LEGALISM:

Teaching for doctrines the commandments of men (Matthew 15:9)

"Carol Giambalvo's Cult Information and Recovery"

The Impact on the Development of Certain Aspects of Character

Adding basic rules to a faith which makes it more exclusive and isolated from "outsiders" who do not think, act, or believe as the "true" believers do is called LEGALISM.

Legalistic groups have their own authority figures who provide the rules "their" people are to live by. These leaders have answers for everything and their rules are considered nearly equal to the authority of the Bible.

Legalistic leaders see themselves as more than just leaders. They feel better, more spiritual and have fewer failings and tempations than "their" people. They become spiritual detectives looking for raised hem lines or hair over the collar as if these things prove what "their" people are really like inside. Abuse of power follows.

Members are to look to their leaders for the "standard"; how they should think, what they should do, and how they should dress.

The system teaches that the leaders know best and to challenge them is to challenge God.

Legalistic groups can be subtly influenced, over time, to accept irrational ideas.

LEGALISM is NOT of God, though legalists believe they are God's special people.

Members who would dare to question their leaders would be perceived as rebellious, not spiritual, and lacking in faith.

Legalists view tradition as synonymous with safety.

Members in Legalistic groups are encouraged to avoid conflict with the "world." While avoiding the "worldly people" they become smugly self-righteous in their perceived superior spirituality compared to their neighbors and coworkers and they retreat to the safety of their homes and church activities.

Members feel comfortable being told by their leaders what is "true and correct." They willingly accept their leaders' beliefs and answers.

In a Legalistic system the members are expected to be obedient, adequate and an achiever to feel worthwhile but they worry about their own unbelief and they know that admitting their doubts is unacceptable. They worry because their trust in God is only a sham. "Out little group of saints will remain pure and we know the world will get its just reward!"

As one chooses to become part of a Legalistic system his or her freedom to choose is quickly lost. Appearances and associations become most important. If a member is confused about something the fault is with the member and not with the group.

There is a negative mind set within LEGALISM.

LEGALISM emphasizes externals more than internals and people learn that appearance is more important than what they are on the inside and one's life becomes a performance benefit for those who may be watching.

The men in Legalistic groups may abdicate their role since the church leaders make the rules. As a result their wives may lose respect for them; yet LEGALISM teaches that women should be "in their place" and submit to men.

Legalistic leaders may feel threatened by educated members so they may suggest that "too much education is a dangerous thing."

Emotions are to be controlled and personal opinions must always be carefully evaluated before being expressed for fear of being criticized or punished.

A congregation bound in LEGALISM will rarely challenge its ministers even if they are deep in moral sin.

Dysfunctional families where children grow up dissatisfied and unhappy are often caused by LEGALISM.

Children in Legalistic families become overwhelmed with the rules and restrictions of their Legalistic lifestyle. Children are usually well-behaved but they may lose their individuality, creativity and curiosity as they become smothered by the demands of the system. They may engage in self destructive behavior as their inner rebellion grows.

In a Legalistic group the children may feel superior to other children. They learn that their church is the only one that pleases God; that their Bible version is the only acceptable Word of God.

In Legalistic families there is a reluctance to share problems because they have been taught that problems are sin based. Parents often discipline with unreasonable harshness to get their children to conform and the children may feel ambivalent, uncertain, and uptight and communication within the family becomes strained. Honest emotions are repressed and often dishonesty is the result.

Family problems are hidden from public knowledge and there may be violence, and/or sexual abuse within the family.

Parents are warned against flattering or praising their children as it is believed to contribute to "fleshly pride." As a result their children may develop low self-esteem, and feelings of guilt, fear, insecurity and self hatred to such an extent that they cannot accept the unconditional love of God. Some may feel suicidal; believing themselves to be failures no matter how hard they try.

Legalistic families often exhibit a dominant/inferior relationship between the parents creating resentment and bitterness.

LEGALISM is really a system about CONTROL !

Starting with the leaders of a Legalistic system certain subtle techniques are used to ensure that the people in the group conform to the unwritten rules.

Guilt, shame, fear intimidation and illogical reasoning are all used to bring the members into submission.

There is likely to be dishonesty, secrecy, shunning and threats.

Prophecy and special revelation may play a role.

Emotional coercion is used and excommunication is feared.

The leaders are elevated above the rank and file.

Any immoral or dishonest behavior by the leaders is covered up.

"I can relate to the way the workers make people feel...it's like we always were supposed to be walking examples of righteous piousness. For me, I just wanted to be a walking example of a normal teenager!! But of course, that was not allowed."

"Oh boy, do I remember trying to live up to "the standard" when I was a teenager!! I guess it's a good thing I never did...it helped me to get out!!!"

Legalism hides sin behind a facade of sweetness.....

......phoniness, rules for appearance, clothing, and social interaction. It feels comfortable to people who are accustomed to rejection, manipulation or abuse. Legalism is an attraction to people from dysfunctional families.

It may appear Biblical and always employs Biblical words, clichés, and verses but it subtly twists God’s Word to put man in charge of other men. Legalism gives those who are hiding their sins hope that perhaps through following a rote series of Christian rig-a-ma-role God will miraculously change their problems or make them go away. Tenaciously they may go through life obeying all the rules man has given them, but still retain all their hidden immoral behavior, dishonesty or whatever other character flaw they may have.

Legalism drives children away from God and His Word. Many atheists today were once children or grandchildren of Legalists. They view people raised in legalistic churches as nothing but a bunch of phony mind controlled idiots.

Legalism gives too much power to people who have a lust for power, control or the adulation of men. Legalism destroys our freedom in Christ. Legalists hate the word "Legalism" because it defines their own sin too well. One church leader actually said that "Christians can’t handle freedom."

But while LEGALISM is the bad news . . .

GRACE is the good news

You may feel that God can't possibly accept you because you have failed Him too much or because you are too weak or because you have done something terribly wrong. Perhaps you feel unworthy or rotten; undeserving of God's love because you are not meeting a certain standard; not measuring up.

If so, there is a reason why you feel unworthy. If you are looking for God's aproval on the basis of your OWN performance ("When I become so good and so perfect THEN He will approve of me") you will never feel worthy or good enough.

God knows that you will never be perfect. He is not waiting for you to reach some righteous plateau before he approves of you. God wants you to put away your self-righteous efforts and rely on the Gift He gave you--the Gift of His Son, Jesus Christ, who died to save you from your sins.

Peace comes by accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, not be keeping rules and reluglations by your own strict efforts. Jesus died to take away your sin. To try to earn God's forgiveness is really an insult to God because HE has provided the way of escape for you by Jesus' death on the cross. He wants you to TRUST IN JESUS' SACRIFICE and NOT TO TRUST IN YOUR OWN GOODNESS.

God's blessing is not dependent upon your goodness, your righteousness, or your faithfulness. God's approval of you depends solely upon His desire to bless you. Your part is simply to receive God's free gift of Jesus' death--He took your place on the cross! Jesus, the sinless One, took YOUR place on the cross.

Ever since Adam sinned in the garden all man has been sinful. Since God cannot tolerate ANY sin (not even one sin in a lifetime) we are ALL condemned to a lost eternity. This is bad news!

This really would be terrible news if it wasn't for God's GRACE!

By God's GRACE He provided a way for us to escape eternal damnation. He provided His spotless Son, Jesus Christ, to take our sin upon Himself. By God's Grace, and our faith in what Jesus did, we WILL be saved. Our salvation will never be dependent on anything WE do!

Ephesians 2:8,9 "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."

Our part in salvation is to receive and accept the free gift that God has given us; to believe, by faith, that Jesus HAS taken away all our sin; past, present and to come! What a Gift!! All of this is provided because of God's GRACE.

We do not deserve this pardon but by God's Grace, and our faith in what He has ALREADY done, we are accepted by Him as righteous. We are not righteous based on anything WE do, or standard WE meet but we are deemd righteous by Him because we ACCEPT Jesus' substitionary death for our sins.

GRACE IS THE UNDESERVED MERIT AND FAVOR OF GOD.

Your relationship with God will be steady and secure once it is no longer based upon your performance. Your relationship must be based upon the work of Jesus Christ. He took your sin upon Himself and died in your place to make your salvation by faith a reality.

It is up to you to leave behind the mentality that says "God only loves me when I am good and rejects me whan I am bad."

In all religious systems that do not understand God's grace people will sooner or later find that they are under the lordship of men.

Your standing with God isn't based on your own righteousness or your works or in keeping rules, but upon your believing in God's sacrifice; the death of His son--for YOU!

Your behavior has nothing to do with God's acceptance of you.

If you are trying to please God by being good enough you will find defeat and frustration. Once you trust in God's grace to transform you, you will have peace.

If your relationship with God depends upon being righteous and good, you will never be accepted by God and if you are being good only out of fear, that is not true righteousness.

Your works of righteousness have nothing to do with whether or not God approves of you and so, if you depend on your own self righteousness you will not be able to relate to God. God's approval of you is based on His grace, His unmerited favor of you.

Any attempt at godliness that comes from your own strength is detestable in God's sight and you will live a life far removed from God of you think you can please Him by your own efforts.

We must each realize that we can't please God in our own strength but when we cry out to God in desperation He will work His gracious deliverance.

We cannot know the peace of God in our lives until we experience the Grace of God in our lives.

God extends His grace, love, mercy and goodness to us even though we are undeserving sinners.

GRACE IS GOD GIVING TO YOU SOMETHING THAT YOU CANNOT OBTAIN ON YOUR OWN.

GRACE IS GOD'S ACCEPTANCE OF YOU EVEN THOUGH YOU DO NOT DESERVE IT AND ARE NOT WORTHY OF IT.

We are all sinners saved ONLY by God's grace through Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ died to take away your sin but you must accept that fact by faith to be acceptable to God. And you must rely on what He has already done for you and not in anything that you can do to prove your worth.

"My greatest thrill was the discovery of God's grace. His absolutely undeserved, unmerited favor. I don't have to work myself into his favor. I am in his favor. It is a wonderful and glorious thing and I praise him daily for it.

"We were both born and raised in the group, took about five years to wean ourselves off of it, discovered grace five years ago and have been free since."

"We are so glad to be out from under legalism and the fear of man. We are now under the Grace of God."

"As I began to understand who God really was, and began to learn about the concept of grace, about God becoming fully man, coming down to my level in order to redeem me, then a walk with God began to make sense and I tentatively began my journey."

"This past year I have found freedom. I learned Salvation is not earned by doing works, going to meetings or growing my hair. It is a gift of God."

Recommended Reading:

"The Grace Awakening" by Charles Swindoll
"Why Grace Changes Everything" by Chuck Smith

HEAVEN'S ENTRANCE EXAM:

A man dies and goes to heaven. He is met at the Pearly Gates by a Heavenly custodian.

The custodian says, "Here's how it works. You need 100 points to make it into heaven. You tell me all the good things you've done, and I give you a certain number of points for each item, depending on how good it was.

When you reach 100 points, you get in."

"Okay," the man says, "I was married to the same woman for 50 years and never cheated on her, even in my heart."

"That's wonderful," said the Custodian "that's worth three points!"

"Three points?" he said. "Well, I professed all my life; never missed a meeting! And I supported the ministers financially and any other way I could."

"Terrific!" responded the Custodian. "That's certainly worth two points."

"Two points?! I worked every year at the annual convention and in preparation for the convention for several days too; for years and years!"

"Fantastic, that's good for two more points, " he said..

"Two points!" the man cried. "At this rate the only way I’ll get into heaven is by the grace of God."

"Bingo, 100 points! Come on in!"

JUDGMENT DAY

I stood at the door of Heaven, I stood at the Lord's great throne, No one to take my place, judgement on me alone. As He looked through the Book of Life, I watched as He came to my name, I wondered what all He would look for, I wondered what my life would claim. I rarely missed a meeting, I kept my hair cut short, I gambled less than pennies, I never played a sport. I never touched the bottle, I never smoked a butt, I lived a very humble man, I walked without a strut. My wife and girls wore dresses, they did their hair in a bun, Never watched a movie, suppressed all worldly fun. They never used the make-up, jewellery never wore, Their natural beauty far out-weighed the look of Satan's whore. We got the worker's mail, was an elder in the church, Professed at age of eight, the scriptures I did search. I knew the "Truth" was right, all other faith was sin, I always stuck to morals, the worker's praise I'd win. I stood at the door of Heaven, I stood at the Lord's great throne, No one to take my place, judgement on me alone. None of those things mattered, of the flesh is what they were,

Despite what the workers said, I now knew this for sure. So I spent all my life trying to please the Lord, When all I had to do was believe in all his word. My life lived for the workers, I gave and gave and gave, Through hope of doing this, perhaps my soul He'd save.

By Scott March 13, 1998

There are different types of cultic groups. Cults can be:

Political, Satanic, Commercial, Therapeutic/Self-Improvement or:

(RELIGIOUS)

Here we will deal with:

What Religious Cults Have In Common:

* Their way is the only way. A "we alone are right" mentality.

* Their vague doctrine is to be accepted but not necessarily understood.

* Members are conformed by the group not transformed by God.

* They reject the One Triune God--the Christian belief in God as God the Father, God the Son (Jesus - John 1:1, 1:14), and God the Holy Spirit. As a result they worship "another" Jesus.

* Only their group knows and has the truth. They claim a "special revelation."

* Not even scripture is as powerful as the group's unwritten rules and traditions.

* Members distrust themselves but trust completely in the group's beliefs and leaders.

* Members are secretive about what goes on "inside" and "things" get protected behind walls of silence.

* Living a double life is common.

* A flaw in the group is viewed as a flaw in the member who sees it.

* Leaders brush off questions they don't have scriptural answers for.

* Authoritarian leaders reinforce blind obedience to the groups "standards."

* Individual interpretation or deviation is not allowed.

* There is a need to emulate the leaders. The group may have similar mannerisms, clothing styles, hair styles, modes of speech and attitudes.

* Any attack on the group simply verifies the group's importance to the members.

* Members who faithfully follow the group's beliefs and traditions are considered special, chosen, hearty "saints."

* There is no means by which a member can appeal a decision. The followers have no rights. Dissidents are disfellowshipped.

* Salvation by Grace is not preached. (Eph.2:8,9)

* Failing to remain faithful to the group is viewed as failing God or mankind.

* There is a feeling of humble superiority among the members.

* Members accept a counterfeit peace, joy and unity which, in reality, doesn't exit.

* Behavior is legislated. Obedience to the leaders is mandatory.

* Individuality is viewed as bad and conformity within the group is good. There is a dependence on the group.

* Leaders encourage members to work and produce "fruit", putting "their" people back under the law, from which Christ died to set us free.

* Lavish attention and love is shown to new or prospective members. Later, love is conditional; dependent on a member's good performance.

* There is an unwritten rule that members must not discuss any negative feelings they may have about the group.

* Members shun ex-members.

* There is instilled in the members a fear of "losing out", of suffering a lost eternity, should they ever leave the group.

* Members alternate between happiness at being chosen to know the "truth", and the crushing weight of guilt, fear and shame for "not measuring up."

* Adherents to these groups fail to realize that they are in a cult and under mind control. Often the leaders are the most brainwashed of all.

This is not a CULT like Heavens Gate where people willingly lay down to die for what they believe in. The 2x2 CULT causes people "EMOTIONAL SUICIDE!" We are forced to commit suicide to who we really are! We become "clones" walking around!!! 2/98 C. Winberg

Four Aspects of Mind Control
(as it relates to people in cults)

(1.) INFORMATION CONTROL:

* Important information which is available to the general public is withheld from members and potential members.

* Deception is the basic feature of all cult recruitment. It is also what keeps people inside cults.

* Information is one of the best weapons against cults.

* In cults information about the cult's history, purposes, doctrines, financial disclosures, methods of dealing with problems, counseling, training, and discipline for offenses are kept as confidentail as possible.

* Only those members with trusted status are allowed inside information.

(2.) THOUGHT CONTROL:

* "Truth" and reality are distorted for those inside the group by subtly changing the definitions of common terms with new meanings through the use of code words, cliches, and slogans.

* Different words make the members feel special and separate from outsiders.

* These different words confuse outsiders who want to understand what the group believes and talks about.

* The change in definitions of significant words keeps even the members from understanding their own beliefs.

* Leaders of cults repress questions by conditioning their members to employ "thought-stopping" statements, prayers, hymns, Bible verses, mantras, tongues or rituals to drown out doubt, questions, anxiety or uncertainty. "I can't think about that." "How can you question (the leaders) after all they have done?" etc. The intention is to stop questions regarding the system or leaders.

* The word "faith" is employed in a negative sense. Members are conditioned to view "faith" in terms of blind submission to the leaders, rather than positive certainity in God's love.

* Members are conditioned to feel guilty for any curiosity about what is going on within the group; curiosity is a lack of faith. (Therefore, even after some people leave a mind control group, they may be afraid to examine information which explains the background of their old belief system.)

* Typically, the word "grace" has a different meaning from the Biblical use. The "God" of the group is also different from the God of the Bible. God is defined by, and eventually becomes the group.

(3.) EMOTION CONTROL:

* Guilt, fear and shame are projected onto the members, prompting blame toward themselves for their depression, lack of understanding, anxiety, or inability to cope, rather than examining the leaders, the group's policies, history, doctrines, scandals, and at times, even crimes.

* Phobic attitudes or behaviors are sometimes noticeable when attempts are made to converse with members regarding their belief in the group or its leaders.

* Fear, anger, rage or repetitious statements which only go in circles keep the members from thinking through to any rational conclusions.

* Fear of confrontation with family is common, resulting in very few people being rescued.

(4.) BEHAVIOR CONTROL:

* Tight control of behavior secures the leaders' position of authority and importance.

* The behavior control impresses members and outsiders to view the group as especially spiritual or successful.

* The leaders link the required behavior to their special "revelation" of a text of scripture. However the required behaviors are usually superficial controls, affecting appearances and outward activity rather than inward character. These can include grooming, daily activities, career choices, clothing, specific technology, posture, speech mannerisms, food choices, recreation, education, even decisions about marriage, sex and children. (They usually do not deter moral sin.)

* If a person does not conform, he may be urged to become more like an older group member; to follow the leaders' "example".

* OBEDIENCE TO THE HUMAN LEADERS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT LESSON TO LEARN.

* The leaders cannot totally control one's inner thoughts, but if they can command behavior, hearts and minds will usually follow.

* The behavior control isolates the members from society even more effectively.

It's a very subtle process. If you put a frog in boiling water, it jumps out. If you put a frog in cold water and gradually increase the heat, he'll stay there until he croaks.

A Tidbit from Forward Press (a quarterly newsletter for EX-2x2s which is no longer in existence for EX-2x2s):

Dear FP: ...... According to my (2x2) mother, it was almost a sin to show any human emotion, regardless of what emotion it was, laughing, crying, joy or whatever, I was taught to be a "zombie."

In answer: Your assessment of the programming to stifle emotion is right on target!! Not every family instills it but it is prevalent enough to noitice. There are many different reasons for the numerous nervous breakdowns (of those "in" and those who leave) besides this conditioning, but certainly it isn't healthy. Lack of emotion is seen as a sign that one has the "right Spirit". When professing people talk to someone they look for calmness, quietness, pleasantness, and sweetness. Anyone who displays agitation, indignation, excitement, or anger is accused of the wrong spirit and shunned. This is one reason it is so difficult to talk about what "truth" is with professing people. They don't exmine WHAT you are saying, they examine HOW YOU SAY IT. They don't examine the scripture to compare what they believe or what you believe, they examine YOUR APPEARANCE, LIFESTYLE AND PLEASANTNESS. They look for stoicism, self-denial, testimony, experience, feelings, and what the workers say. They DON'T check the meaning of scripture.
Professing people really don't trust scripture because they don't understand it.

Recovery from MIND CONTROL

HOW DO PEOPLE GET OUT OF RELIGIOUS CULTS?

Different people leave in different ways. Some WALK out. Some get KICKED out. Some cult members just BURN Out. Others GROW out. Still others FIND OUT or get COUNSELED out.

WALK OUTS:

* These people simply rebel from the situation and leave.

* Unless they shed the mind control, walk-outs may lead destructive or fear-filled lives.

* Some adopt the attitude that since they couldn't measure up to the system's requirements, there isn't any hope for them anyway, so they might as well "live it up" while they can.

* Some develop patterns of living that they wouldn't have chosen otherwise.

KICKED OUTS:

* These people are excommunicated or shunned for a variety of reasons, usually related to the fact that they failed to fully integrate the four aspects of mind control--information control, thought control, emotion control and behavior control.

* People who are kicked out of cults are commonly filled with grief and guilt. They are still very loyal to the group's beliefs and its people, even though rejected by the group.

BURN OUTS:

* These people have been so abused spiritually, mentally, physically, emotionally and financially, that they are barely able to function on a normal basis.

* Some "burn-outs" exhibit the Post-Traumatic Stress syndrome that is commonly experienced by war survivors. They are usually very confused, perhaps even physically ill, afraid and unable to trust anyone, most of all themselves.

FIND OUTS:

* These are people who are given, or stumble onto information which explains the situation enabling them to leave the mind control without fear and guilt.

* These people usually take several years to work through the adjustment to normal living and attitudes. Education, scriptural as well as secular, cultivating new friends and establishing a new environment and restoring one's God-given personality are most helpful. The more one learns, the greater the healing.

COUNSELED OUTS

* These people are rare.

* Few studies have been done on the needs of people who were born and raised within a mind control group.

* Most counselors are ill-equipped to handle the complexities of exit counseling because there are so many factors involved in mind control, and each person's experience is different, even within the same group.

LEAVING THE 2X2 SYSTEM:

THE WITHDRAWAL PROCESS

One former Two by Two observed that she isn’t an Ex-Two by Two, she is a "Recovering Two by Two."

The control in the 2x2s is so strong that people report they have been affected for years afterwards. It is for this reason that the WITHDRAWAL STAGES should be well understood by everyone.

STAGE ONE:

This often begins almost immediately after professing. The mind and will may be completely taken over by the logic presented by the workers. However, the gut feeling, emotions, or conscience often indicates that something is not quite right.

STAGE TWO:

This doubt causes a feeling of guilt which the person attempts to stuff and deny. The guilt drives him or her to deeper resolve to "do right" or submit and to ignore any information that conflicts with the workers’ message. However, the conscience continues to exert itself causing the person to question things. Most people don’t know what to question. They may question the "standards", the existence of God or the truth of the scripture. They rarely have enough wisdom to question the history or the doctrine of the group.

STAGE THREE:

The person will give lip service to the group but in reality often behaves or does things that are against the rules. This causes even more guilt and more resolve to "get right."

STAGE FOUR:

If the person is observant and alert, he or she may notice some discrepancies between what the scripture says and what is done within the group. Or he may hear of a scandal or problem that bothers him. This may worry some people but many others just think, "Oh, well, the people aren’t perfect but the WAY is perfect." Or "Oh well, what can I do?" or "Oh well, God will take care of it."

STAGE FIVE:

The person may hear of the history of the church and begin to wonder why he was lied to regarding the founder of the group. An inquisitive person may begin an investigation. At this point, the person usually becomes very quiet and fearful about letting others know of his questions. By this time he has found out that it is socially unacceptable to voice any doubts.

STAGE SIX:

The denial stage in which the person decides to ignore all the warning signs. They are actually afraid of or angry at anyone who has information that exposes the deceit of the workers. Some people NEVER get past this stage. They are hostile towards any information that spotlights the deceit and errors of the group.

STAGE SEVEN:

The "Don’t know what to think" stage. MANY people get stuck here. They will try to figure things out on their own. They are suspicious of everyone. They don’t trust the friends or workers and they don’t trust themselves. They don’t trust traditional Christianity. They don’t trust the information that exposes the group. They may not trust the scripture and might try to find reasons to believe the Bible wasn’t translated correctly. This stage is very critical. The stress of it can cause illness, anxiety, nightmares, emotional problems, marital problems, divorce, destructive accidents because of so much mental preoccupation, suicide, hostility and anger. Some report a problem with nausea, clenched teeth or other outward signs of tension. This stage is extremely painful and frightening. Usually the longer a person or his family has been in the group, the more painful it is.

At this stage, some people try to reason with the workers. They will either arrange for visits or write long agonizing letters. Some hope that they can change the system or get some workers to agree with them. They are AMAZED at the total inability of the workers to hear what they are saying. However, some workers will agree with their arguments, pat them on the head and try to smooth their ruffled feelings.

STAGE EIGHT:

The state in which a decision is made to leave the group. The person may go in several directions. They may become angry at God, or become an agnostic or atheist. They may try to start their own spiritual quest or church in the home. They may reach out to secular psychology for relief. Or, they may hook into another cult. They may decide to just let the spiritual part of their life hang in mid-air for awhile. Some people get stuck in a yo-yo syndrome: they will leave the church, go back to the church, leave, go back, leave and go back. They rarely ever figure out what the church believes or even what they believe. Or, they may become born again as a result of doing some intense praying, in-depth study and reaching out to normal Christian information. This stage is extremely crucial. If a married couple doesn’t agree or reach this stage together it can destroy their marriage.

Almost total rejection from the group and professing family occurs if the person announces his new allegiance to Christ instead of to the group system.

STAGE NINE:

The state in which the old personality disintegrates and a new one is formed. The person will get rid of old clothes, old hairstyles, old possessions. Some people experience a lot of anxiety in adjusting to a new identity because their whole self concept was so closely tied to the group attitude towards themselves. New interests, charitable activities and hobbies are found. Bible study and Bible classes become the new excitement if one has been born again. The person rejoices at every new day and has a sense of peace. The world looks beautiful, people seem wonderful, nature seems to glow with the power and beauty of God. If a satisfactory church is found the person finds a great deal of happiness.

STAGE TEN:

The person is in constant amazement at the difference between the old life and the new life. The person is able to pity those who are still in the old group and will eventually be able to laugh about his old experiences. The person will often want to reach out to others whom he has known while in the group. He feels a strong need to talk about the experience in order to understand the strong emotions and confusion he felt while inside the group. Talking to other ex-professing people seems to be the best therapy for those going through this process. Writing down what one has heard, experience and believes also helps clarify one’s thoughts.

Common MYTHS About MIND CONTROL

Myth # 1:
"Real" Christians can't be fooled by religious cults.

* FALSE! Christians, pastors, theological students and professors can become involved in religious cults, given the right conditions, false information and deception.

Myth # 2:
Only uneducated or emotionally troubled people get involved in religious cults.

* FALSE! Very sophisticated, wealthy people, college professors, college students, well adusted, intelligent people are deceived into religious cults every year.

* Idealism and wealth are often taken advantage of by cult leaders who usually aren't interested in uneducated or troubled people.

Myth # 3:

Mind control and brainwashing are the same thing.

* FALSE! Mind control is accomplished through subtle, friendly persuasion. Brainwashing is done against one's will by a known enemy. Different methods are used.

Myth # 4:
Cult involvement happens to "other people", not to me or my family.

* FALSE! Religious cults are common dangers to every one of us. Many families are broken by them. Society, culture, even nations are affected by them. And the eternal consequences to souls can never be tallied.

Pastor Graham says:

"That I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death."

--Philippians 3:10

What is the most important pursuit of your life?

The Bible says, without a doubt, the most important pursuit for every believer is to know God. Not to know about Him... or to know others who know Him... but to truly know Him for yourself.

This was God's plan from the very beginning--that His children would live in intimate fellowship with Him. He created you to know Him and to find your greatest fulfillment in His presence... and that is still His greatest desire for you today.

In our Scripture today, the apostle Paul made it clear that his primary pursuit in life was, "that I may know Him...." Of course, Paul already knew Jesus Christ as His Savior. But Paul understood that knowing the Lord would be a continuous journey throughout his lifetime... and he was passionate that his relationship with Christ would grow closer every day.

As you know, all relationships take time.

You can't meet someone once, or just spend time with them occasionally, and claim that you truly know that person.

There is tremendous depth in a person's heart, and it often takes years of relationship to connect and understand another person, and to share your life with them in a meaningful way.

In the same way, it takes time to develop an intimate relationship with the Lord.

It won't just happen. To really know Christ will require you to be intentional about spending time in God's Word and in His presence... and to make the pursuit of knowing God a priority in your daily life.

When you do, you will experience a depth of relationship with the Lord that will radically transform your life.

I love what Bill Bright said... "Everything about your life; your desires, your motives, attitudes, words and actions, is influenced by your perception of God." When you truly know the Lord, you will respond to life in an entirely different way!

So let me ask you today... what are you pursuing in life? Are you seeking to truly know the Lord... or is this an area that needs greater priority in your life? I pray that you will make knowing the Lord your greatest pursuit in life, and in doing so, experience the abundant life He has for you!