Category Archives: Books, Resources

Books, Resources for learning about religious cults

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

The Simple Truth is….

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     A few weeks ago, I was talking to a couple in the church I attend. They came out of a cult after many years. The husband was in for about 30 years and he has commented before on this blog. The wife was in about 26 years. Both are very understanding when I mention my concerns and questions. We were talking and the wife began to explain her views. She took her two hands and designated one as “truth” and one as “error”. She then interlocked her fingers as she asked the question, “When you mix “truth” with “error”, what do you have?” The answer of course is – error. That analogy made a big impression on me. It helped give answers to several questions I had about why folks who live in and around Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF) folks still can be confused as to the soundness/healthiness of the group. Let me explain my understanding.

    A resource I recently acquired has helped me through these questions, also. It is “Charts of Cults, Sects, and Religious Movements” by H. Wayne House. (Copyright ©2000 by H. Wayne House, published by Zondervan, ISBN -10: 0-310-38551-2). It explains some brief background as well as doctrinal positions of several groups/sects that have been labeled as sects, or controlling or cultic. The brief history and background information I find extremely fascinating. Some of the groups mentioned are Alamo Christian Ministries, The Family/ Children of God, Freemasonry, Jehovah Witnesses and Unification Church, as well as many others. The copyright is 2000; so, some information is dated and needs to be checked out with current sources. However, the history would not change. The layout gives the groups position and if that position is orthodox or error.  It shocked me how many groups actually held orthodox positions on certain basic Christian positions or practices or doctrines. Then a light went on. This is the draw for many folks. First, there is general ignorance as to the true orthodox position. These folks are easy prey for abnormal groups. (ask me, I know…) Then there are folks who excuse an alternate position or practice and accept the orthodox or tried and true positions to compensate and make up for a doubtful area. Then there are those that are so caught up in the main thrust of a group- they could care less about doctrine. If their needs are met, then the practices and extremes can be overlooked. If there is an appearance of “gospel work” like helping the poor or visiting the sick or prisoners, then other doctrines or even unorthodox practices are accepted as part of the package.

    Continue reading The Simple Truth is…. →

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

Adulation- the Drug of Choice

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     During this season of my recovery from cult involvement, I am in the middle of reading several books. Today, I just opened the cover of another book that will be different from any I am reading or have read. “The Mother of God” by Luna Tarlo is “A mother’s account of her experience as a disciple of her own son, a well-known American guru, and of her struggle to free herself from his control.” (copyright © 1997 by Luna Tarlo, Plover Press) Such an inviting topic!

    Within the first few pages of this book is this quote from yet another book that I will read this year. “Adulation… has an addictive quality difficult to resist. Being the focus of such attention would activate the excitation levels of any sentient being on the receiving end of it. Whether for a guru or a rock star, this can be a more powerful experience than the strongest drug. It is also one of the greatest seductions of power.” This is from The Guru Papers– Masks of Authoritarian Power – by Joel Kramer and Diana Alstad.

    Understandably, after several years being under the teachings of Jane Whaley at Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF) in Spindale, NC, I get caught up in the who said, who did, why did they, why did I, we should have, we could have – stage of sorting out the whole mess of WOFF and its goings, doings, sayings, and culture. Many hours I have spent replaying the events, writing about the events and talking about the events of those years. There are times when the question of why seems so large and then an even larger question- What will bring changes? As mentioned before, there are more questions than answers at this point.

   Continue reading Adulation- the Drug of Choice →

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

Public Rebuke of Cult Members

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   Recently, a good friend related an experience they had in a group meeting. This friend had been allowed to present a song about a series of events the entire group was familiar with as they all shared many common experiences. The song was meant to be a light-hearted presentation of a socially uncomfortable but, not dire event. The song seemed to be well received and my friend sat down. However, the next speaker took direct offense to the song and berated my friend in front of the entire group of about 100 folks. When my friend raised her hand to say the song was not meant to harm but to encourage, my friend was further chastised and the tirade seemed to worsen. One person in leadership with the group left in a rush as she was about to become physically ill at the completely insensitive and unprofessional handling of the episode by the offended party.

    My friend went on to relate their inability to sleep that evening. She had spent many hours mulling over the series of events, in one sense she felt frozen and in another sense she felt violated. In the many years of relating to groups and teaching in classrooms, they had never been treated so ugly and rude in a group setting. The offended party had expressed their hurt and anger in loud overt tones that had thrown a damper on the entire group including my friend. Later in the evening, several came up to express their support for my friend and bewilderment at the level of rage expressed against her. In my friend’s words, it was totally uncalled for and had left her seeking an exit from the group. It has been several days since the incident and there has been no direct communication of an apology from the person who leveled the barrage of abuse.

   Continue reading Public Rebuke of Cult Members →

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

Is Teen Mania a Cult?

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   Recently, I was introduced to a survivor of another cult group. This survivor posts anonymously on a website that serves as forum for present members and survivors of Teen Mania- Honors Academy. The link is here:  recoveringalumni.com. The survivor has given permission to link and repost material from this blog in order to help others know about their experiences and the experiences of others. This is a repost of the first in the series examining the question – Is Teen Mania a Cult?. I read through several posts and noted several characteristics of the group which in my opinion qualify it as a controlling religious group- cult. The original post from June 20, 2009 is found here… http://www.recoveringalumni.com/2009/06/is-teen-mania-cult.html

Is Teen Mania a Cult? Part 1

Posted by Recovering Alumni | Labels: cult, Honor Academy

This question has come up time and time again. As an intern, we joked about how the townsfolk nearby thought we were a cult. It was funny, because of course we weren’t a cult!

It wasn’t until several years later, when I came across a long list of cult characteristics that I began to seriously ask this question. I was really surprised to find that many of the characteristics on that list were present in the Honor Academy. Unfortunately, I can’t find that exhaustive list, but here is one provided by the International Cultic Studies Association – with my Teen Mania specific comments in italics.

Continue reading Is Teen Mania a Cult? →

Books, Resources, Criteria for Cults, Uncategorized

Dr. Margaret Singer – Voice for the Cult Survivor

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   Several of the books I have recently purchased and will be reading deal with recovering from cults and the effects of cults. One such book is “Recovery from Cults” – Help for Victims of Psychological and Spiritual Abuse– Edited by Michael Langone- (copyright © 1993 American Family Foundation – ISBN 0-393-31321-2). The preface is written by Margaret Thaler Singer, Ph. D. (1921-2003). Her biography in this book contains these statements about her work. She served as Adjunct Professor of Psychology at University of California, Berkley. …Dr. Singer has been a contributor to many edited volumes on cults and related subjects, including The Family Therapist as Systems Consultant (Guilford Press) (page xiii) A brief review of additional information about Dr. Singer found here… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Singer reveals her work against cults. “She developed theories about how cults recruit and retain members (such as her Theory of Systematic Manipulation of Social and Psychological Influence) and was on the board of the American Family Foundation, the major anti-cult group in the United States.”

     In the preface, she outlines her pathway into research and study of cults, their techniques and the results upon members, ex-members and families of cult members. Toward the beginning of her research she “concluded that cultic groups were not using mysterious, esoteric methods, but they had refined the “folk art of human manipulation and influence”… The cults created programs of social and psychological influence that were effective for their goals.” (page xvii)  She goes on to describe “pioneer families” of the 1960’s who were seeing their children enter cults and the subsequent search for answers. “The parents’ concerns were not that their young-adult children had taken up a new religion, nor were they concerned that their loved ones had left school and home or had completely redirected the course of their lives to help mankind by joining altruistic groups. They were concerned that these young adults were doing none of the above but seemed to have closed their minds to the past, their families and friends and were simply helping a band of itinerant gurus, pied pipers, self-proclaimed messiahs become wealthy and powerful.” (page xviii emphasis added)

    Continue reading Dr. Margaret Singer – Voice for the Cult Survivor →

Books, Resources, Uncategorized

Healing from Spiritual and Emotional Abuse by Shari Howerton

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   The following post is copied with permission from the blog of the survivor and author, Shari Howerton. It can be found at this link…  http://tinyurl.com/4ky2gb2 . This post is to me of the same open and honest quality with which the book was written.  Thank you, Shari for allowing me to share your work with the readers of this blog. Certainly hoping all will be helped as much as I have been by your story, your insights and your victories. The book can be found here http://www.sharihowerton.com/ .

Survivor Shares Her Story and Journey to Freedom
Breaking the Chains- Overcoming the Spiritual Abuse of a False Gospel

 “I have recently been corresponding with a few more readers of my book. Since my book is a testimony, it has a limited audience. And since I am an unknown, self-published author, it will never be a bestseller. But it continues to sell (albeit in small numbers) each month. And I continue to hear from readers. Many of the people who have written to me were loaned a copy by someone who wanted to share it. I know that some authors might be frustrated by that because it means less book sales. But that doesn’t bother me at all. I spent nearly a year of my life working on the book. I poured my heart into it. And what is most rewarding for me is just knowing that it is still being read.

Continue reading Healing from Spiritual and Emotional Abuse by Shari Howerton →

Books, Resources, Criteria for Cults, Cult Leader News, Uncategorized

Which is Worse and Why?

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    There are many grievous events and happenings in this world. As humans, we tend to rank events by severity and classify them according to which one is worse than another. Now, it is true that in the legal system, certain crimes committed against many by one or by a few are treated differently than a crime of one against one or for a “lesser” crime. For instance, a person stealing a purse from one person may obtain a lesser sentence than a person stealing purses from several women over time. This is part of our system and the result or consequence tends to be that as individuals we rank crimes or “sins” against people in the same manner.

   However, is that they way we should view crimes when considering how one individual would/could control another? Is it a lesser crime or “sin” to control three folks than to control a hundred or a million people?  I am not talking about the true responsibility of parents to guide and control their children during their formative years. In this post we will consider adults controlling other adults for whatever reason, but, especially those controlled for personal gain of the controller.

    Controllers can be found in many areas of society. You could be controlled by a boss on your job. This control is somehow not deemed as a crime or injustice until that control overreaches into one’s personal life. Why? Because there is a certain amount of compliance or obedience expected during working hours while on the job. So, this kind of control is not viewed as a crime per se. You are in essence trading hours of your day for an amount of dollars and thus you are told what to do while on that job.

   Continue reading Which is Worse and Why? →