At the same time, the new member is made to question his own self worth. He will be constantly reminded of his own human imperfections in order to
further weaken his resistance. The recruiter will paint himself as a friend whose only interest is to save the new member from the error of his old ways
of thinking and doing things, and thus invoke appreciation from the new
member. In short, a power struggle is underway in which the recruiter is
slowly seeking to dominate the will of the new member.

While all of this is occurring, the new recruit is likewise being slowly bombarded with the new doctrine, so that the old frame of reference is forgotten, and replaced by the new. It is similar to a form of mental
rewiring, or brainwashing, if you prefer. Any manifestation of doubt, or resistance, by the new recruit is looked upon as potential disobedience and even disloyalty and is immediately brought to the attention of the new
recruit, usually in a subtle, intimidating manner. Being as he wants to
please his new spiritual masters, and show his worthiness, the new member
will amend his ways, thus further diminishing his ability to think on his
own. Of course, so that the new member doesn't become overly discouraged by
the constant reprimands during the initial stages of this subtle process, he
is also constantly reminded that he is chosen and special, and a part of a small elite group called either by God, his country, or the superiors of his organization. In short, the recruit's desire to belong to something, and to
be accepted, is fulfilled, and he acquires a true sense of loyalty.

Eventually, after days, weeks or months, depending upon the character of the individual, the process is complete, and the member loses all free will, and becomes totally dependent on the recruiter for both his spiritual and
material needs. He has acknowledged his own lowly state, and is thankful to even be a part of the movement, society or organization. He's also aware
that his continued participation in the organization is conditional upon his willingness to remain submissive. At the same time, a double-psychology is brought into play whereby the new member is made to feel that in spite of
the physical privations or psychological hardships he may have to endure,
(even though the leaders may actually live quite well off in some cases), to leave the group would be equivalent to total failure on his or her part.

In the case of religious cults and organizations, quite often the new member
is made to feel that to fail the organization, or the group leader, is equivalent to failing God; and living with the conscience of having failed
God, or at least with the belief of having failed God, is difficult for
anyone to bear. Religious organizations and churches refer to this
"betrayal" of the faith as backsliding. A person who has been a victim of
heavy indoctrination by a religious cult, and then chooses to leave, or
manages to escape, can sometimes take many years to overcome the influence
of the group; and sometimes they never do. As I noted earlier, while most people have the impression that thirty-nine members of the Heaven's Gate UFO cult died as a result of their death pact, the truth is that forty-one
members actually died. Two of them chose to take their lives later;
apparently believing that they had failed their leader and missed the boat
on March 26, 1997; which is the day that the thirty-nine bodies were
discovered in Rancho Santa Fe.

So as I was saying, the new member becomes just another part of the
collective whole, and would never doubt that his older brothers, elders, superiors or whatever they call themselves, have his best interests at
heart. From this moment forward, and once the indoctrination and
brainwashing process has been completed, the new recruit's entire objective will be to do as he is told, and to simply be an obedient submissive member
who will do his best to please his new masters, and carry on the work of the organization. After all, he doesn't want to acquire the reputation of being
a troublemaker, and face the danger of excommunication. If he proves
himself, with time, he may even find himself moving up in the ranks and becoming responsible for other members below him. He may acquire the status
of being an "older brother", or possibly a leader.

Given enough time, the desire to please and impress the cult leader can
become excessive and reach a dangerous level. Cult fanaticism reveals itself
in different ways. It may involve performing special deeds, such as having
sex with the cult's leader, or engaging in heroic acts, such as being
willing to die for the belief system of the group, or perhaps even to die in the line of duty in order to protect the cult leader himself. This has
become known as the "martyr syndrome"; that is, being willing to die for a cause, or for a person, as a means to demonstrate one's worthiness, or even
to convince oneself that one is truly worthy. In some cases, as we have
seen, it stems from self-doubt and an inferiority complex which has been
slowly instilled in the new recruit over the years by those who are seeking
to dominate him.

----- End Quote -----

In short, please pray for those people who choose to leave Harold Camping's misguided cult. They will require all of the spiritual support that they can get.



Jeff Snyder, SysOp - Armageddon BBS Visit us at endtimeprophecy.org port 23 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Your Download Center 4 Mac BBS Software & Christian Files. We Use Hermes II


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