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Behavior Control, Books, Resources, Uncategorized

Thoughts on Thought Reform – From Another Source

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    The resource text for a previous post titled-  “Dr. Margaret Singer – Voice for the Cult Survivor”  found here: https://religiouscultsinfo.com/?p=3789  was taken from this book:  “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). As I have continued reading this work, I found another reference that I viewed as worth sharing. There are so many resources mentioned in this book, I can see several posts reviewing the material found inside this book.

    In the “Introduction”, Langone outlines the purpose of this book. He mentions that it “does not aim to be an overview of the cult phenomenon… Instead, the book tries to illuminate general principles pertinent to understanding conversion, post-cult problems, and post-cult recovery. It also describes practical techniques for facilitating recovery from cultic involvements.”(page 1) I see this book taking a while to read and digest. 

    In this post, I will take definitions for “a thought reform program” found in this resource text and compare my experience from my time in Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF). Jane Whaley is the leader of WOFF. I spent sixteen years either directly or indirectly under her teachings. My time in that group came to a close in July 2008. Since that time, I have been searching for answers to many questions about my time there, my reasons for being involved in that group and the lasting effects of being a part of  WOFF.  So far, questions have been more numerous than the answers. We move forward.

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Criteria for Cults, Uncategorized

When Religion Becomes a Weapon…

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   Often inspiration for this blog comes from things I see and hear in my everyday life. Other times, I remember events from the past or read books about cults and cult recovery and see subjects that I need to explain and/or explore. Sixteen years of life in and under the teachings of Jane Whaley, the leader of Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF), provides me with plenty of events and revelations to write about. Also, there are listed several books and documentaries that offer some understanding and help to unravel the subject of mind control, cults and cult recovery.

    This evening, I was considering the subject of spousal abuse. My first encounter with this dark subject was in 1992 in Summerville, SC. I was involved in helping a couple who attended the church where my wife and I were in leadership. The man seemed calm in most instances, but in fits of rage would hit his wife. Confusing? Yes, it was. He said many of the “right” things and would be gentle and agreeable during most every counseling session. There were children in the marriage and he had a good income as a self-employed mechanic. His mother was also a church member and was a large financial supporter of the church. The confusing part to me was how could abuse happen inside of a marriage that was meant to be a benefit for the parents and a haven for the children? How could something that started out with such good intentions turn out so bad and hurtful to all parties? How could it go on for so long and not change and get better? The answer was complicated and only led to more questions. Let me explain.

    One of the common misnomers of any abusive relationship is that the abuse would be obvious to those on the outside looking in. That could not be further from the truth.  I would say there is a natural desire in any relationship for the two parties to want to make it work. Why else would they enter into the relationship? Both may have a reason to ignore the dysfunction and go on “hoping” for better days. And when things are not working or seem to be sliding in the wrong direction, sometimes one person who is not to blame will take the blame because it is easier for them to understand. I am not a professional counselor, but I have seen it many times. Just having relationship problems does not mean you automatically know what the solutions were/are for the problems. Many times people need help to make things right inside a relationship. Why? One reason is that the person causing the issues many not want to see their responsibility in the problem and an outsider can help focus and move the relationship in the right direction.

    Continue reading When Religion Becomes a Weapon… →

Books, Resources, Criteria for Cults, Uncategorized

Anne Frank Remembered

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   This film recently came to my attention and caused me to reconsider several questions and points which have been considered previously in posts on this blog. The film, “Anne Frank Remembered” was written and directed by Jon Blair. (© The Jon Blair Film Company Ltd. 1995, in association with the BBC and the Disney Channel, part of the Sony Picture Classics collection) The documentary is a moving account of the life and death of Anne Frank as told by her writings and several survivors as well as footage of her father, Otto Frank.

   My earliest memories of learning about Anne Frank were from a play that my elementary class attended in Abingdon, VA. This may have been in the seventh or eighth grade. I don’t remember much about that evening, but I came away with a sense that there was a lot more to the story than could be portrayed on stage. There were terms used and concepts portrayed that I knew nothing about. What I have learned since then as well as in this film confirmed those thoughts.

   Before I go further, let me acknowledge that the direction I am headed in this post will be doubted by some and scoffed by others. Members of Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF) of which I was a part of for many years, will no doubt mock and scoff at many of my observations and conclusions. I would/will not be surprised since when I was in that group, my reactions to such conclusions would have been the same. This is only confirmed in my thinking by the continued cooperation between the Christians United for Israel (CUFI) group and WOFF. From a connection with Leigh Valentine, WOFF has become a part of CUFI and has displayed their “Holocaust Museum” exhibit at a few CUFI conferences.

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Books, Resources, Criteria for Cults, Uncategorized

The Impact of Cults on Health

In one of my recent searches for information on cults, I came across a document that caught my attention. The document was a syllabus for a class taught to those in the medical profession- specifically nurses. The title was “The Impact of Cults on Health” – written by Anne Tapper, RN, MA, MSN. She is a therapist/case manager at the Opioid Treatment Program, Philadelphia Veterans Administration Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA. The material was interesting and several quotes worth noting here. The source document is here The Impact of Cults on Health

The purpose/goal of the continuing education class is stated as familiarizing nurses with healthcare issues related to cults. The material covered would help folks to:

–          “Identify six characteristics of a dangerous cult and three ways they affect health

–          Name nine symptoms of membership in a cult

–          Describe six types of help that may be needed by those recovering from cultic involvement”

Do you realize what this says of the medical profession as a whole? There is obviously enough evidence in the medical community to openly admit and address the needs of ex-cult members from a medical perspective. There is enough concern and foresight to offer nurses and others in the medical profession baseline knowledge of cults and the effects they have on the health of members! From the course outline, “A conservative estimate is that between two million and five million Americans have experienced cult participation1. With this level of involvement, even a low incidence of abuse is likely to mean that thousands of people are affected.”

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

What is “Framing”? How Is It Used at WOFF? (4)

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Framing Defenses:

   This is the last post in the series on “framing” (as far as I know). Our source text, which is authored by Kelton Rhoads, Ph.D. is found here.. http://www.workingpsychology.com/index.html . In the previous post, we mentioned the definition of “framing” written by the author: “A frame is a psychological device that offers a perspective and manipulates salience in order to influence subsequent judgment.” We have covered several aspects of how this influence tool is used at Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF). As stated in previous posts, my opinion is that this framing tool is compounded with fear to actual form a “fear-frame” that explodes on its hearers with such power to freeze the listener and hinder rational decisions. Jane Whaley has constructed a total control environment for the WOFF faithful. This control is exercised many times with the use of such “fear-frames” as we have explained in the previous posts.

  Previously, we discussed studies that make it clear –“that a human’s first priority is not to lose–gains are secondary to the “no loss” rule.” Add the tendency to “not lose” with the “fear-frames” used by Jane Whaley at Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF) and it becomes clear that life at WOFF is not what a first impression might reveal. Jane uses “fear-frames” to build into her faithful fears of losing something near and dear such as family, jobs, houses, salvation, and prospect of missing heaven, friends and so on. In order to gain “fear-relief”, her faithful members go to Jane for “the word of the Lord”. Actually, that is a super-charged religious euphemism which actually means they are seeking relief from the fears of losing that “something” where Jane holds sway over them. As I agreed with another former member earlier this week, this whole scenario is hard to understand unless you have been inside WOFF or a group like WOFF where fear is the modus operandi of the leader. I am trying to break it down as best I know how. This forum does not allow me to cover all the material Rhoads covers on the subject. I suggest you take the time and read the series on his website.  

    Continue reading What is “Framing”? How Is It Used at WOFF? (4) →

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

What is “Framing”? How Is It Used at WOFF? (3)

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   This is the next post in the series on “framing”. Our source text, which is authored by Kelton Rhoads, Ph.D. is found here.. http://www.workingpsychology.com/index.html . In the previous post, we covered the definition of “framing” written by the author: “A frame is a psychological device that offers a perspective and manipulates salience in order to influence subsequent judgment.” We covered several aspects of how this influence tool is used at Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF). My opinion is that this framing tool is compounded with fear to actual form a “fear-frame” that explodes on its hearers with such power to freeze the listener and hinder rational decisions. Jane Whaley has constructed a total control environment for the WOFF faithful. This control is exercised many times with the use of such “fear-frames” as we have explained in the previous post.

    This post will review the hideous evil behind that use of such “fear-frames”. Rhoads continues to explain the use of frames in the source text. He begins be citing work from another study. “Kahneman & Tversky (1979) were interested in understanding the conditions under which people made conservative or risky judgments. They observed evidence supporting what they called “prospect theory:” that the prospect of a loss has a greater impact on decision making than does the prospect of an equivalent gain.” (Kahneman, D., & Tversky, A. (1979). Prospect Theory: An analysis of decision under risk. Econometirca 4, 362-377; Econometrica 47, 263-291. emphasis added)  He covers the findings of this study as they measure a person’s gains against their losses. The study found that “The pleasure of winning money is less intense than the pain of losing the same sum!” It is not practical to repeat word for word the information Rhoads gives to support this study. I recommend you use the link provided and read it for yourself.

    Here is a synopsis of what I took away from the reading. “Again, we humans hate to lose. We’d rather not win, than lose!” (Kahneman, D., & Tversky, A. (1982). The psychology of preferences. Scientific American, 246, 160-173. Emphasis added) And Rhoads writes in summary.. “We know that a human’s first priority is not to lose–gains are secondary to the “no loss” rule. Thus, framing a decision in terms of possible loss should motivate a person more than framing the same decision in terms of possible gain. And, given various obligatory caveats and constraints which we explore later, subsequent research largely supports the contention that humans are acutely loss-averse and thus extraordinarily sensitive to loss frames.” (emphasis added)

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Books, Resources, Uncategorized

What is “Framing”? How Is It Used at WOFF? (2)

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   This is the second post in a series on the subject of “framing” – what it is and how it is used at Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF). We mentioned in the last post that the source material for this subject was found on a website here… http://www.workingpsychology.com/index.html which is authored by Kelton Rhoads, Ph.D. He explains several aspects of his studies dealing with the subject of influence. In the previous post, we reviewed some information about “framing” types and effects.

     At the end of the previous post we finished with these words: next, “we will look at the parts of a “frame”. I will also share my observations on the continual use of fear to frame every decision and rule during my time at WOFF. We will discuss a new term – “fear-frame” as well as how this affected life at WOFF. Please, check back soon for the next post. I believe this “fear-frame” concept is vital to understanding life for members of WOFF.”

   From the source material we read the author’s definition of a frame: “A frame is a psychological device that offers a perspective and manipulates salience in order to influence subsequent judgment.”  Rhoads breaks down the definition to help understand the meaning: “1) A frame “offers a perspective.” It manages the viewer’s alignment in relation to the issue.” The theme used by the author to help his readers understand his definition was the use of actual frames, for instance around a picture. He uses this analogy several times very effectively. The “perspective” at WOFF was narrow to say the least. You agreed with Jane’s perspective or you did not stay around long. The starting position for a faithful member of WOFF was/is Jane was/is always right and all others are listening to devils. The mantra is not that evident at first. New folks are given room to “grow” and “come into their place” of “understanding”. The phrases used to direct a member to Jane’s counsel or one of the approved leaders may be gentle or innocuous at first.. Have you heard God on that? Are you sure? Are you under authority? Have you inquired of God? Have you submitted to authority in that area? Are you out from under authority? After a while, the code becomes clearer. Jane Whaley is the “authority” and all decisions flow through her. If it is evident that a new person is not getting the meaning of the WOFF code, the directives will be more obvious. Have you asked Jane? Have you checked that out with Jane? Does Jane know about that? Did Jane say that was God (God’s will)? It was clear that perspective you needed to stay in WOFF- was Jane’s.

   Continue reading What is “Framing”? How Is It Used at WOFF? (2) →