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Another Gospel: CULTS, ALTERNATIVE RELIGIONS, AND THE NEW AGE MOVEMENT

Another Gospel: CULTS, ALTERNATIVE RELIGIONS, AND THE NEW AGE MOVEMENT

List Price: $17.99
Your Price: $12.23
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Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Seventh Day Adventism- NOT A CULT
Review: At first glance, this book looks good. But looks can be deceiving. Since I can't claim to be an expert on religions, I don't know exactly how many times the author made serious errors. I do know for a fact that they made severe errors when addressing Seventh Day Adventists I myself am a Seventh Day Adventist and I consulted the book "Seventh Day Adventists Believe..." for accurate reference. "Seventh Day Adventists Believe..." contains 27 fundamental beliefs of Seventh-day Adventists and is copyrighted by the Ministerial Association General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. The author/s of "Another Gospel" made grievous errors while discussing Seventh Day Adventists.
Seventh Day Adventists do NOT believe:
1. That you must be baptized to be saved
2. In salvation through baptism through immersion only
3. If you don't keep the Sabbath, then you're not saved
4. If you don't keep the Sabbath, you will be rejected by God
5. In salvation through works
In respect to numbers one and two, "Seventh Day Adventists Believe" states:
"...it is the blood of Christ, not the water of baptism, that removes sin from the believer... baptism does not automatically assure salvation." (Chapter 14, Baptism, pages 182-183)
For numbers three, four and five, the book "Seventh Day Adventists Believe" again disproves these statements. In Chapter 10, The Experience of Salvation, pages 121-122, it states:
"Many wrongly believe that their standing before God depends on their good or bad deeds."
The chapter discusses salvation, and nowhere does it state that one may earn salvation or acceptance from God through good deeds/works. Though the Sabbath is not discussed in this chapter, it can be concluded that because salvation is achieved not through works, Sabbath-keeping cannot earn salvation or acceptance from God.
If the credibility of my statements is in any way in question, I encourage you to consult the book "Seventh-day Adventists Believe...".
"Seventh-day Adventists Believe..." was copyrighted in 1988 by the Ministerial Association General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. It was Printed in the U.S.A. by the Review and Herald Publishing Association (Hagerstown, Maryland 21740). The ISBN number is:
0-8280-0466-8
The back cover of "Seventh-day Adventists Believe..." states:
"'What Seventh-day Adventists Believe...' stands as an authentic resource on Adventist doctrine because it is written by Adventists themselves. More than 230 men and women have evaluated and contributed their insights to the manuscript."
Seventh Day Adventists are not part of a cult. Since the author of "A New Gospel" made such severe errors with ONE branch of the Christian faith, what is to be concluded but that the author/s do not sufficiently check their information?
Such poor credibility is extremely offensive. In addition, the unfortunate popularity of the book "A New Gospel" spreads untruths about (at least) one branch of the Christian faith. The readers of this book may count "A New Gospel" as a credible source, and may even, sadly, go so far as to trust and believe what the book states. This, in turn, could spread incorrect beliefs, and damage the credibility of branches of the Christian faith.
The power of the written word can inflict incalculable damage when used incorrectly. Perhaps the author of "A New Gospel" needs to realize that.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A respectful treatment of important new religions
Review: I used this book as a textbook for a class on "Christianity and the Cults" at Denver Seminary. This book covers a wide variety of new religious groups, both ones that claim to Christian, like Mormons and JWs, and New Age type groups like Hare Krishnas and Baha'i. The professor preferred this volume to Walter Martin's "Kingdom of the Cults." I believe the reason why is this book is less "harsh" in its evaluations of the teachings of these groups than Martin's.

When this book evaluates each group's teachings, it is more with the attitude of, "This is something that should be considered" than Martins' "I'm right, you're wrong, that settles it" attitude.

For each group, Tucker gives a rather extensive review of its background and history, including a short biography of the group's founder and other important figures in its history. The "distinctive doctrines" of the group are then explained. And lastly, she provides what she calls "challenges" to these doctrines. But she emphasis that this should be done in a respectful manner. She is correct is saying that false teachings do need to be confronted, but it is possible to do so in a loving a respectful manner (1Peter 3:15). However, one deficiency of this book is it does not have that many Scripture references in it. Tucker seems to assume that the reader knows the Biblical basis for such basic Christian doctrines as the Trinity. And she generally provides logical not Biblical refutations of each group's teachings.

To study what the Bible has to say on such doctrines, one would need to consult a book like my "Scripture Workbook: For Personal Bible Study and Teaching the Bible." It presents hundreds of verses supporting basic Christian doctrines, such as the nature of God and the Trinity, and it provides rebuttals to interpretations these groups place on verses they quote in trying to support their doctrines.

Tucker's book is very helpful for the background information on these groups and the respectful attitude she presents. Christians need to have a basic knowledge of what such groups teach or at least a good references like this around this around to consult. But for a Biblical study on such topics, you'll need to consult a book like my "Scripture Workbook."

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Excellent Reference Guide
Review: This book was assigned reading in my Seminary, and is an excellent reference guide for anyone desiring to understand people with other religious points of view and how to share the Gospel with them. It is a good investment you will refer to for years to come.

CONTENTS:

1. Cults, Sects, Denominations, World Religions: Definition of Terms; 2. Historical Heresy: Unorthodox Movements of Past Centuries; 3. Mormonism: The Legacy of Joseph Smith; 4. Seventh-Day Adventism: Eschatological Confusion; 5. Jehovah's Witnesses: A Religion of Protest; 6. Christian Science: A Denial of the Material World; 7. New Thought and Unity: Health and Happiness; 8. The Worldwide Church of God: Reinterpreting Israel and the Law; 9. The Way International: Denying the Deity of Christ; 10. The Children of God: Evangelism and Sex Perversion; 11. The Unification Church: Proclaiming a New Messiah; 12. Hare Krishnas: Transplanted Hinduism; 13. Baha'i: A Peace and Unity Movement out of Islam;

14. Scientology: Mind-Altering Pseudo-Psychology; 15. The New Age Movement: The Occult Made Respectable; APPENDIX A: Lesser-Known Cultic Movements; APPENDIX B: Cultic Statements of Belief; APPENDIX C: Major Tenets of Orthodox Christianity.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Excellent Reference Guide
Review: This book was assigned reading in my Seminary, and is an excellent reference guide for anyone desiring to understand people with other religious points of view and how to share the Gospel with them. It is a good investment you will refer to for years to come.

CONTENTS:

1. Cults, Sects, Denominations, World Religions: Definition of Terms; 2. Historical Heresy: Unorthodox Movements of Past Centuries; 3. Mormonism: The Legacy of Joseph Smith; 4. Seventh-Day Adventism: Eschatological Confusion; 5. Jehovah's Witnesses: A Religion of Protest; 6. Christian Science: A Denial of the Material World; 7. New Thought and Unity: Health and Happiness; 8. The Worldwide Church of God: Reinterpreting Israel and the Law; 9. The Way International: Denying the Deity of Christ; 10. The Children of God: Evangelism and Sex Perversion; 11. The Unification Church: Proclaiming a New Messiah; 12. Hare Krishnas: Transplanted Hinduism; 13. Baha'i: A Peace and Unity Movement out of Islam;

14. Scientology: Mind-Altering Pseudo-Psychology; 15. The New Age Movement: The Occult Made Respectable; APPENDIX A: Lesser-Known Cultic Movements; APPENDIX B: Cultic Statements of Belief; APPENDIX C: Major Tenets of Orthodox Christianity.


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