Last year I had the unfortunate experience of getting in touch with a cult posing as a christian church. Fortunately I managed to break loose early, but that came with a high cost for me and my family, as the cult have relentlessly harassed us after we left. They have taken to extreme steps in their harassment by sending threats, contacting family members and engaging in law fare.
I don’t want others to experience the same so in this article I will go through the key signs to look for. This is extra important if you attend a church, as many churches today are actually cults, posing as christian churches.
How to identify a cult
Here are seven key signs of a cult:
- A charismatic leader having a lot of power over his/her members.
- A zero tolerance for criticism or questions.
- A belief that the leader can never do or say anything wrong.
- You’re expected or practically forced to pay tithes or give donations to the church / organization.
- Socializing with people outside the cult is strongly discouraged, leading to unhealthy isolation from society.
- You’re told that people who leave the cult are always wrong and borderline insane.
- You’re told that something bad will happen you if you leave the cult.
- Abuse of members is common, including sexual assault of young girls.
- Simplified, it’s about three things: money, power and women.
All of these seven points were a reality at the so-called christian church I attended a few months.
Seeing this evil, you cannot stay silent.
The bible has commanded us to:
“And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.”
(Ephesians 5:11 KJV)
So in the midst of all the harassment, my brother - who is also an independent journalist - wrote an excellent article exposing the evil happening inside the cult.
You can read it here:
And since I left, I’m doing my duty in WARNING people of the danger of joining a cult.
Now is the question:
Why would someone in their right mind join a cult?
The first thing to understand is that the most common cults nowadays, are those who pose as christian churches.
Whether it’s a small church for the locals, or an American-style mega church.
So many people might not know that the church, who greets you so warmly, is a cult.
This was the reason for my part. I thought this was a christian church, and couldn’t imagine it being an evil cult, posing as a christian church. I was new in town and tried to get to know some of the locals.
So there are probably much more people than you think who are trapped in cults.
And in addition, these cults like to prey on weaker individuals, such as teenagers.
Leaving a cult
If you know someone who has been tricked into joining an cult – it is very important you do what you can to warn them and try help them out of the cult.
Leaving a cult is very hard, because of psychological damage and brainwashing from the cult.
Ex cult members can feel socially isolated, and depression is very common.
And it doesn’t help that if the cult goes crazy, and contact all their friends and family to spread negativity and gossip about the person.
That’s why it’s important that you are there to help the person and be a good friend in time of need.
Leaving a cult is hard. But in the long run it is worth it, because one’s personal freedom is worth fighting for.
JESUS IS KING.
Peter - that certainly sounds true enough!
I escaped from one here in the UK.
A small UK branch of the Assemblies of God America.
A total control freak.
Cruel and cold hearted too.