Category Archives: Criteria for Cults

What critieria should one use to determine if a group is a cult?

Criteria for Cults, Uncategorized

The Cup Smashing Service at WOFF

Leave a comment

   Since my involvement with the most recent exit drama, which began last Saturday, I have been listening to this survivor tell of his “adventures” within Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF). We have also discussed many of the defining moments or services at WOFF over the last few years. This young man remembers many of the same services I have written about here on this blog. We have discussed the Toilet Paper Revelation– https://religiouscultsinfo.com/?p=243 , The Church Service No One Was to Talk About- https://religiouscultsinfo.com/?p=335 , and Don’t Read That Article July 2006– https://religiouscultsinfo.com/?p=2639 . There have many more memories which were sparked by speaking some of the unique phrases or language used at WOFF. Phrases such as – “take hold”, “correction”, “submit to authority”, “open your heart”, “You are giving over to (name you sin), and my favorite-“What are you giving to?”

   During these times reviewing some of the defining moments of WOFF history, he mentioned a recent service that from his remarks, must rank as one of the more dramatic and “powerful”. I will retell it as best as I can remember from his telling me three times. He began by saying a lady in the church had a daughter. The family also owned a cat. The mother bought a mug for the daughter which may have read –“Food Tastes Better with Cat Hair”. We have all seen these types of souvenir type mugs. The sayings can be simple and there may be pictures or drawings on them. I must admit I could only find a mug which said –“Everything tastes better with cat hair in it!” Here is the link- http://www.amazon.com/Name-Lorrie-Veasey-Hair-2-Inch/dp/B003YDG9KA

   Regardless, the exact words on the mug are not as critical as what Jane Whaley did with it. I was told she brought the mug into a service and told the congregation that buying this mug was out of sorcery and witchcraft. If she followed other pervious patterns, then it would have also been loosening witchcraft and sorcery at the daughter. She then took the mug and smashed on the floor into many pieces. The lady who purchased it and those who laughed at it were then ordered to clean up the pieces. There may have been other things said and done. The survivor who told me this watched the service from the discipleship room. Things that were done in the main sanctuary were not always seen or heard on the “monitor” in the discipleship room.

   Continue reading The Cup Smashing Service at WOFF →

Books, Resources, Criteria for Cults, Uncategorized

Jane Whaley and Resurrected Indians?

Leave a comment

  In a recent post titled, “The Short Creek Effect”, we cited resource material from “Escape” written by Carolyn Jessop. (“Escape”- authors Carolyn Jessop and Laura Palmer, Copyright©2007 by Visionary Classics, LLC, published by Broadway Books, ISBN 978-0-7679-2756-7). We are continuing on with references found in the chapter titled “Child’s Play”. Jessop recounts the games and adventures of her childhood. She grew up a part of the Fundamentalist Church of the Latter Day Saints (FLDS) which practices polygamy.

   The game she explains in detail was “apocalypse”. “It was magic, our version of hide-and-seek… We grew up knowing a lot about the end of the world. It had been drilled into us in Sunday school that we were God’s chosen people. When the end times would come, we would be saved.” (page 24) As I read this I remembered how many other religious cults taught that they “were God’s chosen people”. Do I need to list them? My perspective also comes from my time in Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF). Teachings about the end times were sporadic and at times murky in WOFF. But, no doubt we were God’s chosen people. Well, if you pressed on to know the Lord, stayed at WOFF and kept submitting to the authority of God- which was embodied in Jane Whaley. Your place in the will of God was always tied to your continued attendance at WOFF. After all, why would God tell you to leave “the will of God”? So, even if the exact words were not used consistently, it was clearly understood and said that “there may be other folks walking in the Truth, but, we had not found them yet.” Being at WOFF made you special. We move on.

    Jessop continues, “When the end times would come, we would be saved, the wicked killed, and the world destroyed. I was too young to question these ideas; they were my spiritual ABCs. Contrary to what most would think, we were not taught the end of the world was a bad thing. Not at all. It was a good thing because it would usher in a thousand years of peace… There was one caveat; before God slaughtered the wicked, he would allow them to try to kill his chosen people. (It should have made us wonder, but we didn’t.) We were taught the government (which was wicked) would move into our community and try to kill every man, woman, and child. But since we had been faithful to God and kept his word, he’d hear our prayers and protect us.” (page 24) Again, as we read this, remember that these ideas were taught over and over to the young children. It became accepted and so common place that at least from Jessop’s account there was very little doubt expressed or even the least bit of critical thinking in reference to these FLDS “truths”. Why should that shock us? Why should it shock me? As a result of the mind control methods used in this group, critical thinking was for the most part non-existent.

   Continue reading Jane Whaley and Resurrected Indians? →

Books, Resources, Criteria for Cults, Uncategorized

“Mind Over Mania”- on MSNBC

12 Comments

   Sunday evening, MSNBC aired a documentary about Teen Mania and the Honor Academy. In previous posts, we have reviewed the Teen Mania program. The link is here:  Protests in Dallas at Acquire the Fire Conference – https://religiouscultsinfo.com/?p=4049 . The latest post for the alumni blog is titled “MSNBC Airs Documentary on Honor Academy”- http://www.recoveringalumni.com/2011/11/msnbc-airs-documentary-on-honor-academy.html .

Here is the trailer from docs.msnbc.com

 

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

  
Continue reading “Mind Over Mania”- on MSNBC →

Criteria for Cults, Uncategorized

What Was I Thinking?

3 Comments

  There are moments of reflection after coming out of Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF). Okay, there are hours of reflection after coming out of that group. I was under the influence for about sixteen years. The story is one that many faithful readers of this blog have already heard. But, after a very long day, the hours slip away and the night runs away from me- so to speak. I get to asking myself “What was I thinking during those years in WOFF?” If you are on the outside looking in you might be wondering what do members of WOFF think about and how do they reason away many of the obviously strange or un-normal characteristics of life inside WOFF?

   That is a fair question to ask. After all how many other churches in Western North Carolina practice communal living? How many other churches have a closed culture and only allow church members to attend their “Christian” school? There may be a few. How many other churches in North Carolina have been investigated by the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI)? How many churches get an undercover member to film their services and broadcast them over national television? How many other churches in North Carolina or in the Southern United States practice load prayer, blasting and deliverance from demons? Are there other churches in America that have such a control over their members that they tell them how to dress, where to live, where to work, where to go to college, who to have relationships with and who to marry? Do other churches forbid their members from accessing newspapers, television, magazines, “unauthorized” books and literature? Do others churches instruct the husbands and wives on the approved birth control method and approved sexual technique- in detail? If there are deviations from the set and ordered life within the kitchen, living room, bathroom or bedroom; do other churches require the family members to report these “sins” to church leadership and bring all to church for “correction”? If there are other churches that practice this kind of control over their members- do you want to join that church? Does your church already “flow” this way?

    So, after learning about life inside WOFF, it would be a natural question to ask- What do the members think of all these controls and how do they rationalize and tell themselves that all of this is acceptable and necessary in order to please God? I can only answer from my experience. There is no way to know for sure what other members were/are thinking. We can only observe how they act and what they say. But, as hard as Jane Whaley would try, she cannot absolutely control what her faithful members think ALL the time. Yes, there was/is strong mind control measures used at WOFF. But, as it is evident from the fact that some folks do leave; Jane Whaley cannot stop people from thinking their own thoughts ALL of the time. At some point, no matter how small or insignificant it may seem WOFF members can have a thought of their own. It may shock them, it may scare them, and it may cause them to think they are going to hell. That is how they are conditioned. “Stray thoughts” are labeled as the devils thoughts coming into you – the faithful WOFF member.

   Continue reading What Was I Thinking? →

Behavior Control, Criteria for Cults, Uncategorized

But, They Were Preaching the Gospel…

2 Comments

   Have you ever been in a meeting, whether it is a business meeting or civic meeting or some other type of meeting and the speaker begins to “share the gospel”? You know some type of message which includes the message normally heard in a church service. I am not speaking about a generic prayer for wisdom or guidance but, some verbal link made between the purpose of the group and a Christian message. How did you react or respond – if at all? Was it confusing? Did it cloud or make at least a little hazy the purpose of the meeting or the group? If you were informed or knew of this ahead of time before the meeting began – that is a total different matter. But, if it was planned and you were not told, that is what I am talking about.

   Many years ago, I was a part of a business group which had morphed into a quasi-religious group. The stated purpose of the group was the business of selling consumer products. After you became interested in that and began to attend seminars and “retreats”; another side of the group became evident. Don’t get me wrong, there were very sweet and sincere people in the group. There were many folks who genuinely wanted to “succeed”. The operational methods of the group were revealed in stages. You were not told the entire scope when you first attended a meeting. I suppose the leaders wanted to see how committed you would become before they unloaded the whole deal on you. Maybe they wanted to see how comfortable you were with what you were being shown before you were informed of the next step.

   I came in contact with the group through a shift supervisor at the cafeteria where I worked while attending college. He was a likeable fellow named Dennis Farmer. He had a very interesting background which included being a Formula 1 race car driver in Europe. He would tell stories and catch the attention of many of my co-workers and friends. Every once in a while he would say something odd about making big money – but, not in racing. One day I started asking more questions and he began to tell me the Amway story. As best as I can remember, that was late in 1980. Well, it didn’t take long before I had decided that selling soap and vitamins and whatever else was a great part-time job. It began to garner more and more of my attention and well, you may already know the story. I attended meetings in the evenings during the week and began attending seminars on the weekends once every few months.

   Continue reading But, They Were Preaching the Gospel… →

Books, Resources, Criteria for Cults, Uncategorized

Has Anybody Seen My Ladder?

Leave a comment

  On the way to church this morning I was listening to the radio. Yes, I know that is dangerous and unacceptable in some circles. But, after leaving Word of Faith fellowship (WOFF), I eased back into the evil habit after several months of being out. When I first left WOFF, it was hard to break from the rules and rules and more rules that I lived under while in WOFF. Yes, we have gone over that before and yes, there are some rules that change and some have been added since I left in July of 2008. As I talk to other survivors of WOFF, I learn that others also find some rules of WOFF will continue with them after leaving the group.

   The pastor speaking on the radio was reviewing three parables from the Gospels. I will not attempt to re-preach the message, but, I did hear some interesting analogies. The minister was speaking about how Jesus treated the Pharisees. Jesus warned them about all the man-made rules and not to trust in them for salvation. That is what caught my attention. The analogy was used that for some folks, their “rules” become their “ladder” to climb and elevate them “closer to God” and over and above other Christians or other folks not in the church. The picture became quite clear for me as I have been on that kind of ladder in the past. The ladder climbing time at WOFF seemed logical, since keeping all of the rules was required for continued membership. In that group, obeying the rules and ultimately Jane helps you climb the ladder and move up the pyramidal structure.

   Can you relate to the word picture? As the focus shifts from following Jesus to following His followers or one main “follower”; it is easy to take those steps up the ladder and you submit to more and more outward rules and requirements thinking that keeping those requirements equates to serving God. It is a trap that many fall into even if you are not in WOFF. But, the deception when you are on such a ladder is to deny you are on the ladder. In your thinking, you are just “walking in a higher place in God” or “finding your place in God” or “walking in a higher place in the spirit”. I have heard it called many things while at WOFF. But, the actual results included a pride or feeling of superiority that came since you were submitted and could keep most all the rules and rarely if ever got correction. If you have ever been in the sound booth at WOFF, keeping the rules puts you that high or higher over other WOFFers or outsiders – for sure. After all, others just don’t walk in the place “we” do at WOFF. I heard it said and felt its effects during my time there.

Continue reading Has Anybody Seen My Ladder? →

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

WOFF Members are NOT Brainwashed- Really? (2)

Leave a comment

   During a review of recent posts, I found the first post in this series had been inadvertently moved to the trash. I have no idea how that happened. But, the original post was rescued and restored to its place on this blog. Now we will continue with the review of the resource material found in Steven Hassan’s book, “Combatting Cult Mind Control” (Copyright©1988, 1990- by Steven Hassan, Park Street Press, ISBN-0-89281-311-3). We were reviewing material found in Chapter 4 titled:  Understanding Mind Control.

   Hassan writes, “When I lecture in colleges, I usually challenge my audience with the question, “How would you know if you were under mind control?” After some reflection, most people will realize that if one were under mind control, it would be impossible to determine it without some help from others. In addition, one would need to understand very clearly what mind control is.” (page 53) From the previous posts I wrote, “WOFF members do not believe for one second that they are under either brainwashing or mind control! I know since I did not have any idea that the “gift” that Jane operated in was full of mind control techniques.” In light of this acquired disbelief, it does little good to tell WOFF members they have been brainwashed or are under mind control. Hassan writes, “Whenever people yelled at me and called me a “brainwashed robot”, I just took it was expected persecution. It made me feel more committed to the group.” (page 53)  

   We also reviewed the basic difference between brainwashing and mind control: “Brainwashing is typically coercive. The person knows from the outset that he is in the hands of the enemy. It begins with a clear demarcation of the respective roles—who is the prisoner and who is the jailer—and the prisoner experiences the absolute minimum of choice…” (page 55).

   “Mind control, also called “thought reform,” is much more subtle and sophisticated. Its perpetrators are regarded as friends or peers, so the person (being influenced) is much less defensive… Mind control has little to no overt physical abuse… The individual is deceived and manipulated – not directly threatened – into making prescribed choices. On the whole, he responds positively to what is done to him.” (page 56)

  Continue reading WOFF Members are NOT Brainwashed- Really? (2) →