Note: If you are in need of a recommended cult expert, thought reform consultant or intervention specialist, see:

• Guidelines for selecting a counselor/cult expert
• Organizations, ministries and individuals recommended by Apologetics Index

Since starting his anti-cult work in 1982, Rick Ross has become a well-known anti-cult consultant and intervention specialist. He heads The Rick A. Ross Institute, a "nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization devoted to public education and research."

Like most people involved in anticult work, Ross deals with a group's behavior rather than with its theology. (Countercult professionals, on the other hand, deal with a group's theology - as well as with its behavior. On the difference between the anticult- and the countercult approach, see this information at CultFAQ.org).

That said, Ross appears to work from a theological bias or agenda as well. See, for example, this critique of his booklet, "The Missionary Threat."

The publishers of Apologetics Index do not endorse Rick Ross, nor refer people to him. We are not alone in this. For a variety of reasons, many cult experts refuse to work with - or to refer people to - Rick Ross. Much of that has to do with Ross' behavior toward those experts whom he disagrees with - as well as his attempts at getting others involved in those disagreements.

When we ourselves repeatedly refused to be drawn into Rick's fights with other people - as he attempted to do in an email exchange during the Summer of 2003 - his behavior toward us became increasingly unprofessional. What began as his question as to why we did not include the Rick A. Ross Institute in our list of recommended counselors/cult experts, turned into demands for answers to his questions regarding people and organizations we do list. In response, we have consistently let Rick Ross know that we refuse to be drawn into his fights with others. As a direct result, we have ourselves become targets of his attacks, which include his misrepresentations of our views and insinuations regarding our website.

He did not stop there. Like Scientologists and some cult-friendly critics before him, Ross has now stooped to ad hominem attacks - choosing to make use of a legal problem I (Anton, co-publisher of Apologetics Index) had when I lived in the USA. For reasons that have been publicly posted on the Apologetics Index web site since Spring, 2000, I plea-bargained to false charges stemming from an incident that occured in the context of a tragic situation.

[Note: while Rick Ross wrongly suggests otherwise, in posting that information it has never been my intention to blame anyone but myself. I made some foolish decisions, and only have myself to blame. I posted the information because it allowed me an opportunity to provide my side of the story. For the record: yes, I made some very bad judgment calls. Yes, I have learned much from my experiences. No, I would not make these same mistakes and errors of judgment again.]

Rick Ross has been aware of this information since the time it was posted. But he has chosen more than 6 years to attack me on it - after Janet and I a) refused to get involved in his fights with others, b) refused to give in to his manipulative behavior, and c) removed all links to Ross' web site.

What further concerns us is that - whether by imcompetence, malice, or a combination thereof - Ross weaves a story out of partial quotes, half-truths, insinuations and omissions. As a result we find ourselves wondering: if he does these kind of things to us, who else is he doing that to?



Another reason we do not endorse Rick Ross is as follows: while he has stated that no religious, political or personal agenda motivates the opening of a file on a given person or group he appears to focus much of his attention on cults of Christianity (often referred to as "Bible-based cults").

In the experience of the publishers of Apologetics Index, dealing with Bible-based cults requires spiritual discernment, including a working knowledge of orthodox, mainstream Christian theology and the various departures thereof. Otherwise, one can only properly deal with the sociological aspects of cultic involvement, while igoring or botching the spiritual aspects (indeed illustrated by Ross' own tract, "The Missionary Threat" - a rabid, grossly unbalanced piece of misinformation.)

Therefore, given the specialized knowledge and spiritual discernment necessary to deal with cults of Christianity, the publishers of Apologetics Index - themselves evangelical Christians - recommend contacting Christian cult experts instead.

We are not alone in our decision not to endorse Rick Ross. For instance, Slam The Door! - a place for survivors of Christian Fellowship Ministries - on its links page included the following comments:

Born to a Jewish family, Ross' perspective on Christian churches is perhaps best explained by some comments from The Missionary Threat - a tract he wrote in 1995 for a Jewish audience:

Source: IFAS Bookstore An archived page from the Institute for First Amendments Studies

Ross' "The Missionary Threat" is a grossly unbalanced, poorly reasoned tract filled with misinformation and logical fallacies. It reveals a rabid anger and a disturbing tendency to confuse - deliberately or due to ignorance - legitimate Christian ministries with what Ross considers to be destructive 'cults.'

Consider his approach:

For the record: we have no issue with Rick Ross' religious background, nor with his defense of his belief system against challenges from outsiders. We do have an issue with his approach.

Meanwhile our views are as stated above. His continued ad-hominem approach merely serves to strenthen our decision not to recommend his services.

Finally, shortly after the email exchange referred to above, Mr. Ross posted information on his site about the fact that I plea-bargained to a criminal charge in the State of California. While Mr. Ross claims he learned of this after the email exchange, fact is that he knew about it in the spring of 2000. In April of that year, certain critics posted the information online. In response I posted this information at my website and emailed a number of people - Rick Ross included - regarding the issue.

At the time, Ross emailed me, writing:

Again, the issue - misrepresented by the caller Ross cites - became problematic for Mr. Ross only after we refused to get involved in his private battles with cult experts and licensed counselors.

That he now wishes to use the information is understandable - as is our decision to point people to these cult experts and counseling resources.

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