What's with the Dudes at the Door: Stuff to Know When the Cults Come Knocking [Paperback]

Kevin Walter Johnson (Author), K. Johnson (Author), James R. White (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1998

Cult. The very word conjures up images of shaved heads, funny robes, and glassy-eyed chanting. But what to do when the guy at the door doesn't look like a cultist and is holding a Bible? How can you tell true Christianity from teachings that only claim to be Christian?

What's With the Dudes at the Door? cuts to the heart of the cults issue by giving teens practical, easy-to-understand tips on how to spot cultic practices and doctrine, no matter how attractive and Christian the package when the cults come knocking. A terrific book no teen should be without!

Renowned cults expert and writer James White has teamed up with bestselling youth author Kevin Johnson to create this revealing, teen-friendly look at the major cults that target teens.

Helps alert teens to cults and their recruiting tactics. Provides solid, biblical answers to the key teachings of Mormonism, Jehovah's Witnesses, and other major cults. An invaluable tool for youth leaders, parents, and educators, anyone who is concerned about "cult-proofing" young adults.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

James R. White is the author of the popular The King James Only Controversy, The Roman Catholic Controversy, and Grieving: God's Path Back to Peace. He is the director of ministries for Alpha and Omega Ministries, a Christian apologetics ministry, and scholar-in-residence at Grand Canyon University. He holds an M.A. from Fuller Theological Seminary. He and his wife have two children and live in Arizona.

Kevin Johnson has a passion for ministering to youth, currently serving as Vice President for Training and Resources at Family Hope Services, a ministry to at-risk youth and their families headquartered in Plymouth, Minnesota. He also has the gift of writing and with total sales of well over 175,000 copies Kevin is undoubtedly the premier author for early teens today.

His training includes an M.Div. from Fuller Theological Seminary and a B.A. in English and Print Journalism from the University of Wisconsin--River Falls. In his studies at Fuller Theological Seminary, he found out exactly what kids should know about themselves and about Jesus. This combination gives Kevin a powerful mix of knowledge and passion, mind and heart.

In his newest book, Was That a Balloon or Did Your Head Just Pop?, he presents forty-five short readings that help early teens learn how to escape the prison of peer fear so that they can grab hold of God and good friends.

"They get a life-grounding lesson without knowing it!" Kevin is fond of saying about his books. He has honed each of his popular books to hit specific targets--growing up, eschatology, cults, missions. So what seems to be an "easy and fun read" to teens is actually Theology and Life 101! Kevin has a unique gift of crafting hard hitting topics into books kids not only like but love!!

In addition to his service as senior editor for adult nonfiction at Bethany House Publishers in Minneapolis for four years, he has pastored a group of more than 400 sixth through ninth graders at Embrook Church in metro Milwaukee. Kevin and his wife, Lyn, live in Minnesota with their three children, Nathaniel, Karin, and Elise.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 13 and up
  
• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Bethany House Publishers (June 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764220705
• ISBN-13: 978-0764220708
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #874,171 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good for Teens, July 7, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: What's with the Dudes at the Door: Stuff to Know When the Cults Come Knocking (Paperback)

This book is helpful for teens, I would know because I am a teen. I live amoungst many Mormons and have studied their faith by reading the Book of Mormon, attending the Mormon Church, talking to my Mormon friends, talking to an LDS Bishop, by reading literature on the subject, and by attending LDS Seminary. That said, this book is accurate and fairly well written, though the language is a little dated. Anyone who claims that this book is not accurate and is untrue simply does not want to face the truth. Not only is this book helpful in dealing with Mormons, but also with Christian Scientists and others. Worth your time.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Extremely accurate., February 27, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: What's with the Dudes at the Door: Stuff to Know When the Cults Come Knocking (Paperback)

I have read this book and studied a lot of Mormonism. I can't tell you about the rest of the cults they talked about in this book, but I can tell you that the information given about the Mormons is extremely accurate. The explanation of a cult is very good and the way they talk about cults is so true. You know that if you've ever talked to a door-to-door missionary that this book is very accurate and they have done a wonderful job at explaining who and what the cults are and believe.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars AN "ANTI-CULT" APOLOGETIC (SPECIFICALLY, ANTI-MORMON) AIMED AT YOUNG PEOPLE, June 10, 2011

By 

Steven H. Propp (Sacramento, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: What's with the Dudes at the Door: Stuff to Know When the Cults Come Knocking (Paperback)

James R. White is director of Alpha & Omega Ministries, as well as the author of many books such as Letters to a Mormon Elder and Is the Mormon My Brother? Kevin Johnson is a popular youth author, of more than 50 books (such as What's With the Mutant in the Microscope: Stuff to Know When Science Says Your Uncle Is a Monkey).

They state in the first chapter of this 1998 book, "Getting YOU cult-proofed is the biggie priority of (the book). You'll find out *What makes a cult a cult *Why you need to stick to what you believe *What real Christianity teaches *How cults miss that standard."

Here are some additional quotations from the book:

"I know who you are, and I'm not interested in your literature, or your books of Scripture, or whatever else you have to offer. Maybe YOU would consider joining US tomorrow morning at OUR church. Then we could talk." (Pg. 10)

"Trying to read the Bible through 'Jesus Only' glasses can become ridiculous. A passage like Matthew 3:16-17, for example, makes God look like a gargantuan ventriloquist!" (Pg. 81)

"Every cult needs a powerful leader-type guy---or gal, in the case of groups like Christian Science and a few others---right at the start. This strong personality claims special insight into God's truth and convinces others he knows what he's talking about. Founders of cults are usually good organizers but even better communicators. People gather round because of the force of their speaking and personality, and they manage to build a following." (Pg. 102)

"Historically we have an eensy weensy problem finding any evidence of the existence of folks called 'Nephites' or 'Lamanites.' Neither can linguists find any trace of the alleged original language of 'Reformed Egyptian,' The people known to have lived in the Americas at the time of the Book of Mormon claims to address look nothing like those described in the book. Joseph Smith had them tooling around in horse-drawn chariots and swashbuckling with steel swords---all stuff the folks on this continent know nothing of until the Spanish showed up a good thousand years later." (Pg. 106)