Cult literature

[Solly]

Anyone who is widely read in Christian books will know the delight in discovering new areas of writing that lift one's spirit.

As a Calvinist Baptist, I yet take an interest in books by RCC, Orthodox, Anabaptist, & Anglican authors. It is part of that "mere Christianity" thing, and enables me to separate the mensch from the goys, for I have never yet found a book from one of the subChristian cults - LDS, CD, SDA, JW, etc, or liberalism - that has done me any real good (as opposed to just informing my mind about a matter, like a text book does), or spoken with the voice of the Holy Spirit.

If you are in one of the "cults" what do you recommend; what lifts your spirit?

If you are a Christian and have found one, which one?

Is there a deeper lesson here?

Note: I mean explicit Christian literature - devotionals, theology, sermons - not novels, though I could name some, like Bernanos' Diary of a Country Priest.

[Socrates]

I wouldn't group the SDAs with the sub-Christian cults that deny the Trinity. Most SDAs seem to be Trinitarian and evanglical in their view of the Bible and justification by faith alone, despite the aberration of annihilationism. But there are some members which would qualify as cultic, because they regard sabbath-keeping as essential for salvation and elevate Mrs White's teachings to the same level as Scripture. See the CRI's short article Seventh-day Adventism: Christian or Cultic? (http://www.equip.org/free/CP0602.htm)

You're right to call liberalism a cult -- cult expert Dr Walter Martin called this on eof the most dangerous and most insidious of all cults.

[Solly]

Thanks Soc; my estimate of SDA as cultic is based on the fact that I only know of them through Ellen White's work, and they keep themselves apart from the general evangelical world. Sect might be a better word for them.

[dizzle]

SDA is multi-faceted. One of my favorite contra-dispie authors is SDA Hans K. LaRondelle, "The Israel of God in Prophecy" is the bomb!!

[Patroclus]

I really like finding books by strong Christian writers that Christian bookstores are afraid to put on the shelves. Fredrick Buechner has some very good books (I recommend Telling THe Truth: The Gospel as Tragedy, Comedy and Fairy Tale) and some of the lesser-known books of C.S. Lewis, like Letters To Malcom.

What I find in books like these is a quality of strangeness. These books do not leave off at the easily accepted ruminations of popular Christian writers, but freely express themselves in ways that are not altogether orthodox.

[bar Jonah]

I like to keep copies of cultic literature and holy books, primarily as references. Most especially so I can use them as tools in evangelizing to members of those cults.

For example, I have a contemporary edition of the Book of Mormon. I also have one from around 1980. And I have one from the 1940s. None of them match.. Most Mormons are totally unaware that their religious leaders rewrite the Book of Mormon regularly. It came as such a shock to my coworker Arend that he wrote to the church archives in Utah about it (and about a couple other things I showed him), and the result was that they ordered him to quit that job. He simply stopped showing up, no warning at all.

But I pray it planted a seed. He may be brainwashed, but he is smart.

[gnosis]

I personally like Carl Gustav Jungs little gem "Septem Sermones ad Mortuos" aka "The Seven Sermons to the Dead" a great little book. Containing only 7 chapters and easily readable in 30 minutes or so. It is the backbone for all of Jung's later psychology and quite a modern Gnostic work.

Sincerely,

gnosis

[Rand]

06-19-2003 @ 11:22 AM post located here (http://www.theologyweb.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&postid=127568#post127568)
Solly:
If you are a Christian and have found one, which one?


I am a Catholic, and there is an immense amount of Catholic literature from the past two thousand years. Here is a sampling of some of the best that a non-Catholic may enjoy:
The Confessions by St. Augustine is an amazing autobiography. It recounts his wild youth and his conversion to Christianity. It is truly a classic of Christian literature.
The Imitation of Christ by Thomas Kempis was meant by and large for people living the religious life (monks/nuns), but it has been a favorite of laymen since it was written in the 15th century.
The Seven Storey Mountain is the best modern Christian autobiography. Thomas Merton had a wild youth as an atheist but eventually found himself drawn to the Catholic Church. Not only that, but after his conversion, he eventually joined the Trappists (a monastic order) and lived the rest of his life as a monk in Kentucky. You should definitely check this one out.
Pope John Paul II seems to be a popular among some Protestants, so you may want to check out some of his encyclical letters and/or books. The Holy Father has written on a wide array of subjects, and you can view his letters here (http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/index.htm).

There is a lot more I would like to suggest, but that is a good sampling.

[Solly]

Thanks Rand. i have read the first two, and will read the Merton someday. I did browse the Pope's encyclical on Thomism, but haven't read much else.
My favourite catholic authors are Kempis, Therese of Lisieux, Newman, Dermot Cox, Bernanos.