FROM THOSE INVOLVED IN CULTS

Thousands of people responded to a Reddit post asking this question: Have you been involved with a cult? What was your experience?

Snippets from some of the posted stories:

"I have been locked in rooms for 3 days and night to "fast and pray". I've been denied contact with other humans for weeks, or even months, to "get closer to god". I was given to men by request. I was once held down by 4 men, while a group of maybe a dozen other men exorcised me. They believed I was possessed by a demon because of my inability to be like them, to "get with the program". I was spanked, beaten, and whipped most my life. Simply put, I was terrified my entire childhood. I lived every second of my life in fear."

"I was born and raised in a cult, and considered myself a member up until I left my parents' home at the age of 18. The group I was associated with is not well known, but the effects on the members are tragic and undeniable.
We were literally brainwashed."

"I was born and raised in a small communal Bible-based cult in the US. I was a part of the cult until I was 27. Daily life revolved around a church and the pastor's wife, who ran the cult. The children were raised to be workers in the church and to give their lives for what the leader wanted... We were not allowed to have friends outside the church, to live anywhere except a church-owned house, or leave the church without escort or express permission. As kids grew up and went to college, they were discouraged from getting jobs to pay for school, but instead heavily encouraged (coerced) to max out student loans and give the money to the church. Student's class schedules were denied or approved, as the leadership saw fit. The single family unit was destroyed and everyone was pressured into viewing the group as one big family."

http://ow.ly/qiKx303tmWn

UNDUE INFLUENCE

An excellent blog post on UNDUE INFLUENCE:

"New thoughts on high conflict in families", including information on the three recent UK initiatives that tackle aspects of undue influence or coercive persuasion.

http://ow.ly/ERiR303tjOX

EX-MEMBERS ACCUSE BOULDER'S RESURRECTION CHURCH TO BE CULT-LIKE

"The Boulder church, which recruits CU students and holds Sunday services at New Vista High School, is an offshoot of a University of Arizona campus ministry that faced scrutiny last year after a Tucson newspaper published former members' accounts of physical, emotional and financial abuse."

"...the church has a say in every decision student members make — who they date, how much time they spend with members of the opposite sex and under what circumstances, what kind of cars they buy, what majors they choose."

http://ow.ly/nD2W303prWV

CULT BLAMED FOR COUP IN TURKEY

Inside The Secretive #Religious Movement That Is Being Blamed For The Attempted #Coup In #Turkey  
http://ow.ly/nSNs303mX0m

FOX NEWS INTERVIEW WITH CULT EXPERT

WHAT WOULD MAKE AN ‪#‎AMERICAN‬ CITIZEN WANT TO JOIN ‪#‎ISIS‬ ?
http://ow.ly/HOmb303iLVa