Mr. Rhodes' five "essential" doctrines of Christianity as found on pages 22-23 are wide of the mark. Not all mainstream denominations of Christianity, particularly more liberal ones, would agree with his conclusions. His assertion that the doctrine of the trinity is a "biblical fact" is nothing short of laughable considering the church did not fully develop or embrace the doctrine of trinitarianism for over 3 centuries after Christ's death. And only after intense debate. With respect to the specific religions he includes in his book, I can only speak to the Unitarian Universalist chapter as that is the religion with which I'm most familiar. Some of Mr. Rhodes' facts are easily refuted and his conclusions are sometimes downright insulting.
For example, "Past Unitarian Universalists include five U.S. presidents..." In fact, there has never been a UU president as the denominations merged in 1961. He names Thomas Jefferson as a Unitarian Universalist. Jefferson was raised an Episcopalian and later in life belonged to no specific religion although his writings do contain Unitarian ideals. There have been four presidents who belonged to Unitarian churches when the Unitarian faith bore little resemblance to UU practice today.
Mr. Rhodes contends that UUs "have little respect for the Christian Bible." That would be his opinion and one which would not hold up to scrutiny. UUs do indeed respect the Bible and other sacred religious texts, they just do not use it the same way Mr. Rhodes does.
Mr. Rhodes states that most UUs deny that there is an afterlife. He sites a document that isn't even accepted as the definitive statement of UU belief by all, or even most, Unitarian Universalists.
Mr. Rhodes contends that UUs are intolerant towards Christians despite their professed belief in religious tolerance. He does not explore the meaning of religious liberalism or differentiate between acknowledging Christianity as a valid faith path while failing to appreciate a conservative Christian proclaiming UUs as evil, sinful, faithless people destined for eternal damnation. Why should anyone tolerate intolerance?
If his other chapters are as misleading as this one, I would recommend anyone interested in cults seek a different source. Clearly Mr. Rhodes' purpose in writing this book was not scholarship, but to elevate his own religion by showing disdain for others. Even if that means shoddy research and erroneous conclusions.
Excellent insight into the Cults
Some Integrity Please
A good read..
