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0 of 18 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Christians beware, October 8, 2004
By
ssfn (Happy, TX) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Killing the Victim Before the Victim Kills You: Building Relationships Through Keeping Promises (Paperback)
This book is the followup for the ACCD Momentus Breakthrough Training. It is part of a deceptive, physically, psychologically & spiritually dangerous, large group manipulation training experiment adopted from est/landmark/lifespring.
If you are interested in learning more about the psychological manipulation tactics used on you every day- I recommend an excellent, eyeopening book - Influence, by Robert Cialdini. You'll see an example here in that at least one positive review here is from people that gain financially from the book and seminars.
If you are interested in personal & Christian growth, there are plenty of other ways. They might require self-discipline, reliance on the Holy Spirit instead of man and take longer than 60 hours of manipulation, but they are significantly less likely to lead to apostasy, broken marriages, psychosis, suicide, and eternal separation from God.
Try these keywords on Google: momentus/mashiyach ministries/"The Way"/Lifespring/cult/LGAT/Dan Tocchini
PS: To be fair- i havent read this book, but I've taken their training session and read some of their other book - which is full of doublespeak that is designed to only make sense if you've taken the training. From that vantage point, it's obvious to me that the title really means "Killing Your Perception of Being Victimized by Us So We Can Keep on Doing It: Building a Profitable Cult through the Principle of Psychic Consistency"
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21 of 52 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars New Age Psychobabble Masquerading as Christian Growth, June 12, 2001
By A Customer
This review is from: Killing the Victim Before the Victim Kills You: Building Relationships Through Keeping Promises (Paperback)
Don't let this book deceive you! Like the Momentus training from which its principles derive, this book is pure New Age psychobabble rooted not in the Bible or Christianity, despite the claims of its authors and the glowing reviews of the deceived, but in the secular humanist-potential movement. This book sums up in print form what the authors inflict on people in the Momentus training (recently changed in name to Breakthrough because of all the bad publicity from the people it's hurt), although it's watered down from what actually goes on in the training. Momentus, in turn, is a watered down version of the Lifespring human-potential training, a first cousin of Werner Erhard's est trainings, with a thin Christian facade used to trick Christians into taking and accepting its decidedly non-Christian teachings. And these teachings have caused physical, emotional and mental damage to countless unwary trainees over the past 10 years.
Killing the Victim appears to be an attempt by the authors, who are also the main trainers of Momentus/Breakthrough, to reach a larger audience (and likely recruit more people for the trainings themselves). (Co-author Pinci was no longer a trainer at last word, having left the parent ministry.) The book is full of New Age concepts and pop-psychology and all too short on scripture. (Which is understandable, as its tenets have no basis in Christian scripture at all.) Telling, too, is the fact that none of the authors even have any professional credentials in any psychological discipline whatsoever--so by what authority do they speak? This book is no more valid to true, beneficial change in anyone's life than if it were written by any other self-proclaimed, untrained "expert" on the subject. It is, in fact, quite dangerous to one's own mental and emotional health should a reader actually try to follow the advice in its pages. And to a Christian, it is absolutely destructive to one's spiritual life and Christian walk.
As noted, however, the main problem with this book lies in its claims to be Christian in origin and tone. If the authors were honest in relating where they got their ideas and concepts rather than attempting to portray them as Christian, this book would be somewhat less objectionable (though not very). At least readers who are Christian and would never consider following humanist psychological or New Age advice would know where the authors are really coming from. Then, if someone really wanted this kind of information and wanted to follow it, they'd know exactly what they were getting. Instead, Killing the Victim actually victimizes its readers--those who are Christians, at least--by giving the false impression that its ideas come from the Bible and scriptural principles instead of humanism and the New Age. This makes Killing the Victim little more than modern-day snake oil.
I urge any potential reader of this book who is Christian and who wants to become a better Christian to avoid it like the black plague. Those who follow its recommendations invariably become more self-oriented rather than God-oriented, as Christian scripture commands. The supposed Christian authors who've endorsed this book obviously have either not truly read it or are themselves so immersed in secular humanist psychology that they're no longer reliable guides to a Christian walk.
I see that, as I write this review, the book isn't currently available. I'd like to think that means that it's permanently out of print and no longer lurking somewhere in bookstores as a time bomb for undiscerning readers. Unfortunately, as the ministry for which its authors work has recently undergone a name change to escape recent exposes of its trainings, it's likely it's simply going to come out later in a new edition with the relevant updates. Don't be fooled! The only victim this book really deals with is the one you'll become by reading it and following what it says. Let he who has ears hear these words.
Note: I gave this book 1 star only because the reviewing form doesn't allow me to give it no stars--or, what would be more appropriate, negative stars.
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8 of 30 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars CULT JARGON, May 15, 2000
By A Customer
This review is from: Killing the Victim Before the Victim Kills You: Building Relationships Through Keeping Promises (Paperback)
Reader beware this is a form of cult jargon that will result in the ruin of your business and your life -- take this advice from a reader and ex 4-day brainwashing training seminar attendee...
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