Comments on: Unholy Devotion: Why Cults Lure Christians

By: pietyhill

pietyhill — Sat, 10 Mar 2007 15:36:06 +0000

Yes, ZS, books could definitely be written and some have… I have a new blog plan… I come up with a new plan about every month (ADD run amock). I thought I should reveiw the hundreds of books I’ve read… duh! One a week.

Your cousin was spared… I think many converts do come out of cults, as opposed to those born into them. That’s perceptive on your part… native intelligence will not inocculate a person. It’s all about the emotions and, in my opinion, the arrogance of thinking one knows him/herself completely and making him/herself the rule, the canon, the authority to evaluate various truth claims out there, from advertising to political or religious propaganda… all of it. Ironically, the atheist and the cultist (the follower) have more in common than they know. It takes a certain amount of humility and emotional maturity to resist cults, cultural currents, philosophies and manipulation.

By: The Zombieslayer

The Zombieslayer — Sat, 10 Mar 2007 07:06:45 +0000

* We overemphasize subjective religious experience
* We confuse the Gospel with our response to the Gospel
* We have confused and inflated expectations of Christian fellowship
* We spiritualize issues to justify our actions
* We evaluate leaders on their ability to sway us emotionally

Each one of these a book could be written on it, especially #3 and #5.

One of my cousins was drawn into a cult. It’s something we never really discussed. He ended up selling almost everything he owned and gave the money away to the cult. I’ve never understood how a cult could have so much power over an individual. He’s a really smart guy too, so it’s just strange. He’s out of it now, but at a strong emotional cost to his family.

By: Bo Salisbury

Bo Salisbury — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 02:41:35 +0000

Hey, Sades… Hey, Nikki

I hope you can find a copy of this book… it’s really good and goes in and out of print.

And, yes, Eric looks totally LDS. You really dodged a bullet… ask Denise about the temple clothes you would have gotten married in… not to mention the bloody oaths. Yikes!

By: sadie hartmann

sadie hartmann — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 19:51:54 +0000

Clever review Bo. I totally want to add this book to the fray. You might be interested in a blog I recently discovered called “Internet Monk”. It’s at the top of my blogroll–links. Michael Spencer is really into questioning American evangelical movements that resemble cultish qualities.
http://www.internetmonk.com/archive/category/evangelical-anxieties/

in particular.
Thanks again for the recommendation.

By: Nikki

Nikki — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 19:41:55 +0000

I would love to read this book. I find this stuff so interesting. When I was in high school half of my close friends were Mormon. I spent a bit of time in their church and in seminary before school. (Only because I had to go if I stayed at their house) I think the whole ” but you can see the love on their faces” thing is the most dangerous. I can see why so may young people would fall into that trap. I never saw the light, but the family value thing is really appealing to an outsider. I also dated a Mormon who wanted me to lie to my parents and meet with missionaries to convert me so we could marry in the temple. This was after 3 weeks! They remind me of used car sales men.

By the way, don’t you think Eric looks like a Mormon boy?