A Field Guide on False Teaching

by Ligonier Ministries

How do you know if someone is telling the truth about God? And how should you respond if they are not? Every Christian is responsible for knowing God’s Word and sharing it with others. But in a world affected by sin, false teaching is everywhere. Many people obscure, distort, or challenge what God has revealed in Scripture—even some leaders in the church. To be better prepared as witnesses for Christ, we must identify falsehood and the devastating harm it brings. By surveying prominent theological errors, cults, and world religions, this book can equip you to defend your faith against the dangers of false teaching. It can also help you more effectively respond to your friends, family, and neighbors with the hope you have in Christ.

Genres: Theology, Christian, Christianity, Nonfiction, Religion, Cults, Christian Living

152 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 1, 2020

Reviews

[Dr. David Steele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic primer on false teaching. Easy to understand for entry-entry level students.

[Christopher Desruisseau · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good solid foundation on false teachers and teachings. I would highly suggest it for new Christians to read, and older Christians who haven't looked into this much.

[Benjamin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A useful little handbook for beginners. Clear and straightforward, with good guidance for evangelism.

[Amanda Geaney · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great little book. I bought it for my teen but it would really be a great gift for any believer. I especially appreciated the tips it provides for how to engage/witness to people who have been misled by false teachings (prosperity gospel, deism, antinomianism), cults, or other religions.

[Greg Bradley · Rating 4 out of 5]

As stated, a quick review of false teaching, both “within” Christianity and without. A good primer on each of the world religions as well.

[Michael Philliber · Rating 5 out of 5]

This little field guide is just that, a pocket-sized field guide, clothed in military manual like colors. Perfect for carrying around and keeping close at hand. It was handed out for free at our denomination's General Assembly-2021, and I found it useful. Not deep, not weighed down with loads of details. Rather, it's just the right amount of information written in a brief style so that young Christians and others will be able to use it. The book, published by Ligonier Ministries (no author is credited), covers false teaching and cults inside and around Christianity, as well as completely other religions and worldviews outside Christianity. Ideal for an upper school, teenage class. i highly recommend the work.

[Tommy Barrow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hard to rate, but found helpful and was an easy read. Gives brief overviews to main religious and worldviews found today. After summarizing each worldview or religion, sections are offered on how it compares to biblical Christianity and what to focus on when speaking about Christ with someone of said worldview/religion.

I am missing some but the book addresses: New Age Spirituality, Atheism, Secularism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Moormanism/LDS, and Scientific Christianity.

[cameron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent primer into understanding the major false teachings, cults, and worldviews and how to respond biblically to them.

[Carter Daggett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent resource for all Christians. It’s clear and concise, giving you a good understanding of the basics of each religion.

[Allie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Compact, helpful summary of various popular idolatrous belief systems. I am curious why Judaism and Vatican 1 Catholicism were excluded. It would have been 5 stars except for that puzzling exclusion.

[Siyao Xing · Rating 5 out of 5]

Concise and so helpful

[Jamie Hunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clear and informative.

This book was an easy read and well laid out. It helped me understand the cults and heresies of this age. It is not in-depth but gives the basic tenants in terminology that the average Christian can understand. I appreciated the evangelistic motive behind the writing of this book...how to witness to each group.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent resource for learning some of the more prevalent false teachings and how to combat them with the Scripture.

[Russell Threet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Introduction to False Teaching

This book is good but it is definitely an introduction to these topics and not terribly in depth. My favorite part is the sections on how to share the Gospel with those that believe these different systems. Those portions are very useful. Good book!

[Blake · Rating 3 out of 5]

Whenever I read a book, one of several things I ask myself as I worked my way through the book is, "Who or what kind of person would I hand this book to and encourage him/her to read it?" That was the question that came to mind over and over as I read this short little "Field Guide on False Teaching." In all honesty, I'm not totally sure what to do with the book. It offers some very helpful explanation of the basic beliefs of various religious movements, cults, and false religions that blanket the globe, but, as a whole, I am not sure how helpful this book would be for one who really wants to understand the various beliefs or one who wants to share the gospel with those who are caught in the stranglehold of false teaching. It wasn't that the book doesn't offer some helpful thoughts, it simply rang as too basic to truly engage others who have embraced abberant theology. So what kind of person would hand this book to? Perhaps, it would be helpful for one who wants a basic gist of what various religions and cults believe and then how to possibly engage such a person in some discussion about their beliefs.

[Christian Barrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

A practical and helpful guide that does not leave a stone unturned in giving helpful over views to rising false teachings in the 21st century. The tips on evangelism are extremely helpful. This book is a must have for all wanting to better understand the rising and persistent false teachings that church is facing.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Useful when you remember it’s a field guide (quick overview useful on the road of life), not a compendium or a commentary.

I learned a few things:
- Cults can be described by scholars in terms of a religious community teaching some new way to live, whereas Christians often consider cults as breakaway or splinter groups associated with unbiblical teachers followed by a group of devotees.
- A few world religions have a monistic focus (unity of all things, balancing of opposites)
- At least one world religion has no single founding figure (Hinduism)
- The term “henotheism”, or the worship of one supreme god that gets manifested in a plurality of deities.

In modern therapy, healing may be more strongly associated with Hinduism’s adherence to karma (whatever you have/whoever you are is a result of your past life) than to Christian regeneration (all things can be made new in Christ). It would explain why there is so much emphasis on your social and familial background, and the inevitable blame game involving parents and other authority figures.

[J. T. K. Tobin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This guide outlines some of the core problems with false religions and explains using biblical references how/why they are wrong.

2 Timothy 3:
2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

I especially liked the conclusion which explains why this is important and for what purpose we should know it.

[Pat Phelps · Rating 5 out of 5]

This little book (230 pages) is an apologetic primer for a Christian to share his or her faith. The book doesn’t go into a ton of detail, but does give some basic information.

They have broken the book into three main categories: False Teaching, Cults, False Religion and Worldviews. There are sub categories under each of these main categories. They also provided a section on how this holds up again biblical Christianity and a way to approach someone based on the beliefs of the individual.

It’s a short read, but a good one. This will be something I’ll go back to regularly. Recommend this little book.

“Take up and Read” - Saint Augustine

[Matt C · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this little book had some very interesting tidbits on the history of prominent worldviews that differ from Christianity. I do think that the author is not interested in learning why those who hold such beliefs do so with much conviction, but rather is simply concerned with how to best respond to those who hold such views. This book should be seen as a brief overview of the major systems of belief that can be found in modern society; if viewed in this way, then this book is a worthwhile endeavor for any follower of Christ.

[My Little Happy Nook · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 ⭐️

I really enjoyed this book. I think this is a great resource for people who like me may not know much about the specific beliefs of false teachings.

This book is such a short and sweet resource on how to understand and communicate with others who believe different popular false teachings. I learned a lot about different beliefs and how to approach talking about the truth with others specific to their beliefs. I listened to this book on audiobook, but I think this would also be a great book to have as a physical resource.

[Pig Rieke · Rating 3 out of 5]

This small book was my bathroom read of 2021. The little book is a very brief introduction into heretical groups, false religions, and modern philosophies. The work moves through the major beliefs with these groups, how said beliefs hold up to Scripture, and where a Christian should look to set forth Biblical teaching to someone under these various ideologies. Again, the work is a very brief introduction into said subjects and as such serves its purpose.

[Jasmine Cauthorne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a great start to learning more about false teachings/ religions. It is divided up by different beliefs and religions and walks you through the history of each one, what they believe, where they differ from the Bible, and how you can share the Gospel with someone from that belief. It was easily comprehensible and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a starting point on learning about other beliefs and how to witness to them!

[Grace Cordle · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fabulous resource- concise, clear, and practical. It held Scripture preeminent while laying out the fundamentals of each false doctrine, cult, or false religion. Perfect for those who want to understand the beliefs of those around them so that they won’t misrepresent those beliefs, and also great to compare these beliefs directly with scripture and see the best emphases to focus on in evangelism. Highly recommend!

[Josiah DeGraaf · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is fine for what it is. With 150 small pages to cover a lot of different false beliefs, I didn't feel like they dug into any of them enough for my tastes, so I would have preferred a version twice as long. But for what the editors were going for, this seemed to do the best job it could at providing the birds eye level view for each philosophy/religion addressed.

Rating: 3.5 Stars (Good).

[Trea Madole · Rating 5 out of 5]

An awesome summary of popular religions

It obviously cannot go into full detail of each religion. That would require at least a book on each, but it gives you an idea of each one's basic beliefs so that Christians can have some understanding. We should not be ignorant of others beliefs. This is a great starting point.

[Neh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short and sweet. The latter chapters are quite useful. Especially on the final chapter before the Conclusion--I am glad that Ligonier has finally followed Scripture and the Westminster Catechism about the hexaemeron. It must be Dr Johnny Mac's influence over the years that set this straight for Ligonier, as he did for the late Dr R.C. Sproul, not the evasive Westminster Seminary Profs.

[Matthew Rawlings · Rating 4 out of 5]

While well done, it needs to be expanded to include "Christian liberalism" as well as the ever drift toward "Christian" narcissism. The former was well defined by J. Gresham Machen as a form of paganism but so is the latter. Too many pulpits preach cute, self-focused messages that anything but God centered (what up, Furtick!). Still, a work well worth having.

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent tool that skims the surface of common false teachings and is great for knowing where to begin in conversations with people under their spells. I just wish it were a bit more in depth. Great to have on hand.

[Brian Algie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This brief field guide is a great primer for this looking to engage more in the work of apologetics. Since all Christians are to engage in this important work (1 Peter 3:14-17), it will be a helpful guide for anyone looking to understand a false religion and a few ways to engage with them.