Incarnate Soul you would be correct. ...Can't believe Phil and Rich are still in...Its amazing even after Rich's brother Dennis died from the lifestyle that Jack Hickman pushed him into receiving the seed at the young age of 16...So much damage they just couldn't let it go they had to go to Maine. Blows my mind..They will always be searching but the truth is the most important things are right in front of us.

InnerCircle I am not sure that Jack completly drove Dennis into a lifestyle that eventually killed him. I will say that as a "leader" of the group Jack could have affected many lives in a differant way. I am surprised Phil & Rich are still in. I have read all of these postings a few times and most of them carry the same energy, a bitterness. At what point in time does that bitterness fade and once again we control our own destiny? It was a part of all of our lives in so many ways and on so many levels. Twenty or thirty years later the bitterness is still there among so many.

Incarnate Soul, Hi. Perhaps some of the bitterness is because the group is still active. The active nature of Phil & Rich would mean that they are still luring people in and .... you know.....people with children. That makes me feel bitter.

Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Nobel laureate in literature, died August 3. After I left the Community in 1983 I read several of his novels. I found them helpful in that time of my life especially, because they deal with the loss of meaning, and its recovery. Solzhenitsyn was serving in the Red Army during World War II when he was arrested for remarks about Stalin in a private letter. S. spent years in the infamous prison system (Gulag) for political prisoners.

The First Circle protrays a sharashka, a research facility for political prisoners, like the one S. worked in. Gleb Nerzhin, a character who represents S., is an engineer who has lost his Communist ideals after being imprisoned. Lev Rubin is another prisoner who still believes that Soviet Communism is right and good and that all the other prisoners are guilty, while he alone was imprisoned in error. Debates between Nerzhin and Rubin form an important part of the novel.

I identified with the Nerzhin character, after I left the community. In one passage, which I summarize from memory, a woman guard who likes Nerzhin notices that he performs his assigned scientific tasks with speed and confidence. Then his face loses all its confidence as he sits immobile for long periods, occasionally writing a few words on a scrap of paper. He tells the guard, "I am active because I hate activity." "And what do you like?" she asks. "Contemplation," he replies. What Nerzhin writes are thoughts about what really matters, about virtues and vices, and what he has learned.

InnerCircle:

Your posting indicates you were personally involved in some of the "abuses". Would you be willing to share some of the so-called "sick" teachings Jack personally passed on to you? Or is it so bad you couldn't bring yourself to do that? I have some reservation in asking you; yet I ask for this reason...I have read on this website opinions, accusations, and personal reflections. While each has some benefit, I am very interested in facts. Only facts will assist in true evaluation. And, obviously, as this website demonstrates, some of us are still struggling with many things. Jack Hickman and his teachinregs are a key issue.

A firsthand account of facts would be very helpful.

I can't speak from any personal sexual or even verbal abuse from Hickman.
What has always bewildered me is how an apparently intelligent person, John Hove -- after all that happened to his own son -- not only stayed involved in this cult, but relocated to Maine with his family. Even now, he is busy chopping wood (and who knows what else) preparing for the final cataclysm. Can anyone explain how a person literally sacrifices one's child to the lies and deception of a "religious leader"? The ability to deceive one's self - to ignore the truth that a fraud has invaded your own family and life - is amazing.

On a different point, I heard recently that a couple members of the original Inner Circle (or close derivatives) have recently lost their spouses. I believe in both cases to cancer. Although cancer of any form can attack almost all ages, it doesn't surprise me that the biological defenses of some of these wife's start to break relatively early, due to the extra stress they have lived with for many years, decades. Some of these spouses must have realized they were living with a delusional spouse, but it seemed to hard to leave. Hopefully, their kids can make the break.

Lynne: Why were you unable to have Jack Hickman prosecuted?

xmember: I am unsure what happened to John Hove's son. I'm sure I left before that. Your statement begs the question, "What happened to John Hove's son? Was it a direct result of his being involved in this group?"

xmember, let me say I can understand your inability to comprehend why people stay within the group. However, there can only be one answer -- they believe in it. And they believe in it despite what you and I would consider logical reasoning.

I personally believe the people I knew had become desensitized to logical thought processes over a long period of time. (The "slippery slope" process.) When "Browndog" commented on this post that no one reacted to the "passing of the seed" revelation, I understood completely what he was saying! Far fetched ideas had been swalled one at time. And another far-out idea was built upon already accepted far-fetched ideas.

I would like to offer some of my own first hand experiences within this group.
Jack had introduced kosher rules to the community. After much teaching on the subject, during one Saturday evening service in East Meadow, Jack said all families should have been practicing kosher law at that point. To those who had chosen not to go kosher or who had not yet instituted the practice within their homes, he said, “We have left you behind. We have moved on without you.”
I thought this to be a good example of the types of things Jack said that created the social and emotional environment of the community. This particular statement was one of many that established a unique mind set within the group. In this instance, people wondered, “Who has not yet gone kosher? “ This led to people judging others, and judging them as harshly as Jack had. If a family hadn’t committed to kosher rules, they were now out of step with the community and viewed as being out of touch with G-d. They hadn’t heard the call. Some suggested that the non-kosher people were “blinded” because they were not “chosen”. And now, according to Jack, they were “left behind”, and not a part of the group. It’s easy to see how not accepting the teachings would alienate someone from the group. And Jack drew a line in the sand with this statement.
This statement also accentuated the idea of the “we.” Let’s face it…the formation of the community was based on being part of a group. ..the “we”. And as many of us have pointed out, the “we” within this group was exceptionally powerful. “We” were G-d’s precious few. “We” were his remnant. “We” were called. “We” were chosen.
If you weren’t part of the “we”, you were part of “they.” And many negative comments were made about “they”. “They” can’t understand us because…..”They” do not understand the true meaning because….
Dedicated members of this faith community saw themselves as “we”, and everyone else in the world became “they”. And if you weren’t keeping up with the teachings, you could be a “we” one moment, and a “they” the next. Talk about living under some pressure. I couldn’t even think about logically evaluating teachings. I refused to face my own personal questions for fear of being labeled “blinded”, “not chosen”, or acknowledging that I was merely a “leaf shaken from the tree.”
Since the group mentality was “Us against Them”, it was also very difficult for me to embrace any friendships outside of the community. “We” had been called to a “royal Priesthood”, a “people set apart.” Just trying to work alongside the “they’s” of this world was an emotional strain for me.

Consider,

I think you hit upon a key dynamic that Hickman ("PJ," "abba," etc) used. However, the "us" vs. "them" theme is not unique to Hickman. It is common in all cults. In early Christianity, as evidenced in the New Testament and it Gnostic writings, thrived on this imagery, having borrowed it from a break-away Jewish sect (the "Dead Sea" apocalyptists). This type of mentality usually will include contrasts of Light/Darkness, Good/Evil, and also G-d/Satan typologyl.

What I think Hickman did so well was convince people that he had the special monopoly on Truth, the "secrets of First Century Christianity" before everything got screwed up, the "real teachings of Jesus," "the Jewishness of Jesus," etc. But, pyschologically, I think what made him so effective was his mastery of appealing to the inner feelings of inadequacy in his audience. In his sermons, he made folks who carried around a sense of inward guilt or inferiority feel better or superior, by using the "us" vs. "them" rhetoric you mention.

Back then I fell for his message. I was a teen-ager seeking answers. I'm thankful today I'm free of that stuff.

Yet, as a parent now, I wonder how did the adults of St. John's Lutheran church surrender their own parental oversight responsibilities to this charismatic youth minister who was manipulating the vulnerable and impressionable adolescents. Were they not paying attention? (I guess I just can't imagine letting the mind and heart of any of my children being primarily influenced and taught by some religious leader. As a father, it is my job to constantly speak, question, direct, challenge, and help my child quite seriously.)

There must be many of the original Lutheran church members who left because they saw their church changing too much. Perhaps they felt forced out and today they are glad they did not allow their children to be swept up in this cult. However, if they were members of the church leadership they are not free of responsibility. They, the senior pastor (John), the church elders, and the board of directors (or whatever they were called) put this PJ in a position where he was able to create the wedge with the next generation. At some point, the church leaders must have seen this happening but they continued to support him with the house, a salary and other funds. Maybe they were just naive and trusting of a "spiritual authority." Maybe it was just habit or nature to accept a religious leader, given their German and Swedish heritage ("just accept it on faith"). Unfortunately, by the time they realized what Hickman was really up to, it was too late. The "church" was out; the Community was in.

Having gone through this cult process, I am more aware that I must maintain dialogue and open channels with the young, especially teenagers, in my own life. And, the responsiblility to teach and guide my children is first and foremost my wife's and mine. Not some Pastor, Rabbi, Principal, Teacher, or cult leader. If more parents would do the same - and make their children truly feel special - we'd see fewer children being abused in society and fewer religious cults like this one which succeeded by appealing to one's feeling of inadequacy.

Hickman may have appealed to inner feelings of inferiority in some but I saw the opposit. I can tell you for a fact that grown women who had always been told as children that they were ''better than'' their siblings were drawn to Hickman because he ....continued...to feed them the garbage they'd been fed as children. I listened as a child to Hickman's female followers sitting around and cackling about the fact that they'd ''always known'' they were ''special'' cuz mamma always favored them.
Read up on some Bradshaw. He's awesome. Really gets into the dysfunctional family. Many parents play god by picking out a child to play 'hero' and another to play 'scapegoat'. The 'hero' child often grows into a 'co-abuser' as they help mama and pop abuse the scapegoat. Family fun.
The 'hero' child often grows up with a longing to 'play out' this fun in society. They need a scapegoat. They can't continue to believe in their own superiority unless there is an 'inferior' person to despise.
Hickman fed the 'hero, superior' personality...
That's what I saw.