So, there you sit. Sermon after sermon. Day after day and hour after hour listening to Apostle Elijah the Prophet David C Pack spin his non-Gospel tales about himself and his endlessly incorrect math about the coming of Jesus.
Some of you must be sitting down on the outside and yet standing up to this foolish theology on the inside. You won't be at peace until the inside and the outside match.
If you head is telling you, "This could be". "This will pass". "This doesn't matter if it is true or not". This is nuts but...", but your stomach is telling you, "I didn't sign up for this and how do I get out of this alive...", your head is lying to you. Your stomach is telling you your personal truth in this matter.
I understand the turmoil you are feeling and the fear of personal change and moving on some of you, have to be considering.
I assume those, few though they may be seeking support and encouragement, have found Banned, even during your conference, and your conference may be solidifying your doubts.
My hope is that this explanation of what you may have gotten yourself into can help you move on and put yourself first in your life. No one is going to take care of your mental, emotional and spiritual self but YOU.
I can't speak for anyone here on Banned but myself, but I wish you well in the difficult decision and process that arises when one realizes that sincere as one might be, the sincerity is being squandered in the wrong place and devotion to the cause is to the wrong people.
I understand the chaos of change. There are many resources available to you emotionally and spiritually should your conference experience produce a personal "Enough is enough".
And too: No, I am not just Satan trying to deceive you and trying just to lead you out of God's True Church under the True Apostleship of the End Time Prophet Elijah. I was one of you in many ways. I know how that niggly doubt that builds over years works.
Wonder if you might be in a cult? Confident that you are not? Some cults show dangerous intent upfront, requiring harmful or illegal initiation rites. Most destructive groups appear far more appealing, with unhealthy traits slowly revealed over time.
"When ex-members had been polled (at ICSA Recovery Workshops) they consistently gave these reasons for joining their groups: Idealism, Friendship, Love, Freedom, Community, Mission, Sincerity, Salvation, Enlightenment, Spiritual high.
People don’t join cults. They get involved in groups they are led to believe represent these high ideals."
The following questions are adapted from a checklist developed by Michael D. Langone, Ph.D., Executive Director of International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA). This list is not a diagnostic tool. It is only meant to help you analyze for yourself whether you may have cause for concern based on common patterns found in cultic groups.
• Does your group show unquestioning commitment to its leader, alive or dead?CHECK
• Are doubts and questions discouraged or punished?
CHECK
• Are mind-altering techniques such as (meditation, chanting, speaking in tongues, and sleep deprivation or overworking used in excess which, unwittingly or not, often serve to suppress doubts about the group and its leadership)?
SOMEWHAT counting free labor and constant sermon bombing
• Does the leadership dictate how members should think, act, and feel? How they should dress, where they should live, and whom they should marry?
CHECK
• Does the group feel they’re on a special mission to save humanity? Do they see their leader as a special being or an avatar?
CHECK, CHECK, CHECK
• Does the group have an us-versus-them mentality?
CHECK
• Does the leadership induce feelings of shame or guilt in order to influence or control members? Often this is often done through peer pressure and subtle forms of persuasion.
CHECK
• Does the group require members to cut ties with family and friends, or to radically alter the personal goals and activities members had before they joined?
CHECK
• Is the group preoccupied with bringing in new members and/or making money?
CHECK
• Do you fear backlash to yourself or others if you leave—or even consider leaving—the group?
CHECK
If you answered 'yes' to some of these questions, it does not automatically mean you are in a cult. We acknowledge the subjectivity of words like "excessive" and "radical." What's considered excessive one person may seem like not enough to someone else. Trust yourself. What's true for others does not have to be true for you.
Where Is the Line Between Destructive and Healthy?
That line may be different for every person. You are the one responsible for you. It's important to emphasize that not all groups are harmful. Sometimes it's hard to distinguish whether a religion or organization is destructive or not. There is what Steven Hassan, leading cult expert and founder of Freedom of Mind Resource Center, calls an Influence Continuum, a spectrum of healthy and unhealthy influence:
Again, we reiterate: Not all churches, religions, and organizations are cults. Expressions of these groups, however, can be cultish. Instead of focusing on the faith, ideology, or belief system of a group, focus on the behavior of the people involved. Don't disregard your feelings. Determine for yourself whether the group is healthy FOR YOU.
