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Title: Those curious new cults by William J. Petersen ISBN: 0-87983-031-X Publisher: Keats Pub. Date: 1973 Format: Unknown Binding

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Average Customer Rating: 3 (1 review)

Rating: 3
Summary: Interesting But Built On Dogmatic Beliefs.
Comment: William J. Petersen presents the reader with an interesting view of the many different "cults" through out America. He has written or co-authored in many Christian books. This particular piece contains 272 pages & is broken down into 6 parts each explaining different cults or movements that took place err the early 1970s. Part One: "Why People Are Turned on by Those Curious New Cults" gives a brief ten page psychological look upon the cults. Part Two: "When the Forces Are At Work or Did The Devil Make Me Do It?" This section is broken down into six parts "Astrology," "I Ching," "Edgar Cayce and the A.R.E," "Spiritualism," "Witchcraft," & "Satanism." Mr. Petersen brings up some good point e.g. on Astrology "What about twins?.... Two babies born at the same time in the same place should have the same destiny. Yet one may die in the hospital and the other may live to be ninety," page 31. The author is very convincing in presenting his dogmatic views & actually gives an almost sold a base for his reasoning. However he fails to view his own beliefs in the same light as he views others. Hence he is trying to walk on water. Part Three: "Home-Made Religion of More Power To The People" is broken down in four sections "Scientology and L. Ron Hubbard," "Black Muslims," "Herbert Armstrong and His Plain Truth," & "The Children of God and the Jesus Movement." Again Mr. Petersen does a great job in presenting how & why people or kids turn to these movements. He states sundry times that teenagers have a need or longing to belong to something greater than themselves. Petersen also states many times that this inner polemic is a result of the "church" is not performing up to par or is too boring for the teenagers of today. Part Four: "Eastward Ho or Which Why Is The Guru Going?" is split into six different parts "Hare Krishna," "Zen Buddhism," "Transcendental Meditation and the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi," "Baba-lovers and the Meher Baba," "Bahai" & "Gurdjieff." Traveling into the eastern mind Peterson talks about why the American melting pot accepts the eastern beliefs & why this has become a homerun in the western mind. Also state is how famous American musicians helped to boast the popularity of the guru. Part Five: "Our Newest Cults," is divided into two parts dubbed "Guru Maharaj Ji and the Divine Light Mission," & "Sun Myung Moon." This is the last chapter in which Petersen tries to present his case. Part Six: "What Makes You Think Christianity is Any Different?" The title of this part hides the true nature of the author's motives. Petersen attempts to show how Christianity is different from all the other "cults" or religions. Again this part is built upon dogmatic beliefs & his logic is built on sand. In conclusion this book gives a great historical introduction upon a few of the many cults or movements that took place in America. However if you are looking for a solid philosophical book you better look somewhere else.