“Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.” Jer. 17:5.
A key factor of mind control is the classic one man scenario. One man is the leader in a group; he does all the speaking and makes all the decisions. In order to keep his control, he makes the group dependent on himself for the basic necessities of life: food, clothing, and shelter. Also, he establishes a group think mentality that totally eliminates individuality. Through the use of force and/or persuasive speaking, he influences the group to administer his ideologies on potential dissident members. As a result of the persistent pressure from the one man, the group constantly emphasizes and reemphasizes the need for everyone to think and act the same. Because individuality is viewed as a threat to the group’s dynamics, contact with the outside world is limited.
Robert Jay Lifton, M.D. commented that “the first method characteristically used by ideological totalism is milieu control: the control of all communication within a given environment. In such an environment individual autonomy becomes a threat to the group. There is an attempt to manage an individual’s inner communication. Milieu control is maintained and expressed by intense group process, continuous psychological pressure, and isolation by geographical distance, unavailability of transportation, or even physical restraint. Often the group creates an increasingly intense sequence of events, such as seminars, lectures and encounters, which makes leaving extremely difficult, both physically and psychologically.”
Maureen Griffo, 10 year cult member and author of “How Could Anyone Join a Cult” says that working long hours and doing intensive projects afterwards with the group helps weaken (or totally abolish) people’s thought processes. “It is no secret that sleep deprivation hinders clear thinking and decision making abilities. Through instituting a poor diet and strenuous routines, a group can break persons down further, making them even more vulnerable to the group’s ideologies.”
She gave an excellent illustration of what goes inside cult members’ brains:
“…Life in a cult [is] compared to living in a fire constantly. Most of us can invoke images of people we’ve seen on the news who have lived through a fire. When persons are in the middle of a fire, they simply do not have access to certain parts of their thinking that they normally would have. However, when the fire is over, we see them collapse and say things like ‘Oh my God, I can’t believe what happened. It was so terrifying.’”
Why, you ask, would anyone join groups like this? Mrs. Griffo says it’s because of deception and youthfulness.
“Unfortunately, cults are notorious for not letting a potential recruit know about the full package. What I thought I was joining and what I actually joined were vastly different from each other. In other words, if the group had been up front about the kind of life I was going to have to live and what was going to happen to me, I would have never joined.”
“Who joins cults? They are anyone you could meet anywhere. I was a teen living in a small town when I had been recruited. I may have been naive and not able to see through the deception as someone older may have been, but most teens are naive and easily impressed by those who are slicker than themselves.”
What are a few steps to avoid a cult?
1. Pray, pray, and…pray.
2. Find out if the group is led by one man.
3. Learn how long the leader works for this will help determine if his (aka…your) busy schedule will give you time to think–alone and away from the group.
4. Observe the group’s practices in light of reality instead of your own bubble.
5. Ask many objective, practical questions, and embrace a show me don’t tell me attitude.
6. Don’t let your youthfulness obstruct your view of real life. Seek counsel from godly, older people who have a variety of life experiences. Prov. 11:14.
Let us steer clear of a cult mentality. Let us allow people to be fully persuaded in their own minds!
Franklin Morris II is the co-founder of Pertaining to Life Network. He is a prominent health educator, and he is a speaker, and authors many articles for Pertaining to Life Network.
If you know or may know anyone who is in a cult, and may be in danger please contact us at info@ptlnetwork.org, for resources on cults and sects visit www.icsahome.com for more information. They offer many articles for family members who have lost individual family members or friends to the cult.
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May God continue to use you!
–Franklin
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