The Marks of a Cult
Before the individual groups, learn the pattern. Nearly every cult shares the same marks — test any group against these, and against Scripture.
Learn the marks ›Street Preachers Corner — Defense of the Faith
Kingdom of the Cults
“And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.” — 2 Corinthians 11:14
← Back to Defense of the Faith
One banner over the whole counterfeit field. This section of the Defense of the Faith gathers the university’s cult studies in one place: first the Marks of a Cult — how to know a counterfeit when it knocks — then the groups themselves, every one treated the same honest way: what they teach, stated fairly and in their own terms; the answer from the King James Bible; and a word for the street. These studies stood first under the name Refuting the Cults, and that presentation stands as it was — gathered here, under this banner, with nothing moved and nothing lost.
Islam
The religion of Muhammad — its book is the Quran, examined in full in our Refutation Library. Islam is answered at full length in our descriptive history of its violence — The Sword and the Crescent — which stands in Study Materials; the short refutation stands here with the cult studies.
Read The Sword and the Crescent ›Mormonism (LDS)
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — founded by Joseph Smith (1830); its extra books are examined in our Refutation Library.
Read the refutation ›Jehovah's Witnesses
The Watch Tower Society (founded 1870s–80s under Charles Taze Russell) — and its New World Translation.
Read the refutation ›Roman Catholicism
The Roman Church — its doctrines grew over centuries beyond (and against) the written Word.
Read the refutation ›Christian Science
Mary Baker Eddy's 'Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures' (1875) — neither Christian nor science.
Read the refutation ›Oneness Pentecostalism
The 'Jesus Only' movement (from 1913) — denies the Trinity and adds conditions to salvation.
Read the refutation ›Unitarianism & Universalism
From the Unitarian churches and the Universalist merge (1961) — reason and 'universal love' placed above revelation.
Read the refutation ›Refuting the Cults — The Whole Presentation
Every study above on one page, in order — the marks first, then the groups: what they teach, the answer from the King James Bible, and a word for the street.
Enter the presentation ›The Book Behind the Name
This section takes its name in honor of the book that named the field: The Kingdom of the Cults, by Dr. Walter Martin (1928–1989) — founder of the Christian Research Institute and the original “Bible Answer Man” — first published in 1965 and kept in print ever since, now in its sixth edition. Martin taught the church the very method this section follows: state the cult’s teaching fairly, out of its own books, and answer it from the Scripture. We borrow his title with gratitude, and we say so plainly.
The book is still in print, and it is still under copyright — so Grace Team University does not host a copy of it here, and we will not send you to one that steals it. Two lawful doors stand open instead:
Borrow It Free
The Internet Archive’s lending library lends The Kingdom of the Cults free with a free account — borrow it for an hour at a time, or for up to fourteen days.
Borrow it free at the Internet Archive ›Get the Book from the Publisher
Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group, keeps the sixth edition in print — casebound, 704 pages. Buy it from the publisher and keep the work in print.
Get the book from the publisher ›Read Martin — then come back and read the Scripture he points you to: “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.” — 1 Thessalonians 5:21