During my research on the Moonies, I came across a survivor of that group who explained her understanding of how people think inside a cult. Her name is Diane Benscoter. The adventure she describes started in 1974 and she joined a peace walk- not knowing that the majority of the others in the group were Moonies. Within a week inside that group, she had come to believe that the second coming of Christ had occurred and that person was Sun Myong Moon. In her thinking, she had been specially chosen by God to be a disciple of Moon who claimed to be the Christ.

Diane’s stay inside the group was about five years. She went through “deprogramming” and then decided to help others. In the video, she also shares that she was later arrested for kidnapping. This occurred because of the nature of the forced deprogramming. She stopped doing this kind of work for twenty years, all the while being nagged by a burning question. “How did this happen to me? In fact, what did happen to my brain?” In her searching, she decided to write a book on that decade of her life of being in the Moonies and then helping others. During this time, she watched a documentary about Jonestown and began to understand how her brain had been affected.

Diane goes on to explain her view of how people get to the place where they can feel compelled or driven to “think it is wrong NOT to save the world through genocide.” She calls what happened to her as a “viral memetic infection”. She goes on the give a definition of a “meme” as “an idea that replicates in the human brain and moves from brain to brain as a virus.”  She puts forth the idea that when she was young and naïve – her ability to fight off the “memetic virus” was low. Being young can bring with it idealistic thoughts and an appetite for simple answers to very complex questions.

Up to this point in the video, I had been a little skeptical myself. Light research on “memes” revealed the idea was not widely accepted and was not an exact science, but, more a theory pushed along by observations and not much hard research that I could find at first. After all, my thoughts were how are you going to see an idea? From reading a little further, neuro-science has been able to document the effects of ideas on the brain.  So, I kept going as I could very much appreciate the hunger in Benscoter to get answers to her burning questions.

Next, she expanded her definition and explanation to include something that makes total sense to me.  She explains with a diagram an example of- “circular logic.” Her example includes these statements, “Moon is one with God. God is going to fix all the problems in the world. All I have to do is humbly follow (Moon)…because God is going to stop war…after God is in charge… He is going to fix all of this…” She relates this circular logic to becoming “impenetrable.” I view this circular logic like a helmet to deflect sound reasoning and critical thinking. Inside the “helmet”, one can become complacent and in effect- lazy.

Bensocter warns that the biggest danger of the viral memetic infection being prolonged and fed by the circular logic is that it creates an “Us vs. Them, right and wrong, good and evil” mentality. That observation in itself is not new. Steven Hassan acknowledges in his work, “Releasing the Bonds” (Copyright ©2000, ISBN 0-9670688-0-0, page 44-paraphrased) that a significant part of Mind Control groups is the “Thought Control” aspect which promotes – “Us vs. Them”, Black and White, Good vs. Evil” thought patterns and the according actions. In my opinion, Bensocter was just adding to the understanding.

Benscoter continues to warn about the effects of this Us vs. Them mentality is that it allows ANYTHING to be rationalized. ANYTHING becomes plausible or justified when acting on that foundation. In turn, this is her explanation for how people can rationalize genocide or other horrendous acts. They live in a universe where all else does not matter. “WE” WILL WIN because we are on God’s side.

Upon hearing this, I was reminded what Robert Lifton wrote in his main work on thought reform and brainwashing. (Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism, A Study of Brainwashing in China by Robert Lifton, Copyright©1961, ISBN 0-8078-4253-2)   During his expose on the eight characteristics of a totalist environment, he explains “The Dispensing of Existence.” Space does not allow me to review all of this work; there are previous posts on this blog in which I go into more detail. But, he writes:

   “Are not men presumptuous to appoint themselves as dispensers of human existence? Surely this is a flagrant expression of what the Greeks called “hubris”, of arrogant man making himself God. Yet one underlying assumption makes the arrogance mandatory: the conviction that there is just one oath to true existence, just one valid mode of being, and that all others are perforce invalid and false. Totalists thus feel themselves compelled to destroy all possibilities of false existence as a means to of furthering the great plan of true existence which they are committed.” (page 434 emphasis added)

Lifton in effect observed and wrote about what Benscoter warned about. From Lifton’s work, we see how a person in a totalist environment could feel right to “dispense” or end the existence of another person who did not agree with the “truth.” Stop and consider how intense and consuming that rationale must be.

Benscoter goes on warning of the absolute intensity which a viral memetic infection evidenced by circular logic can have on an individual. I see it in agreement with Lifton’s observations- at least on this level- those infected with the meme or subject to the totalist environment are capable of doing ANYTHING to defend and promote themselves as the “righteous” and only true protectors of “truth” and those entrusted with the only true existence or relationship to God.

The video closes with Benscoter encouraging the admittance of a problem in this area and using education and science to correct the problems which occur. She is hopeful changes will occur.

Let me close with some observations drawing from this video, my reading and my experience inside Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF). First, let me comment Benscoter’s ideas. If we define a meme as “an idea that replicates in the human brain and moves from brain to brain as a virus”; then I must further explain how this occurs at WOFF. The viral nature of the memes at WOFF were/are transmitted through Jane as she shares Scriptures to back-up her “spiritual foundation” for why she is the only one who hears God at the level she does. During her sermons, the underlying purpose is to bring everyone “in one accord” or to the same level of infection, evidenced by their thoughts and actions reflecting the absolute truth that Jane is the leader and sole source of their relationship to God.

The circular logic which may be outwardly denied by any member of WOFF sounds like this (or some slight variation): “I love God, I want to serve God, Jane loves God, and God has shown Jane that she is responsible for my life, Jane hears God at the highest level possible, therefore, I will obey Jane and by doing that I am obeying God. Anyone who does not obey the Word of the Lord through Jane does not love God and I cannot be around them unless Jane says so, because of course, I love God…” The evidence of the WOFF-virus may include symptoms of denial and loud rebuttals that you are infected. If you don’t even consider the above logic circle as dangerous and totally illogical, you are in bad shape.

Listening and agreeing to the above circular logic my friend is a slippery slope when you are down and out and need a job or a place to live or some food. It can be easy to fall under this when all you see is the “love” of those inside WOFF and how they want to help you “serve God.” When you are newly married and don’t have a clue how to raise your children and Jane offers you a place to “learn God’s ways”, you could become infected real fast.

Concerning the idea that being a faithful member of WOFF requires you to adhere to some form of circular logic which supports Jane as your doorway to know God; there is no question in my mind. I can remember asking myself the question, “Do I believe Jane is the only one who can hear God?” I remember wrestling with the question, “Why does every decision have to go through Jane?”  Right there, I was attempting to resist the viral memetic infection which was being presented to me as Gods’ ways, as “the way God’s people live” through Scripture, peer pressure, public humiliation and fear. Does that question even make sense? NO! To agree that Jane is the only one who can hear God means that ANYONE who did not or never will know Jane is doomed. Wow!  That cures the infection, or at least it should. If everyone who never knew Jane is doomed, hell is not big enough and heaven is too big for the very few people who will make it on Jane’s coat tails.

WARNING! You could have the WOFF –virus and not know it. You could be a carrier and be susceptible to succumbing to an outbreak at anytime. Here is how you may know you have the virus or at least that your immunity to fend it off is weak: if you don’t see the harm in the circular logic patterns that keep members locked into Jane and her control. If all you see is a group of folks trying to live their religious freedoms and not bother anyone, then you my friend may already have the virus. If you are duped into believing that Jane is always sweet as honey and never berates or intimidates to get her way, then you are infected already. Jane and her leadership will do whatever it takes to further their deception over you and hide their true nature.

Inside WOFF, I have heard this said, “After all, other folks are not walking in the place in God that we are…” Translation: Living under Jane is the one true existence and no one else would understand. For faithful members, living inside WOFF brings with it an attitude of arrogance and spiritual pride, all the while not knowing you are infected and attempting to infect others with the WOFF-virus. You are attempting to bring them to a place in God where they can know Him, but, only THROUGH Jane. Now that doesn’t even make good sense. What do you think?

Sad to admit it, I was under the “virus” for years and it took several serious events for me to break out of the infectious circular logic which was present inside that group.

Thank you, for taking time to visit and read this blog. Please, consume the information on this site responsibly. The author is not a licensed mental health professional and encourages those that need professional help to seek it. The intent of the material is to inform and be a resource. Be sure to tell every member that you know at WOFF about this blog. There are readers at WOFF. Comments are invited from all readers, including present or former members. Polls are not scientific and no private information is gathered.

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Please, take time to read the Terms of Use for this personal blog. As mentioned, for posts written by John Huddle, any information about WOFF is from his memories and recollections as perfect as that may be or not be. Scripture references are Amplified Version unless otherwise noted. (Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation ) This is post number 414.