Spotting A Cult

As a child, Jane attended a Hebrew school, where she learned all about cults. She was taught how cults recruit new members: by "love bombing," by offering free meals, by "weekend retreats," and by using front organizations that pose as some youth service ministry. She also learned about specific cults like the Moonies, the Scientologists, and the Children of God.

Jane felt prepared for an encounter with a cult. In fact, she had actually received one of the best cult prevention programs available to anyone in a school setting. Yet all Jane's cult education was to no avail, for she joined the Church Universal and Triumphant after having been recruited by a close friend. Later she realized her mistake and came to Wellspring to recover from her involvement with this cult.

How could Jane, of all people, find herself in a cult? This young woman did not realize that cults recruit in a variety of ways. Nor did she realize that even the best books on cults leave out hundreds, if not thousands, of other groups that are cultic in nature. Instead, Jane reasoned, "If it isn't a Moonie or a Way member, or a Scientologist, then I'm not being 'love bombed.' I am not being pressured to attend any special meetings, so it must not be a cult."

Surface Appearances

No one has ever shopped around to join a cult. No one has ever deliberately sought out an organization where they could be manipulated economically, physically, and emotionally. Yet each day, people are lured into cults and fringe groups that promise one thing and deliver another.

How, then, can you spot a cult? How can you get past the initial or surface appearances presented by cults to find out their inner mechanisms? One way is to recognize the chief characteristics of cults.

Your Child Could be Lured into a Cult

NO MATTER HOW SPIRITUAL YOU ARE, NO MATTER HOW STRONG YOUR FAMILY, you could lose your child to the siren call of the cults.

Time and time again, Dr. Paul Martin has seen dedicated Christian young people fall into the trap of cults and fringe churches. Himself a victim of a cultic fringe church, Dr. Martin now reaches out to other former cult members, assisting hundreds of them to find healing.

Now Dr. Martin shares his expertise in the first book about cults designed especially for concerned Christian parents. In Cult-Proofing Your Kids, he advises parents on:

• how to identify a cult
• how to educate children about cults
• why people join cults
• what to do when your child joins a cult
• how to help your child recover from cult involvement

There is nothing more heartbreaking than losing your child to a cult. But with Cult-Proofing Your Kids, you now have the tools you need to prevent that from happening -- or to fight back when it does.

"A very practical tool for parents, counsellors, youth leaders, and anyone else concerned about the potential dangers lurking in today's spiritual supermarket." Ronald Enroth, Westmount College, author of Churches That Abuse.

Paul R. Martin, Ph.D., a licensed psychologist, directs the Wellspring Retreat and Resource Center in Ohio, a counselling center for former cultists. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the Cult Awareness Network and is an advisory board member for the American Family Foundation.

(from Cult Proofing your Kids by Dr. Paul R. Martin)