Cults

[houseofhoop]

I so want to discuss the cult I was part of, I’m desperate for some TV company to do an expose on it. At the moment, it goes largely under the radar, apart from the country it was started in. They have about 40-50k members worldwide. I left in 2000, and it was weird enough then, very ‘smiley happy people’. I still have siblings in it, some have recently left, and they tell me horror stories about how bad it’s got. I’d say it was more a business than a faith. Members are encouraged (I’d say brainwashed) into cutting ties with all ‘worldly’ people (including family) because we are all inherently evil and our only desire is to lead them away from god and into sin.

 

[houseofhoop]

Well, well done for getting out.

The first jump out is massive because we are taught everyone outside is evil and wants you to fail. I thought that was preferable to my situation at the time! At the point of leaving, I was being lined up to be married off to someone I hardly knew, I was 19, and all I saw ahead of me was a life of drudgery and having to parent lots of kids. Not being able to work or be independent.
BUT, outside of it all I found people to be absolutely lovely and invested in my well-being. That’s when your eyes start to open

 

[Sideboard Bob]

A thread to talk about cults!

I think this will be really interesting.

 

[Witchfinder Sargeant]

There's a cafe in Honiton called the Yellow Deli which is a front for the Twelve Tribes cult. A lot of these organisations fly under the radar and you may not even realise what you're dealing with.
---

I made the mistake of remembering the name of one of the Jehovahs that came round, and the bigger mistake of admitting it ("Oh hello again, Bruce - no I don't want to join, thank you - I am actually an Anglican minister. As I have told you. Several times.") and now when they come round I end up in a quote-by-qoute argument with him, with Bible texts whizzing past our ears like bullets on the Somme.

If you suddenly get felled by a heavy chunk of Leviticus or a sharp fragment of Paul's Epistle to the Romans, it's probably a ricochet - sorry about that. I don't mind a theological argument (quite enjoy it, TBH) but I just HAVEN'T GOT THE TIME!

I don't find their arguments remotely convincing (as I know many people won't find mine) and just wish they would bugger off. I would just not answer the door but I swear to God they wait until I am on my hands and knees in the garden and up to my elbows in creeping-bliddy-buttercups.

I know of a community of religious Sisters who, when the JW's or Mormons come knocking, invite them into the parlour to have a chat. They see it as doing God's work, because if they're in the community's parlour, they're not bothering anyone else and they may save someone who's a bit insecure in their existing faith from being sucked in.

To be honest, if you're a JW and you see a sign saying "Dominican Priory" and your immediate thought is "yes, I shall go and try and convert these Sisters" rather than "maybe there's an easier target out there?" then you deserve a two-hour theological discussion with tea and biscuits.

 

[houseofhoop]

This thread is fascinating. I love reading about Cults. I have done a lot of bible studies with JW over the years, personally I find the bible fascinating but I can't find a religion that has all my beliefs. Anyway, they are lovely to begin with, then the pressuring to convert and join. It gets so much. I like reading their Watchtower and Awakes, but the constant nagging to join.
I love reading about the Mormons (might have to do with the TV series - Big Love) LOL but polygamy intrigues me as to - seriously if my partner was hooking up with my sister wife every second night - I'd be jealous of hell. I call rubbish that they all get along so well and so happy.
The Amish seem a bit Culty to me as well. I've read stores about them leaving.
Re : JW a work friend of mine was raised a JW and married one. He beat her senseless whilst she was pregnant (she was in a coma when her son was born), the JW didn't say anything bad about him, but apparently tried to prevent her mum and dad from seeing her and her son when she left the JW's. The mum and dad even still associate with the Ex knowing what he did. Freaks me out!

I grew up in a cult and now I’m a full blown atheist!
Leaving the cult and learning they had lied to me about pretty much everything, made me very wary of anything people say, so I do a lot of research and digging on most claims. Probably why I love tattle so much!!

 

[houseofhoop]

Someone who works for me grew up in one of the cults mentioned. She is one of the most resilient young women I’ve ever met. Leaving is a huge deal, she’s essentially cut herself off from a large, warm and close (if cult-loving) family permanently.

I try not to pry but occasionally she comes out with the most wild stuff, usually due to having zero popular culture exposure growing up.

I can relate! I left a cult at 21. No exposure to music, tv, newspapers radios etc. also not allowed outside friends etc. none of it struck me as odd until I left and saw ‘ normal’ life.
Even to this day, 20 years later, I’m totally fascinated by the mundane and minutiae of normal existence. Just enjoy seeing how people live their lives.

 

[House of Carbonara]

Thank you for bringing some taking points to get going, I didn’t know where to start!

Thank you for starting the thread, Sidey B!
As I said, I have been watching videos on YouTube - as you do. One of those that really hit home was about the fundamentalists mormons - apparently Warren Jeffs (when he took over from his father) not only told the faithful to destroy their tvs, burn books and toys, but also commanded them to kill their pets. And. They. Obeyed.
I really have no words.

 

[TheMiceInTheShed]

Very week tea this. I have a now retired family member who used to be a midwife and delivered a few Plymouth Brethren babies. She told me the women were all very polite and made really good cakes.

*Pricks ears*

Cakes, you say?

 

[AmeliaPevensie]

Great podcast by BBC called ‘a very British cult.’ It was equal measures horrifying and fascinating!

 

[HotesTilaire]

I just saw that Ladbaby are not doing a Xmas song this year - is it me or do they look a fair bit similar?

 

[Veronicaaa]

Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult at Sarah Lawrence on Disney+ is really good, because it shows deprogramming in realtime. Recommended

 

[FlirtyThirty]

Cults, religion and conspiracy theoryism go hand in hand imo. That’s why I find the recent rise in people believing in CTs / QAnon is quite worrying, it makes them so easy to manipulate.

My pet theory is that conspiracy theories have replaced religion for those with the same mindset but who’ve never been indoctrinated. They want to feel like they “know” and that they’re better than everyone else because of it.

 

[TheMiceInTheShed]

I've got a couple of terrifying historic (and gory so don't read if squeamish) cults for you to read about.

Crime lists on Ranker

Crime lists at Ranker - the ultimate source for top 10, top 100, best of, funny, factual lists of any kind

www.ranker.com

This one is all the scarier given what happened in 1990.

Jesus Christ Orders Teen To Cut Out His Mother’s Heart And Nail It To Wall

This is the MOST DISTURBING true-crime case you’ve NEVER heard of before. Heart Throb Tenerife, a beautiful island of the Canary Archipelago, is best known for its bright yellow Canary birds, it’s unique Spanish cuisine, and its 300 sunny days per year. However, what Tenerife is not known

talkmurder.com

I don't know much about modern cults although I was promised paradise by Jehova's Witnesses which was actually pretty tempting when I was at a vulnerable stage in my life. Of course they rely on vulnerability to reel in new members.

I made the mistake of remembering the name of one of the Jehovahs that came round, and the bigger mistake of admitting it ("Oh hello again, Bruce - no I don't want to join, thank you - I am actually an Anglican minister. As I have told you. Several times.") and now when they come round I end up in a quote-by-qoute argument with him, with Bible texts whizzing past our ears like bullets on the Somme.

If you suddenly get felled by a heavy chunk of Leviticus or a sharp fragment of Paul's Epistle to the Romans, it's probably a ricochet - sorry about that. I don't mind a theological argument (quite enjoy it, TBH) but I just HAVEN'T GOT THE TIME!

I don't find their arguments remotely convincing (as I know many people won't find mine) and just wish they would bugger off. I would just not answer the door but I swear to God they wait until I am on my hands and knees in the garden and up to my elbows in creeping-bliddy-buttercups.

 

[HotesTilaire]

It wasn’t. But I bet there are loads out there!

Was it a bit MLM?
---

What's everyone's opinion on Jehovahs witnesses?

It’s a cult as far as I’m concerned. Also they keep getting the end of the world date wrong.

 

[houseofhoop]

This may be too personal so ignore my questions if it is.
When you left did you have to “escape” as such and are your family still members? If they are, did they have to disown you? Apologies for my ignorance, it’s just how former members describe it on the documentaries I’ve watched.
It must have been a monumental and scary and extremely brave decision to leave.

I left in 2001, I say escape because it took six months to a year for them to stop harassing me, stalking me, threatening me, and to untangle myself financially. Not to mention the brainwashing that had to be undone (still working through some issues now, over 20 years later)
We have large families and half of mine are ‘out’ of it all thank god and we get on . The other have are in and have no contact at all, have blocked us completely. Contact with my parents is limited and awkward as they have been told not to have anything to do with us.
The decision to leave didn’t feel brave at the time, I was constantly looking over my shoulder waiting for god to ‘smite’ me for daring to leave!

 

[WitchyGrab]

I knew someone who died at Waco. They were a young woman who worked with my dad and used to play with me, when I would occasionally go there as a young child. She was a lovely woman and had told work that she was going on holiday with her boyfriend, sadly never returning. She was quite a vulnerable person and the cult had infiltrated her church, where she should have been safe. The horror of seeing what unfolded, then later finding out that this sweet young woman had been killed in such horrendous circumstances was mind blowing as a young girl.

 

[Five hundred dogs]

This is my last post of the evening I promise (I’m just a bit giddy we have a cults chat ). My favourite random cult fact, lovely veteran actor and broadcaster Nigel Haves is married to a woman named Georgiana Bronfman, who is the mother of Sara and Clare Bronfman, who are the two multi millionaire heiresses who bankrolled NXIVM.

 

[Five hundred dogs]

These are a few of my book recs

Scientology

Beyond Belief by Jenna Miscavage Hill

Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief by Lawrence Wright

Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology by Leah Remini

A Billion Years: My Escape From a Life in the Highest Ranks of Scientology by Mike Rinder



NXIVM

The Program: Inside the Mind of Keith Raniere and the Rise and Fall of NXIVM by Toni Natalie

Scarred: The True Story of How I Escaped NXIVM by Sarah Edmonson

FLDS

The Witness Wore Red by Rebecca Musser

Stolen Innocence by Elissa Wall

Prophets Pray by Sam Browner

Christian Fundamentalism

I Fired God byJocelyn Zichterman

 

[TheMiceInTheShed]

*looks round*

Well, this seems very nice.

*gets a cup of tea and makes self comfy*

 

[skronkywildcat]

I love the episode of Schitt's Creek where they go to the exercise class that turns out to be a cult.