Tag Archive | cult leaders
Book Review of “Broken Trust” by F. Remy Diederich
Editor’s Note: I rarely endorse books. This is an exception. Remy sent me an earlier draft of his book and requested feedback. I made some edits, but mostly I just rejoiced that he had written such a book. I believe it is the most helpful resource about spiritual abuse that has yet been written. The […]
Mind Games of Abusers: When Words Have No Meaning
If you dialogue with a spiritually abusive leader or cult member, prepare to enter a mind warp. The rules of sense, reason, and accepted definitions go out the window and are replaced with jargon, double-speak, and circular logic. You step out of reality and stare into a funhouse mirror. Cult leaders make pronouncements which they […]
The Lion Makers: Fred Phelps and the Outcome of Cult Leaders
In India, there were four Brahmans who set out on a journey. Three of them were highly educated but had little common sense. The fourth had little education but good sense. As they journeyed through a field, the first Brahman said to the second and third, “Through our own efforts and hard work we have […]
Personality Disorders in the Church: Paranoid Personality Disorder (Part 4 of 5)
In my research on cults—and in my own experience as a former cult member—I have learned that many cult leaders evidence traits of undiagnosed personality disorders. What is a personality disorder? According to the Mayo Clinic: “A personality disorder is a type of mental illness in which you have trouble perceiving and relating to situations […]
A Sensitive Topic: Personality Disorders in the Church (Part 1 of 5)
Author’s Disclaimer: This is a topic easy to abuse. “Let’s label people with a disorder so we can kick them out of church leadership!” No, that’s not the purpose of this series. But I have found the information I’m sharing here so personally liberating—and so helpful a framework in explaining various cult leaders I have […]
Liberty for Captives 