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Cults

swordpath

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6 months ago my sister and my niece (1 years old) lost their husband/father (intelligent guy who had a lot going for him) to the cult of 12 Tribes.

Twelve Tribes-EX

If you have any stories related to you, family members, friends, loved ones in general who have been in or are still in a mind-controlling cult, please share your story, or what you know of the situation.
 

swordpath

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I guess it's not so typical to have a run in with a cult after all.
 

Amethyst

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I guess it's not so typical to have a run in with a cult after all.

It really isn't, at least I don't think dangerous cults are all too prevalent.
I hope he gets out of there, for the better of everyone. :(
 

Valiant

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I sort of know a female who alternates between joining sects and abusing drugs/alcohol.
She always gets out of it, but it does take a toll, it seems.
I really hope your former brother-in-law gets his shit straight, and quickly.
 
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Ginkgo

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When I saw that Victor had posted in this thread, I could have written the post for him without even looking at it. Apologies to the OP for this equally pointless reply.

+1

And on a serious note, I have never had anyone of my family inducted into a cult, unless you want to consider mainstream religion as a cult. I recently saw a documentary about a self-help guru named James Arthur Ray who endorsed The Secret, a book that describes "The Law of Attraction", which basically states that you can change the fabric reality just by thinking about it hard enough. For instance, if you think you'll win the Grand Pri, then you will win. As you can see, it's already framed the fundamentals for delusion by encouraging its readers to divorce from reality.

James Arthur Ray ran a gathering in Sedona Arizona where participants were encouraged to do humiliating and life-threating rituals. In fact, several died, but James was not immediately convicted because all of his "followers" had willfully signed contracts. Thankfully, he was eventually arrested and fined, but he now runs a website to accumulate the money that he had previously lost.
 

Ingrid in grids

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My Mum was into Primal Therapy in the 70s (a kind of psychotherapy created by a man called Arthur Janov). From how she's described her experiences, it fits the criteria of a cult. It never threatened her life, though... just gave her a store of really bizarre stories from "the Red Room".
 

Kasper

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If you have any stories related to you, family members, friends, loved ones in general who have been in or are still in a mind-controlling cult, please share your story, or what you know of the situation.

I was never in a cult although if you were to hear me speak of the religion I grew up in you would think that I was because that's what I liken it too, the fact of the matter is for some people it fills a need and there is nothing that you can say or do that will change their perspective as you are seen as someone who doesn't understand the real truth. Perspective is only gained once they leave, unfortunately by that stage it's taken its toll in a negative way. Not to say valuable lessons can't be learnt by going through their experiences but not enough to make it worthwhile imo, and most don't leave. The cult becomes more important than family.

The advice I'd give your sister is go through the stages of grief so she can find acceptance, she can't "save" him as he doesn't want her to.
 

swordpath

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I was never in a cult although if you were to hear me speak of the religion I grew up in you would think that I was because that's what I liken it too, the fact of the matter is for some people it fills a need and there is nothing that you can say or do that will change their perspective as you are seen as someone who doesn't understand the real truth. Perspective is only gained once they leave, unfortunately by that stage it's taken its toll in a negative way. Not to say valuable lessons can't be learnt by going through their experiences but not enough to make it worthwhile imo, and most don't leave. The cult becomes more important than family.

The advice I'd give your sister is go through the stages of grief so she can find acceptance, she can't "save" him as he doesn't want her to.

This is all true and what has been experienced over the last 6 months. He directly had the nerve to tell my sister that he is married to the group (community)... and oddly, he really does love my sister (or thinks he does). He's just gotten so god damn twisted. His line of thinking is that my sister is being disobedient to God and him for not submitting and following suit with his choice to join the group. Therefore, he feels justified in being a massive prick and being totally unreasonable about it all. Kidnapping any notion that she has a legitimate stance. He doesn't make money, but he works for the cult and in turn they feed him, shelter him and provide his other essential needs. He has a one year old child that hasn't seen a penny from him or his group since he left. Somehow that's "ok"...? Christ, how do people get so fucked up over some nebulous being in the sky?

No one can convince me that religion serves a decent purpose... It's only a framework for a great divide.
 

Kasper

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No one can convince me that religion serves a decent purpose.

My experience has left me with strong anti-religious views so I completely understand where you're coming from.

I don't understand how people get caught up in situations like this, I just know and accept it happens, individuals putting their religion before family is a sad thing, I feel sorry for them.

My grandmother died last week and I don't feel anything except sadness for who she was in that she would put religion above grandchildren, I haven't had a relationship with her since I was a child and still in the religion. There was no call for her to disown people not in the religion as far as I'm aware (unlike some faiths demand) and it certainly wasn't something she ever vocalised but at the same time she never attempted to create a relationship with me or my siblings despite always being able to. Way I see it she just didn't need to, she had her church and that was her family.

I don't know how your sister is coping with this, when there's a child and emotional connection involved it makes it really tough to accept, I hope she can move on, with her families support.
 

swordpath

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It is a shame indeed...

Fortunately, my sister does have a pretty strong support system, between her family and friends. She and my niece are well taken care of. A lot of people aren't so fortunate, so that is the light in her situation. Regardless, it's obviously been rough and emotionally draining, but my little INFJ sister definitely has what it takes to move on from this in a healthy manner and has been strengthened in the process thus far.
 
G

Ginkgo

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My experience has left me with strong anti-religious views so I completely understand where you're coming from.

I don't understand how people get caught up in situations like this, I just know and accept it happens, individuals putting their religion before family is a sad thing, I feel sorry for them.

My grandmother died last week and I don't feel anything except sadness for who she was in that she would put religion above grandchildren, I haven't had a relationship with her since I was a child and still in the religion. There was no call for her to disown people not in the religion as far as I'm aware (unlike some faiths demand) and it certainly wasn't something she ever vocalised but at the same time she never attempted to create a relationship with me or my siblings despite always being able to. Way I see it she just didn't need to, she had her church and that was her family.

I don't know how your sister is coping with this, when there's a child and emotional connection involved it makes it really tough to accept, I hope she can move on, with her families support.

My experience is that many people make religion the centrifuge of their lives, and as such, family swings on it. For instance, marriage might by a firm commitment that someone makes for religious purposes, or maybe people just use it as a script for morality. There's actually a fine line between many main stream religions and hardcore fundamental religions. I really don't know how to distinguish anymore, seeing as I was brought up in a certain culture.

Right now, I still get mail from people I used to know when I attended a church. Every one has a religious overtone, and with the repetitious nature of it, I'm inclined to say that it's almost a form of brainwashing that permeates our culture. Albeit, you can't escape all forms of repetition, so it becomes a matter of determining what kind of brainwashing is healthy to be exposed to. For some people, religion is, as Marx put it, "The opium of the masses". For some people, it's alcohol, and living with it can be just as bad as driving under the influence. You run the risk of hurting people while inebriated.
 
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Sniffles

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Back to topic, my aunt and my cousins were involved in a cult of sorts for a few years. It was odd constantly having cult members at family gatherings, to say the least.
 

swordpath

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Back to topic, my aunt and my cousins were involved in a cult of sorts for a few years. It was odd constantly having cult members at family gatherings, to say the least.

Would you mind stating which group they were involved with?
 

swordpath

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It was a non-denominational church.
I see. It's really not hard for someone in a leadership position to abuse authority and use elements of mind control for any given group. You might not be distinguished as a cult, but many churches operate with these elements in place. If there's a hierarchy of people you respect as being ordained by God to lead a body, who's to say when their revelations and translation of scripture are off the mark and not actually revealed through "God"? Fact is, a majority of people thirsting for a system that will satiate a spiritual appetite will compliantly follow and believe things are moving in the best interest of "God" and his people. It's quite frightening.
 

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I'm trying to think of something valuable to say about this topic.... But I can't even begin to process something as stupid as a cult.

Kids, don't do cults.
 

Arthur Schopenhauer

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It was a non-denominational church.

Har har har!

I went to one of those non-denominational churches for the majority of my life. It seems like those from the non-denominational upbringing think that Catholics are basically part if a cult, the same is vice versa with Catholics. All them rituals them Catholics have is just religious! That damn false idol pope is really probably a satanist.

Yuppers.

(the pope is a satanist though - no shizz)
 

Thalassa

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One of my ex-boyfriends when I was younger had a brother who converted to the Mormon church, and when Mormon brother married his wife, his family wasn't even invited to the "real" wedding because they weren't Mormons. I also found out that they wear sacred long johns and pray for their dead and non-Mormon relatives to someday have a planet of their own.

I also once made the mistake of allowing Mormons to tell me about their religion one time when I was living in Vegas, and the two guys practically stalked me afterward trying to get me to come to their church: calling repeatedly, even randomly showing up at my apartment.

I think Mormonism is a cult, srsly.
 
S

Sniffles

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Har har har!

I went to one of those non-denominational churches for the majority of my life. It seems like those from the non-denominational upbringing think that Catholics are basically part if a cult, the same is vice versa with Catholics. All them rituals them Catholics have is just religious! That damn false idol pope is really probably a satanist.

Yuppers.

(the pope is a satanist though - no shizz)

My advice: lay off the booze.
 
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