Jim Jones remains a sacred cow to some of his followers. Not a deranged leader of a destructive cult. 918 people went to their death. Believing Jim Jones was a prophet of God. I read that the families of the dead still meet. To talk about what happened. That's one way. To keep awareness of destructive cults alive.

Just finished Captive Hearts Captive Minds. Very Good Read.


"..initially most psychopaths appear quite normal. They present themselves to us as charming, interesting, even humble. The majority don't suffer from delusions, hallucinations, their contact with reality appears normal...
Harder to evaluate, of course, is whether these leaders' belief in their magical powers, omnipotence, and connection to God (or whatever higher power or belief system they are espousing) is delusional or simply part of the con. Megalomania--the belief that one is able or entitled to rule the world--is equally hard to evaluate without psychological testing of the in- dividual, although numerous cult leaders state quite readily that their goal is to rule the world. In any case, beneath the surface gloss of intelligence, charm, and professed humility seethes an inner world of rage, depression, and fear.

The book talks of those who exit cults on their own. Can feel guilt and shame while at the same time still elevating their spiritual leader.

I've been on the fence. About brainwashing and mind control. Then I study what happened at Jonestown. And I change my mind.

This is a link to excerpts from Captive Hearts Captive Minds: [www.anandainfo.com]

Who do you blame? Do you blame no one? Do you blame God? Or do you blame yourself for your involvement of you and your family in a destructive cult? NO! You blame the illegitimate spiritual leader, the illegitimate self appointed prophet, the illegitimate self appointed apostle, the illegitimate senior pastor.


"Spiritual Responsibility: Avoiding Abuses and Pitfalls Along the Path ", by Steven Hassan and Lama Surya Das

"Unselfishness, kindness, gentleness, and compassion should be a basic living principle, not

just an ideal. When individuals claim to be spiritually more developed, and put themselves

in the role of guru, swami, master, prophet, these virtues must be consistently demonstrated.

We must not allow our desires to know "Absolute Truth" to blind us from observing obvious

discrepancies in our teacher's behaviors. We must become sensitive to the tactic that

illegitimate leaders use by turning our questions or comments around and using them to blame or

shame us into obedience. A legitimate question or concern demands a respectful response,

not evasion or coercion."

An expat I exchange books with loaned me a book, American Guru. It's about life in a cult founded and controlled by American guru, Andrew Cohen. It wasn't a Christian cult but the similarities are haunting. Controlled relationships, financial exploitation, abusive behavior, etc. The cult fell apart a few years ago. Andrew and members are interviewed in the video. Andrew talks of sending apologies to the members. That he made mistakes. The video is 16 minutes.




[www.theatlantic.com]

American Guru

[americanguru.net]

The Dark Side of Enlightenment - Sadomasochistic Aspects
of the Quest for Perfection

[www.ex-premie.org]


Thursday, May 01, 2014
Daniel Shaw - Traumatic Abuse in Cults: A Psychoanalytic Perspective

[integral-options.blogspot.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/17/2017 09:36PM by corboy.

Hi all, guess I missed the conflicts on this board. I will only say, this is for the benefit of people who were injured, some deeply, some not so much. Some of us lost our families.

G man is a creep for doing what he is doing--one sick bastard. John could have been a great pastor, and in some ways maybe was, but because of his delusions and deep fear of rejection, he turned and captured the hearts and minds that belonged to others in order to carry on his delusion--he was not a sane man.

All well and good he had some good traits that all but disappeared when the wicked witch of the west captured his heart and mind among other things, and the result was catastrophic. Destruction after his death increased when G man and the M proceeded to rape the churches of money, time, and energy--and the real upward flow began--their bank accounts and property attest to that.

It is open season to speak of these horrors, voice opinion concerning G man's continued pillage of the pocketbooks and mental abuse--deep darkness--that is occurring.

It is interesting to see that Silas seems to be king in his country. I have thought that there would be a power struggle between him and G--afterall--it is his country and his language and people he converted--yes?

I hear people from U.S.A LW are beginning to move to Brazil--is this the beginning of the end for the states? Keep the board posted on these events--wondering where it will lead? Personally, I think that it will be all their fault, God left them because they displeased him and is setting up his kingdom in Brazil now because the people failed. Oh--but he will take their money--gladly. That's right G Man--suck every last quarter out of the pockets of those who sacrifice--you despicable creep.

And it is okay to say that on this board. Venting is okay and saying what you think in black and white without sugarcoating is okay. If you don't like it, it would be better to hold that thought-- unless you want to do more harm to the people who are trying to find some sense of what life is really about for them.

I know I need it and have had horrendous things to deal with so haven't posted much--but it is there--the questions of why--why did I not see it? Why didn't I protect my children? It is sick ---you only have one life (resurrection life is a carrot). And most of it is behind me now--

so that is my story...if my words help even one person then I say it is worth it. I am one person and I sure wish something had jarred me into sanity long ago.

Cloudwatcher Wrote:

> Destruction after his death increased when G man and the M
> proceeded to rape the churches of money, time, and
> energy--and the real upward flow began--their bank
> accounts and property attest to that.
True

> It is open season to speak of these horrors, voice
> opinion concerning G man's continued pillage of
> the pocketbooks and mental abuse--deep
> darkness--that is occurring.
Yes

> That's right G Man--suck every last quarter out
> of the pockets of those who sacrifice--you
> despicable creep.
Laying hold of the money/property and dumping guilt on the people...he's been exceptionally good at that. A 'despicable creep' is an apt description, not an overstatement.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this travesty, Cloudwatcher.

NickleandDimed and Corboy--thanks for the links on American guru and other resources. I was so happy for those people in the video who left the cult and it fell apart. A few years ago my Doc recommended yoga for my stiff shoulder. Prior to beginning the yoga stretches, the teacher asked us to offer up a prayer to some guru. I was outta there.

Cloudwatcher said "...trying to find some sense of what life is all about..."
I'm adding that to my bucket list.

Your post was brilliant.

I liked the scientist Carl Sagan. He was skeptical about UFO's. He could really explain things. "If we've been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We're no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us." Cloudwatcher's post and story are evidence. There are exceptions to the bamboozle.

Wow. Excellent posts, everyone. Cloudwatcher, I can totally relate to your testimony. I too carry guilt and ask that question of "why was I so stupid for so long". The Sagan quote hits the nail on the head and I'll add this thought.

Most LW people don't want to "go there". I didn't for the longest time. They choose to not be honest with themselves. They choose to not objectively search out the truth about the Living Word. They choose not to understand why the LW is listed in most cult studies and is considered a cult by most of mainstream Christianity and considered a cult by secular sources as well. Why do LW members choose this position? I.e. choose to be bamboozeled?

Because they can't face the fact that they wasted so many years of their lives giving their all to an organization so much in error. Time and money poured down the drain. Not used to better mankind, but spent to serve a few at the top who claim they are deserving of this because they are "Christ in the flesh".



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/23/2017 07:29PM by puddington.