Cultic Studies Journal, Vol. 8, No. 1, 1991, Page 56
There is another judgment that could mislead the unwary reader. Yeakley says, "Discipling
churches are doing many things that are good. Do not reject the good when you reject
what is bad." Such an attitude would be seen as extremely tolerant by the people who have
escaped from confinement within any of these organizations.
Howard Norton, in his first essay on the missionary effort of the Boston Church, is liberal in
praise of the "zeal" and rather uncomplaining about the "methods" of that church.
However, in a second article he expresses his own re-evaluation of their approach in Brazil.
He notes that the leaders are exalted to the position of dictators and that "submission and
loyalty are the coin of the realm." Leaders must be obeyed followers must submit blindly to
their direction.
Norton warns against "adopting an attitude toward these zealous brethren that would
preclude the possibility of unity and peace." Some will see this ironic disposition as overly
generous and this may be where the dilemma really lies. What is the most prudent and
most charitable tack to take in countering the destructive methods of the
shepherding/discipleship movement?
Upon reaching page 111 the reader will certainly wince if he or she happens to be Catholic
or Protestant. Norton does not like either one very much. He really should be above that.
He and this reviewer are at one in a desire to defend and promote authentic religion, to
protect it from this ersatz variety which constitutes a spiritual virus for our contemporaries.
Similar prejudice mars the following essay by Don Vinzant who grasps the fact that
shepherding groups burden their members with guilt. However, when he reaches back to
Christianity‟s fifth century to find the Roman roots of authoritarianism he reads history in a
strained way. One can easily share his distaste for the terms "direction" and "spiritual
director" in the vocabulary of religion, but it is only in the past two decades that I have seen
the exploitation or manipulation of the faithful that he and I now lament.
As for recent history, Vinzant can be thanked for listing the chief contemporary figures:
Nee, Ortiz, McKean, Lucas, Mumford, Basham, Baxter, Prince, Simpson, and the exploiters
of the charismatic movement within the Catholic church. Vinzant appeals for the Churches
of Christ to reject the discipling approach. No doubt he is pleased that since the publication
of this book there have been a number of public statements of repentance by some of these
early shepherds. One hopes that these conversions are sincere. In charity we must
assume that they are. Meanwhile, books such as this one are necessary to caution the
public that it is not always a shepherd who appears in shepherd‟s clothing.
Fr. Walter Debold
Assistant Professor of Religious Studies
Seton Hall University
In Pursuit of Satan: The Police and the Occult. R. D. Hicks. Prometheus,
Buffalo, NY, 1991, 420 pages.
This is a formidable seven-chapter book, with a 4-page, 2-column index and a staggering
1166 reference notes. Though he denies being a “cult expert,” Hicks is well qualified: he is
a law-enforcement specialist in Virginia‟s Criminal Justice Services and a former Tucson
police officer with two degrees in anthropology.
Hicks questions “what Satanism (whatever it is) has to do with crime” and states that “the
road is paved with invective, calumny, and rumor but also with insight, temperance, and
skeptical thinking.” He “skeptically examines the myriad claims” of “cult cops” and does so
meticulously. His style and content are the stuff the best police investigations are made of.
There is another judgment that could mislead the unwary reader. Yeakley says, "Discipling
churches are doing many things that are good. Do not reject the good when you reject
what is bad." Such an attitude would be seen as extremely tolerant by the people who have
escaped from confinement within any of these organizations.
Howard Norton, in his first essay on the missionary effort of the Boston Church, is liberal in
praise of the "zeal" and rather uncomplaining about the "methods" of that church.
However, in a second article he expresses his own re-evaluation of their approach in Brazil.
He notes that the leaders are exalted to the position of dictators and that "submission and
loyalty are the coin of the realm." Leaders must be obeyed followers must submit blindly to
their direction.
Norton warns against "adopting an attitude toward these zealous brethren that would
preclude the possibility of unity and peace." Some will see this ironic disposition as overly
generous and this may be where the dilemma really lies. What is the most prudent and
most charitable tack to take in countering the destructive methods of the
shepherding/discipleship movement?
Upon reaching page 111 the reader will certainly wince if he or she happens to be Catholic
or Protestant. Norton does not like either one very much. He really should be above that.
He and this reviewer are at one in a desire to defend and promote authentic religion, to
protect it from this ersatz variety which constitutes a spiritual virus for our contemporaries.
Similar prejudice mars the following essay by Don Vinzant who grasps the fact that
shepherding groups burden their members with guilt. However, when he reaches back to
Christianity‟s fifth century to find the Roman roots of authoritarianism he reads history in a
strained way. One can easily share his distaste for the terms "direction" and "spiritual
director" in the vocabulary of religion, but it is only in the past two decades that I have seen
the exploitation or manipulation of the faithful that he and I now lament.
As for recent history, Vinzant can be thanked for listing the chief contemporary figures:
Nee, Ortiz, McKean, Lucas, Mumford, Basham, Baxter, Prince, Simpson, and the exploiters
of the charismatic movement within the Catholic church. Vinzant appeals for the Churches
of Christ to reject the discipling approach. No doubt he is pleased that since the publication
of this book there have been a number of public statements of repentance by some of these
early shepherds. One hopes that these conversions are sincere. In charity we must
assume that they are. Meanwhile, books such as this one are necessary to caution the
public that it is not always a shepherd who appears in shepherd‟s clothing.
Fr. Walter Debold
Assistant Professor of Religious Studies
Seton Hall University
In Pursuit of Satan: The Police and the Occult. R. D. Hicks. Prometheus,
Buffalo, NY, 1991, 420 pages.
This is a formidable seven-chapter book, with a 4-page, 2-column index and a staggering
1166 reference notes. Though he denies being a “cult expert,” Hicks is well qualified: he is
a law-enforcement specialist in Virginia‟s Criminal Justice Services and a former Tucson
police officer with two degrees in anthropology.
Hicks questions “what Satanism (whatever it is) has to do with crime” and states that “the
road is paved with invective, calumny, and rumor but also with insight, temperance, and
skeptical thinking.” He “skeptically examines the myriad claims” of “cult cops” and does so
meticulously. His style and content are the stuff the best police investigations are made of.
