Unsafe Sects: Understanding Religious Cults
Ebook
For some decades American (and other) culture has been obsessed with cults. But what does "cult" mean? How should a religious group be identified as a cult? Who joins cults and why? These and other questions are answered in this book. It provides a basic introduction to cults, "unsafe sects," especially from an orthodox Christian perspective. Here readers will also find accounts of the author's personal experiences of cults.
“On a subject as emotive as ‘cults,’ it is very good to find in Unsafe Sects an analysis that is at once shrewd and judicious, knowledgeable and wide-ranging. Particularly valuable, and powerful, are Roger Olson’s observations of a troubled and even ‘unsafe’ religious environment that he experienced firsthand. There is so much of value here.” —Philip Jenkins, distinguished professor of history, Baylor University
“In Unsafe Sects, Roger Olson empowers readers to identify for themselves the ‘cult-like characteristics’ of groups they should be wary of. Olson certainly doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to critiquing cultish groups, but his treatment is always highly informed, deeply respectful, and uniformly fair. This well-written book is the most practically helpful work on ‘cults’ and ‘unsafe sects’ I’ve ever read, and I could not recommend it more strongly to all who are interested in identifying these groups.” —Greg Boyd, author of Letters from a Skeptic
- Title: Unsafe Sects: Understanding Religious Cults
- Author: Roger Olson
- Publisher: Cascade Books
- Print Publication Date: 2023
- Logos Release Date: 2023
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Ebook
- ISBNs: 9781666765083, 9781666765069, 1666765066, 9781666765076, 1666765074, 1666765082
- Resource ID: LLS:9781666765083
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2023-08-31T21:03:29Z
Roger E. Olson is the Foy Valentine Professor of Christian Theology and Ethics at Baylor University’s George W. Truett Theological Seminary. Previously he served as professor of theology at Bethel University in St. Paul, Minnesota. He is the author of 18 books, including The Journey of Modern Theology: From Reconstruction to Deconstruction (IVP).
Dr. Olson was born and raised in the Upper Midwest of the United States and considers himself a “Bapticostal.” He grew up Pentecostal but became Baptist while attending North American Baptist Seminary. His PhD in religious studies is from Rice University in Houston, and he studied at the University of Munich with theologian Wolfhart Pannenberg. He served as editor of Christian Scholar’s Review in the 1990s and has served as consulting and contributing editor for Christianity Today. He is married and has two daughters and two beautiful grandchildren. He enjoys southern gospel music, Victorian gothic mystery books, and traveling.