One of the scariest things to worry about in our pluralist society is having a loved one run off and join some kind of a cult. Cults are small segments of religious society, usually not associated with a big well-known church. The teachings of these cults are very different than the teachings of established longstanding churches. Many of us are old enough to remember Jonestown, Guyana and how the leader, Jim Jones, convinced his members he was God. He also convinced them to commit suicide as well.
Cults tend to isolate themselves from the rest of society and require that their members stay on a compound of some sort, in order to live the good life without the temptation of the outside world.
Actually isolating members is a tool used to brainwash members. The members only get a diet of the teachings of the elders of the church and have no influence from the outside world and therefore no one to point out the dangers or offer a different religious point of view.
According to the research, people who join cults are people who are seeking the answers they have not found in everyday life. The cult life offers different answers, a simpler way of life, away from temptation’s way. This simple way of life also includes giving up all worldly possessions and that means liquidation of their bank accounts and donating all the money and worldly goods to the church.
In the beginning the cult life may really be attractive but after awhile one of two things happen. These people surrender everything to the church including their money, their freedom and their minds, or they become disenchanted with the cult and try to leave, only to find out that they cannot. They are trapped in the world they thought was so good that turned out to be so bad.
Family and friends who try to get their loved ones out of these cults are also faced with two possibilities, either they will be met with resistance by the new cult member who wants to stay or if the cult member wants to go they have to figure out a plan for an escape. Unfortunately all to often the cult member fight them to stay.
In October 2006 W-Five aired a program investigating the Dominion Christian Church in Hamilton, Ontario. One family is accused of kidnapping their daughter thought they were trying to rescue her from the claws of the church.
When W-Five interviewed the pastor, Peter Rigo, they were told that the church was a safe haven for anyone who wanted to live God’s word 24/7, and those that joined but refused to toe the line were told to leave.
According to W-Five, Rigo’s version of religion is an extreme form of evangelical Christianity. Rigo claims his mission is to bring the word of the lord to the world.
However, several families who have loved ones who have joined the Dominion Christian Church beg to differ. They say that this church is a cult, and a destructive force ruining the lives of its members.
The Dominion Christian Church is far from a traditional church. Instead of hymn singing, the Sunday service starts with a 1-hour rock concert. The Pastor plays the drums.
In one sermon Rigo was reported as saying, “For the most part, Church is just a nice outhouse. You simply go once a week, move your conscience bowels, get a little relief and go back out and eat like a pig for another seven days. That’s why churches mainly stink.”
Interesting comment from a Pastor would you think?
Here is a little history about Peter Rigo to get to know the man behind the comment. Rigo went to Bible College and never graduated. Then he had an affiliation with the evangelical network work of churches in North America called the Open Bible Faith Fellowship and they kicked him out!
Rigo says he does not believe in the Standard set by Christianity today, he believes that you must live your faith, not just learn about it.
How has living this faith affected the members of the church and their families?
Mirella Brun Del Re, is a devoted member of the church, much to the chagrin of her parents, Lucie and Renato. Mirella was looking for answers, spiritual answers, and she reported to her family she had found them at this little church in Hamilton.
Mirella began to change stating that God was talking to her and she was becoming more and more distant from her family. Her brother Giancarlo wanted to visit the church to see what it was all about. He said the Pastor sought him out in front of the whole congregation asking him if he was saved, and he just wouldn’t let up. Giancarlo was very embarrassed and left thinking his sister would follow but she didn’t.
Note that Mirella’s family is a religious family already.
Mirella began to spend every spare moment she had at the church. She was the violinist and she helped out in the kitchen. She became a different person, sneering at her family when she was home and showing hatred towards them. The father began to believe that she was being brainwashed.
Concerned for their daughter, the Brun Del Re, spoke with Cole and Nettie Brown, former members. In fact Cole was Peter Rigo’s right hand man when the church first opened its door. In the beginning Cole found the church to be a warm and inviting place but then things began to change. As Rigo began having more power of his congregants he started acting very bizarre. Cole had enough when Rigo started separating husband and wife. Rigo tried to convince Nettie that Cole was about to cheat on her and if he did he would have to leave the church but she was not to go with him. It did not work the couple left the church together.
Rigo denied that more than a handful of malcontents were once a part of his church but then left. In fact a town meeting was held for anyone who had issues with the Dominion Christian Church and more than 70 people attended. The stories that surfaced were mainly about cutting all contact with families on the outside. One man hadn’t seen his daughter in over seven months.
What was Rigo’s reaction to this? “Its God’s will.”
Another issue that came up at the town meeting was the complete control the Pastor had over the everyday lives of his parishioners. They no longer thought for themselves and relied on him for every decision including mundane things like what colour they should dye their hair.
Dating was forbidden. Rigo told his members that boys and girls would never ever get together in his church.
It also came out at the town meeting that Rigo intimidated anyone who wanted to leave. He threatened that the deserters would die in hell, and he went on a tirade because a member was leaving to set up another church. He told the member, he would die of a heart attack within the year.
One woman was told her father was looking at her as a wife and she should not see him anymore, just because he had left the church.
Another member reported, “It’s a dangerous place psychologically. And when you have a so-called man of God threatening death on people, they’re scare tactics and people are living in fear in that environment.”
The townspeople at the meeting all agreed that Rigo was running a cult, though he denies it.
The Brun Del Re family rescued their daughter and brought in a professional deprogrammer, Mary Alice Chrnalogar, from the USA for their daughter. After four hours the daughter left and went back to the church. She said to W-Five that she understood why her parents did that. They wanted the old Mirella back, but that Mirella did not exist anymore, the new Mirella just wanted to serve God.
The parents were charged with kidnapping and forcible detainment. Other families had tried to rescue their children only to have their children ran back to the church.
But as a parent you do try to rescue your children from what you feel is wrong and will endanger their innocent young lives.
“The members in the church do not feel they are being controlled because they are being told it is the will of God, but they are being controlled they just don’t know it,” said Mary Alice Chrnalogar.
Sources:
http://www.religionnewsblog.com/16397/w-five-investigates-christian-dominion-centre
http://www.religionnewsblog.com/16399/dominion-christian-centre-tv-investigative-report
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Comments: 53
Good article, Carol. There are some scary religions out there who are definitely cultic or borderline cultic. So many people fall into them because they are searching for a place to belong.
I agree with you on this Cheryl. As well there are some churches themself that are as you said borderline.
yep this one is definitely bordline
These cults, from Jim Jones, to the Moonies to Funamentalist Christian's abound and are scary! I was aquainted with charlie Manson, didn't like him and could never understand the power he had over his followers, it was a warped ideal of religion and hate.
Thanks for getting the word out, many here on Gather should take note!
you actually new manson, wow is all I can say, I would never want to meet up with him,
Yes, I went to a high school for a while that also had linda Kasabian and Suzie (Squeaky) Frome. charlie, a lot older, would come to the school and they would go off together. He was also just one of the crazies around the Strip (Sunset) and we all would see each other, I thought he was manipulative and creepy even then, but who knew?!!
Most cults don't encourage people to make their own decisions and the followers are not allowed to question the beliefs or the policies of the group. They slowly take over the lives of the people to where they feel incapable of making their own decisions.
I did a documentary on the Moonies back in the 70's. The people in that cult were not even allowed to go to the bathroom alone. They always had someone with them, at least in the early days of their indoctrination. If they tried to leave, they were grabbed and were subjected to harrassment and brainwashing which included being told that everyone in society was ruled by Satan and their only hope for being saved was to be in their community. They became afraid of regular people and their own families. And most were not allowed to even call their families or interact with them in any way. They just disappeared into the cult and many were not heard from again. I know that some of the families hired deprogrammers but that only worked sometimes, not all the time.
yes I agree it is really scary, thanks for your contribution here, to enlighten us. This dominion church may not be a full fledged cult but it is already alarming enough and should be closed down as far as I am concerned.
Because of our constitutional right to freedom of religion, it can be very difficult to close down a church that shows signs of being a cult.
oh I know that, and I am wondering what the canadian authority will do if anything at all, the Braun Del Re parents have to go to court for kidnapping and forcible detainment, I am very interested in what unfolds in this story.
That is sad when they're really just try to help their child. I heard about a family that did it with their mother who was in a cult. Because she was an adult, as soon as the deprogrammer finished, she went back to the cult and the family had to let her go.
yes that is what happened once you are an adult you are free to live whatever kind of life that you want.
It's amazing how insideous these kinds of groups are. They very often start out with a lot of positive qualities, which of course draws people in; then little by little- they isolate people- and/or get them to believe crazier and crazier things
yep that is the way it works, I wish this place gets closed down before any real harm over and above what has already been done happens.
It annoys me how these people use religion as a means of basically being worshipped themselves. It is hard for me to imagine being vulnerable to a cult, but then again I have a wonderful family. I'm not alone in the world looking for something that I don't have. I worship the Lord (I realize I may be mocked by some wonderful Gather members here), and anyone who would try to get me to alter that means of worship would rouse my suspicion more than anything else. It's frightening to think of young people falling prey to these groups.
it is really frightening that these places are allowed to operate, isolation is not a bad thing there are places that work fine in isolation but it is the intend for isolation, is is genuine or is it a means to enact total control and brainwashing of young people and older members alike.
One can only wonder how many bizarre things, abuses or even crimes are tolerated simply because of "religious" considerations... I can disagree in many aspects with Mr. Dawkins, but here he's absolutely right. A "must-read" post, to be sure! :-)
Blessings and best wishes - S.
thanks Svetlana, mr. Dawkins?
Richard Dawkins, the author of "The God Delusion". I have read this book in Russian translation. Even though I don't share his basic premise, at least some of his points are valid.
Blessings and best wishes - S.
I don't know his work, thanks Svetlana
Religion is a powerful tool to put into the hands of people. There are temptations to misuse even the noblest of sentiments.
yep, and you know anything and everything can be abused as well. It just never ends
I have family members that were influenced by cults or borderline cults so I know first hand the power they can have. It is an amazing, scary thing and can ruin their lives. Good article!
Heidi, I am so sorry to hear that, I certainly hope this one can be stopped before it gets out of hand.
Heidi, I hope your family members are alright.
Luckily in both cases, the family members came to their senses - one was in a cult for several years and got rid of everything they owned, it was really bad!
yes I can imagine how bad it was, I am glad they broke free though.
It's hard to define what a cult is. To some it could be a closed compound and mind-control through brainwashing, and to others it could be the Sunday church service. Either way, it's all about indoctrination.
The force that makes either work is the giving over of individual thought to what someone is telling you the revered source (Bible, Koran, Bhagavad Gita or whatever) "says" and the acceptance of the idea that it comes from the oracle of God. Unfortunately for some, some people have psychological or socialization issues that create a need for a rigid structured environment. They want to live in a compound, wear specified clothing, praying a prescribed 5 times a day, and basically "worship" the head guy who is presumed to be an emissary of God. Basically they need a "father," to tell them what to think and do because the don't have the will or capacity to stand on their own psychically.
I agree with all that, but when they are forcibly isolated so that no information can get in and out, and they want to leave and are forcibly detained, or harrassed to the point they cannot leave, this is no longer utopia, this is prison.
Interesting article.
I learned something today.
thank you Amanda
Not everything is as it appears and there is a matter of perspectives involved also.
I am not sure what you are getting at here?
yes there is perspectives, the victims,
the members who love the place,
the pastor
the families of victims
and the canadian government
and the deprogrammer
I would hate to be a part of any orginization that tries to tell me what to do.
If that happened, I would leave immediately.
me too but there is a catch with these places, you don't always know until you are in too deep.
A very good article. The line between church/club and cult is not hard and fast.
I remember Jonestown quite well: a few years after that I "was saved" and decided to go to Moody Bible Insititute... which of course all of my friends confused with the "Moonies". Everyone thought I'd gotten involved in a cult, and it took years (literally) to convince my family that it was a legitimate (and well respected) school. Worse, though, after I graduated I spent a year with Jesus People USA... which is essentially a large, Christian commune and has a few of the earmarks of a cult. (People live together, work together, hold everything communally...) But I loved it. It was an awesome experience.
For a true church or spiritual experience, people will learn and grow with love. For a cult, they grow more internal and self-focused. It's simple and perhaps a bit idealistic, but that's how I approach the question.
hey not all communes are bad, I don't see anything wrong with people who what to live that kind of life, it is only dangerous when dangerous things are happening in the cult,
then there are the amish, and there is nothing wrong with that, there are jewish sects to that operate very well.
I think that is the difference between sect and cult cult is usually more dubious, sect just means small.
Good article, as usual! Thanks for posting to All Top Ten Lists!
thanks so much James
Carol, this was a great article. As I read through it and the comments, I was wondering if all cults require living in a commune type environment. There are some new age religions out there and was wondering if they are cults.
Thoughts anyone?
I don't want people to get me wrong here not all communes are bad, look at the amish for example, some people do prefer a secluded lifestyle, it is only bad when there is bad things going on inside the commune, brainwashing, threats and harrassement etc.
There was one religion out there and the name escapes me now, but it had to do with light. I'm not sure if their members are required to live in a commune, but there are other things about their religion that suggest that they are a cult.
I am sure there are more cults out there than we are all aware of
That episode of W-Five was on again about a month ago, and Walker and I watched it together. It's really scary what some people will claim to do in the name of God. Also, I've seen certain situations where legitimate orgainized religions are just a stone's throw from cults. Scary, scary stuff. Thanks for responding to my article on religion, earlier.
yep it is very scary where is the line drawn
No one who is on that line or over that line believes they are there, or have crossed it. One more reason for me to be wary of "organized" religion.
that is not fair you cannot link organized religions which is for the most part acceptable and good with cults which are for the most part not accepted and bad. That would like saying you don't like fruit because you don't like bananas, but you know there is a lot more to fruit than bananas, and a lot more to religion than fanatic cults
I meant what cults do to mainstream religion.
When I told a friend of mine I married a Mormon, she asked if he knew the people at the YFZ cult in TX. Dang FLDS are making a mockery out of mainstream Mormons.
When a friend of mine told me he was a Muslim, a stupid jerk asked him if he knew Bin Laden. Friggen radicals are making it hard for regular Muslims who just want to live their day to day lives in peace. There is a lot of good to the Muslim religion that the world may never know because of the fundies.
AAAANNNNNNNDDDDD.....
I'm not suggesting that EVERYBODY stay away from organized religion, but after my experiences with the four religions mentioned in my previous article (thanks for commenting there and referring to this one) including the one where I was baptized and raised (yes I know it was just one preacher in that case) it makes me really want to step back, and take a break from the whole idea of organized religion.
And to take the topic away from religion for a second, what about certain kinds of food and diabetics, or medications that are good, but just can't mix? Maybe organized religion just doesn't work for some people, and I am one of those people, in my case, due to certain experiences that have taught me it's safer not to trust at all, than to trust too much, and get sucked into something, or if not sucked in, bossed around.
as I said in your article it is your choice whether you are a part of a religious denomination or not. NObody is judging you. I just didn't want all religions to be lumped in with fanatical cults because fanatical cults represent only a very small portion of religion, like maybe 2 percent.
Thank you. I'm not lumping in all religion, just that anything in the wrong hands can turn lethal. Every religion has it's radicals somewhere. Just ask my husband about a certain Prebyterian church he stumbled upon, in North Carolina!!!! It made my experience with my minister look like dus.
Same thing with weapons, for that matter. The weapon itsself is not deadly unless placed in the wrong hands. That's the main point i was trying to make. For me personally, I've been around too many who seemed to use religion as a wepon in order to control the masses.
yes I agree
I've always viewed (through world religion classes in college) a cult being defined by it's relationship to society. Most cults have a negative relationship with society as a whole. And the way the group treats it's members, abuse physical, emotional or financial usually means cult.
yep this place has all the markings of one well almost, I don't know about money it did not really say, that might be one of the things it does not do to make it a full fledged scary cult