The Kingdom of the Cults

The Kingdom of the Cults – Walter Ralston Martin

First published in 1965 and revised and updated many times since, The Kingdom of the Cults is one of the best-known works of Christian apologetics on new religious movements. Its author, Walter Ralston Martin, an evangelical scholar and founder of the Christian Research Institute, devoted his career to comparing the teachings of various religious groups with what he regarded as historic, orthodox Christianity.

Martin defines cults, from a theological perspective, as groups that claim connection with Christianity but depart from its central doctrines, such as the Trinity, the deity of Christ and salvation by grace. He then examines a range of movements in detail, including Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Christian Science, Unity School of Christianity, Spiritism, and others, as well as Eastern and New Age religious movements, Islam and the Baha’i Faith in later editions. For each group, he describes its history and founders, summarizes its beliefs, and contrasts them with the teachings of the Bible as he interprets it.

The book also discusses the psychological and social dynamics of cults, why people are attracted to them, and how Christians can engage respectfully with members of these groups, presenting their own faith clearly while avoiding hostility.

Detailed and extensively documented, the book has been widely used by pastors, students, churches and Christian counselors for decades. Later editions, revised by other editors after Martin’s death, update information on the groups discussed.

The Kingdom of the Cults reflects a specific evangelical theological perspective. Members of the groups discussed and many scholars of religion strongly dispute its characterizations, and readers may wish to consult a range of sources.