Editing Christian countercult movement (section)

===Mid-twentieth-century apologists===
Since the 1940s, the approach of traditional Christians was to apply the meaning of ''cult'' such that it included those religious groups who use other scriptures beside the [[Bible]] or have teachings and practices deviating from traditional Christian teachings and practices. Some examples of sources (with published dates where known) that documented this approach are:
* ''The Missionary Faces Isms'', by John C. Mattes, pub. 1937 (Board of American Missions of the [[United Lutheran Church in America]]). {{OCLC|1982891}}
* ''Heresies Ancient and Modern'', by J. Oswald Sanders, pub. 1948 (Marshall Morgan & Scott, London/Zondervan, Grand Rapids). {{OCLC|1055434932}}
* {{cite book|last1=Sanders|first1=J. Oswald|title=Cults and isms|date=1973|publisher=Lakeland|location=London|isbn=978-0551004580|edition=Revised|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/cultsisms00sandrich}}
* {{cite book|last1=Baalen|first1=Jan Karel van|title=The chaos of cults; a study of present-day isms.|date=1962|publisher=Eerdmans Pub. Co.|location=Grand Rapids, Mich.|isbn=978-0802832788|edition=4th rev. and enl.}}
* ''Heresies Exposed'', by W. C. Irvine, pub. 1917, 1921, 1985 (Loizeaux Brothers). {{ISBN|978-0872134010}}
* ''Confusion of Tongues'', by C. W. Ferguson, pub. 1928 (Doran & Co). {{OCLC|903178756}}
* ''Isms New and Old'', by Julius Bodensieck. {{OCLC|6565177}}
* ''Some Latter-Day Religions'', by G. H. Combs. {{ISBN|9781150048920}}

One of the first prominent countercult apologists was [[Jan Karel van Baalen]] (1890–1968), an ordained minister in the [[Christian Reformed Church in North America]]. His book ''The Chaos of Cults'', which was first published in 1938, became a classic in the field as it was repeatedly revised and updated until 1962.<ref>J.K.van Baalen, ''The Chaos of Cults'', 4th rev. ed. Grand Rapids: William Eerdmans Publishing, 1962.</ref>