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“People must learn to obey their spiritual leaders.” Jim Jones

November 18, 2013- 35 years ago today People Temple came to horrific end. The images of over 900 dead bodies bloated and rotting in the jungle were gruesome and unbelievable to say the least. Yes, lessons should have been learned in order to keep the same methods of control used by Jim Jones out of our society today. Like so many others in this country, I did not go beyond the images and learn the dangerous control dynamics used by Jones to bring that many people to a place of destruction. I had no inkling that one day my life would be turned upside down by many of the same mind control techniques used by Jim Jones. That understanding would not begin until after I left Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF) in July of 2008. In this post, we will continue to explore the similarities I see between Jim Jones and Jane Whaley – leader of Word of Faith Fellowship.

As a resource text, we will use 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)   We stopped at page 94 in our last post from this book. Let us pick up the drama….

Jim Jones moved many of his followers from Indiana to California in the summer of 1965. “The world conflagration would come July 15, 1967, he said, and only those in nuclear safe zones would be spared in that terrible blast and fallout.” (page 94-95) The Case family had known Jim Jones for years and had been in leadership in his church for a time. They also helped him become a part of the Disciples of Christ denomination. (page 67)  The Case family did not move into the safe zone as Jones directed. This family moved further south. There was tension between Mr. Case and Jones which Jones tried to overcome.

Continue reading “People must learn to obey their spiritual leaders.” Jim Jones

35 Years Later, Jim Jones Cult Leaves Lessons for Believers – Charisma News

Wow! This part of the Charisma® group got one right! A Google Alert® brought the notice of this article to my inbox Friday evening. The article was written by A. James Rudin/RNS and was posted on the “Opinion” page at 8:00AM EST 11/15/2013. The link for the entire article is here. I am unfamiliar with the author but at the end there is information about one his other works –  “A. James Rudin, the American Jewish Committee’s senior interreligious adviser, is the co-author with Marcia Rudin of “Prison or Paradise: The New Religious Cults.” That book sounds interesting.

Recently, I mentioned to a blog reader that I planned to do a post about Jonestown and sent links to two previous posts from a few years ago. They said to be sure and include the links for others to read. We have made comparisons between Jim Jones and Jane Whaley before and we will again as we review further the material in “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 “The Untold Story of the Rev. Jim Jones and His People”. For now I will include the two links and then continue the review of this article.

More From “The Raven”      and              More From The “Raven” (2)

Continue reading 35 Years Later, Jim Jones Cult Leaves Lessons for Believers – Charisma News

“The Art of Remembering” – Charisma Magazine® (3)

Are you aware of “scandals”? Then what shall we do…?

Our last post explored an article in Charisma Magazine® about Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF) and their Holocaust Museum display. It was dated October 1, 2013 and can be found here. The article was written by Marcus Yoars. Here is the contact information for Mr. Yoars: marcus.yoars@charismamedia.com main tel:407.333.0600

A few blog readers have replied to me with copies of emails sent to Mr. Yoars. Also, several comments were placed in response to the article. This post will review a response written by Mr. Yoars to a blog reader. A blog reader wrote this to Mr. Yoars:

After reading your well intended article, I realized you do not know the truth behind the walls of WOFF. As a victim/survivor, I am here to tell you that what you are seeing is a well orchestrated façade. I am not bitter, just thankful I survived.  However, I do want people to know the truth about what seems to be a loving, caring, God centered fellowship. My story is one of many. These people are not what they portray themselves as. They lie, cheat, steal and destroy the families, marriages etc. of those who do not accept Jane Whaley as their almighty. I know, I WAS one. Thank you for taking the time to consider my email.

  Continue reading “The Art of Remembering” – Charisma Magazine® (3)

“The Art of Remembering” – Charisma Magazine® (2)

Our last post explored an article in Charisma Magazine® about Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF) and their Holocaust Museum display. It was dated October 1, 2013 and can be found here. The article was written by Marcus Yoars. Here is the contact information for Mr. Yoars: marcus.yoars@charismamedia.com main tel:407.333.0600  

This post will review more material from the article and contain more thoughts on the subject. The Art of Remembering mentions that Word of Faith Christian School (WFCS) has “no art teacher.” It also featured Nahum Burgeson and his insight into how the Holocaust work began. Without a doubt, Nahum is a talented artist. The article also quotes Nahum, “I know without a doubt that God flowed through us to do this, “… When we first started, many times we would have a problem getting the paintings to look right. But, as we cried out to Jesus, you could see fruit. The more and more we cried out, the better we would get.”

Continue reading “The Art of Remembering” – Charisma Magazine® (2)

WLOS 13- July 23, 2013 – Mother Alleges Son Being “Brainwashed”

News content for WLOS 13 website includes a story with the headline- “Mother Alleges Son Being “Brainwashed”- dated July 23, 2013. Reporter, Ashlea Surles, tells the story of Keela Blanton’s attempt to take back her son from the clutches of Jim and Laura Bridges. There was a temporary custody order in place which has been extended beyond reason by the non-response of the Bridges and their attorney – Mark Morris. It is my understanding that the Bridges have had since March of this year to reply to the request to return Ms. Blanton’s son to her. The report states that Ms. Blanton has custody of her two other children and has been cleared by the Department of Social Services of any reasons to be deemed unfit. For the Bridges to continue to withhold the young boy from his mother goes beyond reasoning- unless you are familiar with the WOFF mindset, or more accurately – Jane Whaley’s perception of herself and her group. Let me explain. Here is the link to the story…

http://wlos.com/shared/news/features/top-stories/stories/wlos_mother-alleges-son-being-brainwashed-12571.shtml

Continue reading WLOS 13- July 23, 2013 – Mother Alleges Son Being “Brainwashed”

WLOS- News 13 – “Students Claim Harrassment”

Source: “Updated: Wednesday, June 5 2013, 09:40 PM EDT Former students of a mountain college have filed complaints claiming they were harassed on campus by members of a controversial church. The two students are former members of the Rutherford County’s Word of Faith church and both say the harassment at Isothermal Community College began when they left the church.

Ashlea Surles put together a great report documenting the complaints of harassment from former members of Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF) by present group members. The incidents happened over a period of time and were a prime example of the treatment former members receive when encountering present members. Read more here: http://www.wlos.com/shared/news/features/top-stories/stories/wlos_students-claim-harrassment-11963.shtml (the link may change; I will attempt to update it when it does.)

A few of the behaviors noted in the complaints are outlined this post.

“There have been two complaints filed orally,” said Isothermal Community College Director of Marketing Mike Gavin. “The alleged harasser was not a student at the college and not an employee at the college – just come to campus.”– Allow me to translate into WOFF-speak- the adult was a “guard” to watch members and make sure they don’t talk to non-members for too long, ask too many questions or seek freedom and try to leave the church. In this case, they got to torment and bully ex-members as well.

Continue reading WLOS- News 13 – “Students Claim Harrassment”

WOFF Fear-Chains are worse than Castro’s Chains….

First, let me say Thank You to all the concerned readers and friends who have expressed their support during the last few weeks. Some are familiar with the level of personal drama that I have been walking through and all that was involved. It is a fact; things are not always in the condition that Jane Whaley and those inside Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF) would have you believe they are; inside or outside that group. The spin factory works overtime within the WOFF camp and it takes a keen eye to understand what is really being said and done. “Truth” does not always resonate from their mouth or from their actions.

There is so much I want to share about the latest drama going on around this nation; I have a hard time knowing where to start. Not very much of it is positive, but, all of it is interesting and much of it gives insight into the past and present state of things at WOFF. The drama unfolding in Cleveland Ohio concerning the captivity and now freedom for the women held by Ariel Castro is mind boggling. The control, abuse and torture he forced on his victims will have people talking for a long time. He apparently used physical force, constraints and lots of fear to control those women for YEARS. Castro used actual chains on his victims.

 “The women were initially kept chained in the basement of Castro’s dumpy home, but later permitted to live upstairs on the second floor.”  Read more here.

Continue reading WOFF Fear-Chains are worse than Castro’s Chains….