Category Archives: Books, Resources

Books, Resources for learning about religious cults

Books, Resources, Thought Reform, Uncategorized

Steve Hassan: Interviewing Robert Jay Lifton (video)

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   Steve Hassan is a leading expert on cults and mind control. His work has been quoted many times on this blog. Mr. Hassan has reworked his website recently and it is much more presentable. Today, as I visited his website – www.freedomofmind.com , I found a very interesting interview which Hassan did with Robert Jay Lifton. The post is dated July 19, 2011 and we have embedded the video below. The beginning is a shot of all the books by Lifton that Hassan has on his bookshelf. Hassan invites others to watch with this statement, “I invite you to take the time to watch this strictly amateurish video done solely by me.” So, we have taken the liberty to embed the video.

 

Robert Jay Lifton interviewed by Steve Hassan July 13th 2011 from Steven A Hassan on Vimeo.

   Here is part of the introduction to the post as Hassan features the cover of the latest book about Lifton and his reflections: “I wanted to let people know that last Wednesday, I had a profound experience with renown psychiatrist Robert Jay Lifton, author of 20 books, including Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism, Destroying the World to Save it, The Nazi Doctors, Home from the War, and Death in Life to name just a few of the most important volumes. Dr. Lifton has a new book of his memoirs that has just come out, entitled, Witness to an Extreme Century, and I called Dr. Lifton to see if he would sit down with me and catch up, and at the same time allow me to interview him on video to put online. The book is available at www.amazon.com

   Continue reading Steve Hassan: Interviewing Robert Jay Lifton (video) →

Books, Resources, Uncategorized

Message and Means – Same or Different

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  Often I will have a thought or an idea for a post and write it down on the nearest piece of paper whether envelope or receipt or whatever. This has been done at the oddest moments, such as just when I am trying to start sleeping or even riding down the road. This past weekend I was out of town and wrote several notes on envelopes or whatever was handy. This week, I hope to use these notes to write a few posts.

   In the previous post, I mentioned the work of Andrew Murray. He lived from May 9, 1828 until January 18, 1917. Most of his years were spent in South Africa. Here is a resource link for more about his life. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Murray_(minister) . During his life, he is credited with writing over 240 books. Many of these works are still widely read today. One such book is “God’s Best Secrets – Daily Devotional Meditations” (reprinted by Zondervan by special arrangement with Biola Book Room, Los Angeles, CA, this version is from 1967) Recently, I was rereading the Introduction and learned something that helped me greatly. Here is a short quote:

   “The more I think and pray about the state of religion in this country, and all over the world, the deeper my conviction comes that the low state of spiritual life of Christians is due to the fact that they do not realize that the aim and object of conversion is to bring the soul even here on earth, to daily fellowship with the Father in heaven. When once this truth has been accepted, the believer will perceive how indispensable it is to the spiritual life of a Christian, to take time each day with God’s Word and in prayer, to wait upon God for His presence and His love to be revealed….The first thing is that they (Christians) must be convinced of the great need for daily fellowship with God.”

  Continue reading Message and Means – Same or Different →

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

Survivor or Victim?

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“Yes, I’ve been very preoccupied with the survivor all through my work”. – Robert Jay Lifton

(source link- http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/r/robertjayl375345.html )

  We have quoted Robert Lifton in previous posts. His research work included studying survivors of POW camps during the Korean War as well as the survivors of Hiroshima and returning Vietnam War Veterans. His work on thought reform and study of brainwashing has been a foundation for understanding mind control and its effects. He also studied the Nazi doctors and the psychology of genocide. I hope to learn more about his work in that area and relate it to his work on thought reform. His work is a part of the Holocaust picture I had not previously considered or learned about.

  After being under what I now believe were very developed and effective mind control techniques used at Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF) by Jane Whaley and her leadership, I consider myself a survivor. No, I did not realize that what I was going through was mind control and thought reform. But, how many victims of an environment like WOFF actually know with clarity what is happening to them? For years, I knew I had problems with some of the methods, but, I suppressed my doubts long enough for at least some of the controls to work. I attended my first service at WOFF in May of 1992. My last time on the grounds of WOFF was June 6, 2008 in the evening. Since I was involved for so long a time, I would be a fool to not admit that some of the mind control methods had an effect on my thinking and way of life. It is only after I left and began to research thought control and other cult groups, that I was able to see the similarities of the practices between WOFF/Jane Whaley and other groups.

  While a member of WOFF, the techniques of control were either denied as control or labeled as “God’s ways”.  Does that surprise anyone? Shunning, public rebuke and information control were all labeled as “the ways of God” or for those who “walk in the Spirit”. We have listed these techniques in previous posts, the introduction of which is found here…    Thought Reform? At WOFF? (1)- https://religiouscultsinfo.com/?p=3225  The purpose of this post is not to go over the mind control techniques, but, only to reference the fact that I am a survivor of them.

  Continue reading Survivor or Victim? →

Books, Resources, Criteria for Cults, Uncategorized

Another Side of Narcissism

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  Narcissism – sounds hard to understand or even consider, maybe because of the spelling or pronunciation. For most, it is not a common term. Here is the origin according to Greek mythology:

 “In Ovid’s tale, Narcissus is the handsome and proud son of the river god Cephissus and the nymph Liriope. The nymph, Echo, falls in love with him but is rejected and withdraws into a lonely spot and fades away, leaving behind her voice. The goddess Nemesis hears her prayers for vengeance and makes Narcissus fall in love with his own reflection, which he cannot embrace. He sits by the pool, watching it until he dies and turns into the narcissus flower.”

(Read more here: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_origin_of_narcissism#ixzz1RaURsNIE )

    The Greek background is only used to give some insight into the meaning of the word for today. One part of the scenario that sticks out: …Narcissus fall(s) in love with his own reflection, which he cannot embrace… The word picture of the futile attempts to embrace your own reflection was quite revealing for me. It was that idea of futility combined with other parts of the definition such as “inordinate fascination with oneself; excessive self-love; vanity”, which struck a chord and caused me to want to know more. (source link-http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/narcissism )

   In a previous post titled, “Adulation- the Drug of Choice” found here:  https://religiouscultsinfo.com/?p=3843 , I share about the ongoing worship of Jane Whaley which permeates life at Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF). The entire religious fantasy that WOFF was/is built on was the worship of Jane.  At times, you can see that Jane appears to draw her strength from the attention, adulation and the worship. Thus, from those observations, I gave my opinion/conclusion that she has/is a true narcissistic personality. Near the end of that post, I wrote:

 This helps explain why Jane never sins in her eyes. She has to be right, because then in her eyes, she is above her members. She is perfect in her eyes, so she lives in a higher place with God (exalted place) than her members. … (if she let anyone from outside into her pulpit…) Then the attention would be off of her and on the other “guru” and she would be in a state of lack. Her supply of adulation could/would wane and she would go through withdrawal and emotional turmoil, if for any period of time, her members did not worship her. So, it appears that the adulation of her members is Jane’s drug of choice.

  Continue reading Another Side of Narcissism →

Behavior Control, Books, Resources, Criteria for Cults, Uncategorized, WOFF Don'ts

Don’t Smash Those Pennies!

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   Thursday, while I was working at a Credit Union, I came across a jar full of change gathered from different places within the office. I notice an odd shaped “smashed penny” in the jar! For those that may not remember, that was CONTRABAND at Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF)! Yes, it is true. So, I fished around in the jar and found another one and took them out. Oh, how evil was I? I put them in my pocket and proceeded to the manager’s office to explain this “contraband”. This was obviously a very minute issue on their radar and it hardly garnered any response at all. Why? I think because this person had ceased to be amazed at the absurdities I tell them about WOFF regulations AND the fact that it was a PENNY! To this person, there were/are bigger issues in life.

   Below is a quote from the post about this issue at WOFF. It was originally posted on March 20, 2010. I have added some comments which add more understanding.

More Don’ts for the WOFF “Don’t List”  https://religiouscultsinfo.com/?p=1087

While on family getaways or day trips, who has not seen the machines that take pennies and imprints an image on them? Well, some young folks close to me (my children!) enjoyed collecting those pennies very much. One service, one of the teachers and assistant principal of the school (Jennifer C.) got up to make the new “don’t” known to all. “No more smashing pennies! You are destroying government property.”  I am not sure, but she may have been (gagging on and) swatting gnats at the same time she was telling us this new don’t. Does this one make sense? Please, comment if you are a penny smasher.

  Okay, I admit, I enjoyed the whole penny smashing/collecting deal. I was actually excited to find the pennies in the jar. Having been away from WOFF since July 2008, I must admit I never researched to see if Jennifer C. was onto something or was she blowing WOFF smoke in order to make herself feel better and win some kind of favor with the Queen Rule Maker? So, I did a search just now and found the following answer to “Is smashing pennies legal?”

Continue reading Don’t Smash Those Pennies! →

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

Got Freedom?

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  At the end of this July 4th of 2011, it is evident many folks are looking for answers. During times of hardship whether over economic, social, political or religious issues, many begin to seek answers to the questions of Why? How? What caused these hard times? When will these hard times end? How can I get through these rough times? Historically, we can look at different periods in the course of this nation and see the pattern. During the early part of the 19th century, as the issue of slavery was coming to a boil with other economic issues, many began to seek answers. There was a general attitude of reform in many areas of the country. Several communal living communities originated during those years and people were seeking answers to many questions. For example, there was New Harmony, Indiana founded by Robert Owen; the Oneida Commune founded by John Noyes (yes, this group began the Oneida line of silverware), the Shakers founded by Mother Ann Lee (famous for quality furniture and selling a line of seeds and well as other inventions and innovations such as waterproofed cloth) and Brook Farm founded by George Ripley. (source link-  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reform_movement )

   During the 1800’s, you also had several famous preachers and evangelists as the Second Great Awakening sweeping through this nation. Church membership soared from 1820 to 1860.(source link- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Great_Awakening ) Charles Finney, Peter Cartwright and D.L. Moody were some of the names during these years that could draw large crowds of seekers. People wanted answers and sought those who could give them.  

  During the 1960’s and 70’s this nation saw the rise of cultic groups as well as other movements. We have mentioned the shepherding movement. There was the Charismatic Renewal movement as well. Who can forget the Jonestown tragedy of 1978? Those were tumultuous years as many people old and young sought answers. For a more recent time of intense questioning, we don’t have to go back further than the weeks and months after 9/11/01. Churches experienced a flood of those who may not have attended church in years past. They were in fear of the future and seeking answers and comfort. Keeping politicians from praying in public was not as big a concern then.  So, the fact that people seek answers when pressures come is not new.

    With that in mind, I want to quote a few lines from a recent editorial found in a South Dakota daily newspaper. Provender has a link to this article on their site.

Continue reading Got Freedom? →

Books, Resources, Criteria for Cults, Uncategorized

“Are you covering for a spiritually abusive pastor?”-Provender

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   Recently, I came across a blog site that lists many resources for those who may suspect they are in a spiritual abuse situation and need answers. The blog title is – “Provender- A Clearinghouse of Sources on Spiritual Abuse and Cult-Like Practices in Churches”. This blog has very good information and also lists several other sites for sources and help. I have not reviewed the entire list or all the resources mentioned, but have been excited about the ones I have viewed. The post that first caught my attention was titled- “Are you covering for a spiritually abusive pastor?” It shows being written be the author of the blog and posted July 9, 2009. The resource link is found here: http://pureprovender.blogspot.com/2009/07/are-you-covering-for-spiritually.html

   For this post, I will quote several of the warning signs listed and compare them to my experience at Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF). Did I cover for an “spiritually abusive pastor”? If I did that- is it still going on today? Do members of WOFF cover Jane Whaley as she may be described in the following list? I will not be able to list every warning sign mentioned as the author lists 20 things to consider. But, we will take several and comment.

   From the post link above:

 1. You’ve noticed a pattern of people leaving the fellowship, but you hesitate to ask your pastor about it and don’t like to delve into the reasons behind the exits. – While at WOFF, we were instructed not to talk among ourselves about the ones that had left. Why? We might learn something. If you had a question or comment, you were required to go to Jane and ask her personally about the ones who had left. That requirement kept people from talking among themselves about the ones who left. Jane had that base covered- literally.

3. You excuse your pastor’s wrong behavior: He’s young (or he’s old), he doesn’t understand the people who are unhappy, he has a little trouble relating to people, he’ll grow out of it, I’m probably not seeing the whole picture, God will show him his weaknesses and he’ll handle things better soon, no pastor is perfect in every way, he’s such a good preacher that we can overlook the other parts of his calling. During my time at WOFF, if I had not “excused” the rude, unmannerly, angry, combative and otherwise haughty behaviors of Jane Whaley, I could not have stayed. So, yes, I am guilty of that one. I told LB, the same one from the post about the “Great Wall”; that I only stayed because of the teaching. By that point, many things were bothering me about WOFF life.

Continue reading “Are you covering for a spiritually abusive pastor?”-Provender →