian Faith (Tyndale), by Keith Hardman, an easy-to-follow evangelical, dispensationalist handbook that would be hard to beat as an introduction to doctrine.
Contemporary Roman Catholic theology may be found in: Our Christian Faith (Crossroad), by Karl Rahner and Karl Heinz Weger, which argues strongly for basic Christian doctrine in the face of modern denial; An Introduction to Christian Faith (Paulist), by Tubingen’s Walter Kasper, containing profound and serious discussion of basic theology; and Principles of Catholic Theology (Alba House), edited by Edward J. Gratsch—more obviously Roman Catholic, but perhaps helpful for that very reason.
