Cults and Isms

by J. Oswald Sanders

Genres: Theology

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1973

About the author

J. OSWALD SANDERS (1902-1992) was a Christian leader for nearly seventy years and authored more than forty books on the Christian life including The Incomparable Christ, Spiritual Discipleship, Spiritual Leadership, and Spiritual Maturity. He left a promising law practice in his native New Zealand to serve as an instructor and administrator at the Bible College of New Zealand. Dr. Sanders later became general director of the China Inland Mission (now the Overseas Missionary Fellowship), and was instrumental in beginning many new missions projects throughout East Asia.

Reviews

[Liesl Back · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice little gem. Pretty thorough look at the inconsistencies of different religions and bypaths when compared to Scripture, from Roman Catholicism to Theosophy. Definitely outdated in that it is missing more modern heresies, and focuses in on some that we don't encounter often today (Christadelphinians? I looked them up and they do still exist). I especially enjoyed the comical look at British Israelism. You can't make this stuff up.

[F.J. Akkerman]

An excellent summary of false creeds and doctrines in relation to Christianity. One or two omissions, one or two unusual choices, but overall it was well written, concise and useful for examining the principles and precepts of one's own faith. It's an easy read. Recommended to anyone interested in looking at the whats and whys of the most harmful branches, forms and imitations of Christianity.

[Colin Cloutus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great overview of various modern heresies (JWs, Mormons, 7DA, Christian Science, Christadelphians, Unitarians etc.).
Each chapter is structured by an outline of the cult's beliefs and historical inception (and usually a look at the founding central charismatic figures -which most have), followed by a kind of systematic approach dealing with the nature of God, the persons of the Trinity, soteriology, and so on, and a view of their own unique claims (usually some sort of accretion) and how they back them up with scripture or perversion of scripture. Each section will include quotations from primary texts by early members and current texts of the sect, sometimes including comments by secondary commentators, then will give a list of bible verses at the bottom of each text which "respond" to their claims. Prompting the reader engage with scripture this way makes their case even more compelling, and makes for a good reading experience.
When reading I'd recommend keeping a bible on hand to follow along in this way.
I found the Seventh Day Adventist chapter to be a little generous, being one of the chapters which seems to have gone through the heaviest revision from earlier editions. Sanders 'takes them at their word', if you will, responding to their recently-published 700 page "response" text. While he deals briefly with "investigative judgement", he does not touch on the more disturbing aspect of 7DA theology which casts Satan as a kind of penal substitution for sin, wherein Christ will cast all the sins of humanity upon Satan as punishment for his role as the originator of sin (although they do not tend to frame this as propitiatory - regardless, it is unbiblical). He speaks of the annihilation of Satan in their worldview, but not their general annihilationism, which is perhaps an equally dangerous and unscriptural doctrine. They want to publicly run from their association with the name of Ellen G. White, while constantly going back to her doctrines in their real teaching.
I also feel like the Freemasonry chapter could have dealt more with the occult aspects of Freemasonry, but the focus on its ecumenism and ethical faults is completely valid, and one which requires less explanation in a short book like this.

Cults and Isms is good as a "warning" to Christians of the errors of these modern sects, and is useful as a surface level guide to primary texts and other secondary critiques by Christian authors. Though, a bibliography at the end of each chapter would have been appreciated as a guide to further reading, but one can be constructed fairly easily by scanning the footnotes and book references throughout. The structure of Sanders' approach would be great to replicate for a more up-to-date work of this kind.

[Richard Angelus · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book formerly issued as Heresies and Cults was first published in 1948 and was revised in 1962. Between these years, God not yet formed me in my mother’s womb. This book is old, brownish and a little bit fall apart. But do not despise its look, it is well research (for its time) and a good sum up for modern-day heresies and cults that are still prevalent in Christianity today. Some definitions, Oswald Sanders wrote: “A heretic is ‘one whose errors are doctrinal, and usually of a malignant character, tending to subvert the true faith.’ The word cult means simply a ‘system of religious worship’ but has come to be associated largely with systems of religious worship which are heterodox.” Heterodox means not conforming to accepted or orthodox standards or beliefs. Throughout the book, Mr. Sanders evaluates each cult and heresy with the Scripture but as the basic for confessions of faith, he refers to the Apostles’ Creed.

What makes a cult a cult? And a heresy a heresy? To read further, CLICK HERE: https://legasitv.blogspot.com/2021/07...