Love the story about the stringer. I wonder if Mahesh kept track of the women he bedded. I noticed when I was in Seelisberg that he stopped wearing the string of coral on gold wire with the medallion of Guru Dev (I think Shiva was on the other side ... Mahesh means Shiva). Was he too ashamed? Doubtful. The bedding had gone on since the early 60's. Probably someone nicked it. He played a wire
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

"I have just recently completed a book on the life of Derek Prince. You may know that he was embroiled in the famous discipleship/shepherding controversy that actually influenced the ministry of Maranatha. I’ve spent two years writing this book and I probably qualify as an expert on this subject." Let's set the tone with a quote from Derek Prince at a Maranatha conference: &q
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

CHRONOLOGY AND LEGAL STATUS OF MARANATHA CAMPUS MINISTRIES AND MORNING STAR INTERNATIONAL Part 1: Early Maranatha 1972—Maranatha starts on Murray State University (KY) campus 1975—Maranatha incorporated in KY on 2/28/75 as: Maranatha Christian Church, Inc. – based in KY with a KY address. This is the corporation that is filed under certificates of authority in multiple states (i
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Dervish, It sounds like ceremonial magick stuff. I'm not really well versed in it, but I do know that the Tetragrammaton refers to the secret name of the God of Abraham, which is what the following four word phrase would be (roughly taken from the Hebrew). I think it would be help ful to know more about the site, and how these things were marked there. If it was a largely isol
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

PorterGolden: Please understand that this message board is not to debate doctrines and proselytize. See the rules regarding this. And actually, like you, I am not a Christian. I am Jewish. But the issue here is history not belief. And history is either true or false, not subjective and based upon personal testimonies. You seem confused about this. Christians rely upon a history th
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

I was wondering if anyone knew anything about patriarchy groups. Basically, they believe in total domination of women, some believe in polygamy, they want to bring back the law from the time of Moses and Abraham, they seem to believe in an angry, tyrant God, they take everything in the Bible literally, and not to mention, are completely against divorce. I was burnt by them when I was posting
Forum: Destructive Churches

I was wondering if anyone knew anything about patriarchy groups. Basically, they believe in total domination of women, some believe in polygamy, they want to bring back the law from the time of Moses and Abraham, they seem to believe in an angry, tyrant God, they take everything in the Bible literally, and not to mention, are completely against divorce. I was burnt by them when I was posting
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Hello Yellowbreard, I've noticed that often the response of a cult victim is to turn to atheism, an angry, militant form of atheism. I'm assuming that the victim assumes that they are safe from the gurus of religion. Yet many cults are not religious, and the anti-god groups are quite cultic in themselves, even as they mock the unenlightened. In any case, it appears you are takin
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

The Esalen Institute contributed in very important ways to the New Age movement. Geoffrey Hill gave several lectures at Esalen and in this long but worthwhile article, he gives his take on how the Human Potential Movement fell short of its early promise. (Hill quotes) THE FAILURE OF THE HUMAN POTENTIAL MOVEMENT: FROM SELF-ACTUALIZATION TO EXPERIENTIALISM 'Like all other socia
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Our children survive also. Those that do pass away, do so because it was the Will of God, just as it was the Will of God for a ram to be trapped in the brush, so that Abraham would not be forced to sacrifice his son. Just, BTW.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Your group is hardly comparable to "Jesus" or early Christians. Jesus said, "Suffer not the little children." In your group children suffer and die. The New Testament teaches to obey civil authority, and your group has disobeyed the law. Your rant simply demonstrates that "cults" frequently twist whatever scripture they quote to serve their own purposes.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

You forget that Jesus was convicted as a criminal and killed. Many of his followers afterwards were treated in the same manner. You may say that we are hiding behind the Bible, but in the same manner I could say that the rest of you were trying to hide from the Bible. The reason that we care not for the laws of man(when they conflict with the Word of God) is because what is written in the Old
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

I am sorry to hear that your niece is going to VLI, there is really nothing you can do to convince them. While I was there in MSI california, I noticed that several of my friends who graduated in VLI, just a handful of people who graduated, end up working in the church office with a small wage. Some still depend on their parents and family to support them financially because they could not make i
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Fourth Way groups require careful evaluation by students, both those already in a group and those interested in looking for a group. More modern groups may utilize material from psychotherapy, may have psychotherapists (licensed and unlicensed) as leaders, members, or both. If any group becomes socially isolated and uses powerful methods of inner work and self disclosure, it may despite co
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Haiglaw: I don't understand your reply. I said nothing about Morningstar with my post on spiritual fatherhood. However, if Rice or Greg or anyone else there teaches that nonsense, I would appreciate hearing from you on that. By the way, I spent almost 10 years in Maranatha and my underatanding was that Rice helped bring an end to that controlling organization. I would hope that Rice w
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

I generally am appalled at the prevalence of a doctrine entitled "Spiritual Fatherhood" that does not cause a major outcry from Christians throughout the United States. This doctrine asserts that "God's" only model for church government is based on a father-son principle, where the church is the "house", the lead pastor is the "spiritual father" and
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

I was surfing the web and found this fantastic, non-biased cult website on distructive, doomsday cults, new religions, and harmful religions and denominations. Upon reading some of the material, I found the information gathered on Calvary Chapel. I personally have gone there three times, invited by college friends. I found a lot of what happened to be very similar to exacting to what was sa
Forum: Destructive Churches

So anyhow, again, I realize and agree that Jews categorically deny that Jesus (the Jesus of the NT) is historically significant or has anything to do with their faith or traditions. Furthermore, I realize that He is not even a blip on their radar screen, they probably never really consider Him, thinking He was just some weird Jewish guy from a long time ago who a had a cult following. The Exo
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoteOriginally posted by letGodbetrue First of all, are you getting this information about who the Jews accepted and rejected from the Bible? (RMG's reply:The Jews have a whole host of commentaries on the Bible (Torah as they call it) many of which were written a long time ago. I don't believe in the bible and it's miracles. I believe the Bible is the work of man not God.) Y
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

First of all, are you getting this information about who the Jews accepted and rejected from the Bible? (RMG's reply:The Jews have a whole host of commentaries on the Bible (Torah as they call it) many of which were written a long time ago. I don't believe in the bible and it's miracles. I believe the Bible is the work of man not God.) You digress... You stated that the Jews
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

If you check out you'll see a Q&A forum. Look at the topic about the sacrificial system being reinstated when the temple is rebuilt. Chabad makes an issue of how Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were so enlightened and did animal sacrifices. If they ever existed at all, they were just primitives.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Greetings David: You might be interested in The Founding of Christendom by Warren H. Carroll vol. 1 in "A History of Christendom" series. He writes as a historical scholar, giving out tidbits of archeological evidence along the way as he looks at the cultures from which Abraham and on up came out of. Of course Egypt is mentioned in connection with Moses. There is lots of documentation
Forum: Recovery from Destructive Cults and Groups

Aryeh Kaplan wrote books on Kabbalah and claimed that the Kabbalah was a system of logic not of mysticism. His beginner book is "Inner Space". I used to have the book. He also translated the Book of Formation (Sefer Yetzirah) which was supposedly written by the Patriarch Abraham about 3,800 years ago. The book "Etz Chaim" (Tree of Life) by Rabbi Chaim Vital, a disciple
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

My contact with various people high up in certain religious groups (Protestants, some Catholics and Lubavitch, in particular) lead me to conclude that many people are inducted into religious institutions and taught fertilizer "for their own good and for the good of society". Even a philosophy professor I had in college told me "for the sake of creating a society we can lie.&q
Forum: Coercive Persuasion and Undue Influence

From: darin_selby@hotmail.com This is the actual letter that I sent to the Twelve Tribes at the beginning of 2002, and afterward is their response. I have a short commentary on my own personal feelings about what Yoneq and Ha-emeq (the leaders) had to write back to me - so I feel th
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"