Part 3

 The Cult: A Triple Connection

"But evil people and impostors will go from bad to worse as they deceive others and are themselves deceived."  2 Timothy 3:13

He said, "Be careful that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name and say, 'I am he' and 'The time is near.' Don't go after them. Luke 21:8

And then if anyone says to you, Behold, here is the Messiah! Or, Behold, there! You shall not believe.
For false messiahs and false prophets will be raised, and they will give miraculous signs and wonders in order to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.
But you be careful. Behold, I have foretold you all things.  Mark 13:21-23

In presenting this series on Diotrephes it is our hope that you will read and compare the information in this series to anyone whose pattern resembles, or; even duplicates the definition and actions of cult leaders.  There are so many false teachers that only want personal recognition and absolute control over people.  The pseudo (false) prophet (s) can be profiled.  Their actions and characteristics are identifiable and discernable.  When we do criminal profiles we take into account numerous identifiers.  We then make a composite with identifying traits, habits, personalities, behavior patterns and the psychopathy (the criminal usually demonstrates some clearly identifiable form of psychopathy) of the criminal et al, (insert cult leader here) will yield the M.O. of the UNSUB.  The same profiling techniques can be applied to identify false leaders and even the false EliYahs so extant in religious cults, particularly the Sacred Name Movement.  I have a profile on the true EliYah which I will eventually publish.  You may be in for quite a shock when you read this profile!

What is the definition of a cult?  The following is taken from the MSN Encarta Dictionary:

cult [ kult ] (plural cults)


noun

Definition:

1. religion: a system of religious or spiritual beliefs, especially an informal and transient belief system regarded by others as misguided, unorthodox, extremist, or false, and directed by a charismatic, authoritarian leader


2. religious group: a group of people who share religious or spiritual beliefs, especially beliefs regarded by others as misguided, unorthodox, extremist, or false


3. idolization of somebody or something: an extreme or excessive admiration for a person, philosophy of life, or activity ( often used before a noun )
the cult of youth
a cult hero


4. object of idolization: a person, philosophy, or activity regarded with extreme or excessive admiration


5. fad: something popular or fashionable among a devoted group of enthusiasts ( often used before a noun )
has taken on cult status


6. cultural anthropology system of supernatural beliefs: a body of organized practices and beliefs supposed to involve interaction with and control over supernatural powers


7. sociology elite group: a self-identified group of people who share a narrowly defined interest or perspective


[Early 17th century. Directly or via French< Latin cultus "worship" < colere "cultivate"]


cult·ic adjective
cult·ish adjective
cult·ish·ly adverb
cult·ish·ness noun
cult·ism noun
cult·ist noun

 

The Cult: A Triple Connection*

The most highly organized, completely pretend world is that of the cult. The cult leader, the primary Controller, makes up everything relevant to the meaning, purpose, and function of the cult, as well as to the members’ lives. He has the final say in all decisions, even personal ones. In effect the leader becomes the members’“self,” as was Marshall Applewhite of the infamous Heaven’s Gate cult. Under Applewhite’s direction, cult members joined him in committing suicide en masse.

Applewhite, like all cult leaders, established a Control Connection to his followers. They were his Pretend People. He knew how they should be, and he experienced ongoing “proof” of his rightness, because he was followed even into death.

As cultists become disconnected from themselves, they are coerced into connecting to a pretend self, the leader. In other words, as one’s self is lost, the leader becomes it. In order to maintain a position of total control, the leader enforces strict conformity and often manipulates members into enforcing compliance among themselves.

The leader, like the Controllers we have met thus far, defines others: he or she “knows” who and what the others should be and what they should do, and rules like a g-d. Cultists eventually find inner or self-direction to be almost impossible.

When a former member and sole survivor of the Heaven’s Gate cult suicides was asked if he intended to lead others into a cult, he said, “We can’t even lead ourselves.”

Like the interlocking pieces of a picture puzzle, the leader and the cult members fit together to form a complete picture. But this picture is not a visual one. It is instead a psychological one: a Control Connection of the greatest magnitude.

Full-fledged cult members may become Controllers on behalf of the leader. To coerce new members, they whittle, belittle, degrade, attack, demote, demean, and attempt to seriously undermine the very fabric of the other’s reality. They usually do this not intending to destroy the other, but intending to turn the other into a Pretend Person—a person of one mind with them, able to enter into a pretend world with them.

After a while, cult candidates lose their self-connection in systematic conditioning. Not unlike severely abused children and people in severely abusive relationships, their communication is controlled or under rigid constraints. They are watched for signs of separateness and punished for them. They are relentlessly coerced to become Pretend People, designed to inhabit a pretend world imagined by their leader.

If cultists are successful, cult candidates will doubt themselves and open up to indoctrination. In fact, if their belief systems and personal realities are shattered, the cult, and particularly their leader, will seem to bring salvation. The cult reality, a newly fabricated belief system, then replaces personal reality. Cults are formed by this process. New members must be convinced of their “wrongs,” so that their leader, an abuser of power, can “lead them to redemption” along prescribed lines of conduct.
Through indoctrination, brainwashing and ever-increasing pressure from members, cult candidates shift from tenuous selfconnection to solid cult connection. They are finally triply connected: connected with each other against themselves, connected to their leader, and connected in conformity to one mind.

I was afforded an extraordinary opportunity to interview a woman who left a cult when in her mid-twenties. Her remarkable strength touched and inspired me. She had made meaning of her horrifying experience and had found a purpose in her life. As she related her story to me, I understood as never before how the Controller’s grip in a person’s mind is a constant assault on her reality.

The following is developed from this interview. Please note that a cult leader may be male or female but in this case was male.

The cult leader appears to have special knowledge— knowledge that no one else could have. He is certain of this. His knowledge comes from beyond the world, from Ch--st, G-d, or a being from another planet or time. It is as if his knowledge is backed by a myth that has now become real. Others are told that only with this knowledge will they be saved. He alone can save them. He alone knows what they should do, how they should be, how they are, and what they are. He does not doubt himself. Convinced and convincing, he brings the cult into existence.

Isolation is a major factor. Cultists don’t know that they are living in a “pretend world.” They are allowed little or no contact outside the cult, or they are taught to fear “outsiders.” They have no frame of reference, no contrast to enable them to make the distinction between the world we all live in and the cult’s world. It is imperative that all follow the leader’s direction or they will suffer unspeakable loss: to be cast out of the “world,” where there is no protection from the “evil” he is saving them from.

The rules are terribly strict. Members may live in their own homes, but their dress, budget, and activities are all subject to the leader’s approval. They are isolated not only from the outside world, but also from each other. They are taught that they have no access to truth.

An exception to this is a kind of cult that teaches that truth will come in some strange way, apart from all reason. These cults lead their members so deeply into their past memories that the feelings these memories generate leave them powerless and unable to function in the present. Hence they are subject to the leader’s control.

Generally, cult members must reveal all their thoughts to their leader and so are made to betray their basic loyalties. These secret revelations are used as special knowledge to further exalt the leader. No one has a confidant. Members’ mail and journals are monitored. Their conversations are subject to scrutiny. Usually, privacy is forbidden. The leader can walk into any home, any bedroom, any place a member may be, and his invasion is accepted because his “contact” has authorized it.

The leader steps into the minds of the members with the authority of a g-d. He claims secret knowledge and plays upon any information he gleans from other members. He appears all-knowing.
Paradoxically, no cult members recognize that the group is a cult. The members feel that they are the chosen ones. Insiders. Privy to secret and life-saving knowledge—knowledge that comes from the “beyond” through their leader.
 

I encourage the elders among you* [as] a fellow-elder and a witness of the sufferings of Messiah and a partaker of the glory being about to be revealed:
shepherd [or, pastor] the flock of Yahweh, the [one] among you*, overseeing not under compulsion _but_ willingly, nor with greediness for dishonest gain _but_ eagerly,
nor as domineering over the [ones] allotted to your* care, _but_ being examples to the flock.
And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you* will receive the unfading victor's wreath [or, crown] of glory.  1 Peter 5:1-4 [LITV]
 

*Controlling People─Patricia Evans

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