Cult Craziness

Okay, spent all day yesterday online and on the phone, trying to figure out what to do about this “Cult” business.

As you all know, Saddlebag met with the “Crazy” BTIL last weekend. Some of the things we’ve learned in the past few days have us concerned. Ever since I had kids, I have gone through all the possible things that they could be involved in, but never in a million years did I think I was going to have to steal one of them away from their Grandparents because the Grandparents are in a cult! Never.

A little history: My BTIL father-in-law, has been trying to get me to read these books by “William Marrion Branham”. I brought them home to be polite, had no intention of reading them. Now it seems, they worship this guy (he’s dead) as if he was Christ himself, and are now selling their house and moving to Jonesboro Arkansas, to build a new church there for the worshippers of this “Branhamism”.

Now they don’t call it Branhamism, they call it “Christian”. This is why it’s taken us so long to figure out what was really going on. The women wearing skirts and no make-up and not cutting their hair, all that isn’t your typical “Christian” practice. I started thinking they were Mennonite, since they were making quilts all the time. No, that’s not it either.

Finally, the “Boys” (my husband’s stepbrothers) remembered this “Cult” they were involved in years ago, and said it sounds like the same thing all over again. So we did some research, and the more I learn the more I think this is a bona fide Cult.

Cult Warning Signs: (My responses are in red)

• 1. The Guru is always right. This William Marrion Branham guy is a “Prophet” in the eyes of his followers, after he died, all his sermons were transcripted into “Holy Scripture”, and his is the only word they listen to. They call it “The Message.”
• 2. You are always wrong. Sadly, you cannot have even a civil debate with them about this, if you told them the sky was blue, and this Branham guy says it’s green, it’s green.
• 3. No Exit. I don’t know much about this part, because I haven’t known anyone to try and escape yet, although I’m sure we’ll be getting some resistance when we try to get StepSpawn outta there.
• 4. No Graduates. You never finish the program. StepSpawn says that she is not going to college cause, “What’s the point? I’m just getting married and having babies anyway.” Keep the women dumb and pregnant is what it sounds like to me.
• 5. Cult-speak. My FIL is always talking to the Hub about “grooming” and “fostering” their relationship. This is new for him. Must be Cult-Speak.
• 6. Group-think, Suppression of Dissent, and Enforced Conformity in Thinking Yeah, follow what Branham says, or go to hell.
• 7. Irrationality. This particular cult is irrational simply for the fact that they believe this ordinary guy to be a prophet, he predicted Armageddon for the year 1977, did it happen? I think not. He says anyone who is not “with them” is going to hell, that’s irrational. There’s more, but I won’t bore you.
• 8. Suspension of disbelief. This is regarding brainwashing, and how they get people to go along with whatever they say is true.
• 9. Denigration of competing sects, cults, religions... They have been bashing Catholicism to Saddlebag, told me being baptized Episcopalian “doesn’t count” and I’m going to hell anyway. Those are the only two I have heard them Denigrating, I’m sure there are more though.
• 10. Personal attacks on critics. They have personally attacked me, my husband, and pretty much every family member they have, since nobody will agree with them and “join”.

There are a lot more, but I don’t feel like getting into all 100 of them right now. The site I got this particular list from is The Orange Papers. There are a lot more out there though.

I called the StepSpawn’s mother yesterday, and I’m sure I sounded like a raving loon, but I sent her some good info via email, which I’m sure she just forwarded onto the BTIL. She’s supposed to call me back today, and I am going to plead with her to hand over custody to us so we can legally go get StepSpawn before they move away and marry her off to some old guy. Clearly we are just sick about this whole thing, and if we do get her back, we need to hire or find a “Deprogrammer”. She is completely under their control, mentally, and it’s not going to be easy to bring her back.