Mind Control by Cults

Information from: Spotlight Ministries
Used by permission.
http://www.spotlightministries.org.uk/
http://www.spotlightministries.org.uk/mctrct.htm
( A copy can also be found at: http://www.christiananswers.net/evangelism/beliefs/test-mindcontrol.html )

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Although cults differ in their belief systems they all use the same mind control tactics. The purpose of this article is to give you the chance to test yourself to see if you are the victim of well known manipulative mind control techniques. No one single religious group has been singled out in the following questions. Rather, the information below has been gathered with many groups in mind, all of which are known to use mind control on their members. It should also be noted that these questions are not merely limited to religious groups. There are also many non-religious, secular, business, and political groups in existence today which also use mind control on their members.

Are You The Victim of a Mind Control Cult? Test Yourself.

-- Do you feel that no matter how hard you try, the ‘good deeds’ you perform for your group are never quite enough? As a result of this do you often feel plagued with feelings of guilt?

-- Is questioning the group, or the group leaders, discouraged or frowned upon?

-- Does the group you belong to believe that it is an elite and exclusive organisation which alone has ‘the truth’ and answers to life’s questions?

-- Does the group pour scorn upon, attack, and mock other Christian churches and their interpretation of the Bible?

-- Is reading any literature critical of the group discouraged? Many cults will warn members not to read anything critical of the group, especially if written by ex-members (who are called names by the cult such as “apostate”, “hardened”, or “of the devil” etc.). This is a well known information control technique to stop the member from discovering the clear and documented errors of the cult. Member's abilities to think for themselves are effectively disarmed in this way. Instead, they will think more and more as the rest of the group thinks.

-- Take a look at the way the group looks and acts. Does everyone dress more or less the same, act the same, and talk the same? One observer, speaking of his particular involvement with a cult, said that the group encouraged its members “to do everything in exactly the same way - to pray the same, to look the same, to talk the same. This in psychology is a classic example of group conformity. Its purpose is to ensure that no one tries to act differently or become dissident, thus nobody questions the status quo.” (Andrew Hart, Jan. 1999).

-- Does the group discourage association with non-members (except, maybe, for the possibility of converting them to the group)?

-- Does the group give you ‘black and white answers’? -- What the group agrees with is right and what the group disagrees with is wrong.

-- Does everyone in the group believe exactly the same things (i.e. what the group leaders tell them to believe)? Is there no room for individual belief, or opinion even in minor areas?

-- Does the group wear ‘two faces’? On the one hand, does it attempt to present itself, to potential converts and the public at large, as a group of people who are like one large family, who have love among themselves, where everyone is equal? But on the other hand, the reality is, that many members inwardly feel unfulfilled and emotionally exhausted?

-- Have you attempted to disable your own critical thinking abilities by ‘shelving’ various doubts about the group or group’s teachings etc.

-- Are others in the group, who do not conform to the requirements of the movement’s teaching, treated with suspicion, and treated like second class members?

-- Does the group tend to withhold certain information from the potential convert? Are the more unusual doctrines of the group not discussed until an individual is more deeply involved in the movement?

-- Do you feel fearful of leaving the group? Many cults use subtle fear tactics to stop members from leaving. For example, the group may imply that those who leave will be attacked by the Devil, have a nasty accident, or at least not prosper because they have left ‘the truth’.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you answered “yes” to most of the questions above, the group that you are involved with is certainly using manipulative mind control techniques. Now that you know this, what will you do?

Firstly, you need to realise that whatever group you are part of, it does not have the monopoly on God. For many people in mind control cults, leaving the movement is usually considered the equivalent of leaving God Himself and forfeiting one’s salvation. However, the truth is, that there are Christians in all denominations who have found salvation in Christ alone, and not a Church. Many people who are trapped in a spiritually abusive religious system often feel as though they would have nowhere else to go if they managed to make the break from the group. The answer is found in what Jesus said in Matthew 11 : 28 -- “Come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest.”

Secondly, you do need to leave the group. This may be difficult, but by staying you will only continue to be spiritually and mentally abused. You will also be contributing to a system which, in your heart, you know to be wrong. Also, don’t let pride keep you from leaving the group.

Thirdly, don’t feel as though you will be alone in your decision to leave. There are many individuals who have been in the same situation as yourself. These people come from many different religious groups, but have all been victims of the same dominating mind control techniques. Today, many are living new lives of liberty, security, and hope.
.

Survivors of Destructive Cults

Survivors of destructive cults often need help with their quest to return to the real world.
There appear to be many people willing to provide that help. However, it would be wise to check if they have relevant qualifications. Recommendations from previous patients would also be very valuable.

With regard to the above, you may wish to check the long list of contacts in this post on the Weinland Watch blog: Time Well Spent

Otherwise, this post and the reply, from a restricted forum may be of some help :-

=============================

"I have a question, perhaps a little strange but here we go. Do we have a psychologist on board? I would be very interested to hear his or her thoughts on the prophet. I have a medical background but wouldn't dare try and figure this whole mess out. I wonder what a psychologist would have to say about the prophet? I know, sensitive subject, but inquiring minds want to know, or do they?"

Reply :-
Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be a psychologist on board.
However, there are resources on the Internet that appear to be helpful.
There is a page of links to "Online Texts about Cults and New Religions" on the skepsis website. http://www.skepsis.nl/nrm.html
Interesting articles that seem to apply to CoG-PKG [1] are :-
Langone, Michael D. -- Clinical Update on Cults (1996) - Psychiatric Times.
Santucci, James -- Old Wine in New Bottles: What is New in New Religions (extracts below).

Old Wine in New Bottles: What is New in New Religions (2000)
James Santucci, Dept. of Comparative Religion, California State University
--------------------------------------------
"This discussion serves as a good introduction to the approach so many people have today of cults. Here is a listing of what I think most individuals and the media would associate with cults:
1. a false or bogus religion because it is detrimental to the welfare of its members. Religions are supposed to elevate human aspirations, spirituality and morals, not degrade them.
2. They are small in size, the implication perhaps because cults can never attract the larger portions of the community.
3. Cults are controlled by an individual of unlimited power, the notion that unlimited power projects unlimited danger to the unsuspecting individual adherent.
4. Cults are culturally divergent, i.e. non-mainstream, thus strange in appearance, behavior, dress, belief.
5. Very often mind control techniques are employed, suggesting not only the dangerousness of the leader, but his (or her) cunning and deceitful methods."
--------------------------------------------
"...and the beginnings of an emphasis on mind control and doomsday cults, defined as cults that engage in extreme spiritual, physical, mental, and emotional control of its members in order to control their beliefs, thoughts, emotions and behavior. If the lives of members are in jeopardy and in fact are taken, then the mind control cult is a doomsday cult. Cults that apply stress, restrict sleep, require endless repetition of prayers, generate fear and paranoia, introduce auto-hypnotic exercises, control behavior by shaming and humiliation, require confessions, institute isolation especially from families, practice shunning, threatening that God will abandon or punish them if they leave, and promise protection from imminent Armageddon are all techniques of mind control and doomsday cults."
-----------------------------------------------------
"What happens, however, if the human element is too overwhelming, too overbearing? What if the founder or leader does not represent the Ideal, does not represent the Highest Good? What then? Here is a prescription for disaster. We are fortunate that the successful leaders—Jesus, Paul, the Prophets, Buddha, Zoroaster, Muhammad—reflect the best that humanity can offer. But religious leaders are not good because they are religious leaders. There are bad apples that have come along that have inflicted great harm on their followers. Not only Edward Wilson, David Koresh, Jim Jones, Marshall Applewhite, but also all those individuals who inflicted sexual crimes on their charges in the organized, traditional churches, the preachers who bilk their congregation and listeners out of their hard-earned savings, the charlatans who see religion as a moneymaking venture."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

More information about “thought reform” and “mind control” can be found on the Ironwolf forum.
The second post highlights areas that are thought to apply to CoG-PKG [1].

If you are looking for a Christian therapist near where you live, this link should help :- http://christiantherapist.com/
Otherwise, a lot of information can be found here :- http://www.rickross.com/
There are many resource links on this page :-http://www.rickross.com/mind_control.html
(PS. Since I am not qualified, I cannot make any recommendations.)
------------------------------------------------

This is an alternative viewpoint (included to be fair): Religious movements - essays
Most of us apparently have a label - we are known as ‘anticultists’!
I believe the author makes too many generalizations.
It should be obvious that there are degrees of harm. The CoG-PKG [1] isn’t as bad (yet) as some doomsday cults where the member’s lives were in danger, but you can’t get any more extreme predictions than World War 3 and “billions dead”.

Also, there must be a stage where the leader(s) will be guilty of fraud. It is true that: “People who behave unethically can be found in any part of life“, but that isn’t a reason to protect religious leaders from prosecution.

I suspect that the First Amendment wouldn’t apply in cases of criminal fraud.
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

I guess a wish list of members for this forum would include lawyers as well as psychologists!
=====================================

Note [1]
CoG-PKG is an abbreviation of "Church of God - Preparing for the Kingdom of God".
It is a unitarian church based in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.
The pastor, Ronald Weinland, declared in 1997 that he was a prophet, and one of the two witnesses mentioned in the Book of Revelation in the New Testament of the Christian Bible.
Go here for a history of the pastor and his church :-
http://www.ronaldweinland.info/
.
=====================================
More information about cult victims here :-
http://www.spotlightministries.org.uk/clt.htm

or here: Exit & Support Network for further help.
.

Google Earth Shows [most] Cows Point North

Cnet News article (extract) :-

"Turns out cows may have internal compasses much like birds and bees do for orienting themselves to magnetic north.

"Using satellite images on Google Earth, German scientists were able to see that all over the planet, cows stand with their bodies pointing to magnetic north.

"Studying photographs of 8,510 cattle in 308 herds from around the world, zoologists Sabine Begall and Hynek Burda of the University of Duisburg-Essen and their colleagues found that two out of every three animals in the pictures were oriented in a direction roughly pointing to magnetic north.

"The resolution of the images was not sufficient to tell which ends of the cows were pointing north, however.

"...but because the photos on Google Earth are so widespread and taken in generally good weather, it appears that cows have a "default setting" of north-south orientation when local conditions don't override it."

link to Cnet news article
link to CNN video track

Comments :-

by Jeff - August 26, 2008 2:18 PM PDT

Maybe they should come to TX and see them pointing E-W, SE-NW, NE-SW and every other position in between. I live in the country and have cows all around me, they seem to point in all directions all the time.

by Riquez - August 26, 2008 3:16 PM PDT

"two out of every three animals in the pictures were oriented in a direction roughly pointing to magnetic north. The resolution of the images was not sufficient to tell which ends of the cows were pointing north, however."
Hold on a minute. So out of 3 cows, one is facing north, one south & one east.
& who's to say the cow pointing north wasn't in mid turn to face west.

.

Light the Way - Discover Your Purpose

The girls in the prison reformatory were all gathered together in the cafeteria. Today was special, for a lady known to them only as the “Teacher” was to pay them a visit, which for them was a break from the predictability of their monotonous routine. They were promised that the Teacher would “Light the Way” for them, sharing with them what they needed to do differently in order to turn their lives around. This could be just the recipe we need, they thought to themselves; in order to avoid the confusion they felt regarding what to do next in their lives.

The discussion began with the Teacher announcing, “You are your own light—Even if you don’t see yourself in that light.” She paused briefly, then continued, “This is the message that I came to share with you today. Do you understand, or perhaps you have questions?”

Everyone in the audience looked at each other thinking, “Yeah, so, what’s your point?” Finally, someone stood up and asked, “What are you talking about? We were told you would help us understand what to do and where to go with our lives when we leave here. But I don’t see how what you’ve said is going to accomplish that.”

The Teacher responded, “Have any of you ever considered that you are the cure for your own problems? You continue to create problems in your life, and then wait for someone to correct you, or punish you. It hasn’t seemed to occur to you that correcting or avoiding these problems is your puzzle to solve—not your teachers, parents, or friends. Maturity is the wondrous realization that it is your job to fix your life. The one who is ultimately responsible and accountable for your life is you.”

Another person stood to ask, “How the heck, are we supposed to do that? If we were capable of that we wouldn’t be here in the first place.”

“Precisely,” responded the Teacher. “This is a wake-up-call, a psychological alarm, an opportunity to change your life. But, before anything new can happen—you have to be aware of, and then believe, that you are able to change things. You are just as capable as everyone else.”

A person in the back of the room stood, “So what is this light you spoke of, and how exactly does it change us?”

“Excellent question,” the Teacher responded. “So then, the question of what is the light comes down to this—it is accessing your own personal wisdom. This may be accomplished through many different processes used individually or collectively. You can begin by paying attention to your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. This generates an awareness of who you are and how you operate. You’ll begin to differentiate between your own personality and that of another. You can adopt the attitude that you will learn the lessons presented through life experiences, and that with reflection [or hindsight], your life begins to have context within all of your experiences. You begin to understand the mechanics of your behavior, your thoughts, and your feelings. This reflection will generate new insights which will change you at the core of your being. Then you will be in a position to discover your purpose in life—which is where personal happiness and fulfillment meet.”

Everyone in the audience looked at each other with a smile of relief—for now they understood what the Teacher meant by: “You are your own light—Even if you can’t see yourself in that light (in that way).”

V.P. Mosser

©2001-2008 V.P. Mosser
You're welcome to use this article in your Ezine or website as long as you include this blurb.
Successful entrepreneur, V.P. Mosser is the creator of the Learn the Lessons Series, the Life's Journey publication and numerous thought-provoking articles. To learn more and receive free chapters or issues, visit http://www.learnthelessons.com

Solar System Appears to be Unique in the Galaxy

click the galaxy picture for a larger image

A new study has shown that the configuration of our Solar System appears to be unique in the Milky Way galaxy. Astronomers have found that other solar systems are dangerous places to be with large gas giant planets orbiting close to their suns, and planets in eccentric orbits being thrown into the sun or out into deep space.

The discovery may have implications for the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence.
It may limit the number of relatively safe solar systems available for the establishment of life.

As well as the unique configuration, our solar system lies in the relatively safe outer reaches of one of the galaxy's arms, and the Earth is at the ideal distance from the Sun where water can exist in its liquid state.


[extract below]

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Computer simulations put Solar System in its place
BY DR EMILY BALDWIN ASTRONOMY NOW
Posted: August 8, 2008
link to 'Astronomy Now' article

Traditional theories of Solar System formation assume our neighbourhood to be pretty run of the mill, but in a new study using data from 300 exoplanets discovered orbiting other stars, our planetary haven turns out to be one of a kind.

Before the discovery of the first exoplanets, our own Solar System's planets were the only ones known to us, so astronomers had no reason to think it unusual. But thanks to powerful computer simulations based on the data acquired from 300 exoplanets discovered over the last 15 years, theoretical astronomers from Northwestern University have been able to understand planetary system formation in a much broader sense, and have made the alarming discovery that planets being thrown mercilessly into the Sun or jettisoned into deep space could have been the destiny of our Solar System had its initial conditions been just a slightly bit different.

"Now we know that other planetary systems don't look like the Solar System at all," says Frederic Rasio. "The shapes of the exoplanets' orbits are elongated, not nice and circular. Planets are not where we expect them to be. Many giant planets similar to Jupiter, known as 'hot Jupiters,' are so close to the star they have orbits of mere days. Clearly we needed to start fresh in explaining planetary formation and this greater variety of planets we now see."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Windows users - you can download the images to your PC if you right-click on them and select 'Save Picture As' (or 'Save Image As'). I believe Apple Mac users can use CTRL + click on the images.)

.