Question Regarding Kingdom Of The Cults/Occult

[JR]

Okay, forgive me if this is kind of a "noob" question, but I recently bought both of these books off of Amazon, and then only upon arriving did I notice from the different covers that these were both later editions, one edited and revised by Hank Hanegraaff (The K.O.T.C one) and that the other was put together by Dr. Martin's daughter Jill Martin Rische and Kurt Van Gorden (K.O.T.O obviously)...

Since I have looked, I see that each book has a version edited by both Hanegraaff and another one by KVG and JMR... so I basically have 1/2 of two different sets of Dr. Martin's Kingdom books.

Now my question is.... Are the differences in these two updates/revisions substantial enough that I should consider buying the remaining versions of both K.O.T.C and K.O.T.O that I don't already own, or am I pretty well covered as it now, having one book from each set?

Thanks to anyone who can enlighten me on this, and God bless.

-edit- Sorry if this in the wrong section, so moderators feel free to move it to the ask a question section if it belongs there instead of here.

[Columcille]

If you look into the front cover of the books, you should see the copyright holder. It seems that in legal owner belongs to the "Estate of Walter Martin." As such, the version you have of Hank Hanegraaff is a little older and more than likely was an easy money maker for Hank after the take over of CRI. And in my estimation, I would not buy that one if I had a choice. However, you already have it.

Personally, I probably would not buy the newer one if I was you. I am sure there is enough in that version to be useful. Not exactly sure when the Worldwide Church of God became orthodox Christian, but I would think it is not in the old one. And so long as you know the orthodox position of "Mere Christianity" or "Basic Christianity," the only usefulness of the old chapters on the Worldwide Church of God would seem more aptly to be used by those who left the WCoG when they did become orthodox. There is other reactions of some significance in the Cults, one in which some have recently changed their tactics from denial to acceptance of their past contradictions. I'd call this a postmodern tactic, it seems to work well in today's tolerance and universal or pluralistic culture war. Any more recent updates you could probably get at specific ministries online devoted to each Cult. Those ministries operated and supported by former members of each Cult are probably more aware of what is current than a jack of all trades ministry like CARM or elsewhere. Walter Martin, being an exception, was certainly ahead of his time, due to his picturesque memory and educational background.

[Jill]

Thanks, Columcille, for your answer.

JR, let me clarify just a bit:

Columcille is right about the older version of KOTC. Hanegraaff and the Passantinos changed things that should not have been changed and added other things that were unnecessary--like using another author for an entire chapter instead of quoting my father's lectures on the same material. We do not recommend this book and if it were up to us it would be off the market completely, but Baker is still selling it.

The 2003 edition has many good changes in it. We corrected the above mentioned problems, putting back important things that had been removed. In essence, we returned KOTC to my father--restoring his words. Then we updated this version, marking these updates with a tilde mark before and after them. So, in the end, you have a meticulously restored and updated KOTC, which I highly recommend purchasing.

I hope this helps.

If you look into the front cover of the books, you should see the copyright holder. It seems that in legal owner belongs to the "Estate of Walter Martin." As such, the version you have of Hank Hanegraaff is a little older and more than likely was an easy money maker for Hank after the take over of CRI. And in my estimation, I would not buy that one if I had a choice. However, you already have it.

Personally, I probably would not buy the newer one if I was you. I am sure there is enough in that version to be useful. Not exactly sure when the Worldwide Church of God became orthodox Christian, but I would think it is not in the old one. And so long as you know the orthodox position of "Mere Christianity" or "Basic Christianity," the only usefulness of the old chapters on the Worldwide Church of God would seem more aptly to be used by those who left the WCoG when they did become orthodox. There is other reactions of some significance in the Cults, one in which some have recently changed their tactics from denial to acceptance of their past contradictions. I'd call this a postmodern tactic, it seems to work well in today's tolerance and universal or pluralistic culture war. Any more recent updates you could probably get at specific ministries online devoted to each Cult. Those ministries operated and supported by former members of each Cult are probably more aware of what is current than a jack of all trades ministry like CARM or elsewhere. Walter Martin, being an exception, was certainly ahead of his time, due to his picturesque memory and educational background.

[johnd]

It never ceases to amaze me the unmitigated gall people like HHH have. Bob and Gretchen's part in this surprises me.

Thanks, Columcille, for your answer.

JR, let me clarify just a bit:

Columcille is right about the older version of KOTC. Hanegraaff and the Passantinos changed things that should not have been changed and added other things that were unnecessary--like using another author for an entire chapter instead of quoting my father's lectures on the same material. We do not recommend this book and if it were up to us it would be off the market completely, but Baker is still selling it.

The 2003 edition has many good changes in it. We corrected the above mentioned problems, putting back important things that had been removed. In essence, we returned KOTC to my father--restoring his words. Then we updated this version, marking these updates with a tilde mark before and after them. So, in the end, you have a meticulously restored and updated KOTC, which I highly recommend purchasing.

I hope this helps.

[JR]

Sorry for the long delay between posts, haven't been online a lot recently. But I would like to thank both Columcille and Jill for their very helpful answers to my question above. It is much appreciated. In the end, after considering everything written in those two posts, I think I will eventually wind up getting the new revised KOTC, and take the HH version and pitch it out when the new one arrives. I am a horribly slow reader and mostly have been using these books as reference pieces rather than reading them through from cover to cover (although that is something I do intend to do eventually)...

Thanks again.

[alanmolstad]

I dont blame the book for issues the author might have with different people.

in the end, each book we use has to stand up on it's own merits.

In that light, I dont see a problem with any of the books ....they seem to be helpful in the work of reaching out to the lost...

and that is the important part...not who gets the credit,

[Jill]

Accuracy is important, and since Walter Martin wrote the book, his words and his work should be respected.