Religious Cults

One woman’s search for affirmation and significance trapped her and caused her to lose everything of value in her life. Deceived by Scientology, mysticism, and years in a toxic and restrictive cult, she lost her marriage, relationships, home, her publishing company, and her reputation. In this candid and heartfelt memoir, Athena’s Dean Holtz tells how her eyes were opened and how God restored all that had been lost, and gave her the desires of her heart, including a loving, godly husband.

In 1994, 14-year-old Stefanie Hinrichs dreamed of owning a horse, leaving school and marrying Keanu Reeves. But God had other plans for the teenager. Her family belonged to a controversial Doomsday cult led by self-proclaimed Messiah William Kamm, also known as the 'Little Pebble', who was building a new promised land for his followers deep in the Australian bush. Stefanie was forced to become the false prophet's child bride - one of 84 mystical spouses chosen by the Lord to bear 27 children for his new heavenly dynasty.

次は、どこだ?なぜ人は眉を顰められながらも、カルトにひかれるのか? 2022年7月8日に起こった安倍晋三元首相の狙撃殺害事件以来、改めて旧統一教会(現・世界平和統一家庭連合)をはじめとする…

Google “Scientology,” and you’ll find of books vilifying or lionizing the practice. Former members, current members, investigative reporters; many people have their hat in the “I am an expert on this subject!” ring. Nathan Timmel is no expert; he’s just a man who has had a couple brushes with the practice and wanted to share his tale. In 1991—with no Internet available to quickly look up the practice made famous by Tom Cruise and John Travolta—a person needed hands on experiences to determine whether or not a religion was for them. Nathan and a couple of his college friends ...

One of the first books ever published to objectively study the life and work of Franklin Jones, also known as Bubba Free John, Da Free John, Adi Da, an infamous cult leader who attracted both devotees and detractors. Contains original essays by Professor Scott Lowe (University of Wisconsin) and Professor David Lane (Mt. San Antonio College).

This book is one of a series. It discusses some of the wacky ways that Mormons avoid answering tough questions about their doctrine, beliefs, and history which were written by their own historians, prophets, and leaders that is completely baloney. It exposes what they really believe and the massive hypocrisy found in almost every Mormon, everywhere. You will find yourself laughing out loud more than once.

Cassie True returns from her grandmother’s funeral to a warm welcome by the rehab program staff and participants—and condemnation from the cult leaders. Furious that Cassie slipped through their fingers, the leaders have no sympathy for her loss or the injuries she sustained in an accident. When they learn Corban Dahlstrom helped Cassie escape, their fury escalates and they pressure Cassie to confess sins she didn’t commit. At the same time, the head leader’s son becomes more aggressive in his pursuit of Cassie. Then the unthinkable happens, and she has to choose. Does she focus her...

How did Charles Manson inspire his 'family' to launch a campaign of murder? What twisted ideology lay behind horrific events like the Waco Siege, Aum Shinrikyo's poison-gas attack on the Tokyo metro and the mass suicides and murders of Jonestown? Why did the suicidal adherents of Heaven's Gate believe doomsday was at hand? How did the idealistic commune of Rajneeshpuram collapse into shocking controversies, involving biological terrorism and attempted murder? The shocking truth about some of the most disturbing criminal cults that have ever existed are discussed in this audiobook.

In this poignant and disturbing memoir of lost innocence, coercion, survival, and healing, Dianne Lake chronicles her years with Charles Manson, revealing for the first time how she became the youngest member of his Family and offering new insights into one of the 20th century's most notorious criminals and life as one of his 'girls'.

At a new age festival in Byron Bay, journalist Anke Richter is finding her spiritual awakening when she meets a woman - a survivor of the Auckland cult Centrepoint - who will change the course of her life and career. Over the next ten years, Anke pursues a labyrinthine investigation into how and why cults attract, entrap and destroy otherwise ordinary people, asking what the line is between tribe and cult, participant and perpetrator, seduction and sexual abuse.

Faith Jones was raised to be part of an elite army preparing for the End Times. Isolated on a farm in Macau, she practised devotions and read letters of prophecy written by her grandfather, the leader of the now infamous cult The Children of God. A direct decedent of the founding family, Faith featured in international media coverage - she was celebrated as extraordinary and then published doubly as a sharp reminder that she was not. With indomitable grit, Faith created a world of her own, pilfering books and educating herself in secret.

An incidental and shocking discovery of a cave with tiny unmarked graves shatters the peace of Exton, a small town in upstate N.Y. More horrifying is the forensic analysis that reveals that these young children died needlessly as the result of neglect and abuse at the hands of a religious fundamentalist cult that disavows medical care. Evangelicals and their political action groups come to the defense of the cult and the parents of the dead children setting the stage for the final courtroom clash to come.

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.

Sex trafficking. Self-help coaching. Forced labour. Mentorship. Multi-level marketing. Gaslighting. Investigative journalist Sarah Berman explores the shocking practices of NXIVM, an organization run by Keith Raniere and his high-profile enablers (Seagram heir Clare Bronfman; Smallville actor Allison Mack; Battlestar Galactica actor Nicki Clyne). In her deeply researched account, Berman unravels how young women seeking creative coaching and networking opportunities found themselves blackmailed, literally branded, near-starved, and enslaved.

This book came out of a life-changing episode of "perfect storm" dimensions. As a 65-year-old man, life as I had known it became a force-10 gale. My career had crashed, my marriage of 27 years had ended suddenly, and I was nearly broke. AA was no longer the help it had been for me - no longer the flotation device or life preserver tossed to a victim who had washed overboard. Instead, it offered virtually no solutions at all - because I had finally outgrown it - and according to AA, you're not supposed to do that.

This small book offers a critical presentation of meme theory as developed by Richard Dawkins and Susan Blackmore, which helps in understanding why some new religious movements have become more popular over time. Ideas, or memes, survive by making copies of themselves in host environments–usually human brains. But with fewer hosts than ideas, competition exists for these scarce enclaves. Moreover, the strongest ideas are not necessarily the best but rather those that can survive and make copies of themselves.

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.

"Time is that in which we live - it is horizontal. It is from A to B to C to D; it is in a line. Eternity is vertical. It is not from A to B and from B to C. It is from A to more A to still more A. It goes on upwards. The moment is rare because it happens only when meditation has reached ripening, maturity, when you have touched your innermost core." The vertical line opens a door to eternity.

While Christian denominations world-wide have been slipping into apathy, worldliness, and biblical illiteracy, the cult of Mormonism has been able to preach its satanic doctrines throughout the world deceiving countless souls in the process. It's time for true men, women, and even children of God to stand against the heresies being taught by the Mormons and contend for the true Christian faith.

I lived as a Wiccan in secret for many years. When I finally did come out as Wiccan, I made mistakes. I lost friends in the process until I learned a better way to tell everyone about my newfound faith. I made this audiobook so you don't have to make the mistakes I did! This audiobook is everything I needed to know to transition from Christianity to Wicca.