Watchtower Society: Understanding the Jehovah’s Witnesses with Isaac Carmignani 

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Jehovah’s Witnesses (JWs) are well-known for their door-to-door solicitation and distributing literature, such as their Watchtower and AWAKE! magazines. However, most people do not know of the authoritarian BITE Model policies that affect JWs. Consequently, former JW elder Isaac Carmignani, a friend and colleague, shares critically important facts about this religious organization.  

Carmignani was raised a Jehovah’s Witness (JW) and was baptized at age 11. As a child, he experienced severe corporal punishment, a well-known cult practice. From 1995 to 2006, he was an elder in the JW organization; however, in 2007, Carmignani formally disassociated himself. He disagreed with their interpretation of the Bible and the belief that only JWs were good Christians while all other Christians were evil. In fact, a member was not allowed to enter any church other than a Kingdom Hall; the name JWs call their meeting places.

From Growing Up in the Jehovah’s Witnesses to Counseling People Who Wish to Exit it with Frances Peters

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When we think of cults, we think of being recruited into them. It’s easy to forget some people are born into them like my guest today, Frances Peters, who was born and raised in the Jehovah’s Witnesses before leaving in 2004 with her husband and two children. As soon as she realized how controlling and harmful the group was, she decided to leave. Since then, she’s been researching the workings of undue influence and what people can do to (re)gain their identity.  She experienced how challenging it is to become a thriver instead of remaining a victim of institutionalized undue influence. 

How Cults Exploit Fervor and Awe to Recruit and Control Members: An Interview With Dr. Yuval Laor

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The psychological state of fervor and the emotion of awe might not come to mind when thinking about how cults recruit and control their members. However, cult indoctrination and control depend on the exploit of emotions, particularly in the initial stages. Emotions are the drivers for all human behavior, such as attraction or aversion. This …

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Meghan Markle Oprah Suicide Mental Health

Mental Health Issues Including Suicidal Feelings and Authoritarianism

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Oprah’s interview with Meghan Markle, watched by tens of millions worldwide, was riveting and upsetting. The topic of racism in the Royal Family (“The Firm”) needs further in-depth discussion. However, in this blog, I want to focus on Meghan’s disclosure that she felt such high levels of stress and isolation that she became suicidal. Meghan …

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Authoritarian Bible Cults Actively Recruiting at College and Online: Interview With Former BCC Member Chris Lee

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Searching for spiritual meaning and connection with others is common when young adults enter their college years. There are many positive and ethical religious groups open to these young people, but, unfortunately, there are also destructive religious cults actively recruiting new members through deceptive and authoritarian means. I have recently been contacted by people from …

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How to Help Friends & Family Following Trump’s Election Loss: False Prophecy, Mass Exodus, & Cognitive Dissonance

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  The year leading up to the 2020 Presidential election has been extremely divisive and stressful for most Americans, as well as, for our world allies. The results are in and show decidedly Joe Biden has won both the popular and electoral votes and will be sworn into office on January 20, 2021. Unfortunately, as …

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Undue Influence, Judge Barrett and the People of Praise Covenantal Community

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Update: Letter to the Senators on the Judiciary Committee Concerning the Confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett In an AP article written about Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination to the Supreme Court and her involvement with the People of Praise, Vice President Mike Pence was quoted from a television interview as saying, “The intolerance expressed during her …

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What to Do About the QAnon and Those Ensnared in It? Interview with Travis View

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Q is a high-security level clearance given to Intelligence operatives. Supposedly, QAnon was started by such a person. However, Gregg Housh (whom I met in the context of his organizing protests against Scientology all over the world), one of the original Anonymous founders, told me he knows the people who started QAnon! It was intended …

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Sex and Labor Trafficking Awareness, Survivor Empowerment, and Saving Children From Abuse: A Discussion With Rachel Thomas, M. Ed.

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This week, I interview Rachel Thomas, who is not only a survivor of human trafficking but an author, teacher, speaker, and mentor. I have known her for years. We met through Carissa Phelps (founder of runawaygirl.com) at a Joint Regional Intelligence Center training for approximately six hundred law enforcement, including members of Homeland Security, the …

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Watchtower Leadership Uses COVID-19 to Frighten and Recruit, Plus Interview With Former JW Member Cliff Henderson

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With the recent pandemic, COVID-19, thousands, if not more, “doomsday” cults are using fear to ramp up their claims that the “end is near” and frighten members to stay in, recruit new and reactivate former members. The Watchtower has been saying Armageddon is imminent for over 100 years and falsely prophesied an actual date 4 …

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Shincheonji Is a South Korean Cult Similar to the Moon Cult That Recruited Me, Steven Hassan

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The Shincheonji Church of Jesus, a South Korean doomsday cult with hundreds of thousands of followers, has been all over the news at the center of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in that country. What do we know about this cult? The Shincheonji Church of Jesus the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony was founded …

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Alienated from her Mother at Age 4, Parental Alienation and Patterns of Cult Mind Control

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Over the last four decades of my work with cults and destructive groups, I have seen the almost standard operating procedure for mind-control cults to instruct members to do parental alienation behaviors. For example, if one parent realizes they are in a cult and leaves, if the other parent doesn’t leave with them, they are …

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