Tag Archives: Thought reform

Books, Resources, Criteria for Cults, Uncategorized

Does Everyone Have “Devils”? Part 2

6 Comments

    In order to understand this post, please take time to read part one. Also, before I share my thoughts on the similarities between Agape Bible Fellowship and WOFF, let me say that “Battle with the Devil” went on to explore other questions about heavy rock music, prison ministry and even “Hookers for Jesus”. None of which was quite as interesting as their piece on the deliverance at Agape Bible Fellowship in New York. The entire episode can be found searching “Battle with the Devil- ABC”.

   There were so many thoughts in my mind about the two churches and the similarities in their practices that it is easier to start with the differences. Some of the differences will seem too small to mention, but, I want to be thorough. First, Pastor John Goguen had formal theological training. He may have left or modified some of those roots, but, he had the training nonetheless. Jane Whaley has no formal training as far as I know. Another obvious difference was that John is male and Jane is female. That statement stands for itself. Pastor Goguen dressed very casual, he even wore JEANS! Jane Whaley would not stand behind her pulpit to preach in casual dress- and never jeans. Another difference between Agape and WOFF was that the deliverance sessions did not start out in circles at Agape as it did at WOFF. Not every time did WOFF start their sessions in circles, but, most times that was true. Agape did not appear to have group leaders for the deliverance as it appeared only the Pastor led the prayer. At WOFF, there were deliverance group leaders who would lead the prayer and be the one to say what “devils were to be hit”. Higher level WOFF leadership or Jane herself would ultimately approve of the deliverance group leaders. The Agape congregation also appeared smaller than WOFF.

   This next difference may not make some folks happy. But, in my 16 years of attending meetings at WOFF, I never saw someone directly praying over Jane Whaley for deliverance. She was seen in a group of select leaders joining with her to fight the devils attacking her, but, NEVER did anyone touch her hair to help cast devils out of her. There was a scene showing Pastor Goguen with hair ruffled, throwing-up into a brown paper bag. That did not happen while at WOFF. After all Jane has proclaimed “that sin (whatever it may be) does not affect her, since it is not in her”. Translation: she has reached a level of perfection that needs no deliverance or even open admission of or repentance from sin. A former member told me recently that in meetings he attended, Jane had proclaimed her perfection. That statement should stand by itself.

       Continue reading Does Everyone Have “Devils”? Part 2 →

Behavior Control, Books, Resources, Criteria for Cults, Thought Reform, Uncategorized

What is an “Omen”?

1 Comment

   The question is a simple one. However, as I pondered the meaning and more importantly, the purpose of many omens, the whole concept made sense – sorta. The first definition of omen is simple: a phenomenon or occurrence regarded as a sign of future happiness or disaster. (found here: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/omen ) Why even bring it up? After recently seeing an episode of the Andy Griffith Show, the question came to me: “Do religious control groups or cults, use “omens”?

   The show was titled, “The Darling Fortune”. It originally aired 10/17/1966 and can be viewed on the CBS DVD series published from Paramount – a VIACOM company. The plot includes the Darlings coming to town to seek wives for the sons in the family. Andy is befuddled as Briscoe Darling announces their intention to seek “city girls” for his sons. While the Darlings are in town, their hopes are doused and they proceed back to Andy’s house to pick up Charlene. As they are leaving, they see an owl perched on their truck! This is where the excitement picks up. Briscoe and Charlene are immediately elated as she repeats the omen, “You see an owl at day time and the next female you see is sure enough a bride for thee.” Aunt Bee expresses her doubt and Briscoe says, “Ma’am, You don’t doubt the omen of the owl!” In order to not ruin the experience of seeing the show, I will stop here in revealing the sequence of events that take place, save one.

   Later in the show, Andy is totally frustrated and says about the Darlings: “If you could just reason with them, but people who live by omens and witchcraft and stuff like that, you just can’t get through to them.” From there, the show continues and the ending turns out satisfactory to all concerned. But that one statement by Andy stuck with me. Why? I could see myself on both sides of the life ruled by “omens”. Let me explain.

Continue reading What is an “Omen”? →

Behavior Control, Books, Resources, Criteria for Cults, Thought Reform, Uncategorized

Thought Reform? At WOFF? (9) “The Dispensing of Existence”

Leave a comment

   We are continuing on the subject of thought reform. This post is the ninth in a series which will tell what thought reform is and what behavior is evidence of a thought reform environment. Our reference book is “Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism” by Robert Jay Lifton (original copyright 1961, later published again in 1989, ISBN 0-8078-4253-2 [alk. Paper]). This work has been from Chapter 22 titled “Ideological Totalism”. The eighth post explained the “Doctrine Over Person” and how that affected members within WOFF. Next, we will review another characteristic of thought reform- “The Dispensing of Existence”. Did I see this characteristic of thought reform during my time at Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF)? WOFF is run by Jane Whaley. As a review, I spent 16 years being involved in WOFF. My experience within the group is a “normal” one as far as I can tell.

   In this post, we will examine the last characteristic of the totalist environment as explained by the author- Robert Jay Lifton. Before we go on, let it be known that by writing this series, I am not claiming to have the depth of understanding that the author possesses on this subject. Also, in no way will I pretend to have written a complete argument of the thesis that I experienced these same thought reform techniques while at WOFF. I found that each time I sat down to write, more remembrances from the past came forth in relation to previously mentioned thought reform techniques. So, in short, the aim of explaining the author’s observations in comparison to my experience is in reality – a work in progress. At this time, I cannot give a methodical explanation how Jane Whaley and her leadership took on these devices that were/are also found in Chinese thought reform. The author’s ideas on the origins of thought reform should be restated here: “…the coming together of immoderate ideology with equally immoderate individual character traits—an extremist meeting ground between people and ideas. (page 419) The first post in this series is worth a reread… https://religiouscultsinfo.com/?p=3225

    Continue reading Thought Reform? At WOFF? (9) “The Dispensing of Existence” →

Books, Resources, Criteria for Cults, Information control, Thought Reform

Thought Reform? At WOFF? (7) “Loading the Language”

Leave a comment

    We are continuing on the subject of thought reform. This post is the seventh in a series which will tell what thought reform is and what behavior is evidence of a thought reform environment. Our reference book is “Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism” by Robert Jay Lifton (original copyright 1961, later published again in 1989, ISBN 0-8078-4253-2 [alk. Paper]). This work has been from Chapter 22 titled “Ideological Totalism”. The sixth post explained the “Sacred Science” and how that affected members within WOFF. Next, we will review another characteristic of thought reform- “Loading the Language”. Did I see this characteristic of thought reform during my time at Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF)? WOFF is run by Jane Whaley. As a review, I spent 16 years being involved in WOFF. My experience within the group is a “normal” one as far as I can tell.

      Before we get into the source material, we need to make a few distinctions on this subject. First, most every group in any culture will have specific terms related to unique activities or customs within that group. This is true in business, sub-cultures, hobby groups, industrial trades, medical fields and so on. These could be labeled “lingo” or group-activity specific unique terms. I have experienced this in many areas as I feel certain many readers have as well. In business, there are even unique terms in diverse groups within one industry or company. This is a serious part of the learning curve when one moves from one group to another or even one job to another within the same field. For instance, there are differing terms to describe many of the same services or products within the consumer financial services industry. Banks use one set of terms and Credit Unions use another to describe many of the same products or services.

    In and of themselves, these “lingo” terms do not harm but serve to identify and in some cases unify folks around a certain activity or cause. So, where does the harm reside in the totalist environment when terms describing certain activities or beliefs are used? Robert Lifton opens the material with this statement, “The language of the totalist environment is characterized by the thought-terminating cliché. The most far-reaching and complex of human problems are compressed into brief, highly reductive, definitive-sounding phrases, easily memorized and easily expressed.” (page 429) Can former members agree that this was common at WOFF?

    Continue reading Thought Reform? At WOFF? (7) “Loading the Language” →

Behavior Control, Books, Resources, Thought Reform, Uncategorized

Thought Reform? At WOFF? (6) “Sacred Science”

Leave a comment

    We are continuing on the subject of thought reform. This post is the sixth in a series which will tell what thought reform is and what behavior is evidence of a thought reform environment. Our reference book is “Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism” by Robert Jay Lifton (original copyright 1961, later published again in 1989, ISBN 0-8078-4253-2 [alk. Paper]). This work has been from Chapter 22 titled “Ideological Totalism”. The fifth post explained the “Cult of Confession” and how that affected members within WOFF. Next, we will review another characteristic of thought reform- The “Sacred Science”. Did I see this characteristic of thought reform during my time at Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF)? WOFF is run by Jane Whaley. As a review, I spent 16 years being involved in WOFF. My experience within the group is a “normal” one as far as I can tell.

    When I first read this part of the author’s work, it was hard to adjust to the term “science”. While at WOFF, there were conferences dealing with history and science. However, it was clear that at WOFF the main source of “truth” was not science or balanced reasoning with evidence, but, it was the Scriptures as interrupted by Jane Whaley. It would be difficult to understand this enigma and its resulting characteristics unless you have been in WOFF or another religious controlling group. Outsiders are accustomed to several sources of information, opinions and viewpoints. These are ideally used for an individual to review and assess, then form their individual views and opinions. This process is totally foreign to the environment inside of WOFF. Jane Whaley interprets the limited information that is given to the members. She uses her self-proclaimed authority as the basis for these actions. As a WOFF member, if you dare form your own opinion which may run contrary to Jane, you would learn not to express it. Expressing opinions different from Jane was not a common occurrence at WOFF. That of course does not mean that individual opinions do not exist. In order to stay in the group, there has to be a level of denial of your own opinions and views and a level of pretending that Jane is always right and is the only source of “Truth”. As I reread Lifton’s work, this is exactly the scenario he was explaining.

  Continue reading Thought Reform? At WOFF? (6) “Sacred Science” →

Behavior Control, Books, Resources, Criteria for Cults, Thought Reform, Uncategorized

Thought Reform? At WOFF? (5) The Cult of Confession

Leave a comment

    We are continuing on the subject of thought reform. This post is the fifth in a series which will tell what thought reform is and what behavior is evidence of a thought reform environment. Our reference book is “Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism” by Robert Jay Lifton (original copyright 1961, later published again in 1989, ISBN 0-8078-4253-2 [alk. Paper]). This work has been from Chapter 22 titled “Ideological Totalism”. The fourth post explained the “demand for purity” and how that affected members within WOFF. Next, we will review another characteristic of thought reform- “The Cult of Confession”. Did I see this characteristic of thought reform during my time at Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF)? WOFF is run by Jane Whaley. As a review, I spent 16 years being involved in WOFF. My experience within the group is a “normal” one as far as I can tell.

    Lifton begins by explaining his ideas on the subject by telling how close this aspect of confession is to the “demand for purity”. He tells in greater detail the effects of the written and public confession that were required in the Chinese thought reform environment. It has continued to astound me the correlations and similarities between Chinese thought reform and life at WOFF. Lifton writes, “Closely related to the demand for absolute purity is an obsession with personal confession. Confession is carried beyond its ordinary religious, legal, and therapeutic expressions to the point of becoming a cult in itself…In the totalist (cult leader) hands, confession becomes a means of exploiting, rather than offering solace for, these vulnerabilities.” (page 425)

    He lists three special meanings that confession takes on in the thought reform that he studied. In my opinion, these meanings are the same in WOFF life. “It is first a vehicle for the kind of personal purification which we just discussed, a means of maintaining a perpetual inner emptying or psychological purge of impurity… Second, it is an act of symbolic self surrender, the expression of merging of individual and environment. Third, it is a means of maintaining an ethos of total exposure – a policy of making public (or at least known to the Organization) everything possible about the life experiences, thoughts, and passions of each individual, and especially those elements which might be derogatory.” (page 425-426)   

   Continue reading Thought Reform? At WOFF? (5) The Cult of Confession →

Behavior Control, Books, Resources, Criteria for Cults, Thought Reform, Uncategorized

Thought Reform? At WOFF? (4) The Demand for Purity

Leave a comment

     We are continuing on the subject of thought reform. This post is the fourth in a series which will tell what thought reform is and what behavior is evidence of a thought reform environment. Our reference book is “Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism” by Robert Jay Lifton (original copyright 1961, later published again in 1989, ISBN 0-8078-4253-2 [alk. Paper]). I will work from Chapter 22 titled “Ideological Totalism”. The third post explained the “mystical manipulation” and how that affected people within WOFF. Next, we will review another characteristic of thought reform- “The Demand for Purity”. Did I see this characteristic of thought reform during my time at Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF)? WOFF is run by Jane Whaley. As a review, I spent 16 years being involved in WOFF.

    While reviewing the material in this section and comparing it to incidents and events I experienced at WOFF, I do not want the readers to confuse the issues at hand. By exposing the systems set-up at WOFF which were meant to control members through the WOFF-defined demand for purity; I am not advocating that as Christians there is no purpose for allowing the desire for purity to exist and change our lives. For Christians, following Jesus and all that includes should change lives. The resulting change of desires will be for His glory and not another person’s enrichment. Each person should apply the understanding of everyday guidelines from the Scriptures according to their convictions. We are encouraged to keep them to ourselves.

     WOFF teachings include heavy emphasis on verse 23, not so much if any on verse 22.   Romans 14:22-23 — 22Your personal convictions [on such matters]–exercise [them] as in God’s presence, KEEPING THEM TO YOURSELF [striving only to know the truth and obey His will]. Blessed (happy, [a]to be envied) is he who has no reason to judge himself for what he approves [who does not convict himself by what he chooses to do].  23But the man who has doubts (misgivings, an uneasy conscience) about eating, and then eats [perhaps because of you], stands condemned [before God], because he is not true to his convictions and he does not act from faith. For whatever does not originate and proceed from faith is sin [whatever is done without a conviction of its approval by God is sinful].(Amplified Version- emphasis added)

Continue reading Thought Reform? At WOFF? (4) The Demand for Purity →