FACTNet: Mind Control, Cults & Freedom of Mind News (2)

American Family Foundation: Cults and Psychological Manipulation (3)

Margaret Singer, Cult Fighter

PSYCH SLEUTH: Margaret Singer has made history delving into the psychology of brainwashing

“… they prey on the most lonely, vulnerable people they can find, cage you with your own mind through guilt and fear, …” “Flim-flam men, pimps, sharpsters – that’s what they are,” she says, biting off the words. “Liars. Tricksters. It’s been the same ever since Eve got the apple, and I doubt it will ever change.” (4)

Cult Meddling

Meddling in Relationships at Ambassador College
One item discusses how Worldwide Church of God Ambassador College officials used to ruin the lives of students by interfering heavy-handedly in their relationships.
So-and-so “… was notorious for arranging and de-arranging romances using his “ministerial authority””. (5)

Match-making can be good, but this was not match-making. In the WCG generally, in the past, there wasn’t much leeway for making romantic choices, even on a doctrinal basis. Church membership and race were the primary restrictions. On top of that, the Church added every consideration you can think of and made it their business: age, social status, loyalty to Church of potential spouse, and so on. You might have called it “advice” or “counsel”, but the ministry had absolute power.

Ambassador Report article on this topic. See section “The Love Bashers”. (6)

Ministerial Intrusion into actual marriages. (7)

Notes

[1] http://www.freedomofmind.com/

[2] http://factnet.org/

[3] http://www.csj.org/

[4] http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2002/05/26/CM67534.DTL?FACTNet
SFGate.com, San Francisco Chronicle, Sunday May 26, 2002, PSYCH SLEUTH Margaret Singer has made history delving into the psychology of brainwashing , by Kevin Fagan

[5] http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~gavinru/watch31.htm
Ambassador Watch, The Missing Dimension e-zine/31, Sunday December 8 2002
Home Page: www.missingdimension.com

[6] http://www.herbertwarmstrong.com/ar/AR49.html
Ambassador Report, 49, November, 1991, John Trechak
“The Love Bashers. In addition to tampering with members’ marital relations and using the D and R doctrine to break up existing marriages, the WCG ministry frequently destroys budding relationships and future marriages through heavy-handed ministerial match-making and match-breaking.”

[7] http://www.herbertwarmstrong.com/ar/Spying.html
Ambassador Report, Spying in the Name of God, Deacon quoted: “It was not uncommon for a husband or wife to turn his or her spouse in for some infringement of church policy or doctrine, and if the crime was bad enough, a visit from a Minister would follow….”