On June 17, 2015, a Google Alert came to my Inbox that included a link to The North Africa Post article: “Religious Leaders Discuss in Brussels ‘Living together and disagreeing well.’” Yay. A plea for civil discourse! It turns out that 15 religious leaders from major religions met in Brussels, Belgium, in June this year … [Read more…]
Phenomena known as mind-control or brainwashing have been written about by psychologists, sociologists, and many other “ists.” Now it’s my turn. Note: This post was written in 2015, about one year before I published my memoir, Undertow, about my cult experience. My name is Charlene, and I am a former … [Read more…]
Cults have not disappeared and nobody consciously joins one. A person “joins” a group that offers something they need or want, but sometimes the group turns out to be a camouflaged cult. Even groups that offer friendship, love, promises of healing, guarantees of self-improvement, or “the accuracy of God’s Word.” Let’s define … [Read more…]
Some of you know about my former life as a Christian fundamentalist. It lasted seventeen years (1970-1987). I loved it. Until I did not. First, what do I mean by fundamentalism? The term applied to Christianity comes from a series of publications called The Fundamentals (1910-1915) which stated basic beliefs … [Read more…]
On April 23, 2015, I had the honor to address a religion class studying “Extreme Religions” at Rollins College, my alma mater. I’ve made sharing my cult story a service to the college. Dr. Todd French, Professor of Religion, had invited me to speak about my 17-year commitment to the fundamentalist cult, The Way International™ that recruited … [Read more…]