Netflix
Netflix has a fascinating series called "Haunted" where people share stories about paranormal happenings and other events that have happened in their lives and how those events continue to haunt them to this day.
The current program of Haunted is called "Cult of Torture" had is based upon the real life events of a former church member.
Where Haunted gets into murky territory is when it tells stories that aren’t driven by supernatural means. The “Slaughterhouse” episode in Season 1 stirred up a lot of controversy because viewers were shocked that the show identified a supposedly real serial killer who murdered dozens of people. Similarly, HauntedSeason 2’s “Cult of Torture” episode deals with a very real horror, one that also affected dozens (if not hundreds, if not thousands) of people beyond the main subject. But whereas Google sleuths can’t find any evidence that the events in “The Slaughterhouse” ever took place, “Cult of Torture” is the first episode of Haunted that you can prove without a doubt is based on a very real, very upsetting story.
Is the “Cult of Torture” episode real?
Yes. To summarize–and this description comes with a massive trigger warning for abuse and torture–trauma survivor James Swift tells his story of what it was like growing up in a Christianity-based doomsday cult in Louisiana. His mother joined the church, then known as the Worldwide Church of God, when he was very young. The Worldwide Church of God was founded by Herbert W. Armstrong, a televangelist and the host of a program called The World Tomorrow.
By the time Swift was a teenager, he underwent horrifying torture in order to rid his body of the “gay demon” that was “possessing him.” Church officials pegged Swift as gay before he even knew what gay meant, all because of his effeminate mannerisms, and subjected him to long stretches of total isolation without food. His mother even sexually assaulted Swift in an attempt to make him react to a woman’s touch, which was her way of performing an “exorcism.” When Swift was 15, he was sent to the New Bethany Home for Boys in Arcadia, Louisiana, where he was hosed, kept in a cage, subjected to electroshock conversion therapy, and anally raped. He was kept there for 17 weeks and, after being returned to his abusive home, he and his brother were taken in by his aunt. The church was disbanded, Armstrong was outted as a pedophile who molested his daughter, and the conversion camp was raided and shut down.
Read the entire article here: "Yes, ‘Haunted’s’ “Cult of Torture” Episode Is About a Real Evangelical Doomsday Cult"
More can be found here: Trafficking doesn't discriminate; men also victimized
28 comments:
I’m always glad when there is more exposure of the cult which affected all of us so profoundly. However, I predict that Armstrongites will 1) either deny that any of this ever happened, 2) attribute it to ancient history and claim that this sort of activity has long since been cleaned up, or 3) describe it as an anomaly based on the decisions of an individual member rather than being officially taught or sanctioned by the church.
Those are the ways in which they typically treat these “public relations” problems that the doctrines as taught by the ministry and perceived by members have caused.
James Swift was seen as being perverted. Sadly, rather than being given any real therapy, authorities attempted to “treat” him by inflicting even more perverted and barbaric behavior upon him. That was all too common within the cult of HWA, and this is yet another incident in an abundant series of examples.
BB
This final comment on the linked site will make 500 of the 504 splits unhappy:
Armstrong’s teaching, known as Armstrongism, still lives on through a number of splinter religions that were formed in the ’90s as Worldwide Church of God crumbled. They’re now known as the Global or Living or United or Restored Church of God.
BB,
The issue with Armstrong's groups is not this kind of horror, we can easily argue every group has horrors like this, even AA meetings have bad people in them that do bad things and blame the group and leaders for their actions. The problem is that there is no acknowledgement that this happened under their guard, and sometimes by their own people.
But then again, there aren't any groups I know of that acknowledge their failures in leadership that I know of. Look at the mass child abuse in the Catholic church. It dwarfs the horrors in all the Amstrong churches and splinters by a factor of a 1000.
Even in the bible Paul admonished the people he lead for their really bad behavior. This is not just an Armstrongism issue, it's everyone's problem.
The psychological abuse of armstrongism was/is from the top down. Pastor rank ministers where on the receiving end of the abuse from those lording it over them as well as the lay members being lorded over by the ministers. It was an abusive dynamic that ran trough the entire system from the top to the bottom. I am happy to be out of it but the residual effect has left me scared.
I agree with BB that these "public relations” problems will be addressed if needed, but my question is how will God look at people who are broadcasting these things worldwide when there are sincere people who are connected to Him. Even in the OT God would punish people who went to far in revealing things needed to be corrected. I personally think of the those who were and are faithful believers in the God of the in bible. Even if a person doesn't believe in God such a post may do damage to some people. ASB
The problem with this, ASB, is that HWA always equated his church with God. Isn’t that what he always taught? That if you tried to extricate one from the other that you were actually leaving God’s one and only “true church, and were then destined to TLoF?
Once you learn that the two are not equal and the same, you can blame a man and the entity which he created for their sins and egregious errors without blaming God. It’s possible to hold the Armstrong movement accountable for all the bad, and still maintain a sincere relationship with God. God is amongst and within Christians, and not exclusively within a church corporate.
BB
BB I believe you have a problem that many may have here. Like you pointed out a person and the church are not the same. I believe a person who accepts Jesus the Christ as Lord and Savior they are one with God where ever they are. God is working with individuals not groups of individuals. If you are judging all of the people in a church to be unconverted you do not understand Christianity. My point was that there are dedicated people of God who are church members that could be emotionally affected by such a post. If a Christian can maintain their Christianity in today's world they could maintain it in the church group they may be in. ASB
BB,
It sounds like James Swift didn't need any therapy until after the church was finished with him! Although I can't say that I experienced the overt physical and psychological abuse that he was exposed to, I can attest to the fact that my association with the Worldwide Church was tortuous for this homosexual. I am also familiar with other homosexuals that existed in that organization and continue to exist in the splinter groups of the present day (and their experiences were just as bad or worse).
The ministry (from the top down) was fond of making fun of "sissies" and outlining the threat which homosexuals posed to the church and society as a whole (although the exact nature of that threat was kind of nebulous). And it was made very clear that homosexuals were headed for the Lake of Fire.
As in so many other areas, Armstrong and his WCG were expert at making people prisoners of their own minds. The greatest torment was self-imposed in nature. I didn't want to be contrary to God, his will, his church or his ministry. I had to continuously fight against those sinful desires - against the wiles of the devil. And I was praying constantly that God would remove this horrible affliction from me. Yes, I know what torment is.
And this garbage wasn't just reserved for the Gay folk! God Speaks Out on The New Morality was required reading for the WCG's heterosexuals as well. Imagine trying to live up to the Victorian sexual notions of an adulterous, incestuous pedophile (Herbert W Armstrong). Think about all of the heterosexual marriages and relationships that were perverted and destroyed by Herbert Armstrong and his ministry.
News flash: Sexual desire is not synonymous with demon possession. No exorcism or therapy was needed until after one had inculcated these false and evil teachings/notions!
HWA's reaction to gay members in the church was odd. He sat by and let pervert Rod Meredith make all kinds of outlandish claims against gays and yet refused to listen to Meredith when he pitched a fit over the campus interior decorator. Meredith demanded that HWA fire the man and HWA refused. HWA went on to let the man decorate all three campuses, HWA's several homes and many of the ministerial homes in Pasadena. Big Sandy and Bricket Wood.
ASB wrote:
"I agree with BB that these "public relations” problems will be addressed if needed, but my question is how will God look at people who are broadcasting these things worldwide when there are sincere people who are connected to Him. Even in the OT God would punish people who went to far in revealing things needed to be corrected. I personally think of those who were and are faithful believers in the God of the in bible. Even if a person doesn't believe in God such a post may do damage to some people. ASB"
Which is worse, church members who call out and hold the ministry accountable for abuses or church members who sit by and watch the abuse and do NOTHING? These are the people who let sexual abusers, stalkers, and others continue decades of abuse because they want to "let god take care of it" or "god will heal them in the kingdom, they just need to persevere and hold tight tot he truth." This is the sick filth that the church let happen for decades and STILL does in every single splinter cult out there..
I have zero sympathy for any "sincere" person who sits by and does nothing. They need their faith shattered and exposed!.
No2Hwa
I remember they got rid of the professional gay dance trainer for the Young Ambassadors for the Feast production.
I laughed really hard about that story at the time because the YA telling the story did not complain AT ALL about the person's gayness. The complaint was about the "moves" he had made the men do. Nothing about my conversation resembled "marine talk". It was just 20 year old talk "about dance moves" for pity sake.
Nck
You are probably right, Lonnie. James may not have needed therapy prior WCG. Or, perhaps therapy which would help him to accept himself might have been of value. But also, the WCG wouldn’t have known what real therapy was if it bit them on the ass. They condemned anything that they either didn’t understand or pretended to misunderstand. And, apparently they sent him off to that Baptist hellhole without properly vetting it.
WCG rarely made anything better for members.
BB
ANNON 7:53 PM said: I have zero sympathy for any "sincere" person who sits by and does nothing. They need their faith shattered and exposed!.
This was a miss understanding of what I wrote. This posting did nothing to correct the problem that was revealed and a persons faith would not be shattered. There was nothing a person could do that would correct the past. If there were current problems of this nature they should have been addressed, but there was no indication that this was a continuing problem. ASB
Does anyone know who the WCG pastor was for James Swift when all of this was happening?
I watched this episode tonight. If true it was woeful and disturbing especially that his parents would allow the pastor so much power over their family to claim to know their son was gay when Swift was a mere child! And then his mom sexually molesting him to convert him to heterosexuality! It was like the poor child was thrown into the frypan and then into the fire and back again! I think his parents and the pastor will have a lot of explaining to do before God that they so diabolically destroyed this boy’s innocence and childhood! I think this is in essence what it means to give your seed over to Moloch. Truly his parents and the pastor were the ones needing exorcism!
I would also be interested. The only information I could find was that it was Monroe, LA circa 1967.
Mat 18:6 "But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea."
Mar 9:42
"And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea."
Luk 17:2
"It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones."
I've got to say I found just as creepy that 70s music video of the WCG choir dancing in front of the auditorium! I wonder where these guys and gals are now?
12.01 AM
We are familiar with your scriptures. But you left out the context. What are you referring to?
People can slap some scriptures on any point of view. No matter how ridiculous.
As far as 'offending' people, my rights don't end where other peoples feelings start. Peoples feelings don't trump my rights. After all, they tried to throw Christ off a cliff for 'offending' them.
nck
Why do you have to constantly be an ass when people talk about the abuse they have experienced at the hands of Armstrongite ministers? You need to stop sucking HWA's teet and open your eyes.
Anonymous 2:44 said: “12.01 AM We are familiar with your scriptures. But you left out the context. What are you referring to?
People can slap some scriptures on any point of view. No matter how ridiculous...”
It actually was a forgotten addendum to my 5:02 post. Hopefully it’s context is more clearer now. Sorry for the confusion.
3:21
Because the story under discussion is not "typically armstrongite" and the "deprogramming) happened in another denomination I feel free to comment as I please. As a matter of fact my comment that actually made fun of the story (where I comment that we did do this to people after sermons each week ritually) didn't make it through the matrix.
Gay deprogramming is a very large American problem to this day. It a not armstrongite in its origins. Although not so large a problem as militant creationism in schools or militant anti abortion.
Nck
It is terrible but the parents were pretty nutty themselves to allow all this. Why would the WCG send him to a Baptist reform place? WCG claimed it was only true church so you would think they would have tried to exorcise his demon themselves. Anyhow what happened to him was awful.
I was a kid in the church in the 70’s. Grew up in the church. Knew lots of ministers . I too would love to know name. I have very old Envoys😊
in nomine magni dei nostri satana luciferi excelsi. salve satana! salve satana! salve satana!
I just watched this episode and I can honestly say this is not the Worldwide Church of God that I grew up in.
It's often said that one false prophecy makes for a false prophet...in this case, one lie makes for "not a true story".
I left the church, at the age of 24 (having attended with my dad from the age of 2 onwards), when I decided that I had more in common with Baptist churches.
Anyway...as a child, teen and young adult (late 70's, 80's and the early 90's), I never once witnessed any such abuse. At Bible studies and at the church services, it was rare to hear about demons or possession, etc... I can honestly say I remember one sermon (in all of those years) that contained even a part about possession. It was a sermon about how Jesus healed a man, and sent the demons into the swine.
Anyway...so the lie, that should give doubt to everything else this man says...
The church doesn't believe in eating the unclean foods that are listed in the Bible (if memory serves it's in Leviticus)...it's very much like the Jewish faith regarding kosher foods and has absolutely NOTHING to do with demons...gtfo of here with that bull!
Anyway...like I said I don't belong to the church (or now, any church), but to blatently lie about the church is just wrong, and if you lie about one aspect, then another...well, it doesn't take a genius to wonder what else you lied about.
I would like to address this comment, my name is James Swift. And the episode is mine. I didn't lie about anything. And your being anonymous just shows me you hide behind your keyboard and try and tear others down. Because you didn't experience the same doesn't make my truth and different. It's just your privilege showing. I hope you get to experience some of what I did in your lifetime. The 2 churches. WWCG and IFB met over the attempted sell of the Big Sandy campus. Lester Rolloff wanted to buy it. Being as Arcadia's closest church was in Monroe we had the pleasure of hosting the pedophiles. They even gave guest sermons and the all girl choir sang in our church as well. So the next time you think you need to judge me or even speak for me on my part. Kindly fuck all the way off. James Swift aka Fifi Frost Award Winning Author.
I was in the ww cog from 1961-74 age6-19 and then 1991-97 when everything changed and I became a born-again believer. I never saw anything remotely close to this kind of abuse and the pastor of the church would not ever wear a collar. There were definitely excessive spankings for most children and the fear of the end of the world was preached but demonism was not overly emphasized.I cant believe they would cooperate with a sunday keeping church as that was as evil as being gay in their eyes.I am sorry you went thru this but it does not justify the misrepresentation presented in the program especially the playing of the world tomorrow broadcast repeatedly at the baptist home .This would never happen and was meant to further slander. and the Baptists are very anti cog I attended some of their churches as welland know first hand. Are you sure your parents didnt go there too?I hope someday you will return to the bible and read it for yourself...everyone needs to repent of their sins and turn to Jesus no matter what the sins are...Netflix needs to put a disclaimer on this episode as this was never the norm.you can reach me at chapsteven4@aol.com
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