Cult Proofing Your Kids

by Paul R. Martin

No matter how spiritual you are, no matter how strong your family, you could lose your child to the siren call of the cults.
Time and time again Dr. Paul Martin has seen dedicated Christian young people fall into the trap of cults and fringe churches. Himself a victim of a cultic fringe church, Dr. Martin now reaches out to other former cult members, assisting hundreds of them to find healing.
Now Dr. Martin shares his expertise in the first book about cults designed especially for concerned Christian parents. In Cult-Proofing Your Kids, he advises parents on how to identify a cult, how to educate children about cults, why people join cults, what to do when your child joins a cult and how to help your child recover from cult involvement.
There is nothing more heartbreaking than losing your child to a cult. But with Cult-Proofing Your Kids, you now have the tools you need to prevent that from happening - or to fight back when it does.

Genres: Cults, Christianity

208 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1993

About the author

Paul Martin was educated at Cambridge University and at Stanford University, California, where he was Harkness Fellow in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences. He lectured and researched in behavioural biology at Cambridge University, and was a Fellow of Wolfson College, before leaving academia to pursue other interests including science writing.

Reviews

[Kenneth Garrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unfortunate title, as the author doesn't really provide a sure-fire method of "cult-proofing" children, nor does he suggest there is such a method. (I wonder if a publisher demanded this title, during the "deprogramming" days of cult "rescue" work...)
This book is one of the best that I've read on the nature and practices of abusive, evangelical churches (and their leaders), and abusive/cult-like para-church organizations.
The late Dr. Martin was himself a survivor of an aberrant/abusive evangelical para-church organization, and so brings a level of personal experience along with solid academic research, and an obvious heart for pastoral care of survivors of such groups.
The book's weak-spot is its referral to abusive and cultist "ministries" that are now either defunct, have repented and reformed, or are simply not on anyone's radar anymore, and some moralizing that seems a bit extreme (ie, his tying of rock music and cults).
The books strongest points are its practical description of the exit challenges faced by a survivor of any abusive group, and its wonderful direction regarding the care and support of survivors. He provides a solid and balanced critique of the abuses that frequently appear under the guise of modern "discipleship."
A worthy read for anyone interested in this area of research and ministry, and particularly for anyone who is both puzzled and concerned for a friend or family-member who appears to have been recruited into an abusive, high-demand, cult-like group, particularly one that purports to be a legitimate Christian ministry.