Cults Of The Religious Kind - Don't Be Fooled

by LadyGuinevere

Several ways religion uses to gain power over you and examples of Cults and their Leaders.

CULTS

Cults are very dangerous to your life and the lives of your friends and family
Cults are very dangerous to your life and the lives of your friends and family

Characteristics of A Cult

Here are ten signs that you have been indoctrinated or Brainwashed. One does not have to exhibit all ten, just a few will suffice.

1.) CHARISMATIC LEADERSHIP- the unquestioned obedience and submission to the claimed authority, divine appointment, and knowledge of a central leader or group of leaders who demand such obedience to prove the individual's faith, motives, integrity and trustworthiness.

2.) TOTALITARIAN WORLD VIEW - a "we-versus-they" view of the outside world designed to enhance the group's identity, goals, and welfare at the expense of the individual. Group members are the heroic "good guys", and outsiders are the villainous "bad guys."

3.) ELITISM - benefits of belonging are unobtainable to outsiders but available to the loyal only through association with the group - from personal empowerment and spiritual highs to fulfillment and ultimate salvation. The group views itself as the only one with "the truth" and lives accordingly.

4.) DECEPTION - the group's free usage of dishonesty, falsehoods and questionable claims in both it's indoctrination of new members and it's rejection of "outsiders" who seem critical of the group. Any media and literature used may be characterized by deceptive and misleading claims.

5.) ALIENATION - the group's active encouragement of it's members to remain separate from those family, friends and parts of society opposed to group ideals. The outside world is viewed as sinful, ignorant, Satanic and must be fully withdrawn from - thus reinforcing the group's control.

6.) FATIGUE- the deprivation of members of sleep, needed rest times and free time with the insistence that long hours of work and meetings are a means of demonstrating true faith, real dedication to a cause, or determination to succeed. The effects of mental fatigue impair the individual's ability to critically think or even rationally function, leaving them open to manipulation.

7.) FEAR - the usage of continuously overemphasized phobias (irrational fears) to control members (some of these being programmed fears of hell, fear of the government, fear of certain objects, fear of business loss, fear of the "world order", fear of displeasing God and others, fear of the devil, fear of other races, fear of displeasing the group's leaders and mentors and fear of losing close ties to the group)

8.) EXPLOITATION - a broad trait ranging from pressure to give all of one's wealth and time to the group to the usage of guilt, secrecy and emotional manipulation to maintain control: the threat of expulsion is a particularly powerful leverage of control, as is verbal, sexual and even physical violence.

9.) CHANGE IN DIET - under nourishment as well as unhealthy nutrition used to keep members mentally dulled and thereby less able to engage in independent thinking - the greatest enemy of destructive cult groups. Mind-altering toxins, drugs and chemicals are used in some foods sometimes in deliberate fashion.

10.) LACK OF PRIVACY - individuals are not allowed moments of private solitude or contemplation which may lead to independent thought: frequently, group members live and function in society together, and monitor each other closely (particularly in family situations) to ensure conformity to the group's proscribed lifestyle.

These ten traits are all designed to accomplish one central cult goal: indoctrination into the group's belief system with a simultaneous shutdown of independent thought . The nature and precise details of that belief system will differ sharply from group to cause to philosophy to study group, but the human dynamics involved are always the same. When you find a group of warm, friendly people who have all the answers, whose group claims to speak for God or possess "true enlightenment" exclusively and encourages you to stop thinking for yourself, you have found a destructive cult - no matter what the label, exterior reputation or collection of testimonies would say otherwise.

For more information here is that website address:http://www.spiritwatch.org/mincon10.htm

** I have just found yet another control mechanism that is being use:

"articles don't mean it is true. I know"

One more important piece of information:  If they keep asking for money to do certain things for you.  Not only this but asking for more increases because you need to pay more *seed* money because your circumstance or concern is more expensive to fix.

Archimedes Screws and Water Wheels, 1478-1518
Studies of Toothed Gears and For a Hygrometer, Codex Atlanticus, 1478-1518
Ad AllPosters

Fear is a great way to gain people into believing whatever it is that you want them to believe. The Church does this all the time and they take it as their authority to do so.

I bet that most of you who read this either think this is not true or that it is not you. I hope that some of you will take a long hard look at these facts. If you know someone that is like this then please try to help them. Most, not all mind you, TV Evangelists are using mind control and fear and mis information to lure people into their following. A few are Jimmy Swaggert, John Hagee, Benny Hinn and others that plead or your money.

Mind Control - Indoctrination - Brainwashing are all the same and are all used in Churches and cults. Now you may think that your church does not do this, but you are wrong. Why do I say that, well because they do. In this article I will pull from various sources and give you the links to them so that you can research further--or of course you can let others tell you how and what to think and allow that fear to grip your mind. Either way it is up to you. It is your mind that God gave only to you and for you to use. Why would you want to give it to someone else?

Cults That Kill - Charles Manson

Charles Manson: He says that he is Jesus Christ even while sitting in jail. He said that Jesus told him to kill anyone who didn't do as he believed. He got his followers to kill a mother. Not only that but she was 8 months pregnant and they cut out her baby and killed it too. He still has connections while he is in Jail. He will never be let out for the horrendous crimes that he got his followers to do. If he were he would be killed right after leaving the gates of the Jail.

Charles Manson- Helter Skelter

Charles Manson thought he was Jesus
Charles Manson thought he was Jesus

Cults That Kill -- Jim Jones

Jiim Jones: This was the guy that brought all his followers down to Gyanna and murdered all of them just to get them to believe that they were all going to go to heaven and something about the rapture too. I say murder, because some of those people were made to drink the cyanide- laced kool aid. When reporters came to see it all they were shot to death. He used scriptures too and he was very good at mind control.

Jim Jones - People's Temple

Jim Jones
Jim Jones

David Koresh - Waco Texas

David Koresh
David Koresh

Cults That Kill -- David Koresh

David Koresh: They get their followers there by telling them they will have everything they could ever want or need and that he will look out for them. Only the women are controlled and not allowed to leave. They are all kept in one room and he indoctrinates them so they spat off scripture when asked any question. It is automatic with them--they don't even think of what they are spouting off. I seen this on the Television the other night where a reporter was there to do some research on the group that was lead by David Koresh in Waco, Texas. He asked it the world was going to end. The lady rattled off some scriptures that she believed where true and the world was going to end in May--I don't know what year, but it was the year they did the interview. Well the world did not come to an end like she believed in the scriptures. The reporters did get some interviews from a few that had left. There was a guy that told about how one lady was having a baby and all they did was spout scriptures and the baby kept coming and going in death. He took the baby to the hospital and it survived. Sadly enough though the lady's sister had told the reporters that the sister that they interviewed never left and she died there.

Read the full story in People Magazine:http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20109959,00.html

Mind control and brainwashing is dangerous.Before you give up the control of your own mind you better do your research.

--------A MIND IS A TERRIBLE THING TO WASTE------

Religions That Are Cults

By now you are really thinking that I am lying if you are one of the hard core believers of your faith. Let me show you how the Catholic Church does this in an article that I pulled from a source that it to be shut down in a few months.

According to Canon Law (the official laws governing the Roman Catholic Church), Catholics are required to submit their minds and wills to any declaration concerning faith or morals that is made by the Pope, or by a Catholic Church council. They are also required to avoid anything that disagrees with such declarations. Furthermore, they can be coerced if they don't comply. (You can read these laws online. If you want to buy the book, the Notes give information.) [Note 3]

The Catholic Church teaches that only the Magisterium of the Church (the Pope and the bishops in communion with him) has the right to interpret Scripture. People like us are not allowed to interpret Scripture for ourselves. We are supposed to check it out with Church authorities

Furthermore it goes to say:

Catholicism teaches that Catholics are supposed to "receive with docility" any directives given to them by Catholic Church authorities.

This sounds like young children, who accept without question whatever their parents tell them. In contrast, the Bible commends the people of Berea, because they "searched the Scriptures daily" in order to "see whether these things were so." (Acts 17:10-11) God wants His people to check things out for themselves, using Scripture as their yardstick.

In 1854, Pope Pius IX declared the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of Mary. The Pope said that if people "dare" to even think anything contrary to this dogma, then that disagreement will shipwreck their faith, cut them off from the Catholic Church, and make them become "condemned." He said that people who outwardly express disagreement could be punished for it

++++++++++++++

It is in their laws that they must brainwash it's congregation. These are also spreas to other denominations and the like. It is a Cult. Anything that keeps you from seeing the truth is a lie and an attempt to get your mind and your very soul. Jesus said to Seek and you shall find and he also said to Test all that come to you in the Bible and otherwise. I think he knew what was going to happen to his people after he left this earth and was putting in a disclaimer for the Bible itself and those who would use it for their own agendas. This is why you need to read the entire Bible for yourself and not in a church or from any clergy.

+++++++++++++++

Addresses of websites that have the "Code of Canon Law "are below. Some of them take a while to load after you click on the links. If you can't get through to the web page, then go to the home page and try to find it from there. [To find the home page, delete everything that comes after "com," "org," or "net."]

http://www.intratext.com/X/ENG0017.htm

http://www.ourladyswarriors.org/canon/

http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/_INDEX.HTM

****Here is a testimonial from a former Nun telling her the experiences that she had with the church. It is very interesting to read and to read all the tings that she found about the church and it's doings and mis-leadings.

http://www.catholicconcerns.com/Source.html

The Catholic Bible

American Standard Bible
American Standard Bible

Benny Hinn Ministries

Joyce Meyers

Joel Osteen

How to De-Program

An excellent article on how to deprogram from a cult or religion:  

Deprogramming:  Shedding destructive Religious bonds. Can we do this by ourselves?

Updated: 06/12/2013, LadyGuinevere
 
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LadyGuinevere on 02/11/2013

When they take something good and turn it into a control mechanism, that is when it goes bad. Now lots have told me that anything can be a cult. The thing with religious cults that everyone outside that cult will notice is that when they try to walk away then the trouble begins. If you teach a different way or side of the Bible then they jump on you like fleas to a dog. That is cultish behavior. If you cannot leave the religion without getting beat up verbally, emotionally and sometimes downright physically then you are in a cult. Those within the cult cannot see that. They are robots for the leaders and nothing more. Thanks for reading and commenting.

PaulGoodman67 on 02/11/2013

Great list of characteristics and article. I myself am a religious skeptic. I think there is a lot of negative psychology that goes on in religions, which can do harm to individuals. Cults are the extreme, but even in the mainstream, bad things go on.

LadyGuinevere on 01/11/2013

cazort , Thank you very much for reading and commenting. When I found the truth in the Catholic Doctrine and started coming away from church, I was drug through the mud, made a martyr of and even threatened. Mind you that was the 3rd religion I came out of.

cazort on 01/11/2013

I found this an interesting and thought-provoking page. A lot of it resonates with me. I also think a "we vs. they" or "us vs them" outlook is a very dangerous thing, and often a red flag that something unhealthy is going on.

It's also interesting, but Landmark Forum (which I went through and found to be cult-like in various ways) definitely uses the "fatigue" technique you mentioned here. I think that having down-time to contemplate and process new information is of critical importance.

LadyGuinevere on 10/28/2012

You bet it is.

WNJohns on 10/28/2012

That's some crazy, scary stuff! o.o!

LadyGuinevere on 04/06/2012

Wow thanks for your story. I hope things get better.

LadyGuinevere on 03/11/2012

Oh wow. I don't go to a church at all and left all organized religion and I am claimed to be in a cult or going to be in one. It's a crazy world out there. Thanks for sharing your story here.

PDXJPrice on 03/11/2012

Lady, I was involved in a church for about a year that became increasingly cultlike, adhering to ALL TEN traits you listed here. When I began dating my wife, the pastor instantly wanted to meet with me. It felt odd, and i never did. Members began to be banished and others isolated from family and friends. I started feeling strange so I left. Charges have since been filed against the church. I'm glad I got out when I did. The church lives together in four different communal houses. I was offered a bed in one of the house, but balked at the lack of privacy (I'd be sharing a room with ten other men) and eventually faded away. Sadly, I've had to cut off friendships with all of them and have not been to that church building in over a year. Everyone who's left, some voluntarily, some banished, have scary stories to tell.

LadyGuinevere on 02/16/2012

Thanks Katiem


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