ALLEGED FRAUDS IN RELIGIOUS BOOKS
which deal with Satanism, Wicca, etc.

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Overview:

Religion is a deeply personal and subjective topic. Any author who is deeply committed to one religion finds it profoundly difficult to write accurately about another religion. Even writing about another denomination or movement within her/his own religion is fraught with problems.

The vast bulk of popular inter-religious books are exposes written by Fundamentalist or other Evangelical Christian authors about what they consider dangerous religions, sects, and cults: Christian Science, Islam, Mormons, New Age, Pagans, Satanists, Wiccans (Witches) etc. The quantity of such books is massive. Their authors frequently quote each other's writings as sources, rather than search out original material. As a result, the contents of many of these books becomes increasingly divorced from reality over time.

Many readers assume that because the authors are devout Christians, that they will have a very high standard of personal ethics, and will take great pains to be accurate in their writing. This is not necessarily true.

Most followers of all religions are reasonably decent folk. Hindus love their spouses and children, just as do Christians. If you find a book that demonizes all believers in a particular religion, by stating that they abuse children, engage in criminal acts, are unethical, etc, then you can safely assume that the book is filled with misinformation and should be ignored. You might consider writing a letter of complaint to the author, care of the publisher's Author Relations Department, with a copy to the publisher themselves. We have done this dozens of times. We have never received a response, or even an acknowledgment that the author or publisher received our letter. But at least they may have become aware of our opinions.

Some Evangelicals have become concerned about the amount of fraud, misuse of money and misinformation within their movement, and are conducting investigations of authors and ministries. Bob and Gretchen Passantino wrote in 1994:

"Crying Wind, Alberto Rivera, John Todd, Michael Esses, Joey LaVey, Lauren Stratford, Troy Lawrence, Mike Warnke, Bob Larson, and dozens of others have come under temporary Church scrutiny for their ministry and moral lapses. Many were completely defensive when challenged, and many responded much like our fictional King David. No true confession, no real repentance, certainly no biblically mandated restitution and restoration. Tragically, most of them continue in active ministry."  ₅

Specific cases: