These days the word cult is taboo. We don’t really identify Mormons or Jehovah’s Witnesses as cultists. Rather, we save it for the David Koreshes of the world. We save it for the mass murders who use religion to lure in their prey. But what do we call false religions, claiming to be Christian, and leading many to eternal destruction? Is the term cult no longer helpful? I don’t know. I think it may be good for our youth to be able to identify what these groups really believe and be protective over the Christian name.

Kevin Johnson & James White, What’s With the Dudes at the Door (Bethany House, 1998)

You can get this book for like a penny now on Amazon. My husband and I used it over ten years ago to teach the youth group at our old church about cults. It’s actually written for teens. Think about it, what’s a kid’s normal reaction when someone comes knocking with all their paraphernalia to “share their faith?” They call for you. And that it good, because we tell them not to open the door for strangers and all that safety stuff. But, how prepared are they to deal with these situations?

The dudes love to come knocking at the door in college.

Kevin Johnson and James White lay out a very helpful way to teach teens about what a cult actually is, and isn’t, why it’s important to know, and what certain cults actually believe. The book was published in 1998. I seem to remember the word cult having a little more traction in conversation than it does now. When we think of the word cult, our minds immediately go to the whole, “don’t drink the Kool-Aid”  extreme, don’t they? But what is a cult?

Johnson and White give a very helpful definition:

A cult is a group that claims to be Christian—often claiming that they alone are the true Christian Church—but denies the core teachings that define the Christian faith. (32).

Notice, to actually be considered a cult, they have to claim to be Christian. And yet they deny the very teachings that really are exclusive to Christianity. They fail in one or more of these categories:

1. Who God is
2. What God has done in Jesus
3. How we know (the Bible) (33)

And so the authors labor to explain that there are plenty of religious groups who teach wrong beliefs, but are not a cult. A great benefit for teens using this book is that not only do they learn about some of the well-known cults and what they believe, but they will learn how to articulate answers to these three important questions above.

There are helpful questions at the end of each chapter to help teens review what they have learned. Here’s one that I thought was particularly clarifying: “What’s the difference between being intolerant and unloving?” (37). This is still an important question for everyone to answer in our culture, am I right? And another one is actually a whole chapter, Can’t We All Just Get Along? The topic of dating someone of another faith is tackled in this chapter as well. It also addresses some of the good qualities that you may take from people who are involved in a cult. And it ends with three important points:

Only when you have the real truth can you have a real relationship with the real God.

Only when you have a real relationship with God can you have God’s peace.

Only when you have real peace will you show God’s love. (49-50)

These days the word cult is taboo. We don’t really identify Mormons or Jehovah’s Witnesses as cultists. Rather, we save it for the David Koreshes of the world. We save it for the mass murders who use religion to lure in their prey. But what do we call false religions, claiming to be Christian, and leading many to eternal destruction? Is the term cultno longer helpful? I don’t know. I think it may be good for our youth to be able to identify what these groups really believe and be protective over the Christian name.

As teenagers begin forming more mature friendships, they should be equipped to interact with all different faiths. Of course, we should encourage them to deeply care for those who believe differently. And they will come to find that we all have a lot in common. But what is it that makes us different? And speaking of love and tolerance, pretending like we are all the same is not really loving—especially when there are eternal consequences. And true faith is the beginning of a new life in Christ. This is something that should never be compromised.

Even though this book is a bit dated, I recommend it because I think it is very helpful. Also, the authors do a good job of relating to teenagers without dumbing down the content. They do break it down to the main points, so that our youth can begin to learn how to discern what is exclusive to our great faith, why this is important, along with supplying a good introduction to what some of the major counterfeits believe. I’m adding it to my daughters’ reading pile.

Aimee Byrd is a housewife and mother who attends Pilgrim Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Martinsburg, WV. She and her husband, Matt, have 3 children. She blogs at Housewife Theologian where this article first appeared; it is used with her permission.