Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

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.

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.

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)

I am a high school student. I have been reading many books on cults in the past years of my life to learn, who, what, and where they are. This book is very accurate on what it says. I enjoy reading it andit speaks the truth. Some of the passages can be taken out of context and changed in this book to sound as if it is bad, but you must read all of it to understand. This book is taken out of context just like the Bible is by cults. Anybody, child, teen, adult, who is interested in learning about different cults should know this is a good place to start. It explains cults in good terms. I would also suggest reading, "So What's the Difference?" It is a book that talks about all religions and which ones are cults. This book is good. It has some very good references to Bible passages.

As a Christian teacher who has utilized this book in a high school Bible class, I would emphasize the book's own category of reader: young adult. Someone in an earlier review suggested giving this to a high school or college student. My suggestion is, maybe not. It is more suited to a junior high audience. Out of perhaps 150 of my junior and senior high school students who read this book as a requirment for an apologetics Bible class (semester long), I would say about half would have given it 4 or 5 stars. A number of the students were honestly insulted by the way the authors tried to be "hip" in their use of slang. Unfortunately, the teens just don't talk like this anymore. (Maybe, like, 10 years ago the language was "cool.") Based on this, I changed my policy and no longer have it as required reading, but I still offer it as a choice, and some actually gravitate to an apologetics book that is such easy reading.

So, while this book may not be for everyone, I still give it four stars (even though I haven't read it cover to cover myself) because the information is very pertinent to those who are just now exploring their faith. As I tell my students, there is coming a time when it will no longer be OK to borrow their parents' faith. In fact, it is time to own their own faith. A book like this introduces some different philosophies that they will be inundated with in the not-so-distant future. Mature junior highers should be given this book before they attempt to share their faith with the cultist at the door.

This book doesnt cut corners or try to sugar coat the truth. Mormons are NOT Christians, the Christ they claim to worship, is not the Christ of the Bible, it is the Christ thought up in the mind of J. Smith and further propogated by more lies to cover up the first. Mormons need to stop saying "That is not what we believe" and realize what the "church" itself teaches.
This book shares the truth and I have used it in classes and educated many teens so that they can know the truth when an Elder comes by and uses all the same Christian words they are familiar with. Mormons claim Christians are going to hell and are apostate and yet they are trying to appear Christain. Amazing! I feel badly for Mormons becuase most of them are sincere and are lied to. This book exposes just the tip of the iceberg on the depths of deception this cult goes to.

This book is a must read for any young adult who will encounter false gospels. It gives a clear presentation of the truth as well as exposing the false teachings of many cults. While it does not go into great details in some areas, it provides a good solid starting point to educate christians about the dangers of false teachings. It should inspire its readers to do more research into these areas and allow them to "be ready" to give a defense.

This is a great book truthful and very easy to understand. it is easy to see why many people would find it insulting as it is very blunt with the truth but that is whats needed i would recomend this as a guide for any Christian with children faced with religious pressures in school

Have you ever been visited by Mormons? How about Jehova's Witnesses? Ever notice how they all seem to have all the Bible references, while you have none to prove your point? Then this is indeed the book for you! "...Dudes at the Door" has all a young person, or even and adult needs to know about what these cults stand for, and how dangerous they can be just to talk to. A must read for any young Christian, or anyone young in the Lord!

I *have* read this book, and it is nothing more than anti-Mormon propaganda written in a condescending style in an attempt to attract young people who can't see the ugliness for what it is.

If you don't like Mormons and if you want to read something that will justify your own beliefs and if you don't mind the pain of watching an adult try to speak as he thinks a teenager would, this is the book for you.

Everyone else should stay away.