A humble upbringing is an understatement for Dan McIntrye. Canada born and bred, Dan’s cult journey took him from guitar god, to free desserts to cult escape, only to land him right in the arms of… another one?
A double survivor. A triple thriver. And one extremely nice guy. Damn, Canadians, you really are as kind as they say.
Hosted by Tyler Measom and Liz Iacuzzi, Was I In A Cult? is a documentary-style podcast showcasing individuals who have been in, and most importantly, successfully left a cult. Told first-hand by the experiencer themself, these are raw, riveting and inspirational tales of what it means to be a survivor. Using levity and info-tainment, the show humanizes the cultic experience and may leave some of our listeners asking themselves…“Wait…Was I In A Cult?”
If you or someone you know has been in a cult and want to share your story, contact us at CULTS@iHeartMedia.com. We'd love to hear from you.
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I'd always suspected that there were people who grew up in the church who had it worse than did I and my siblings. Seems like Dan had higher highs and lower lows, but his experiences were similar to ours.
There are awesome healing powers to music. I realized this myself during the teenage years. I never did reach professional level proficiency on my own guitars, but they have and still do provide hours of personal challenge and enjoyment. Many of the ACOG types have cited this as being leverage that Satan has on younger people in getting them to leave "God's True Church", but I've seen music, particularly rock music, accomplish more good, achieve more common ground, and make things so much better than anything that Armstrongism ever did. It is like a universal non-verbal language which can be shared.
Canada, in a way, is much like Texas, in that a lot, a lot of music has come from both places. And, they never forget their own. One of my favorite bands of all times is the Tragically Hip, out of Ontario. They never made it big here in the USA, but in a rare moment on one of our local radio stations, "New Orleans is Sinking" was played, and I immediately ran out and bought as many of their CDs as I could find. When Gord Downie, the vocalist, died of a brain tumor in October 2017, there was like a national day of mourning up in Canada. Their last concert is available in part and whole on Youtube.
I'm happy for Dan McIntyre, and if he is tuned into us here, I'd like him to know that his story is inspiring, and he definitely did many people a lot of good good in sharing it. There was zero anger, and no bitterness in Dan's voice as he shared his experiences. He came across as being very sincere and level headed, both of which make him very credible.
If you got out you're a survivor. If you're still alive in a cult, you're surviving. Find a way to break free and embrace life.
We should count our blessings that we got out and we're better for it. We were by birth or by choice or in my case some hybrid of the two involved in a cult of personality. I really identify with Dan. We grew up one nation a way but around the same time period. I think we both felt beholden to parental expectations and that guilt and the ever present fear of the third resurrection held us like prisoners in rented halls.
I too wondered why we didn't do more for the poor or our communities. So much focus was placed on what TV stations we were on and how many pieces of literature were going out, the number of co-workers etc. But the more needful and present things being light and salt to the community were disregarded. Members themselves were often impoverished while the top ministerial brass lived in million dollar homes with large salaries.
By your works you shall know them. What has Armstrongism accomplished? Has it turned the hearts of the fathers to the children? Has it helped people become more in the image of Jesus Christ or HWA? Does the belief system foster faith or fear?
It's an insular existence inside those rented rooms, and once a week everyone comes together and makes believe. Pretends that a powerful message is going out to the world. Pretends that their COG is the best COG and is doing the greatest work. Pretends that science and reason are no substitute for church doctrine and interpretation of scriptures.
The Armstrongist movement is all but over. It's either a social club and/or a madman's echo chamber of self aggrandizement. In either case is it really where you belong?
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