I just pulled out and reread my old copy of The Seduction of Christianity: Spiritual Discernment in the Last Days by Dave Hunt and T. A. McMahon.
Whoa. First published in 1985 and still spot on! The names (and sometimes terminology) change, but the “story” is the same. Back then Hunt and McMahon exposed the prosperity gospel teachers, the New Age, shamanism (I thought that was a more recent development!), and an over-emphasis on the power of self.
A reviewer in 2013 posted this comment about that old book: “[The writers] demonstrate how the occult has been intertwined and twisted into modern Christianity with a result of the gospel being watered down or out the window. True Christians who wonder how this might occur should read this book. It was occurring when this book was written and it is occurring in 2013—on an even larger scale.”
Yes, and right on into today!
This is why it’s so important to know what the Bible says, to understand key issues, and to have some grasp of false teaching; that is, world religions, the cults, the occult, and the New Age. And it’s a must to get a handle on apologetics: understanding evidence, knowing how to answer tough questions.
To that end… Besides reading what I post here, also check out the resources on my Recommended page.
I went to your page of recommended resources and I saw the name of Tim Challies. I have been to his site in the past and I have read some good articles but he is a Calvinist and for that reason I am wary. I don’t know how you feel about Calvinism but Lighthouse Trails has many warnings about Calvinism, Neo-Calvinism and know that most who are Calvinists call themselves Reformed. They try very hard to not use the term Calvinist. I know this because our daughter and her family got caught up in it 20 years ago and I had no idea that was the reason they had all become so distant and strange. I only figured it out 2 years ago and a little less than a year ago she and I had a confrontation about the situation. It was traumatic. We consider it cult-like and told her so. I read Dave Hunts book WHAT LOVE IS THIS? and that is how I recognized what was going on.
Thank you, C. We all need to help each other be accountable! I would caution, though, against lumping all individuals of any given denomination into a single cluster of beliefs. In other words, it is no longer accurate (if it ever was so) to make a statement like “Baptists believe ___” or “Episcopalians don’t believe ____.” There is such a wide range of beliefs among individuals and among local churches of the same denomination. I try to be very careful about labeling someone, because as my friend and brilliant theologian Dr. Jack Cottrell says, “Nobody’s theology is perfect.” But this is also why I’m careful with my “Recommended” page. I’m not necessarily giving a blanket endorsement of those sources. As stated on that page, I specifically appreciate Challies’s “strong-but-kind reviews” of books that so many Christians have become fans of. And that’s true even when I may not necessarily share his view of every statement he makes in those reviews. His reviews help me to think further about what those books are promoting—and thinking further is always a good thing. Thanks again.
Agree.
Challies is a great go-to for book reviews. I don’t always agree with him, but Tim is a solid resource on the content behind trendy books.
Thank you for this information. God has opened my eyes open regarding the occult in the last 8 years, I’m truly thankful. I still would like to have discernment and to avoid the trappings of the occultism. Such as the Scofield doctrine and the history about it…