Archive | June 2012
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Eight Ways to Identify Religious Brainwashing: Mystical Manipulation (Part 2 of 8)
This is the second in an eight-part series on how to identify brainwashing in a destructive group or cult. It is based off of Dr. Robert Jay Lifton’s “Eight-Point Model of Thought Reform” and borrows from several other authorities on the topic of religious mind-control.* You can see the first post here. 1.) Part One: […]
Mind-Field: Eight Ways to Identify Religious Brainwashing (Part 1 of 8)
Aki Ray, a former child-soldier in Cambodia, is now one of the world’s foremost mine-clearing experts. He walks through the jungle looking for landmines and then defuses them one by one. He’s alive because he knows what to look for in the weeds. Can you identify the subtle signs of mind control? I couldn’t. That’s […]
Criminal Profiles of God
“The most portentous fact about any man is not what he at a given time may say or do, but what he in his deep heart conceives God to be like. We tend by a secret law of the soul to move toward our mental image of God.” – A.W. Tozer Have you ever taken […]
Top Resources for Spiritual Abuse and Cults
When I was in a cult, I ignored anything with the word “cult” in the title; I thought it didn’t apply to me. However, as soon as my cult broke apart, I eagerly sought resources on the topic of spiritual abuse. Through trial-and-error and much Googling I found websites, books, and organizations which met my […]
Faith Healing? Trust in God, but See a Doctor
Missionary doctor Paul Brand related the following story in the November 25, 1983 issue of Christianity Today: David Gilmore told about an illness of his 15-month-old son, Dustin Graham Gilmore, that began in April of 1978. At first the child came down with flu-like symptoms. The Gilmores took him to their church and the pastor […]
Ten Ways to Reach the Unreachable
Your son has stopped calling. Or your daughter. Your sister’s mannerisms have changed. Now all she wants to talk about is her church and the wisdom of the leader. She stops showing up at family gatherings. She returns Christmas presents, unopened. Your brother terminates a conversation. “Stop trying to deceive me,” he shouts. “You’re just […]
Why People in Cults Don’t Think They’re in Cults
I sat in my usual pew and stared at the yellow piece of paper on my lap. Warning Signs of a Cult, it said. Around me, the rest of the congregation did the same. September sun had warmed the old sanctuary and wasps practiced silent minuets in the rafters. Fall nights are cool in Maine. I […]
The Death of Faith
A baby’s tragic death. “Strange” behavior by church members. Townsfolk concerned. The Media flummoxed. In the East Texas town of Wells, a recent event highlights the danger of elevating one biblical teaching out of proportion to the rest of scripture. It shows why a church can be biblical and yet unorthodox. The Death of Faith […]
Beginnings
Beginnings sometimes start at the end. To understand why I chose to create this blog, you need to understand what I disovered two years ago. My life would never be the same. ~~~ Something bad was about to happen. “What’s wrong?” Teresa asked. She stared at me from the other side of the car. A light rain […]
Liberty for Captives 