A Review of
The Boston Movement:
Critical Perspectives on the International Churches of Christ
(Revised Edition)

edited by Carol Giambalvo and Herbert L. Rosedale
reviewed by Catherine Hampton

Until this book was published, there were no general purpose, non-partisan books about the Boston Movement. A number of previous books on cults had chapters or scattered material on the International Churches of Christ, and a number of books were written about this movement by members of the larger denomination from which the ICC came -- the mainline Churches of Christ. But those books were concerned primarily with theological issues, issues which are relevant only within the context of the "Restoration Movement".

Two years ago, the AFF provided the first book intended to fill this gap, and a few months ago they released a revised edition.

The Boston Movement is less a single book than a series of essays by a number of people familiar with the International Churches of Christ. Because of the number of different essays and variety of points of view, there are occasional inconsistencies in the views expressed by the authors. Those inconsistencies, however, are relatively unimportant, and the essential agreement between people of utterly dissimilar points of view on the ICC and why they believe it is dangerous is all the more telling.

The book contains the following articles:

Introduction: Herbert Rosedale, president of the AFF and a practicing attorney, discusses how this book came about.

Part I -- An Historical Look at the Boston Movement: This section contains a short history of the ICC by Carol Giambalvo, and an article by the dean of Boston University, Robert Watts Thornberg, on the ICC and how he became a prominent critic of it.

Part II -- Former Members Tell Their Stories: In this section William or Lorna Goldberg, therapists who have worked with a number of former ICC members over the past decade, relate the stories of several of these former members.

Part III -- More Personal Experiences: This section contains more stories, some told by the former members, some by parents or other family members.

Part IV -- Critical Analyses of the Boston Movement: This section is meat of the book. It contains Carol Giambalvo's articles on the issues faced by an exit counselor when talking with an ICC member, and on how the ICC practices thought reform. It also contains a brief synopsis by Flavil Yeakley of the findings of his seminal study on the ICC, "The Discipling Dilemma", and an article by Dr. Michael Langone on a the results of a series of psychological studies of ICC members and former members.

Appendices: This contains the criteria used by both Margaret Singer and Robert Lifton to assess thought reform in an organization.

This is a "must read" book for both former ICC members and for families who want to learn more about the group their loved ones have gotten involved in.

©1998 by Catherine Hampton <ariel@reveal.org>. All rights reserved.