You are the Workman I am the Frame

Chance has not brought this ill to me;

It's God's own hand, so let it be, For He sees what I cannot see. There is a purpose for each pain, And He one day will make it plain That earthly loss is Heavenly gain. Like as a piece of tapestry Viewed from the back it appears to be Only threads tangled hopelessly; But in the front a picture fair Rewards the worker for his care, Proving his skill and patience rare. You are the workman, I the frame. Lord, for the glory of Your Name, Perfect Your image on the same.

Memorial Day

Freedom Is Not Free

I watched the flag pass by one day. It fluttered in the breeze. A young Marine saluted it And then he stood at ease. I looked at him in uniform, So young, so tall, so proud, With hair cut square and eyes alert, He'd stand out in any crowd. I thought how many men like him Had fallen through the years. How many died on foreign soil? How many mothers' tears? How many pilots' planes shot down? How many died at sea? How many foxholes were soldiers' graves? No, freedom isn't free. I heard the sound of taps one night. When everything was still I listened to the bugler play And felt a sudden chill. I wondered just how many times That taps had meant "Amen," When a flag had draped a coffin Of a brother or a friend. I thought of all the children, Of the mothers and the wives, Of fathers, sons and husbands With interrupted lives. I thought about a graveyard At the bottom of the sea, Of unmarked graves in Arlington. No, freedom isn't free. LCDR Kelly Strong, USCG © 1981 Kelly Strong In honor and memory of all those who have fallen in service to our great country. Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13

Why do people start cults?

Few set out to "start a cult," at least intentionally. Rather, they are individuals who feel they have something to offer that no one else has; some special understanding or anointing from God, etc. Their opinion of themselves gets inflated, and they soon allow for no distention or differences of opinion among their followers. Their growing number of recruits give them a sense of power and affirmation, further corrupting their fallen nature. Gradually they lose any real humility, fully believing they are God's sole spokesman to the world.

Recovery from Religious Abuse

What happens to individuals who have been psychologically abused and morally betrayed by fundamentalist cultic religious groups? How can they recover from the damage done? Physically leaving such a group is relatively easy, but the emotional and psychological departure can take months or even years.

The religiously abused frequently suffer from emotional and psychological problems. I believe that it is time that our society recognizes and deals with religious abuse as a social-psychological disorder in itself.

Generally, a person who breaks involvement with a dysfunctional group will encounter the following problems:

• Depression - the product of group-induced self-doubt and self-blame.
• Isolation and loneliness - the shock of crossing the barrier from one social environemnt to another.
• Impairment of decision-making and other intellectual skills.
• Difficulty in talking about group involvement - often related to strong feelings of guilt, fear, and bitterness.
• Interpersonal difficulties - communication, expression, making new friends, organized activities, dating, emotional and physical intimacy, etc. Recent walk aways are frequently mistrustful and suspicious of other people and groups.

So, how does one recover? How does a person heal the wounds of religious abuse? Hopefully, within a caring and understanding new social setting. This can be a family, a support or therapy group, or an organized community such as a mainstream church. It should also be done with patience and the consideration that recovery will take time and effort. The following are some ideas for persons who have walked away from religious abuse and who are on the road to reclaiming their lives.

• Work towards trusting yourself and relying on your own abilities.
• Put your experience down in writing. This will help you to evaluate, understand, and cope with your past involvement in the abusive group.
• Get in touch with other people who have gone through similar experiences, either one-on-one or in a support group.
• Find a hobby or pastime to reinforce a positive sense of accomplishment.
• Handle decisions, tasks, and relearning of interpersonal skills one step at a time. Don't rush yourself, talk and think things over, and don't be afraid if you make mistakes - we all do!
• Be more willing to help people as you go along. This builds up self-esteems and exercises your problem-solving skills.
• Take a breather from organized religion for about three to nine months, at least. Deal with your questions about religion, ethics, and philosophy in an honest and challenging manner.

Remember, you are no longer a victim but a survivor!

Heathly or Unhealthy faith?

The Religaholic

Running from life is the everyday reality of the religaholic. In our fear of living forever in our pain or being overwhelmed by it we often run into the nearest type of relief available - even unhealthy faith.

To some the religaholic will look good. They are at every church function, preaching to all they meet. They look like the perfect Christian in all their works. Inside they have a poor self-image and don't feel worthy of God's love. They experience the thrill of being valued by others but don't feel valued in themselves.

They may admonish those they don't feel are walking right with God (to their standards). They may berate their friends and relatives for rebelliousness against God. They will bash and shame people into doing things their way. They may constantly demean and condemn those who don't measure up. Just like a substance-abuse addict they will blame everyone and everything else for their problems and rather than face them. They may even decide to turn their back on those they don't feel measure up to their standards in an attempt to not face themselves.

The unhealthy faith becomes entrapped and enmeshed in an unhealthy involvement in church and church life. Convictions become addictions and the pains of life are eased with excess activity. Rather than becoming dependent on God the person is dependent upon work and the comfort they experience when they become too involved to have to cope with their problems. The peace they find is not the peace of God by the peace that comes from the numbness of avoidance.

Worship and praising God is a wonderful experience. However those who have an unhealthy faith will use this to achieve emotional highs and these highs become the focus of the experience rather than God being the focus. Rather than bringing them closer to God this type of experience only serves to further alienate them from God because they can only feel good when they are having the emotional high and there is nothing in between.

The Freedom Of Healthy Faith

A healthy faith leads to growth and maturity. We are able to stand firm knowing that God will see us through. We can face the storms and grow in the process. A healthy faith the size of a mustard seed can move mountains.

Healthy faith has a respect for others. It doesn't attack the faith of others out of insecurity. With security dependent upon God there is no need to feel threatened. Different viewpoints can be seen as the result of different people at different places in their faith walk. People of different denominations or even differing factions within a denomination will not be perceived as the enemy in a healthy faith system.

When faith reaches this level in frees us to serve God more fully.

This freedom moves us to serve others rather than working to serve ourselves and our own needs. Where healthy faith exists the needs of others are met. The widow and orphan is cared for; the hungry are fed; the disabled to helped; the sick are visited.

This healthy faith also gives us the freedom to be vulnerable. Being vulnerable means being real. Healthy faith frees us to come out of hiding and share ourselves with others. Healthy faith leads to trusting God, others and ourselves.

Tithing

• The tithing teachers try to prove that tithing was required by God long before He gave the Law to Moses. In the following section we will consider their favorite passages of Scripture.

Genesis 14

Then Melchizadek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abram saying, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. And blessed be God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.” Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything (Genesis 14:18-20).

“See,” they say, “tithing was a necessary practice way back in the days of Abraham.”

But read the context which, in this case, is the entire chapter.

The first thing you find is that the “everything” in question did not belong to Abram. It was the property of other people, including Abram’s nephew, Lot, who had been captured by the armies of several kings.

Abram and a small group of his servants had gone to battle against these great armies and—against all reasonable expectations—had won. Melchizadek recognized that God had granted this miraculous victory (v.20).

Notice Abram’s statements in verses 22-24. He owned none of the property in question before the battle and, although entitled to the spoils as the victor, he refused to take any of it: “I will accept nothing belonging to you…” (v.23).

Abram gave away ten per cent of other people’s stuff, in a representative act of thanksgiving to God on behalf of some people who had been miraculously rescued from a life of slavery.

This was a once-only event. It has nothing to do with the now common teaching that you should give ten per cent of your gross weekly income to a group of professional religious leaders.

• If such people insist that you follow the example of Abram in Genesis 14, you should go to their homes and take their property and give 10% of it away.

There were four tithes in the Old Testament.

1. The people paid a general tithe to the Levites

“I give to the Levites all the tithes in Israel as their inheritance in return for the work they do while serving at the Tent of Meeting” (Numbers 18:21).

All the tribes of Israel, except the Levites, had a designated geographical area as their “inheritance”. But the Levites—in return for their work within the nation—received income tax of 10% from the rest of the population.

The Levites functioned as:

• the Health Inspectors,

• the Police,

• the Justice Department, and

• the Education Department.

To put it simply, the Levites were the Public Service in Israel, and they were supported by a system of income tax called “tithes”.

And interesting point to consider in this book is the fact that these tithes were only allowed to be given to Levites. So if you “really” feel the need to tithe to someone, for it to be acceptable, you are going to have to find a Levite, and I am sure that he or she will thank you.

2. The Levites paid a tithe of the general tithe to the priests

The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the Levites and say to them: ‘When you receive from the Israelites the tithe I give you as your inheritance, you must present a tenth of that tithe as the Lord’s offering…to Aaron the priest…’” (Numbers 18:25-31).

All the priests were Levites, but not all Levites were priests. The priestly caste were descended from Aaron and they had specific responsibilities related to the Temple worship.

The second tithe guaranteed the financial security of the priests, and thereby protected the Temple system..

3. The people kept a tithe to pay for their annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem

Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year. Eat the tithe of your grain, new wine and oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the Lord your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name, so that you may learn to revere the Lord your God always.

But if that place is too distant and you have been blessed by the Lord your God and cannot carry your tithe (because the place where the Lord will choose to put his Name is so far away), then exchange your tithe for silver, and take the silver with you and go to the place the Lord your God will choose.

Use the silver to buy whatever you like: cattle, sheep, wine or other fermented drink, or anything you wish. Then you and your household shall eat there in the presence of the Lord your God and rejoice (Deuteronomy 14:22-26).

The people of Israel were required to assemble three times a year at Jerusalem (as the place chosen by the Lord) for the major feasts.

This was meant to be a time of rejoicing and the Lord ensured that everybody had sufficient resources available to enable them to fully enter into the rejoicing by commanding that they set aside 10% of their annual income for that purpose.

Notice the next verse (27), “And do not neglect the Levites…” This was a reference to the first tithe. In other words, the third tithe—for the annual feasts—was not to be confused with the separate and distinct general tithe for the Levites.

Also note that this tithe was not acceptable in the form of money or silver. If needed they could bring silver to purchase their tithe and then consume it. It was provision for their own house hold.

4. The people paid a tithe for the poor, the orphans and the widows

At the end of every third year you shall bring out all the tithe of your produce in that year, and shall deposit it in your town. And the Levite, because he has no portion or inheritance among you, and the alien, the orphan and the widow who are in your town, shall come and eat and be satisfied, in order that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do (Deuteronomy 14:28-29).

This tithe went to the poor, the widows and the orphans. In Australia, we call that “Social Security”. It was payable once every three years, which equals one-third of a tenth annually.

These tithes were not ‘gifts’, they were taxes. The total tithes paid by the Israelites were 23.3% of their total income, about the same as what the average person pays today in income tax.

But we do not live under the Law, we live under the grace provided in Jesus Christ. If you choose to submit yourself to even part of the Law of Moses, you have a problem.

For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the Law, to perform them” (Galatians 3:10).

If you choose to place yourself under the works of the Law, you are under a curse, for the simple reason that you cannot keep the Law of Moses. Your fallen, sinful nature will see to that.

I do have one question for anyone still stuck in the “tithing” mind set. Why are you bound by only one of the Laws of Moses? If you are bound by one of them shouldn’t the whole Law of Moses apply to you? it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the Law, to perform them” (Galatians 3:10). If you are following these Laws then what is the point of GRACE? If the Laws of Moses still stand then Jesus Christ died and rose for nothing!

Interesting fact that the Jewish (people that do still follow the law) do not tithe.

Which one was justified?

Jesus taught us about two men, one of whom tithed and one of whom did not.

“Two men went up into the Temple to pray, one a Pharisee, and the other a tax-gatherer. The Pharisee stood and was praying thus to himself, ‘God, I thank Thee that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax-gatherer. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all I get.’

But the tax-gatherer, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’

I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, but he who humbles himself shall be exalted” (Luke 18:10-14).

Which one was justified before God, the tither or the non-tither?

There is a form of sacrificial giving that God despises:

And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing (1 Corinthians 13:3).

God looks on the heart, and He is not impressed by loveless giving. Your motivation is everything.

Cheerfully

Let each one do just as he has purposed in his heart; not grudgingly or under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7).

What the Bible is saying here is: Give what you are genuinely happy to give.

It is not saying: Give more than you can afford, and then pretend to be happy about it.

The closest thing to a formula for giving in the New Testament is found in the words, “…as he has purposed in his heart…”

God wants you to give what you want to give, what you are comfortable in giving. If you cannot give it cheerfully, don’t give it at all.

…from every man whose heart moves him…

“Tell the sons of Israel to raise a contribution for Me; from every man whose heart moves him you shall raise My contribution (Exodus 25:2).

This offering was for the construction of the tabernacle, the most important thing in the Old Testament. God only wanted contributions from those who were genuinely happy to give them

What does the Bible really teach about tithing?

Tithing has nothing to do with being a Christian.

Spiritual abusers have frequently used tithing as a method for squeezing God’s people dry.

Bible Based Cults

The Orthodox Bible-Based Cult A group is called a cult because of their behavior - not their doctrines. Doctrine is an issue in the area of Apologetics and Heresy. Most religious cults do teach what the Christian church would declare to be heresy but some do not. Some cults teach the basics of the Christian faith but have behavioral patterns that are abusive, controlling and cultic. This occurs in both Non-Charismatic and Charismatic churches. These groups teach the central doctrines of the Christian faith and then add the extra authority of leadership or someone’s particular writings. They center around the interpretations of the leadership and submissive and unquestioning acceptance of these is essential to be a member of good standing. This acceptance includes what we consider non-essential doctrines i.e. not salvation issues (such as the Person and Work of Christ.) The key is that they will be using mind control or undue influence on their members.

Members will be expected to give substantial financial support to the group. This could be compulsory tithing (which is checked); signing over all their property on entering the group; coercive methods of instilling guilt on those who have not contributed

Abuse Of Finances: Pressure to give all you can to the group. In non-communal groups, members usually live at the lower socio-economic strata, not because of a lower income level, but because they are always giving money to the group for some reason.

Severe Guilt Complexes They are made to feel guilty of everything they did before entering the group and are to strive to be good and worthy for eternal life. Misdemeanors are made into mountains so that members are in a constant state of guilt for infringing even the most minor rules. Guilt comes because they aren’t doing enough; entertaining doubts or questions; even thinking rationally for oneself. This guilt is piled upon pile with new rules constantly being laid down about what is sinful and what is not. Illness may be seen as lack of faith - more guilt. Emotional illness may be seen as proof of sin in your life - more guilt.

Forgiveness.....

A Note to Victims about Forgiveness The first step for cult abuse survivors is to tell their story and connect with their outrage about the abuse. While these feelings are coming to the surface, it will be impossible to forgive the people in the cult. False forgiveness will only weaken victims' boundaries, prevent them from telling their story and thereby prevent healing. If you have been abused, sometimes a well-meaning friend or counselor may advise you to forgive someone or something. But only do it if you want to. Follow your gut feeling in the matter of forgiving a perpetrator. You are the only one who can know how much you were hurt and when you're ready to forgive. Forgiveness is not important. If the abuser is a psychopath, he will not appreciate your forgiveness anyway, but just laugh at you. Ultimately the healing has to take place within the individual, it cannot be forced from outside. Aggressive therapies to induce forgiveness or confrontation with the perpetrator can be destructive. Often the overt abuse has stopped, but subtle abuse lingers. Cults may even try to control their ex-members in covert ways. People often get stuck in the victim stage too long. This can be miserable for the victim and everyone around him. The main thing that leads to this stuck place is that there are too few qualified people to listen to victims' stories. The victim must tell his story and be acknowledged, not preached to, told to forgive, or further abused. Without a qualified person to listen, the victim (lacking personal boundaries) will try to tell his story to everyone he meets. This starts a downward spiral because the more he complains, the more confusion and mistrust he creates. His manner of discharging drives people away, leading to further isolation. Here are some signs that you may be stuck in the victim role: if you still suffer from childhood issues, if you are depressed or have suicidal feelings, or if you are being abused in a close relationship. It's okay to be a victim, but there eventually comes a turning point (or series of points) where you are vindicated and go into recovery. This usually happens after you finally feel you have told your story to a non-judgmental person (or group) and you finally realize that you did not deserve to be abused. Once you validate yourself you can throw away your resentment and integrate the lessons of your experiences. Having a qualified listener (or listeners) leads you to the next step, which is faith that you will heal.

It Hurts

It Hurts by Jan Groenveld The Emotional Pain Of Leaving A Cult The following is how former cult members and members of spiritually abusive systems described how they felt when they finally left their group. This may give you some insight into their pain and why there are no easy answers for them. It Hurts

• It Hurts to discover you were deceived - that what you thought was the one true religion, the path to total fredom, or truth was in reality a cult.

• It Hurts when you learn that people you trusted implicitly - whom you were taught not to question - were pulling the wool over your eyes albeit unwittingly.

• It Hurts when you learn that those you were taught were your enemies were telling the truth after all - but you had been told they were liars, deceivers, repressive, satanic etc and not to listen to them.

• It Hurts when you know your faith in God hasnt changed - only your trust in an organization - yet you are accused of apostasy, being a trouble maker, a Judas. It hurts even more when it is your family and friends making these accusations.

• It Hurts to realize their love and acceptance was conditional on you remaining a member of good standing. This cuts so deeply you try and suppress it. All you want to do is forget - but how can you forget your family and friends?

• It Hurts to see the looks of hatred coming from the faces of those you love - to hear the deafening silence when you try and talk to them.

• It Hurts to know you must start all over again. You feel you have wasted so much time. You feel betrayed, disillusioned, suspicious of everyone including family, friends and other former members.

• It Hurts when you find yourself feeling guilty or ashamed of what you were - even about leaving them. You feel depressed, confused, lonely. You find it difficult to make decisions. You dont know what to do with yourself because you have so much time on your hands now - yet you still feel guilty for spending time on recreation.

• It Hurts when you feel you are all alone - that no one seems to understand what you are feeling..

• It Hurts because you know that even though you were deceived, you are responsible for being taken in. All that wasted time ... at least that is what it seems to you - wasted time.

The Pain Of Grief Leaving a cult is like experiencing the death of a close relative or a broken relationship. The feeling is often described as like having been betrayed by someone with whom you were in love. You feel you were simply used. There is a grieving process to pass through. Whereas most people understand that a person must grieve after a death etc, they find it difficult to understand the same applies in this situation. There is no instant cure for the grief, confusion and pain. Like all grieving periods, time is the healer. Some feel guilty, or wrong about this grief. They shouldn't - It IS normal. It is NOT wrong to feel confused, uncertain, disillusioned, guilty, angry, untrusting - these are all part of the process. In time the negative feelings will be replaced with clear thinking, joy, peace, and trust. Yes - It hurts but the hurts will heal with time, patience & understanding. There is life after the cult. Copyright 1985, 1995 Jan Groenveld Cult Awareness & Information Centre, PO Box 2444, Mansfield, 4122, Australia

"It's not having been in the dark house that matters, but having left it that counts."

Selfishness is......

Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live, it is asking others to live as one wishes to live. - Oscar Wilde

What was it P.T. Barnum said, about there being a sucker born every minute?...

Often, members are pressured into quitting outside jobs, and just working for the cult (for very low wages, or for no wages at all). The members become dependent on the cult for everything from food and clothing to medical care. Often, the cult then gives members an allowance that is so small that members simply cannot afford to leave.

The cult wants to own you.

You don't get the promised benefits from any of the other cults, either. You just get used and abused and taken (and then often, when your money is gone and you become disillusioned, discarded). Those who leave a cult usually immediately become enemies and scapegoats and ostracised pariahs, and contact with them is usually forbidden. Defectors from the cult are viewed as very dangerous enemies because they may encourage more members to leave (by saying true and sensible things about the cult). The cult wants to own you.

The cult wants your life. Some cults want all of your money; some want all of your time; most all of them want all of your heart, mind, and soul.

One of the most obvious and visible problems here is "too many meetings". They want to occupy too much of your spare time -- like all of it. They have meetings, and then they have classes or "Bible study" or "training", and perhaps also lots of prayer sessions or chanting or meditation sessions, and then they have assemblies and conventions, and then some more meetings, in an endless cycle. And somewhere in the midst of all of that you are also supposed to go out recruiting and/or fund-raising.

The cult also wants to control you. First, they want to control all of your time, and then they will try to control more and more parts of your life: your sex life, your diet, your choice of reading materials, your choice of jobs, your consumption of drugs and alcohol (both legal and illegal), and sometimes even what doctor-prescribed medications you may take.

Scapegoating and Excommunication

Some cults specialize in scapegoating -- periodically picking out one member and blaming him for all of the cult's problems, and kicking him out of the cult.

Many cults practice shunning and ostracism of those who leave the cult. Cults just cannot tolerate people leaving voluntarily. There is a great danger that those who have come to their senses and quit the cult will also lead others out by talking some sense to them, so cults viciously denounce those who leave, and instruct the remaining members to have no contact with those who have left. The Jehovah's Witnesses call deserters and exiles "people who have been disfellowshipped", and contact with such people is forbidden. Scientology calls them "suppressive persons", and again, contact with them is forbidden. The Moonies won't allow contact with splitters, either.

It may occur to you that there is an apparent contradiction here: Some cults routinely excommunicate doubters and slackers and keep their remaining members in line by threatening to expel them, while some other cults don't want to ever let anybody leave, not under any conditions, not for any reason. Part of the answer is, "It's a matter of who strikes first." A cult member who comes to his senses and says, "This is a crazy cult and the leader is a liar and I'm leaving" is a great threat to the cult because he may well instill doubts in other members. He may cause some other members to wake up and smell the coffee, and quit too. On the other hand, if the cult leader attacks first, and says, "Joe is lazy and immoral and unspiritual and we must kick him out before he contaminates others with his evil", then anything that Joe says after that is just some sour grapes, and not so much of a threat.

Hmm.....Where have I seen this???

As the new member changes his own thinking to make it conform with the cult's thinking, he will reinterpret his memories of his previous life in cult terms, viewing them through the tinted or distorting lenses of his new value system. He will often decide that former friends are now enemies because they do not approve of the cult or share his new values. In extreme cases, converts denounce their parents and other family members as "servants of Satan", or some such thing.

Members vie with one another for the guru's attention, and for status within the group. Everyone is trying to become part of the favored inner circle. The leader plays the members off against each other in order to maintain his hold over the cult.

Indoctrination

Willa Appel described how cult indoctrination progressively changed members' minds:

Banishing thought strips away another layer of the personality, another hunk of the individual's mode of operation developed in response to long-term interaction with the "real" world. The granting and withholding of approval comes to replace the complex evaluation system that serves as the basis for behavior and determines action. Subjects become more willing to act on command from an external authority and less able to act independently. "Each time they'd ask me to do something more," David Wallace said of the Divine Light Mission, "I'd sort of swallow my pride and try it. Witnessing and soliciting are things I always felt queasy about. But you do it. You eventually lose your gut feelings. You're given directions and you follow them even though you know they're wrong. Like the special charitable projects, when you knew all the money was going for new toys for the Guru. You know it's wrong, but you do it anyway." Cults in America; Programmed for Paradise, Willa Appel, page 90.

The cult takes over the individual's decision-making process

The cult takes over the individual's decision-making process, and plans and runs his whole life for him. The cult reduces the individual to dependence upon the cult for all important decisions, and even for minor ones. It is common for members of cults to even have to ask permission to go visit their own family, or to go to a parent's funeral.

Many cults reduce their members to such helplessness that they are incapable of making the simplest of decisions without asking their mentor or leader for guidance. In one of his anti-cult books, Steve Hassan advised parents to watch out for hesitation on the part of their children when they ask the children to come home for a visit. An answer like "I'm not sure, let me see, let me think about it for a while," really means "Give me time to ask my mentor for permission to visit my old family."

Separatism

I find this information extremely accurate.

• Cult members learn to value other cult members more than outsiders.

• The cult has its own culture.

• Sometimes cult members physically separate themselves from society and isolate themselves in their own compound, temple, or commune.

• Cult members learn to value only the cult's teachings. Outsiders' beliefs and moral standards are considered irrelevant.

As the cult develops its own separate idea of reality, it exhibits a loss of common sense.

A corollary to cults' claims of having The Only Way is the belief that "the other people" do not have The Way. "They" are all misguided and missing the boat, and "they" won't be going to Heaven, or they won't achieve Enlightenment, or they won't get whatever the declared goal of the cult happens to be. Thus the cult encourages an isolationist "us versus them" mindset, which is the heart of separatism.

Oh Great Guru.....

The leader is not held accountable for his actions.

The leader answers to no one. He doesn't stand for (real) re-election. There is no functionalCouncil of Elders or Board of Directors or Board of Trustees that can discipline him or replace him if he fails to perform his duties properly. Nobody even has the authority to define just what his duties are, for that matter. Everybody else needs the guru to boss him around, but nobody bosses the guru around.

This needs no explanation.

The guru criticizes everybody else, but nobody criticizes the guru.

Criticizing the leader would conflict with Cult Rule Number One -- The Guru Is Always Right.

Dispensed truth and social definition of reality

The cult and its leaders are the source of all Truth, Wisdom, and Knowledge. The leader proclaims the new doctrine, the new revelation. The cult defines reality and declares what the truth really is and what good and bad are.

Any outsiders who espouse a different 'truth' are attacked as evil or stupid, or just ignored.

Cult leaders often impose very strict rules on their followers, while breaking those same rules themselves.

"Oh Lord, Grant that we may always be right, For you know that we will never change our minds.

Hierarchical, Authoritarian Power Structure

The cult features an Undemocratic reality, Control-oriented leadership, and Superdemocracy or Pseudo-democracy. The cult has social castes, arranged in a hierarchical structure. The cult has Royalty -- The children of the guru are often the princes and princesses of the new kingdom. The inner circle of courtiers is blessed above others, and gets special priveleges

Members Get No Respect. They Get Abused.

The cult has no respect for its members, on either the physical, mental, or spiritual planes. The cult demands total loyalty from its members, but the cult has no loyalty to its members. Cults often use members like just so much slave labor.

The guru or the group demands ultra-loyalty and total committment

You can't just be a member of the group -- your loyalty to the group must be total. You must obey orders without question. You must devote the rest of your life to the cult. They say that you must be willing to go to any length and make any sacrifice to achieve the group's goals. You must be willing to give the group everything you have, and to work for the group tirelessly, for free.

They call members who are not obsessed with the cult, and who try to live balanced lives with outside interests, "weak hands", "wimps" and "fair-weather friends".

What is the Overall Effect?

What matters most is the overall impact these thought-stop processes have on a recruit's feelings, will, and ability to make personal choices. A person's uniqueness, talents, skills, creativity, and free will should be encouraged and not suppressed in any healthy group. Cult mind control programs seek to mold recruits into the image of the cult leader(s), although the recruits may not be aware of this. This process is called "cloning" from a psychological perspective.

Recruits' "new identities" within a cult are the result of a systematic process that works to dissociate them from their previous identities, including beliefs, values, and significant relationships. The end result is the creation of a dual identity: a dominant "cult identity" that is constantly at war with the subconscious old identity.

Behavior Control

Behavior control is described as the regulation of one's physical and mental reality. A new recruit is coerced repeatedly to squelch his/her critical-thinking skills and gut instincts in return for group approval and inclusion. Exerting such a control over people allows high-pressure groups to determine most or all of the following:

• How much financial dependence recruits are to have on the group, what percentage of recruits' income is collected for the group's purposes.
• Where, how, and with whom recruits live and associate.
• How much time is spent on leisure activities such as relaxing, sleeping, leisure activities, and vacationing.

Once behavior control is put into effect, recruits respond and react accordingly. The recruits:

• Unwittingly commit themselves to the required indoctrination sessions and group rituals.
• Relinquish many personal decision-making processes and go to the group to determine minor and/or major life decisions.
• Steer clear of individualism and independent thought as group-thought prevails.
• Adhere to often unforeseen rigid rules and regulations.
• Develop a need for obedience to and dependency on the group

Information Control

• Levels of Information

Often, and necessarily so within cults, information is compartmentalized. That is, only certain top-notch members are privy to exactly what is happening in the leadership and with the group as a whole. Information pertaining to the group doctrine is fed in small, digestable spoonfuls to new recruits for a reason -- so that they remain ignorant for the time being of the workings of the system. Leaders are seen as possessing what Lifton called "sacred science," or having the ability to decipher and interpret doctrines, philosophies, etc, in a way that no one else has ever done or could ever do.

• Information is not freely accessible
• Information varies at different levels and missions within pyramid
• Leadership decides who "needs to know" what

• Outside Information Forbidden

Access to information outside of that of the group is minimized or discouraged. These restrictions are set on:

• Certain books, articles, newspapers, magazines, TV and radio shows that expose the group
• Critical information pertaining to the internal problems within the group
• Written critiques, letters, editorials, or history of involvements of former members of the group

Marks of a Destructive Cult

Mind Control (undue influence)	Manipulation by the use of coercive persuasion or behavior modification techniques without informed consent.
Charismatic Leadership	Claiming divinity or special knowledge and demanding unquestioning obedience with power and privilege. Leadership may consist of one individual or a core of leaders.
Deception	Recruiting and fundraising with hidden objectives and without full disclosure.
Exclusivity	Secretiveness or vagueness by followers regarding activities or beliefs.
Alienation	Separation from family, friends, society, a change in values and substitution of the cult as the "new family"; evidence of subtle or abrupt personality changes.
Exploitation	Can be financial, physical, psychological; pressure to give money, to spend a great deal on courses or give excessively to special projects and to engage in inappropriate sexual activities, or child abuse.
Totalitarian World View	Also known as the "we/they" syndrome, effecting dependence, promoting goals of the group over the individual and approving unethical behavior while claiming goodness.

Disturbed Members, Mentally Ill Followers

Nothing like poking a little fun at myself :) This one is tough.

But in truth, the cult members still con themselves. It isn't like they can't ever see that something is fishy, that things are not what they are advertised to be, that the phony guru isn't delivering the goods, that the guru and his cult are dishonest. The members have to deliberately overlook a lot of contradictions and discrepancies in order to become and stay true believers. They have to rationalize and explain away a lot of stuff, and deceive themselves about what is really going on. So in the end, the cult members con themselves.

F.B.I. Agent Fox Mulder on the TV show "The X-Files" had a poster on his wall that read, "I Want To Believe." That is the national anthem of a lot of cult members. They just want to believe, in spite of any and all evidence to the contrary.

Wanting to believe is perhaps the most powerful dynamic initiating and sustaining cult-like behavior. The Wrong Way Home: Uncovering the Patterns of Cult Behavior in American Society, Arthur J. Deikman, M.D., page 137.

Some of the things that cult members believe are so extreme that you can only conclude that they are insane. In Vernon Howell's ("David Koresh's") Branch Davidian cult, Howell told his followers that he was the son of God, and that he had to sexually take all of the women and girls in the cult and impregnate them, in order to produce the "Grandchildren of God", and the other male members actually believed it and handed over the women. Even more extreme, cults like the Branch Davidians, the People's Temple, Heaven's Gate, and the Solar Temple actually convinced their members that they should commit suicide. And they did it. Now that is undeniably nuts.

Some people want to know the truth, and some people just want to believe in fairy tales. Cult members choose to believe in fairy tales.

They like to think that truth is identical to belief. They like to imagine that their believing that something is true will make it so. They like to imagine that they are so powerful that their believing something will change the world.. They don't. Believing that the world is flat does not make it so.

Not all cult members are the same, of course. Some may be just a little deluded or a little confused, or "going to wise up eventually", or maybe even "just visiting".

But some cult members are pretty crazy, and they really want the con, the big illusion or delusion. Some people don't get seduced or conned by the phony guru -- they are eager to join the cult. It's love at first sight, because they love the black and white thinking, and the absolute declarations that "We are right and everybody else is wrong. We have the Truth and you don't, so there!" They will make remarks like, "This is just what I've always been looking for, all of my life. I've never felt so at home before." They love the grand feeling of being special, of being important, of being one of God's Chosen Children, and of being on a big mission to save the world. They love the spiritual make-believe, and they don't want to be bothered with mere reality or mundane, ordinary existence.

They tend to become very angry if you tell them the truth and try to convince them that the whole routine is all a big fat hoax. Watch for the Ad Hominems and Personal Attacks On Critics: "Oh yeh? Well you're just stupid and evil and an atheist and don't know anything. You're working for the forces of Evil, trying to defeat us in our great quest."

Or they react with fear, like, "Oh my God! If the Guru is a phony, then what will I do with my life? Who will tell me what to do? Where will I go? How will I get to Heaven? No, that can't be true. The Guru is a genuine saint."

Or: "I refuse to believe that I wasted twelve years of my life in a cult, practicing false teachings and worshipping a phony guru. You are wrong."

Often, those crazy true believers form the innermost circle of sycophants who surround a phony guru and act as his lieutenants, keeping the rest of the troops in line.

In extreme cases, the true-believer followers put up with incredible amounts of hardships, deprivation, suffering, and abuse, often at the hands of the leader, and they still won't leave.

When you are investigating a group, just look around and ask yourself how many of the members appear to be less than sane, and how many appear to be mentally healthy and relatively "normal." Any church can have a few neurotics, that is to be expected, but cults collect more than their fair share of the fruits and nuts...

Disturbed Guru, Mentally Ill Leader

Disturbed Gurus Cult leaders are often charming, charismatic figures with above-average intelligence. The "charismatic charmer" is one their personalities -- a pseudo-personality.

Many cult leaders suffer from borderline, disassociate or multiple personality disorders. Members feel honored to be with, and be seen, around them. But their personality can change dramatically in a flash. Cult leaders are always very disturbed individuals. They are usually victims turned persecutor, having a history of involvement in other social, political or religious cults and/or suffering the effects of a traumatic childhood. Behind their strong and confident exterior (pseudo-personality) they need their leader position to compensate for a very fragile sense of self-worth, self-esteem and self-identity.

This is also shown by the fact that they cannot "hack it" in the real world and need to live in a cult/sect environment to live out their problems. Their past histories show social marginality and a tendency to drift from one cause to another, one cult to another, one job to another, one marriage to another, etc. They spend their lives dedicated to their cause (also, increasing through the Internet, now). They are obsessive-compulsive, fanatical and manipulative.

Nothing will stand in the way of their visions, schemes and self-glorification -- not even the well-being of their partners or children. They manipulate the minds of vulnerable members, extorting money and sexual favors and/or abusing them psychologically, physically and/or sexually.

Narcissistic vampires believe they are so special that the rules don't apply to them. They expect the red carpet to be rolled out for them wherever they go, and if it isn't, they get quite surly. They don't wait, they don't recycle, they don't pay retail, they don't stand in line, they don't clean up after themselves, they don't let other people get in front of them in traffic, and their income taxes rival great works of fiction. Illness and even death is no excuse for other people not immediately jumping up to meet their needs. They aren't the least bit ashamed of using other people and systems for their own personal gain. They boast about how they take advantage of just about everybody. Emotional Vampires: Dealing with People Who Drain You Dry, Albert J. Bernstein, Ph.D., pages 135-136.

A person with Narcissist Personality Disorder... has a sense of entitlement, i.e., unreasonable expectations of especially favorable treatment or automatic compliance with his or her expectations... DSM-IV-TR == Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision; Published by the American Psychiatric Association, Washington, DC. 2000; pages 658-661.

The Cult is Money-Grubbing

This is simple. The cult is just always scheming to make more money, one way or another, either from cult members or from outsiders, and often, from both.

• Often, the cult members spend a lot of their time selling something, or collecting donations, or working at a cult-owned business. Cults are also often dishonest and deceptive in how they get money.

The Cult Implants Phobias

For just a few examples, cult members fear that if they leave the cult they will:

• die painfully or violently.
• become an alcoholic or drug addict.
• go insane.
• be a failure.
• lose control completely.
• lose their dreams.
• lose all hope of a happy future.
• become unspiritual.
• lose their relationship with God.
• be defeated by Satan.
• be possessed by demons or evil spirits.
• lose their chance for immortality or salvation.
• be judged unworthy when Armageddon takes place.
• not be taken up to Heaven when the Rapture happens.
• be unloved.
• be ostracized and rejected by the group (this threat is real).
• be abandoned.
• be accused unjustly.

Things that make you go hmmm......

• You get a ready-made extended family when you join the cult. Sometimes, you move into their living quarters upon joining, and really get an all-encompassing community. Or you just spend all of your spare time at the temple or center or meeting hall, only associating with other members, who are your new circle of friends

• New members are expected to hand over their minds, their wills, their lives, and sometimes even their souls, to the group. (And, often, also their credit cards, checkbooks, and the deed to their house.) This is often masked as surrendering to God or Jesus or "the Will of God", but since God isn't around to issue new orders, the cult will do it for Him. It's just like when the TV evangelist tells you to give your money to God, he instructs you to make the check out to his church, not God

• The idea of surrender is confused in a cult. There is a phenomenon of surrender in real religious or spiritual training, but it gets distorted in a cult and gets turned into something like servile obedience to a dictatorial master.

• It just seems like there are always a few cult members around who giggle a lot, and proclaim that it's all so wonderful. "Praise the Lord! Sing hallelujah! Glory be! Thank you Jesus! It's a Miracle!" (or something similar) is their standard response to everything. It's like a giggly hysteria or mania. Those people have shut down their logical thinking minds for the duration, in trade for group acceptance and a world of spiritual make-believe.

• The cult is self-absorbed.

That is, the cult is the most important thing in the lives of the cult members. Sometimes, it is their entire life.

Faithful members will tell you that the cult has given them a whole new life, but that new life is often nothing more than working for free all of the time to raise money for the cult, and recruit new members for the cult. Sometimes, cult members live together and have few social contacts besides other cult members. And all they talk about is the cult.

• Aggressive Recruiting.

Cult members work hard at getting more members. That, and fund-raising, are often the major activities of the cult

• No Humor.

Try telling jokes about the leader and the church. If the members go ballistic on you, you are involved with a bunch of religious fanatics. ("Screech!!! That's NOT funny!") Jokes about other stuff don't count -- the jokes must specifically poke fun at the leader and his church and the church's beliefs. Some humorless cults pretend to have a lot of humor by laughing and joking all of the time about everything except the leader and the cult.

Alan Watts said that his definition of sanity was the ability to come off it. If you can poke fun at someone's foibles and get him to laugh and come off it, then he's okay. On the other hand, if he just says exactly the same thing again, but twice as loud, because you were apparently too deaf to hear it the first time, and couldn't understand his genius, then you have a problem on your hands.

• You must change your beliefs to conform to the group's beliefs.

The price of admission to the club is that you must come to believe what they believe. You must also be ready and willing to change your beliefs in an instant, whenever the leader expounds some new doctrine.

This one is so obvious that it is easy to overlook. At first glance, you might think, "Isn't that what all religions demand? That you believe what they believe?" Well yes, it is, more or less. But imagine the opposite. If you have a group that does not demand that you change your beliefs to conform to the group's beliefs, then that is very un-cult-like behavior. So it is still relevant.

In addition, there is the issue of variability. Cult leaders tend to make up new doctrines whenever they feel like it, while established churches may take centuries to modify their beliefs.

There is also the issue of how much you must conform. Most mainstream religions are tolerant of members who have diverse or differing beliefs on some issues. But cults demand great conformity, and can be very unforgiving of any deviation from standard dogma. So it's a matter of degree.

• Dishonesty, Deceit, Denial, and Falsification

Cults are dishonest in many areas:

• they practice deceptive recruiting,
• they are hypocritical,
• they lie about the faults or shortcomings of the leader or leaders,
• they lie about the real nature of the group,
• they lie about the real goals and purposes of the group,
• they lie about what they have done in the past,
• and they lie about their finances.

• Secrecy supports cult-like behavior, as we saw in the Life Force group, where the hierarchy was maintained through limiting access to information. Secrecy functions not only to cover up unethical activities from outside eyes, but also to increase authoritarian control over the larger group. By promoting the idea that the leader or the in-group have special information and expertise, they remove themselves from criticism and justify the exclusion of others from the decision-making process.

In the case of religious cults the special information and expertise is described as divine inspiration or enlightenment. The cult leader's presumed higher state precludes lower beings from judging his or her actions. Similar claims are made in government where special knowledge of the enemy or secret technical information is said to justify decisions that would otherwise be objected to on moral or even practical grounds.