Religious Cults

The United States has never had a shortage of cults based on religious teachings and charismatic leaders, but perhaps none are as infamous as Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple, which remain notorious for the mass murder-suicide event in Jonestown, Guyana, on November 18, 1978, during which nearly 900 people drank cyanide-laced Flavor Aid, including nearly 300 children.

The goal of some cult leaders was wealth and power, while others were after comfort or sex. The darkest and most notorious cults and their leaders sought to spread their evil messages through violence and mass murder, through war and genocidal acts. From the Thuggee cult that inspired the term "thug" to the brown shirts of Germany who would become the most destructive cult of all time, the Nazis.

What happens when a prophet dies and forgets to leave a forwarding address? After the Prophet Fell is a blistering, unapologetic, and darkly hilarious dive into the holy mess that followed the death of Joseph Smith—the founder of the Mormon Church, self-declared prophet, and the man who left behind a movement with no plan, no instructions, and way too many people claiming to be his successor. Told with biting wit and backed by historical receipts, this book pulls back the sacramental curtain to expose the succession crisis that tore the Latter-day Saints apart. From Brigham Young’s ...

The strange and sinister world of cults is a source of endless fascination. Their secrets, rituals and shadowy hierarchies make for some of the most disturbing and shocking revelations in history. Most chilling of all is the fact that many of their followers forfeit all independence in order to carry out the often sadistic bidding of a mysterious master manipulator - and continue to defend their leader to this day.

The pandemic has receded and life in the United States has returned to normal—or that’s what the government insists. So what is causing residents in a remote religious compound in Idaho to drop dead in a grisly fashion? And why are prominent virologists meeting with untimely ends? Something—or someone—is killing the religious followers and scientists, and Newshound reporter Nik Byron is determined to find out what’s behind the deaths. Could Xion Labs’ top-secret vaccine program be connected? Nik suspects so, but he’s being stonewalled at every turn. As he inches closer to the ...

Stephen Mansfield, the acclaimed New York Times best-selling author, has highlighted the growing popularity of Mormonism—a belief system with cultic roots—and the implications of its critical rise. Mormons are moving into the spotlight in pop culture, politics, sports, and entertainment via presidential candidates like Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman, media personality Glenn Beck, mega-bestselling Twilight author Stephenie Meyer, and The Book of Mormon, the hottest show on Broadway.

Evil in Our Midst provides a chilling glimpse of 50 dark angels, each of which represents a culture’s greatest fears. Every section opens with a story that shares the legend of a demon, and then offers fascinating information on the culture that, in many cases, perpetuates this belief. For those who believe in these creatures, this audiobook gives reason to fear the unknown. For those who do not believe in demons, it provides terrifying listen for a stormy night.

Finding an apparently perfect world at Akenside Priory, and a haven after the loss of her father, Catherine Coldstream trusts herself to a group of twenty silent women, believing she is trusting herself to God. As the beauty and mystery of an ancient way of life enfolds her, she surrenders herself wholly to its power, only to find that all is not as it seems behind the Order's closed doors. Cut off from the wider world for decades, the community has managed to evade accountability to any authority beyond itself.

You say that love and hate are one; but I see more hate in the world than love. At the same time, you say that enlightenment is neither love nor hate. Are you speaking of two different qualities of love? How does this fit with your message of love?

These gruesome stories have peppered the pages of newspapers and history books over the centuries. Some are well-known. Some aren’t. They rest in that murky place between true crime and horror. All will make your blood run cold.

Do you ever wonder what decisions will shape your destiny? For Lindsay, one of those decisions was made at the young age of 13, when she converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints—known to the world as "the Mormon church". Over the course of a decade, Lindsay would take a journey into one of the most secretive and powerful religious organizations in the world, a journey that would cause her to lose her true self as she submitted to the doctrine of the Mormon church. Little did she know that two people would come into her life and take her on a new journey.

Selling Salvation: The Fine Line Between Faith and Fraud Unmask the lucrative underworld where faith and exploitation collide in Selling Salvation. This eye-opening exposé delves deep into the shadowy practices of religious fraud, unraveling the schemes that prey on trust and devotion. From high-profile televangelists to local cult-like operations, this book unveils the tactics used to manipulate the faithful for financial gain. You will get a thorough run-down on the likes of Benny Hinn, Tony Alamo, L. Ron Hubbard, and Herbert W. Armstrong to Paula White, Joel Osteen, Kenneth Copeland, ...

Florence Mary Bennett (1883-1968) was a writer and professor of Greek and Latin. This book (1912) explores the legends and beliefs of the Amazons, and the goddess cults of the ancient world.

Documenting the life of wandering spirits and their impact on vulnerable human targets, Susan Martinez offers a radical departure from the standard psychological explanations for a host of pathological behaviors - including multiple personality, autism, epilepsy, migraines, obsessive compulsive disorder, depression, schizophrenia, anxiety, PTSD, self-destructive urges, and strange outbursts - and reveals that hallucinations are often true impressions of spirit input.

This book discusses women's role in the Mormon church historically as well as today. It discusses the unfairness of the Mormon plan of salvation and godhood as well as everyday marriage, children, and living under the modern-day Mormon church. This book will give you the true picture and will have you laughing out loud.

When Lily Dunn was six years old, her father left for India to join the cult of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. She grew up enthralled by the myth of him—a brilliant, charismatic writer and entrepreneur who would appear with gifts from faraway places. Yet he was also a compulsive liar whose pursuit of transcendence took him from sex addiction, via the Rajneesh cult, to a relentless chase of money, which ended in ruin and finally addiction to alcohol and prescription drugs.

Follow me in this guide to the Wiccan faith and ideals, where you'll find out that we believe in tolerance and acceptance above everything else. Let me shake off the mystery and the seriousness that plagues Wiccan people this day and age. I'm here to give you the straight answers you're looking for.

For decades, Asaram Bapu presided over a politically influential empire built on blind faith. Along with his son and heir, Narayan Sai, he has now become an example of everything that is wrong with self-styled godmen and the cults they spawn. God of Sin pieces together Asaram's journey to spiritual godhood, his fall from grace, and the long and arduous road to bring him to justice.

The shocking news of polygamous cults has sparked a national dialogue on religious sects. Splintered from and repudiated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, these secretive families exist in an insular world far removed from reality. Yet for Brian Mackert, life inside this world was all too real. As a son in a family of one father, four mothers, and thirty-one children, Brian experienced firsthand the devastating reality of the polygamous lifestyle: a reality that leaves thousands of children feeling hopeless and struggling to belong.

Out of The Cocoon, which has earned 5 stars on Amazon, is a heart-wrenching, yet inspirational tale about the author's escape from a religious cult after enduring decades of dysfunction. Take the incredible journey with her as she survives stifling oppression as a child, physical and emotional abuse as a teenager, and the ultimate tragedy: the loss of her family once she becomes an adult. See how, like a butterfly, she changes the world within her, as her external world becomes increasingly unyielding.