Tag Archives: B.I.T.E. Model

Criteria for Cults, FLDS vs WOFF, Uncategorized

FLDS vs WOFF – How People Who Leave are Treated – part 8

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    The subject matter of this post is hard to begin. During my years at WOFF, I was guilty of treating those who left in the manner that I am about to describe. All I can say is that now that I am out and looking back, it is a convoluted way to treat those you may have spent hours along side working or “worshipping”.  Those who leave are shunned and it is a known reinforced rule from the top – “Do Not Call someone who leaves or speak to them unless you find out from Jane if it is okay. You could loose an attack on them and/or the church.” That was made very clear. If you talk to them without “checking it out with authority”, then the sin that caused them to leave is in you! Your devils will hook-up and you will be out of here!”

    ( One side note: most every phrase in these posts that is in quotes, has a unique meaning to WOFF and in a future post I will attempt to explain how the unique language of this group was used to further their control over members. It is a VERY common practice in religious control groups to re-define words or add new meanings to words in order to prohibit individual thought. This happens at WOFF like NO OTHER group I have been a part of or read about. As I heard recently, “He who names the game, owns the game.. )

     As mentioned in previous posts, frequently fear was pronounced on the members about what would happen if they left WOFF. Many times, those who have left would have their names brought up and used as examples of what happens when “you don’t deal with your sin”, “when you don’t open your heart”, “when you allow one thought to take you over and the devil drives you out of WOFF”, “when you hide the “unclean”, lose hold of the “call of God”. Only one time on 16 years do I remember Jane Whaley ever saying a person was better off outside of WOFF and “back with their parents..” Every other time it was a big deal when someone left. Three times, that I can remember families were “sent out”, but the underlying presumption was that they would stay in fellowship with Jane and the church and the things taught by WOFF; two families did and one family did not. (as far as I know..)

     Sometimes we would be told right away when a person left. Other times it would be a while before Jane would mention that “so and so” is gone “They did not want to serve God.” There were no good reasons to leave for most folks. Many times a “Judas spirit took them over…” or “Their rebellion took them over”.. It was no mistaking the spoken and unspoken meanings to these descriptions of those who leave- they were in trouble!

     Sad to say that when folks I had been close to left, I succumbed to the pressures to not call or speak to them. I do regret my participation in that whole scene. You just knew that there would be “hell to pay” if you were caught “fellow-shipping with the Judases”.. How much true love can be in that? It set a bad example for the children to see adults cut off long relationships over a choice made to leave a church. That is another part that I deeply regret. Our children learn by the example we set. I cannot say I set a good example while spending time at WOFF when it came to talking to those who have left or showing true love to those when may have been “put out to find a place of repentance”.

“I never considered a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as cause for withdrawing from a friend.” – Thomas Jefferson

Continue reading FLDS vs WOFF – How People Who Leave are Treated – part 8 →

Criteria for Cults, FLDS vs WOFF, Uncategorized

FLDS vs WOFF Similarites – Holidays – part 7

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     Celebrating holidays evolved over time in both groups. More accurately, the prohibition of celebrating holidays evolved over time. As far as is known, WOFF at this time does not celebrate any holidays, officially. Recently, I am told that more freedom has been allowed for family time on Thanksgiving. But, I feel sure the prohibition on eating turkey on that day is still in place. (that made for some creative meals on Thanksgiving, spaghetti anyone?)

     Elissa Wall in “Stolen Innocence” (copyright 2008) explains that FLDS did not celebrate traditional Christian holidays like Christmas and Easter. (page 64-65) FLDS did celebrate birthdays, even of deceased church leaders. (page 65)  From Ms. Wall’s account of celebrating Halloween for the first time, it was clear FLDS did not celebrate that holiday either. (page 261-262)

     My memories of Jane and Sam Whaley coming to the house we shared with another family in the Greenville church in 1994, are clear. Jane was given a tour of the house and commented on the Christmas tree we had displayed. She liked it and pointed it out to Sam. She even asked where it had been purchased? However, back then word was getting around the church that certain traditional things should be left out of the celebration. Santa Claus, over decorating with elves and reindeer were to be avoided. Wreaths were fine as long as they were not gaudy. Little did we know that in years to come Christmas would not be celebrated at all for WOFF members.

     Years ago, the first holiday to be jettisoned at WOFF was Halloween. Well, that would be obvious. Celebrating demonic things did not fit with the direction God had for WOFF or any other churches who were following the lead of Jane Whaley. “It is not wise to make light of demons.”

     Next, Valentine’s Day got the axe. “Why if you knew the roots of the tradition, you would not allow it in your home.” (Greek mythology) So, the pattern was set. Research soon was done on other holidays. ” By her death, the founder of Mother’s Day regretted even starting it.” Father’s Day could not be done if mother’s were left out. Soon the roots of other days like Fourth of July- “Firecrackers were invented by the Chinese to scare off devils.” Every holiday came under scrutiny. Easter? Well, “that date is tied to the phases of the moon, how can God be in that?” Easter bunnies and Easter eggs? “Signs of early druid worship.”

     In years past, WOFF had held special “Christmas Music Services” that later transitioned into just “Special Music” services. Relatives and friends in the community were invited. The crowds were large on some nights and the singing services were scheduled for two nights to accommodate the crowds. However, it became harder and harder to find Christmas songs that could stand the many tests. After all, Jane’s brother said “No where in the Bible does it say angels sing.” That bit of information took out several songs. Since the service was “an outreach”, Jane began to write songs that told the story of Jesus’ life from the gospels. Some were quite lengthy. All of this came to a head as Jane was “realizing” how demonic birthdays were. She then proclaimed Christmas as a birthday celebration for Jesus and therefore, it must be stopped. She said she had come to this “revelation a long time ago and was just now able to share it with the people. God had dealt with her.” That was a year full of relatives, co-workers and people in the community calling into question the happenings at WOFF.

     WOFF members were coached to write our relatives letters explaining our new understanding and why they would not celebrate Christmas as in years past. This was a very tense time as some relatives became hostile and felt personally rejected from the stopping of family get-togethers with all the traditional doings. Many “walk out strategies” were formed. First, no presents; then presents received way before the season or after December 25th may be kept. Office parties for those still working for companies not owned by church members were a special deal. Even companies owned by church members with employees other than WOFF church members, had a sticky path to walk. What about Christmas bonuses or turkeys given out at Thanksgiving? Do you accept those gifts? If not, how do you refuse a bonus? It was such a confusing time. If you accepted the gift and were not supposed to, then you were “partaking of the table of demons!”

     As a church, we were shown the “Origins of Christmas” video from the History Channel. Some children were encouraged to cover their eyes and ears. As well as certain parts were fast-forwarded even for the adults! From this video, the groundwork to reject Christmas AND birthdays was laid.

     After all, WOFF had so many other special meetings and seminars that focused on “the things of God”, why would they need holidays? WOFF had week long seminars in the month of May which was set around the week of Memorial Day. Then in July there was a youth seminar for everyone. This was usually the week of or weekend of the Fourth of July. Next, there was November seminar which was the week of Thanksgiving. The last Friday of these week long meetings evolved into a “Fellowship Night”.  Usually, children in 6th grade and under would stay at the church for dinner and games. Seventh grade and up would go to Jane and Sam’s for dinner and fellowship. For parents, you were expected to be with your children to “help take hold of their play time.” Then afterwards, most everyone was expected to help with clean-up. This meant yet another long evening as groups were assigned certain tasks to keep things moving.

    As in WOFF, FLDS did not celebrate major holidays, they had there own celebrations. Elissa Wall further explains, “… We had our own events to celebrate during the year, three of which took place in the summer months.” (page 65)

     The “B” in the “B.I.T.E model” stands for “Behavoir Control”. Steven Hassan explains an aspect of this in “Releasing the Bonds”(copyright 2000). He writes, “In the case of Jehovah Witnesses, members are told not to celebrate birthdays or holidays, like Easter or Christmas, because if they do, they will be in sin.”(page 47)  That is one of the first questions a WOFFer gets when they tell someone that they do not celebrate Christmas or birthdays; are you a Jehovah Witness?

     The Apostle Paul writes about certain convictions that need to be kept personal and not neccesarily taught as doctrine in the church.  

Romans 14:22
Your personal convictions [on such matters]–exercise [them] as in God’s presence, keeping them to yourself[striving only to know the truth and obey His will]. Blessed (happy, to be envied) is he who has no reason to judge himself for what he approves [who does not convict himself by what he chooses to do]. (Amplified version- Jane Whaley approved version, emphasis added)

     So many of Jane Whaley’s personal convictions are taught as valid doctrine. These “revelations” just end up being another tool of control. Sadly, this control process has been going on for years and has harmed many folks.

     Again in “Stolen Innocence”, Ms. Wall writes, “Our religion left no room for logical reasoning and honest questioning. Warren made no attempt to understand or tolerate any of this, deeming it as absolute rebellion”.  (page 44) Again, as with FLDS so it is with WOFF. Logical reasoning and honest questions about anything was not tolerated.  If you did not agree with Jane Whaley as she “heard God”, it was hard to stay at WOFF. That was especially true in the area of celebrating holidays and birthdays.

     Please, consume the information on this site responsibly. Be sure to tell every member that you know at WOFF about this blog. It could very well save their life.

      (Please, take time to read the Terms of Use for this personal blog. As mentioned, the information about WOFF is from my memories and recollections as perfect as that may be or not be. )

Criteria for Cults, Information control, Uncategorized

Why No Note Taking During the Service!

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     Several times it has been mentioned that during the services note taking was not allowed. Well, this was not always the case. It changed during a service when a woman came to the microphone. She was an office helper and it was common to see her at the podium making announcements. She said she had just read the notes from the notebook of a certain young man. She called his name and it was known she had been “helping” this young fellow and his family. This fellow’s father was the construction worker in the post about the magazine prohibition.

    The woman began to explain to Jane and others in a general address, that she had looked around during the services and seen people taking notes and not paying attention to “the word” (usually being preached by Jane). She put forth the idea that taking notes was a distraction. In order to prove her point, she began to read to the whole congregation the notes the young man had taken. Now, some were incomplete thoughts- BUT, THEY WERE NOTES! They were his personal notes!  It would be a safe assumption to say he did not expect them to be read aloud to the congregation. The content of the pages is NOT the issue here. From this discovery by this fledgling lieutenant, Jane approved the banning of note taking during services. The only approved note taking was scripture references: no dates, no names, no personal reflections, nothing but scripture references with not even a word or two about the scriptures!  

      The effect was clear and near immediate. “Note Nazis” sprang up EVERYWHERE! You were encouraged to watch your neighbor and make sure they were “taking hold” of the new dictates. Being watched for such details was a horrible feeling that just perpetuated itself on so many areas at WOFF.

     Several children took special interest in their ability to critique and report on adult behavior. During one service, a young boy told his mom that a visiting Brazilian was taking notes during the singing. The mom felt her usual pressure to make sure she reported any transgressions, told Jane in front of the whole congregation. Jane immediately called this man’s name and he was visibly flustered. He went to the front to talk to Jane and explain himself (get checked out..). After a brief conversation, Jane announced to everyone that the notes were okay because he was taking notes on the songs for his church in Brazil. So, the tension was diffused. However, the commandment to keeping watching the behavior of everyone in the service was clear. No one, well almost no one was exempt.

     This spying behavior is clearly explained as a characteristic of a destructive mind control group in Steven Hassan’s “Releasing the Bonds” (copyright 2000) . During the explanation of the B.I.T.E. model of common mind control behaviors; he explains the “I” as representing “Information control”. He explains: “People are expected to spy on one another and report improper activites or comments, such as criticism of the leader, doctrine or organization.” (page 49)

     It should also be noted that the spying requirement on each other was in FLDS. Elissa Wall in “Stolen Innocence“, outlines a situtation where her older sister went to Warren Jeffs about the doubts her mother was having. This led to the break up of her family. ( page 55) This was totally acceptable behavior in FLDS. Yet another similarity between FLDS and WOFF.

     The stopping of members taking notes went along with the increased contol over the audio or video tapes of the services. Since the “attack in 1995” (Inside Edition);  the tapes of services were increasingly controlled. First, you had to sign the tapes out with the person running the sound booth. You could take them with you but, were warned not to leave them in your car! “That could open the church up to an attack.” Next, you could not take the tapes off of the property, you had to listen to them in the fellowship hall. This was required for people missing a service or many of the folks on church discipline. Most nights of a week long seminar, tapes of the morning services or previous evening services were played after the evening service. If you missed the morning service, you were expected to stay after the evening service and watch the tape. Yes, WOFF would score pretty high when it comes to “Information control” as compared to other well documented religious mind control groups.

     Please, consume the information on this site responsibly. Be sure to tell every member that you know at WOFF about this blog. It could very well save their life.

      (Please, take time to read the Terms of Use for this personal blog. As mentioned, the information about WOFF is from my memories and recollections as perfect as that may be or not be. )

Criteria for Cults, FLDS vs WOFF, Information control, Uncategorized

Information Control – Newspapers -part 5 (cont.)

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      We will continue discussing Information control, as we consider newspapers. Actually, this is another case of one standard for Jane and one for “regular ” members. Jane would be very concerned as to the content of the local newspaper – especially when it had anything to do with her or WOFF members. She would either bring the evil newspaper in the church service or have someone else (usually one of her trusted leadership) bring one in to read parts of it to us — the “regular” folks. Of course, any news article that cast her in a favorable light or half-way told her story, made her happy and she would mention the reporter’s name. Depending on the “battle” at hand, we may even hear something out of the Charlotte Observer! How did she know every time when there was an article about her and/or the church?

      Regular members were not allowed to read the newspaper. One fellow’s wife found his newspaper under the seat of his pick-up truck and told Jane. Jane was ready for that “devil”. He was “corrected” in front of the whole church and made an example of… He said he was “just reading the sports page”… Oh, don’t make an excuse when Jane is giving you a major beat-down in front of the whole church! She would end up in such a high pitch, it would hurt our ears! She did that many times. You would think that everyone would just check their excuses at the door and take their scaldings! — Sadly, many did just that but, some would need more “persuasion”. This fellow took his “correction” and it was obvious he was barely treading water.

     What about the “free” copies that would be thrown at the end of your driveway from the local newspaper? Many times they would be run over when going in or out of the driveway or rot until it was evident that they were destroyed. Then someone could pick them up with no danger of being accused of reading them! Yes, this was life at WOFF.

     During the last few months of my WOFF tenure, I had an encounter that revealed the  “newspaper devil” in me. Here is my personal experience.

     In the first part of 2008, Bill Clinton came to Marion, NC. He was campaigning for Hillary. I rented a box at the local post office in Marion and there by the front door were two newspaper boxes just waiting for schlub like me. So, I glanced at the headline “Chief Campaigner”. Now, political leanings aside, that was big news for the small mountain town. I “stored” the info and truly had no inclinations to attend the meeting. Later that evening or the next; I shared that info with the same high school student from the Holocaust class. Well, the next church service, I was confronted in the hallway by one of the high level leadership. “So and so mentioned to me you were reading headlines from the newspaper in Marion! Do you have any conviction of how wrong that was?” I said- “No”. Immediately this person launched into a high-pitched Jane-like tirade about how “wicked I was and not setting a good example for the young people and how I would lose my family if this continued…” I was immediately sent to the “discipleship room” with all the other people struggling to “get their heart right”. In that room, you watched the church service on a “monitor” and were expected to fully participate with your “happy face”. It was understood, you were not allowed in the “sanctuary” before, during or after service. Well, most times: occasionally Jane would lift the ban and allowed those in discipleship to enter the doors, more often to sing, sometimes not. It was all so vague. If you needed further “correction” or “help”, you would hear your name over the monitor and quickly run to the sanctuary for your “encouragement” from Jane. Could it be more clear?

     My trip to the “discipleship room” could have been predicted, if I had just stopped to think about it. I had shown my penchant for a capacity for independent thought. It was obvious to others that there were some “restraints” that I did not agree with. Honestly, I had been reading the newspaper for a few years as part of my previous job as a property manager for a church member-owned company. I had to place adds in the newspaper! What a goofy set-up! You can’t, you shouldn’t but, you have to in order to perform your job? Wow, who can win when the rules are so convoluted and subject to change according to the situation you are in at the time? There is no doubt that you will be wrong when making your way through the ever changing situations.  But, who said living in a religious cult had to make sense or be easy?  🙂

“Our liberty cannot be guarded but by the freedom of the press, nor that be limited without danger of losing it.” –Thomas Jefferson to John Jay, 1786.

     Count me with President Jefferson.

      Please, consume the information on this site responsibly. Be sure to tell every member that you know at WOFF about this blog. It could very well save their life. There are some good readers inside of WOFF. I know for sure.. 🙂

      (Please, take time to read the Terms of Use for this personal blog. As mentioned, the information about WOFF is from my memories and recollections as perfect as that may be or not be. )

 

Criteria for Cults, FLDS vs WOFF, Information control, Uncategorized

Information Control – Books -part 5 (cont.)

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     As we continue on the subject of Information control and books, let me relate my personal experience. Seniors in the church school would dual enroll in certain approved classes through a not so local community college. The one class I had personal knowledge of was an online version of a class on the Holocaust. It was open to adults in the church by the teacher and I wanted to enjoy some time with a high school student taking the class. My knowledge of the subject was very limited.

     The book list was not long. I did read most of the material. One book was a pictorial of the time period. So, per the teacher, my book was “covered with sticky notes” by another concerned teacher close to the situation. So, as an adult my book was censored. Why did I let it happen? “You never want to appear “ungrateful” for someone taking the time to cover an “unclean picture” that “may attack you”… In order to continue with the class, I went along. The goal then was spending time with the student – not proving a point on censorship. The time spent with that student was more important than making waves. The goal was accomplished. I enjoyed the class regardless of the censorship.

     Why bring it up? It proves many points. One was the lengths people inside a mind control group will go to in order to get along and stay, versus being singled out and corrected in front of the group or their family. I wanted to be a part of the class and knew compliance to the censorship was not an option, but a requirement.

      Next, the teacher of the class at the community college holds a leadership position in WOFF. She preaches fairly often from the pulpit, as Jane allows and also serves as one of the administrators of the church sponsored school. She has taken Holocaust projects from her students and displayed them at certain public venues in the area, in years past. Her main class at the community college is the Holocaust class. She should be very familiar with Hitler’s Information control methods used to separate the German people from the outside world. Hitler’s learning position came as a “propaganda officer” in earlier years.

     In April of 2008, during a sermon preached at WOFF; this teacher in the school and community collage chided in a very demeaning manner anyone in the church who wanted to read the newspaper, watch TV or listen to the radio. She mocked this “person” by saying, “I just want to know, I just want to know…” She wagged her head and used a very mocking tone. The irony was so overwhelming! She has studied the effects of Information control during Hitler’s reign of terror. Yet, she gave her personal endorsement from the pulpit of WOFF for censorship, OBVIOUSLY with Jane Whaley’s approval. This person’s message was in total agreement with messages Jane had preached in years past. How could this teacher in the community college setting deny what she had studied in the years past? Does she not even doubt in her own mind the harm of using censorship on a group of people?– Or in her mind, “Do the ends justify the means”? Again, as Hassan writes, “When you control the information that a person is allowed to receive, you limit their capacity for independent thought.” (Releasing the Bonds, copyright 2000, page 42)  Her involvement in WOFF continues to be a subject of amazement.

     What more can be said on this incident? What price do people pay to stay in a group such as WOFF? What is the cost of ignoring the obvious Information control that exists in both FLDS and WOFF ? What advantage does this teacher derrive from ignoring her knowledge of well documented mind control in Hitler’s reign and be a willing accomplice to push the SAME MIND CONTROL on the folks at WOFF?

     “If you tell a big enough lie and tell it frequently enough, it will be believed.” – Adolph Hitler

     Please, consume the information on this site responsibly. Be sure to tell every member that you know at WOFF about this blog. It could very well save their life. There are some good readers inside of WOFF. I know for sure.. 🙂

      (Please, take time to read the Terms of Use for this personal blog. As mentioned, the information about WOFF is from my memories and recollections as perfect as that may be or not be. )

Criteria for Cults, FLDS vs WOFF, Uncategorized

FLDS vs. WOFF – the Similarities – part 5

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     In “Releasing the Bonds”, (copyright 2000) Steven Hassan outlines the characteristics or marks of groups that practice mind control. He supplies the B.I.T.E. model as an easy way to remember the major parts of his well researched ideas. We mentioned this in the first post: Behaviour control, Information control, Thought control and Emotional control.

     Let us look at some ways that both FLDS and WOFF use Information control. Hassan writes, “When you control the information that a person is allowed to receive, you limit their capacity for independent thought.” Hassan explains the areas o f control;  “2. Access to non-cult sources of information minimized or discouraged  a. Books, articles, newspapers, magazines, TV, radio” (pages 42, 43) (emphasis added)

     We can stop here and immediately see similarities between FLDS and WOFF. Brent Jeffs in “Lost Boy”writes that ” in my early childhood, the church was nowhere near as strict as it became. We were allowed children’s books… Later, Winnie and his friends were banned by Warren, who thought humanlike animals was sacrilegious. Ultimately, the only books he allowed were the Bible, the Book of Mormon, and his own teachings.” (page 55)  Then later, “Even books- particularly children’s books – were forbidden. The images in these books were idols. Kids should learn to read from the Book of Mormon or from Warren’s approved writings. Unapproved books were burned at Short Creek.” (page 103)

     Elissa Wall in “Stolen Innocence”writes, ” While we were able to watch TV when I was much younger, life had grown more constricted under Rulon Jeff’s direction. In an attempt to cleanse the people of all outside influences, he banned television, films, and video games. Through Uncle Warren we’d been told that the prophet had ordered that all the books in the school library that were not priesthood approved be burned…  ” (page 37)

     As with FLDS, WOFF has gone through changes in the degree of information control over the years. Some areas have become more strict and some less. Television has been a “no-no” in regular member’s homes for many years. At the church, the television sets are called “monitors” so the children won’t be “confused”. These monitors are connected via a closed circuit broadcast system set-up in the buildings on the property. As mentioned, Jane has at least one television in her home and “God tells her when to watch it”. Other folks would “give over to it when God didn’t say and it would take them over.” So, that is why “regular” members don’t have TVs in their home.

     Radio is “of the devil” and many a person has been scalded in front of the church for being caught or admitting to listening to the radio in their car. That “music or whatever you “gave to” (listened to) will take you to hell!”. One lady said that her  husband was listening to music in his car while he drove around for work; was one reason they separated and eventually divorced. She found evidence of that music in his car! He would not stop listening to music that was not church (Jane ) approved! 

     Children’s books: ALWAYS a big deal at WOFF. Earlier on, I can’t remember one approved children’s book. Later, a member who serves as a librarian in a public school, would bring books to Jane and others in leadership for approval. She then would offer them for sale as a “fund raiser” for the christian school…? So, that was nothing but a seed bed of strife as something obviously would be missed and a parent would fuss because their child saw something “ungodly”. Eventually, the person who “approved” the book would stand up and admit they had missed something and as Sam would put it “every man for himself..” Which never was the case, since everyone lived so closely, that ANY book your child had someone else would see and if it did not “feel right” to them you would be reported… 

     Then there was the “sticky note” solution. Just cover that picture with a sticky note! And warn the children- if they lifted the sticky note, they would be in big trouble! It would show them that there was SIN in their life! Well, I know of what I write because at times, to help a teacher in the school; I would cover the pictures  in the children’s school books- myself! Yes, I am guilty! Why? It was the accepted practice and to kept things going smoothly, you helped the teacher. You NEVER asked “Why are we doing this?” Rest assured, I have seen the error of my ways.

     Things at WOFF may be different now, but I seriously doubt it. There was a time when there was a push to simply write their own curriculum. (Now, that would be an FLDS, Warren Jeffs thing –  if I had ever heard of one!) Not sure how that has progressed or died away. There had been a publicized push years ago for the school to get accredited. That was put on hold with Jane’s assault trial. Not sure if the push has begun again.

     We will continue in the next post with more on books.  Then, lets talk about magazines and the dreaded newspaper. I do hear a whole lot of “quacking” goin’ on!

Please, consume the information on this site responsibly. Be sure to tell every member that you know at WOFF about this blog. It could very well save their life. There are some good readers inside of WOFF. I know for sure.. 🙂

(Please, take time to read the Terms of Use for this personal blog. As mentioned, the information about WOFF is from my memories and recollections as perfect as that may be or not be. )

Books, Resources, Criteria for Cults, Uncategorized

What Criteria Should We Use?

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The words “Jonestown”,  “Heaven’s Gate” and “Branch Davidians” are known by many people. The tragic end of these cults strikes fear in some and bewilderment in others. But what about the names of other churches that have been proven to exhibit just as much control? They are not nearly as well known because their practices have not been investigated or published. What makes a religious group or church considered a cult? What tests should we apply to a group to determine if a group is dangerous or cultish?

According to Steve Hassan, a leading cult expert and counselor; the beliefs of the group do not determine cult status. How does the group control individuals? That is the key. In his book, “Releasing The Bonds, Empowering People to Think for Themselves” He outlines four areas of control that can be questioned for any group. He calls it the BITE model.

Behavior– how are individuals controlled through time commitments and having to ask before making decisions?

Information– What are the restraints on non-cult sources of info? Is there spying on other members?

Thoughts– Is there a Good vs. Evil mindset? Us vs. Them? Use of thought-stopping techniques?

Emotional Control– Use of fear to control decisions? Fear of thinking independently? Fear of losing one’s salvation? Ritual and/or public confession of sins?

Using these keys and the others taught by Hassan, one can know quickly if the group they are joining or are a part of practices mind control and is a cult. The control practices are the ones that limit the individual and prohibit critical thinking. If any of these practices are present turn around and walkout.

(Please, read the “Terms of Use” for this website…)