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from Rare_Jewel Monday, July 30, 2007 - 10:14 (Agree/Disagree?) thanks, everyone. I've been trying for years to get to the bottom of just what hell I was put thru (as well as other kids I know). Most sites online I have been to are not as kind and open as here. thanks again. (reply to this comment)

from hi Monday, July 30, 2007 - 07:50 (Agree/Disagree?) I am sorry for all you that have been through. I hope life has been better to you now you are out. For the reasons given by the poster below, this wasn't COG/TF. But as David Berg sprang from the bible belt culture so many things ARE simular. (His mother was also a member of the Missonary Alliance and an accomplished speaker and self-proclaimed 'faith healer'.) When I first saw a film about David Koresh and his little cult, I was struck by the simularities. -and just recently a film called 'Jesus Camp'. In fact all cults i.e JW's, Scientology and Mormons use the same tactics as its the method rather than the message. And most cults have a history of child and sexual abuse too as the leaders/gurus/prohets create the perfect enviroment for ultimate control and abuse. There is a data base on all known cults and cult like groups in the US over at the Rick Ross Institute http://www.rickross.com/ which you can have a look at. If that helps. All the best (reply to this comment)

From moon beam Monday, July 30, 2007, 08:30 (Agree/Disagree?) this might be of use to you Common characteristics of a cult 1. Authoritarian structure 2. Isolation from society and use of mind control techniques 3. Control of the environment Mind control techniques -Peer Group Pressure - Suppressing doubt and resistance to new ideas by exploiting the need to belong. -Confusing Doctrine - Encouraging blind acceptance through complex lectures on an incomprehensible doctrine. -Verbal Abuse, Sleep Deprivation and fatigue - Creating disorientation and vulnerability by prolonging mental and physical activity and withholding adequate rest and sleep. -Dress Codes - Removing individuality by demanding conformity to the group dress code. -Financial Committment - Achieving increased dependence on the group -Controlled Approval - Maintaining vulnerability and confusion by alternately rewarding and punishing similar actions. Control of the eviroment “Mystical Manipulation: “principles” can be put forcibly and claimed exclusively, so that the cult and its beliefs become the only true path to salvation (or enlightenment) Demand for Purity: The world becomes sharply divided into…the absolutely good and the absolutely evil… tendencies towards guilt and shame are used as emotional levers for the group’s controlling and manipulative influences. Confession: sessions in which one confesses to one’s sin are accompanied by patterns of criticism and self-criticism, generally transpiring within small groups with an active and dynamic thrust toward personal change. Doctrine Over Person: If one questions the beliefs of the group or the leaders of the group, one is made to feel that there is something inherently wrong with them to even question….one is made to feel that doubts are reflections of one’s own evil when doubt arises, conflicts become intense Dispensing of Existence: those who are not in the group are not enlightened; impediments to legitimate being must be pushed away or destroyed….if one leaves this group, one loses their salvation/transformation, or something bad will happen to them (reply to this comment)

from PopNFresh Sunday, July 29, 2007 - 22:29 (Agree/Disagree?) I'm sorry to hear about your rotten childhood. It doesn't sound like the COG though because of the way you described the church. Although fanatically religious, COG was very anti-church, and there were no pastors or priests. Each home had a group of leaders instead of just one. You would have also lived in a home with several families. (reply to this comment)