Has anyone ever been in a cult? If so, what made you realize it was & how did you get out?
413741
I was in a cult, awhile back. It was considered a church, and from all appearances, it seemed to be. They followed the Bible, they were very social, and at first, it was fun and I learned alot about the Bible. After several years, things got tougher, as the church "discovered new truth" and the atmosphere changed from seeking the truth in God's word to complete "CONTROL! We were watched, members reported to the ministry about what other members were doing, ( tattletaleing) There was alot going on, and it was not a feeling of God's love, and family, anymore. They disfellowshipped people because they asked questions, or were considered troublemakers. Then other members were not allowed to talk to them, and if they did, someone reported them to the ministers and they were disfellowshipped. \nThey then instituted a "biblical" no makeup for women rule, which made some of us want "proof" from the Bible, and it just wasn't there. At that point, this and having more and more control put on me, and questioning it, I was disfellowshipped..It was a Blessing in disguise! \nI kept in touch with many other former members of this church, and we helped each other in de-programming ourselves from this cult. We met for many years, privately, where we proved all things according to the Bible, and got out from a controlling situation. \nWhen I first got into this church, it was wonderful, but then when things changed, lots of members left, and lots got kicked out, but it was very traumatic for all of us, because we had been brainwashed into believing that we were losing our Salvation, and that made us fearful to leave. Of course, when a person is brainwashed, they don't know they are brainwashed! We all believed, at the time, that we were in the one and only "God's true church!"\nThe membership of this church, which still exists, has droppped over 75%. \nThis was a long time ago, and I won't ever forget it or the fear I had. I've grown Spiritually since that time, and I've not joined another church, as the lessons I've learned have been very valuable...and one of them is that I can worship Christ as a personal relationship, and that the "true Church of God" is made up of many people from all over the world, those who follow God. We don't have to go to a building, as the church is not a building.\nI too, have come back to life, and have never felt freer!
937796
Obviously, the Blue Oyster Cult.\n\nWhere have you been ??
442527
One time on a camping trip I was walking back from the bathrooms at that moment right between day and night and I saw someone walk across the front of the site and stop behind a tree. So I figure one of the people is going to jump out and try to surprise me, so I pull out my flashlight, walk up to the tree, turn on the light, and there's no one there.\n\nAs a child the chandelier used to swing from side to side, and the radio would turn on by itself in the middle of the night.\n\nOne time I was alone in a house, and I felt a presence. I looked a mobile hanging motionless, and said, "If there is anyone else here, make the mobile spin." The next moment, the mobile began to spin.\n\nI rarely ever actually see ghosts, but one time I was driving into Ponca State Park to set up a Pagan festival, and the sides of the road were lined with spirits. All standing there, calmly welcoming us back.
191341
Hello The Great an... :)\n\nI was not raised in a Chrisitan home..my dad was an alcholic..my mom used to abuse us with a belt..If I listened to my mom and my dad, I would still be an atheist..\n\nI was not afraid of going to hell (I did not believe it existed)..I did not believe that heaven existed either (God was not real to me)..\n\nI tried the Wiccan religion..it had no answers for my drug addiction..or for taking away the feeling of loneliness..I did not like the idea of any god or godesses'..for if they were real, my life would not have a hell here on earth..\n\nI also tried Buddism..it said you have to find yourself within to change..that was the problem I was having..I could not change my self..No matter how much I tried.. :(\n\nI could not have followed the marjority..because before I asked Jesus into my heart, I did not even know that Christians were the marjority..I did not even want to know..I hated Christians..because they were sicky sweet..telling everyone that Jesus Loved them..they did not know how to have fun in life, they lived boring lives..\n\nThen one day, I just could not take life anymore (I was going to kill myself that day)..\n\nMy brother came over on Sundays to take my children to Church..he asked me if I wanted to go..I told him I was not dressed, he said he would wait for me..So I went to the Jesus Freaks Church (that is what I called them)..I cursed the Pastor..all he did is tell me that he Loved me and so did Jesus..I said I would be coming back next Sunday to curse him out again..\n\nThe following Sunday before I was able to say anything the Pastor asked if anyone wanted to be baptised that afternoon..before I knew what I was doing, my arm went up into the air..I was baptized that afternoon..\n\nThe next morning I was quoting scriptures from the Bible (I had never even read it before)..my oldest daughter came down the stairs and I said to her, I Love you and for the first time in my life, I felt Love for my little girl, she came running to me and we hugged each other, I was crying, because you see, I used to abuse my little girl.. :(\n\nI was immediately set free from drugs, greed, hatred, anger, self pity, lust, and fear of what tomorrow may bring..\n\nNo one, had ever able to give me total peace within my heart..or given me a reason to live..nor have they ever been able to fill the emptiness within..\n\nUntil that one day on August 28, 1978..when I asked Jesus to be the Lord of my life and forgive me of my sins..for if one asks with a sincere heart, your sins will be washed away and you will feel as clean and as white as snow..a veil shall be lifted from your eyes..then and only then will anyone believe that:\n\nJohn 3\n\n16  ¶ For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.\n \n17  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.\n \n===========================================================\n\nThank-you for asking this question.. :)\n\nIn Jesus Most Precious Name..\nWith Love..In Christ..
929689
Totally something you have to pray about. God will give you the answer. I have a friend in the methodist church and with some of the things going on, he wanted to leave. He feels God wants him to stay and try to change things.\nSo...pray about it.
1140572
We woke up one Sunday morning when I was seven. I actually remember this like it was yesterday because what happened that day left a lasting impression which I honestly believe guides my "religious" beliefs today.  Mom and Dad were getting ready for Church and Sunday School and I obediently did the same. My sister and I were all dressed in our Sunday best armed with crayons and paper to keep us occupied during the sermon. (Doesn't that speak for itself?) So we're in the car driving to church. We are literally 150 yards from the church when we are stopped at a red light. Were we to go straight, we would have entered the parking lot of the church and routinely parked our car and, as with every Sunday morning, gone into this huge edifice to "get saved." Were we to turn right......it would lead us down the road to temptation! You see the road led us to the Great Smokey Mountain National Park only a 30 minute drive away. It absolutely blew my mind when I saw my parents look at each other in the front seat without saying a word, smile and then my dad did something that would change my outlook forever. He turned right. \n\nWe didn't make it to church that day. Interestingly enough, we never went back to church at all. My dad turned right and immediately started beaming while accelerating the car and loosening his tie all in one split second. My mother turns back to us girls just gleaming and saying, "We're not going to go to church today. Let's go the moutains instead!" Ok, surely you had moments where you and your siblings just sat there thinking your parents had lost it. This was one of those moments. You see, my parents were amazing people. The epitome of responsibility. If this is what is expected of you, this is probably how you should do it. If you say you're going to do something, you don't let someone down.........you do it! Were they spontaneous? Hell no! I mean......heck no. (Afterall it IS Sunday.) So for my parents to just turn the car away from church and head out towards adventure, this meant something huge. \n\nWe spent that day hiking up to Laurel Falls. Oh I can not tell you how breathtaking this part of our country is. The mountains all around you with the water flowing off the steep terrain into the stream that runs through the rest of the  park. We took our Sunday shoes off as we hiked to this point. We stumbled over a few rocks and roots in the pathway. We stopped and took in the sights. My dad would teach us a few lessons along the way about flora and fauna. We watched the clouds and made up stories about each one as we pictured the fantasic creatures each air mass formed. It was an amazing journey up to the falls. Once we got there, we all sat on a rock in awe. We didn't speak for quite a while as we all just watched the water tumbling down the mountain. We didn't need to say a word. I'm sure we were all thinking the same thoughts, feeling the same amazement. \n\nI ask you, would have going to church made me closer to God than I actually was at that moment? \n\nAs I said, my parents were amazing people. They had it figured out. And the little lessons they taught me along the way helped me figure things out for myself as well. We all worship in our own way at our own times. We are all in awe of this world we live in and somehow know that the way we have evolved into what we are now was probably jump started by a force bigger than ourselves. What it is and how it manifests itself may become clear in due time. Meanwhile, we can be in awe of it in our own ways. \n\nLater in life I asked my dad about that day and why we never returned to church after that. I knew the answer, but so needed to hear his take. He told me that he knew my sister and I were gaining nothing by hearing "words" at our age. He wanted to help us learn by doing. What better way to appreciate the creation of the world than to be a part of it. People don't have to
565525
I didn't always live with my mother, but the few times we did, my brother and myself were hauled along to Kingdom Halls etc while she followed her latest whim.\n  I found the double standards quite difficult.  One the one hand they preach forgiveness, seventy times seven, yet at the same time they practiced that 'disfellowshipping' whereby whoever they considered had 'sinned' was publicly denounced at their meetings and we were forbidden to talk or associate with them.  it was hard, because at one point they did this to a boy we went to school with, and so we had to walk to school  a few steps behind/in front of him and pretend he didn't exist.  That was bad enough, but then once we were in school naturally people wanted to know why we weren't talking with him and that in turn produced accusations of not being forgiving etc.  it made no sense to treat people like this.\n  I also felt they created divisions within families.  One of the girls had a mother who was a JW but her father wasn't, and the 'elders' of the congregation often applied pressure to her mother to leave the marriage.  Rosalind used to spend a lot of time in school crying because of this.\nAnd then the whole blood issue caused so much heartache for my grandparents because they would worry about our welfare and what would happen if we were involved in an accident and needed blood.  And again, the 'elders' came to our home and suggested my mtoher break off contact with my grandparents over this.\nIt's not a cult I would ever want to be involved with again, it creates a lot of pain within families in the name of 'religion'
231147
Some women don't know how to get out of it. Like me. My ex had a major anger problem, he would fly off the handle for no apparent reason. At first I thought it was my fault, but after a while I knew better. I'm not sure why, but I couldn't leave, I loved him too much. Now looking back, I'm glad I eventually left. I'd probably be dead by now. Life is wierd. People make stupid decisions. I was smart, I got out.
983756
Sounds like a cult to me.
345248
No one who is currently involved in a cult is going to be aware of that fact. The definition of a cult is a group that follows and individual instead of God. These groups tend to go by one man's word and not just what God gave us in the Bible.\nAmybratincamo, I've seen a few answers you've given, and I think you must be very unhappy and confused about life.
398255
I know of one cult-like practice personally. A JW woman in my town lost her husband to suicide. The police called a local minister to come be with her. She accepted a lot of help from the minister and the church. Then she started going to that church occasionally.\nThe JWs shunned her because she had become too worldly and accepted friends who were not in her cult, I mean, in her JW community.\nAsk them about shunning.\nAsk them how they are allowed to choose their friends.\nAsk them what their family thinks about JWs.
337518
My rebellious story......I was Catholic for about 35 years and had trouble in believing that an all loving god would condemn people to hell for what he determined to be indiscretions.  \nShoot...I love to master bate, have pre marital sex with men and women and sometimes a freak fest or two with a couple of friends of mine.  So I guess I was going down to the fiery brimstone pit.\nThe clincher for me was that I was signing up my kids for another year of CCD classes and they told me I had to pay $150 for the classes (which is about double what it should be) because I didn't use the "envelope system" every week, even though I was a registered member of the church and would throw in $1 or two when I would have it.\nI took the CCD applications and ripped them up into tiny pieces and threw one right at the lady and the other one I threw up in the air so it landed in a million pieces all over the floor.\nI've been a practicing eclectic witch, but lately I've been leaning more towards Hinduism and spirituality with a little bit of quantum physics
582138
Which cult do you belong too?
927417
Yeah, some frat house buddies and I went to the hospital once to visit a brother who was in there for observation. Someone caught him sitting in the middle of a pentagram he drew on the floor with lighter-fluid. He set it afire and was rocking himself to his bizarre chant hoping he'd cast a spell to bring peace to the mid-east. He didn't come back to school. I think he moved somewhere to a lower rent area downtown. And that was just fine with me. Anyone with psychic abilities needs to stay clear away from me!
915814
EASY ! I got kicked out of Catholic school in 7th grade (Bad kid), my mother taught at the school too, ( I know), I don't go to church much, I always felt like I was abandon by my religion, as I looked back as a child, I could still see the nun Expelling me out the door. That doesn't mean I didn't learn anything, or that I'm not a good person, I know that Catholic school and the church are a bit "Jacked up".\n\n  If someone is without food, I always feed them, I've taken homeless people w/me into deli's and bought them lunch.\n\n  I have gotten out at red lights, and given my coat to someone that was cold in the street and didn't have one.\n\nIf someone is hurt or injured that I don't even know, I always try to help.\n\n  I saved a boy from drowning last year, ----> my biggest accomplishment EVER ! and I was proud to do it ! Snatched him right from the "Grim Reapers" arm's ....."GOTCHA" ! I clamped down on this kid like a "Hydraulic Vice" and saved him.\n\n  Practice random acts of kindness to strangers, I still think I'm a good Christian, even though they closed the doors on me but, I have to say this, I got these traits from my MOTHER'S GOOD UPBRINGING, NOT THE CHURCH'S BELIEF'S !
614793
One time on a camping trip I was walking back from the bathrooms at that moment right between day and night and I saw someone walk across the front of the site and stop behind a tree. So I figure one of the people is going to jump out and try to surprise me, so I pull out my flashlight, walk up to the tree, turn on the light, and there's no one there.\n\nAs a child the chandelier used to swing from side to side, and the radio would turn on by itself in the middle of the night.\n\nOne time I was alone in a house, and I felt a presence. I looked a mobile hanging motionless, and said, "If there is anyone else here, make the mobile spin." The next moment, the mobile began to spin.\n\nOne time I was driving into Ponca State Park to set up a large camping gathering, and the sides of the road were lined with spirits. All standing there, clearly visible to everyone, calmly welcoming us back.\n\nOn another camping trip, we felt a spirit near the bon-fire. We had a ring of 40 tiki-torches around the bonfire. It was a still and windless night, but all the tiki flames near the spirit bent in. One of the people in the circle had a fancy camera. After the campout she went to get the film developed, and all the photos from before the visitor turned out, but after that all the film was blank. She took the camera in to be repaired. The repairman asked if she'd been in a nuclear power plant. All the innards were fried from electromagnetism\n\nMy grandmother died while my niece was in utero. After my niece was born, she would look up at areas where no one was standing, and laugh and giggle. We all knew that she was looking at gramma, so we never showed her any pictures. Finally, at about a year old, she could speak, and my sister showed her the family photo album. My niece picked out her photo and said, "That's Old Gramma."\n\nI have no alien stories
708190
No... I don't belong to any cults...  I think cults are bad.