Topic : 08/24 The Family Cult

My husband and I were recruited by this cult nearly 30 years ago....1977, to be exact. 

They were tenacious, tried to "divide and conquer" all the in the name of Jesus??  It was just sad.  At the time, we heard about "Flirty Fishing", and in fact read that "Mo Letter".  That was one of many things that scared us off. 

I really think the big thing that helped us, second only to the grace of God, was that we both had decent, close relationships with our biological families.  We were told to just pack up, take off with them(the couple that was recruiting us) and call our families from some distant place so they couldn't talk us out of joining. 

It was a very sad time, because the man was the son of our Methodist pastor who we respected greatly.  It pained him tremendously that his son did this.  A short time after the pastor died, the son died a sudden death.  I"ve often wondered if Anna stayed in the cult, and what happened to their children.   

I pray they're ok. 

I don't think we can take any of these "member" statements as true. They've been brainwashed their whole lives! I feel sorry for you, Lori, I really do. You can't be objective & see what's true. I went to a church for a while in which the leader was preaching things that WERE NOT of God or the Bible! Thank God, my mom, I, & our friends knew enough to leave that church!

Even IF your "Family" only has one bad belief, that of Berg's that hates Jews (Jesus was a Jew! Hello?), that alone should be enough to make you want to leave that sick group! Any bigotry is wrong! But that's not all they've done. Sorry, you sound programmed & brainwashed to me. Flat, unemotional. You sound like a robot saying what you've been taught to say. I have to wonder if you really can think for yourself. MANY children have been abused, raped, & tormented! Dr. Phil doesn't make up stuff. These victims of abuse & rape (& there are more than a few & YOU KNOW IT!) aren't making this up! WHY did Ricky, Berg's son, kill someone else & himself? Berg was a SICK, TWISTED, PERVERTED person! You can't build truth on lies & hate. Sorry, but your statements are just PR for your group...I don't believe anything any of you say. It's truly sad to see that you've been so badly brainwashed that you can't see what's going on around you...& that you truly don't seem to care what has & IS happening (I have no doubt) to children! Shame on you! Grow up & ask God (the REAL One!) to give you the wisdom to see what's going on around you! My heart aches for all who have been tortured, raped, & abused because of what Berg started. What about Berg's book "Davidito"? You can't refute what is TRUE. A few people! Sorry, but I'm not buying your pathetic statements. There have been too many people's lives ruined by your horrid cult! Wake up & look around you! If you condone what's happened & continues to happen, you're as bad as those who have abused children. Sorry, that's how I see it & I believe that's how Jesus Himself sees it. But He does love you & wants to pull you out of that sick organization. You all sound so flat & unemotional that it's disturbing to read. It's obvious that you have no clue how horrid your organization is. Awful & sick! Poor Lori. You need professional help AWAY from the "Family." If that's what a family is (and thank God it's usually not!) I would NEVER want to belong! Praying for all of you & that the abusers get judgment here (by repenting to Jesus & turning themselves into the police) instead of after they die.  

Lori, you're in a sick group that has a wretched heritage. So sad. Sorry, but I don't buy your statement. I don't believe it. You're giving us propaganda because that's what you've been taught to do. Pitiful. May the true God help you.

Praying for you,  

Joy  

I was born into the Jehovah's Witnesses cult in 1957,i was the good little JW boy who got beat up in the school yard for not saluting the flag.This was the 'better dead than red' era of the 1960's

Jehovah's Witnesses are a classic cult.The Watch Tower Corporation is a media publishing, real estate development, and convention sponsoring company and their literature all promotes the corporation and those goals.

I have Jehovah's Witnesses family in Naples Florida who practice the Watchtower JW enforced ritual shunning that i have not seen or heard from in 15 years.

I am not the only one,the 'fraud in the name of God' Jehovah's Witnesses have defrauded MILLIONS of followers.

When the Watchtower corporate racket is held accountable for their misdeeds they scream religious 'persecution'.  

------- 

Danny Haszard www.dannyhaszard.com  

I was raised a Jehovah's Witness also in the 60's from the age of two years old. I was not only "a good little JW girl" but I was loyal and faithful and believed with faith and conviction what I was taught.  

I had my share of playground incidents and some left me running in tears from the yard. But I see it as no different than  some other issue they would have teased me over on another day. And they did. I was a short , fat, red-head with freckles and a first name that had a popular rock song after it and a last name that Huckleberry hound made famous. I had  a good healthy dose of constant teasing in my life. The times it was over my religion were only a part of the whole.  

Being a Jehovah's Witness was nothing like being in this kind of atmosphere and had none of the all-encompassing factors that this group did/does. 

To compare the two is self-serving and diminishes the trauma of the members who have left this "Family" 

All religions have their frauds. You cannot  find a religion that does not have  some bad people in it because all religions have people in them and not all people behave well. I will not argue the level of offense the Witnesses may have  committed, but I will argue whole heartedly including them into the same mesh with this "Family". To say they are nearly comparable is to take away from the very real experiences these brave souls are sharing with us and  healing themselves from. 

That's just my take on it. 

(By the way? I left the Witnesses in  the late 70's of my own volition and have half my family still in it.) 

As a person that grew up in a familial cult, and then having to learn how to handle the real life society at an adult age, I can relate to what was said.  Although I did not get the counseling that I need at the time, I did however learn by observation.  It was extremely painful, often spend my nights in tears, frustrated and just dealing with the pain of the abuse and torture.  I do suffer from PTSD and DID and now in counseling, and have been for awhile now.   

The pain that all of us ritual abuse survivors faced, is real and something that doesn't go away immediately.  Besides talking about about what happened to us, we have to learn new coping skills and new life skills because old skills from the cult do not work anymore.   

I am loss of words but I sure can feel their pain 

I have family on the eastcoast who belong  to the Jehovah witness cult or church whichever you want to call it. 

I have been told by several of my family members that they cannot talk to me if I am not a member of the church. 

Is this correct? 

If so.. what kind of so called church would seperate families like that? 

God would not like this way of thinking . 

Wow Jim, after watching your demeanor on the show, I fear your daughter(s) should RUN not walk away from you as fast as possible.  You didn't exhibit any care or concern about what she was asking for at all!  It made me very sad for her.  I agree with her that you seem to only be using her to promote your own agendas whether they be financial or genuine concern about the survivors.  She's your daughter and it's actually because of your own lack of judgement that these things happened to her so you at the very least owe her a sincere heartfelt apology and that's what I thought you were on the show for - for your CHILD!  Instead you stammered on about your book and dodged questions about contracts and financial gain.  I hope you're ashamed after watching yourself.