Category Archives: Books, Resources

Books, Resources for learning about religious cults

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

Join Us- The Movie

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   Recently, I became aware of the documentary entitled – “Join Us”. The film is presented by Interloper Films along with Lusitan and was produced by Ondi Timoner and Vasco Lucas Nunes. (copyright© Third Floor Productions, LLC 2007) The movie is the only film I know of which shows actual cult members as they come to the knowledge of their predicament, grapple with their options, take steps to change and then face the leaders of the group. This is the introductory post in a series that will take dialog and scenes from this movie and compare them to my experience both inside and outside of Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF). The film has a dedicated website with supporting information. The site is www.joinusthemovie.com . We will reference the information on the website as we continue. We have added the website to our Links page found on the right side of the home page.    

    Steven Hassan, an often quoted source on this blog, is quoted on his website www.freedomofmind.com as saying, ““One of the most ambitious documentaries ever done that shows the suffering caused by authoritarian cult groups.” He appears several times in the film along with Rick Ross, a well know Cult Expert and Intervention Specialist. Rick’s website is www.rickross.com Other experts appear in the film along with Dr. Paul Martin from Wellspring. Robert Lifton is shown in several clips explaining his work on thought reform and its application to the understanding of cults. The supporting cast of cult experts is a great resource for those wanting to learn more on the subject. Also, on the website for the movie under the “Take the Cult Test” tab, there is an outline of Robert Lifton’s eight criteria for determining if a group is using thought reform.

    From the back cover of the DVD case:

“Join Us follows four families as they leave a controlling and abusive church in South Carolina and come to realize that they have been members of a cult. The film documents them intimately as they enter Wellspring, the only accredited live-in cult treatment facility in the world. At Wellspring, they learn how they were brainwashed to give up control of their lives to the Pastor and his wife, allowing their children to undergo severe abuse in order to make heaven.

Continue reading Join Us- The Movie →

Books, Resources, Uncategorized

Cult Survivor Blogs and Other Resources

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   Over the last few months, I have run across several blogs written and sponsored by survivors from other cults. These cults may or may not be religious in nature. The religious cult survivor blogs do catch my eye more than others. Suppose we all have our interests spawned by our own circumstances. Anyway, the list of these types of blogs seems to be growing. It is only one of countless niche blogs that have been started over the last however many years. Most of this growth could be credited to the invention or provision of “free” blog hosts. In this post, I will review methods for finding such free blog hosts and finding cult survivor blogs, as well as listing a few of the blogs I have read and/or enjoy.

    Three of the more common free blog hosts would include wordpress.com, blog.com and blogger.com. A way to find more is to simply search “free blog hosts” in any search engine. The word “blog” is short for weblog– an online journal, usually in date order or chronological order. To blog is simply to write journal entries of personal experiences or other things of interest. Blogs usually center on a theme or topic. The subjects are as varied as the human race. I have a few other blogs around a central theme at wordpress.com. The presentation themes are varied. My main work is done here on this blog. One caution if you begin using a “free” blog host, read their rules of conduct on subject matter, usually included somewhere in the Terms of Use. Just a caution, as any blog that is hosted for “free” can be suspended without warning for violation of their Terms of Use.

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Books, Resources, Criteria for Cults, Uncategorized

More on the Exclusive Brethren

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    In a previous post, I shared information about a group called the Exclusive Brethren. In that post found here… https://religiouscultsinfo.com/?p=3198 I made some comparisons between Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF) and the Exclusive Brethren group. One main point of that post was how similar the folks who leave each group are treated. Here is a quote from the first post on this subject:

    –For the most part, members who have left the Raven/Taylor/Hales group (of Exclusive Brethren) are completely ostracized. Members are not permitted to live with those who have left and this causes families to break up; in fact, remaining members do not even speak, eat or otherwise socialize with those who have left the group’s membership. To leave the group, either voluntarily or to be excommunicated, means to be asked to leave one’s home, and the subsequent breaking of all normal family relationships with those who remain within the group.[7]   

  This sounded so much like what I had seen and been a part of with WOFF; I felt the need to learn more. When the survivor from this group contacted me, I asked him about any similarities and here is a quote from an email he sent: (used by permission- from “Paul”)

    Continue reading More on the Exclusive Brethren →

Books, Resources, Criteria for Cults, Peoples Temple vs WOFF, Uncategorized

Questions and Possible Answers About WOFF-life

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      For those who are new to this blog or have read just a few posts, you may know by now that I am a survivor of 16 years under the influence of the teachings and doings of Jane Whaley. She was/is the leader of Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF) in Spindale, NC. Over the years, there developed doctrine, teachings and practices that would extend Jane Whaley’s control into many, if not all areas of her member’s lives. At WOFF, the 1990’s and earlier in this decade were filled with court battles over different issues. Some cases would be child custody suits. One case was brought by an ex-member stating Jane had brought physical harm while praying over them. Inside Edition sent in a young man to film meetings and take notes on the conduct, practices and prayer at WOFF. Life at WOFF never seemed to lack drama. Why was that? How did folks get entangled with such a group and yet stay even in the midst of all the drama and controversy?

    In the previous post, I wrote this statement-  “People already in church and familiar with the concept (“…self-sacrifice, devotion and discipline) and even very religious about their religion seem to flow better at WOFF. That must have been me for many years… Right?”  I suggested that I was this person, familiar with self-sacrifice, devotion and discipline. Membership for the faithful at WOFF certainly did require “self-sacrifice, devotion and discipline”. There was self-sacrifice of time working for the church doing various tasks. A sacrifice of money- as Jane would check the records to see if you were tithing and there was always a fund raising project to support or multiple offerings being taken in a service, especially when there were no visitors. Devotion- faithful WOFF members lived out a devotion to Jane and the group that ran deep and cost them dearly. Discipline—the faithful regular WOFF members denied/deny themselves many activities and pleasures.

      Continue reading Questions and Possible Answers About WOFF-life →

Books, Resources, Criteria for Cults, Peoples Temple vs WOFF, Uncategorized

“Sheep Stealers”? Jim Jones and Jane Whaley?

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    During the last few weeks, I have been considering some further questions about Peoples Temple and Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF).  Did Jim Jones, leader of Peoples Temple, participate in the recruitment of church members from other congregations? How do we know? (This is commonly referred to as “sheep stealing”.)  Did/does Jane Whaley, leader of WOFF participate in recruitment of church members from other congregations? How do we know? If both leaders did recruit other church members, were the techniques similar or different?    

    From the “Raven” by Tim Reiterman with John Jacobs (copyright ©1982 Tim Reiterman, Introduction copyright 2008 by Tim Reiterman, ISBN 978-1-58542-678-2); the authors tell of several attempts of Jim Jones to recruit members from other churches. Let’s look at a few examples.

    “Jones’s expansion attempts were those of an impatient and aggressive man. While on a quest for new organizational techniques in the late 1950s, he had read extensively about Father Divine, spiritual father of the gigantic Peace Mission movement. In typically direct fashion, Jim Jones drove to Philadelphia to meet the black cult leader in person.” (page 59) Father Divine has been mentioned previously on this blog. Here is another link to read about the sharecropper turned “self-proclaimed “Dean of the Universe,”..(page 58)  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctrine_of_Father_Divine

   Continue reading “Sheep Stealers”? Jim Jones and Jane Whaley? →

Behavior Control, Books, Resources, Peoples Temple vs WOFF, Uncategorized

More From The “Raven” (2)

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         In two previous posts, we have reviewed some excerpts from the work by Tim Reiterman- “Raven”. Reiterman co-authored with John Jacobs (copyright ©1982 Tim Reiterman, Introduction copyright 2008 by Tim Reiterman, ISBN 978-1-58542-678-2); the authors tell “The Untold Story of the Rev. Jim Jones and His People”. “Tim Reiterman is a prizewinning journalist who extensively covered Jonestown for the San Francisco Examiner. He was wounded in the jungle airstrip attack that killed a U.S. Congressman, plus three reporters, and a Peoples Temple defector.” (from the back cover)  The link to the most recent post is here… https://religiouscultsinfo.com/?p=3281 . There are more similarities in the story of Jim Jones and Peoples Temple when comparing them to Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF).

    In following our theme of questions, we must ask a few more on the subject of this post. Why are there similarities in the practices that Jim Jones used and those of Jane Whaley and her leadership at WOFF? We will list more similarities in this post. Do the similarities speak of the same goals or just the same methods used in governing and/or controlling the members of each group? The two leaders had very few similarities in their message; but in their methods, we find likenesses- why? What was the goal of Jim Jones and was that goal the same or similar to Jane Whaley’s goal(s)? Regardless of the differences in the messages of the two leaders, what were the outcomes of the control methods used in each case? What was the key ingredient that allowed Peoples Temple members to sacrifice their own life for Jim Jones- some willingly, some not…? Is that same ingredient found in the lives of WOFF members today? Hopefully, we will find some answers to these questions. If the answers cannot be found here, we will keep searching and asking more questions. I believe the key to understanding WOFF and groups like WOFF is in learning about the practices that are used on the members and also between the members.

   Continue reading More From The “Raven” (2) →

Books, Resources, Criteria for Cults, Uncategorized

Do Christians Suffer Illnesses?

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     Do Christians suffer illnesses? Yes, Christians get sick from sometimes very hard to detect diseases. Some even die in what some may regard as “strange circumstances” or “before their time”. Recently, I purchased a book written by Renee Coates Scheidt, titled- “Songs of the Night — Singing Sorrow’s Songs Through the Darkness of Grief”. (Copyright ©1995 by Renee Coates Scheidt –ISBN 1-888237-34-1) When I picked up the book, I had no idea about the subject of the book except what could be gleaned from the title. While reading this book, I have found several things that reminded me of my time at Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF). Before I share those thoughts, let’s review some of the events in the book.

   The author tells in very frank terms, her life experiences during the time she was married to her husband. She reviews meeting and beginning her relationship with him. He got “cold feet” before their wedding and would later recover from that and they would eventually marry. Recounting the beginning years, she tells of their struggles to diagnose the reason for his mood swings and sometimes very destructive behaviors. She writes, “When you are a dedicated Christian, the humiliation of being depressed can be so overwhelming! Very few people in our world understood us… Couldn’t we speak the truth in Jesus’ name command the depression to leave? No matter how many Bible verses we quoted on the victory we have in Christ or how hard Chuck (her husband) worked to apply them, the depression never left for long.” (page 28)

    Can anyone else relate? Has there ever been a mountain of circumstances or even an illness that was in your life and no matter the prescribed steps you took – the situation became no better or even got worse? Has anyone else ever been in the confess your healing mode? After all, it seems so logical on one hand. Yet, after a while, when the answers don’t come, the questions go deeper. Is this the time when real relationship with God starts? When we come to the end of our formulas?

   Continue reading Do Christians Suffer Illnesses? →