cheranne

don't think too hard youll hurt yourself!

Pinnocheo had a criket said "and always let your concious be your guide"

Personality changes 2. Dramatic shifts of values or beliefs 3. Changes in diet or sleep patterns 4. Refusal to attend important family events 5. Inability to make decisions without consulting a cult leader or guru 6. Sudden use of a new ideology to explain everything 7. Black-and-white, simplistic reasoning 8. A new vocabulary 9. Insistence that you do what he or she is doing9One explanation of these symptoms is the development of a pseudo-identity, a new persona the individual adopts to fit into the cult environment.6To date, there have been many studies addressing the question of psychological harm caused by cult membership, but like any research into effects of trauma, ethics preclude much prospective study, which limits validity. In an extensive review of research, three researchers concluded that a substantial minority of ex-cult members have problems readjusting to life outside the cult.5Why some are harmed and others are not has yet to be pinned down. A Group Psychological Abuse Scale has been developed for measuring the degree to which influence exists in different groups

It was a beautiful thing,the Rock of Ages. Believers everywhere,caring people full of heart and love for one another Great music,a christian woodstock of our times..perfect for a child of the sixties. No more Vietnam,lets just tell the world about The Way International, the Pfal class..it will bring meaning to your life peace of mind,and all that jazz. Word over the World(no greater calling)why would you wait to go WOW? Just travel light and go where ever your sent God will provide, God will supply all you needs (according to twi)and wants ,put Him first in your life and having done all STAND(In answer to Gods call) This time Nothings gonna stop me,nothings gonna stop me i finally found what i'd been looking for,all my life i was searching for.........(joyful noise,glad tidings,pressed down shaken together,) we were on GODS TEAM!!!!!! I believe it was the right thing at the right time and it was good............and then what happened?

The past is never past, especially at Mount Carmel, where nobody is absolutely sure what happened back in 1993. In the aftermath, the government was shown to have handled so many things so badly that conspiracy theories ran wild—from tanks setting the fire and FBI agents shooting at fleeing Davidians to soldiers from the Delta Force slaughtering women and children. In 1999 Attorney General Reno appointed a special counsel to look into the government’s actions. After ten months, former Republican senator John Danforth concluded that although a lot of serious mistakes were made by the ATF and the FBI in the aftermath, mostly regarding the withholding of evidence, there was no systematic cover-up. Danforth also found that the FBI had not shot at anyone on April 19. Most important: the Davidians set the fire. Bugs planted by the FBI inside the compound revealed dozens of references to fuel and fire in the final six hours. Conspiracists still cry foul, but ultimately, ten years later, we have to conclude that both sides share the blame for what happened. It’s obvious that the Davidians set the fire; it’s also obvious that the FBI knew all about their apocalyptic theology. It’s obvious that Koresh saw the whole thing as a fulfillment of prophecy; it’s also obvious that those government agents had a higher duty to protect the innocents inside the compound and that they breached it by driving an unstable bunch even crazier. At Mount Carmel, at least, the small group of remaining Davidians is trying to focus on the time to come. They are waiting. Charlie foresees war and talks about the connections between September 11 and April 19: “September 11 was just a taste of what has yet to take place worldwide, a worldwide spiritual war, the battle between the descendants of Ishmael and the descendants of Isaac.” Clive sees similar things. When asked about a timetable for Koresh’s return, he says, “We’re always looking to the Middle East.” It’s not surprising, really, that the Davidians would see connections between 9/11 and their troubles——the central players that caused each drama share the passionate arrogance of those who believe they are entitled to more of God’s favor than the rest of us. Some prove their faith by setting fire to a building full of their own children; others do it by flying airliners full of human beings into skyscrapers. “People say we’re apocalyptic,” says Clive, “all doom and gloom. Well, sure there’s a lot of doom and gloom, but there’s also a lot of hope and promise.” In his last letter, Koresh wrote that the earthquake would strike near Lake Waco, the land settled by Victor Houteff in 1935, and put Waco underwater. On Mount Carmel, high above the city, everything will be just fine.

In the months after the fire, a sixty-year-old woman named Amo Bishop Roden claimed it was she. Amo said she was a prophet and that the land was hers because she had been married by common law to George Roden. (George, who’d lost control of the compound to Koresh in 1988, killed his roommate with an ax and was sent to a mental hospital, where he died trying to escape, in 1998.) For a while, Amo lived in a clapboard shack and sat under the large tree near the front gate, welcoming visitors, selling T-shirts, and giving her own spin on Koresh. He was a false prophet, she would tell tourists, and then charge them an entrance fee. She set up a couple of little clapboard museums too, which were both anti-Koresh and anti-government, but they burned, along with her shack, in a suspicious 2000 fire. She returned a few years later to find Clive with the keys to a new church and visitors center. Around this time, Clive sued to establish his trusteeship of Mount Carmel, and he got signatures from 75 Davidians around the world supporting his claim. Amo filed a similar claim, while Charlie called the whole thing a family matter. Essentially, a judge and jury agreed: The judge declared that the property belonged to the church, and the jury said that neither Clive nor Amo was a legitimate trustee. They’ll all just have to share. Amo, who could not be reached for this story, left; in May 2001 she was stopped for questioning at the site of the Oklahoma City bombing for driving a truck covered with signs, photos of the burning Davidian compound, and bumper stickers, including one that read “Waco, Texas, and Oklahoma City are where the one-world government shot itself in the foot.” No charges were filed. hmmmm....makes you wonder

The authorities began to take notice. In February 1992 Child Protective Services (CPS) social workers made the first of several visits to Mount Carmel to check into allegations by apostates of child abuse; Koresh was said to have spanked an eight-month-old for forty minutes. But the CPS didn’t find enough evidence to take action. Then, in the spring of 1992, a UPS package being delivered to the Davidians broke open, revealing empty grenade hulls. The Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) started investigating the Davidians and found receipts for deliveries of other ammo and arms, including black gunpowder and powdered aluminum that could be mixed to make homemade grenades and devices for converting semiautomatic weapons into automatics. No law prevented them from stockpiling weapons, even automatic ones, but Koresh hadn’t obtained a license or paid the expensive per-weapon fee. The ATF began surveillance at Mount Carmel. By December, agents had occupied a house across the street from the compound and were watching its residents closely. Soon the ATF had drawn up a plan: storm the compound, subdue the residents, and search for illegal firearms and explosives. Despite the fact that agents knew that the Davidians had been accidentally tipped off, at nine-thirty on the morning of February 28, 1993, three helicopters approached from the rear, and two cattle trailers, with tarps hiding fifty agents, sped up the front driveway. About fifty feet from the front door of the compound, they burst from the trailers, armed and dressed in black. To the Davidians, some of whom had gone to get their own weapons, it was as if everything Koresh had predicted was coming true. If kids would ask about my father, I’d say he died in a fire. If they asked for more and I told them more, they’d say, ‘You’re one of those people who followed that madman?’ All this happened where I was born. That’s where my family died.—Kimberly Martin, 14, Davidian survivor

Yes,it is very sad thats true,but also sad is Jonestown,and what CULTS do to people,and innocent children that do not have the choice to make(whether they want to be in a cult..that is abuse) David Koresh abused these people, a pedophile is against the law,if you read the whole artical their are two side to the story the agents were just doing there job ,the Davidians had every chance to come out(51 days)the choose NOT to because of their "leader" who set the "flames" and destroyed his own people.

yeah,thanks man...people coming out of The Way need support that other people just don't understand,your very wise and kind to do this..i don't know your story but thanks for all your work here at GS.

good job! If your were an ER doctor you just saved someones life,whatever we can do to expose the darkness of The Way lets do it,every light counts,in a city of darkness...You my friend are the light.

All cults have the same mind set. How may people have dissociative dissorders and haven't been treated for it due to The Way?

Hail to the chief!

In most Native American cultures their are the old stories passed down,you don't forget where you came from. thats lil native american(usa born)and Native American(usa born),check the box,white,black,hispanic,native american etc... sorry about your aunt at Piggly Wiggly.

more food for thought at GS cafeThere were ten million Native Americans on this continent when the first non-Indians arrived. Over the next 300 years, 90% of all Native American original population was either wiped out by disease, famine, or warfare imported by the whites

The Trail of Tears is generally considered to be one of the most regrettable episodes in American history. To commemorate the event, the U.S. Congress designated the Trail Of Tears National Historic Trail in 1987. It stretches for 2,200 miles (3,540 km) across nine states. In 2004, Senator Sam Brownback (Republican of Kansas) introduced a joint resolution (Senate Joint Resolution 37) to “offer an apology to all Native Peoples on behalf of the United States” for past “ill-conceived policies by the United States Government regarding Indian Tribes. The United States Senate has yet to take action on the measure

I LIKE IT

I'm glad you did not go wow,its like dog years 7 years to every 1. What a waste of life!

Cry me a river! How about a TRAIL OF TEARS!

Gee...lots of people i knew in Oklahoma City looked just like that too! hmm.......

. Personality changes 2. Dramatic shifts of values or beliefs 3. Changes in diet or sleep patterns 4. Refusal to attend important family events 5. Inability to make decisions without consulting a cult leader or guru 6. Sudden use of a new ideology to explain everything 7. Black-and-white, simplistic reasoning 8. A new vocabulary 9. Insistence that you do what he or she is doing9One explanation of these symptoms is the development of a pseudo-identity, a new persona the individual adopts to fit into the cult environment.6To date, there have been many studies addressing the question of psychological harm caused by cult membership, but like any research into effects of trauma, ethics preclude much prospective study, which limits validity. In an extensive review of research, three researchers concluded that a substantial minority of ex-cult members have problems readjusting to life outside the cult.5Why some are harmed and others are not has yet to be pinned down. A Group Psychological Abuse Scale has been developed for measuring the degree to which influence exists in different groups. It’s hoped that this will help differentiate benign groups from coercive ones.10,11Psychological abuse is not the only form of abuse suffered. According to Martin, who also directs the Wellspring Retreat and Resource Center, Albany, OH, a residential treatment center for recovering cult victims, a third of post-cult counseling clients report physical or sexual abuse during cult involvement.11 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Page 4 Symptoms experienced by ex-cult members vary widely but include anxiety, depression, guilt, sleep disorders, loss of identity, trouble concentrating and handling emotions, trouble making decisions, floating (a dissociative return to the cult pseudo-identity), and psychosomatic problems.5The Faith Group That Refuses Standard Healthcare A school nurse at a metropolitan primary school is aghast and frustrated. She is confronted by a father who has refused to have his two children vaccinated. He belongs to a Christian-based group that believes in faith healing and does not allow immunization. Even without specific policy, cults can foster ill health through overwork, an uneducated approach to dietary restrictions, and neglect. Groups that have specific beliefs precluding healthcare may or may not meet criteria for a cult, but all need to be examined in a discussion of beliefs and health. Most religions or philosophies take an ethical stand on one or another medical procedure. Familiar to nurses are the position of the Roman Catholic Church on reproductive and end-of-life issues, refusal of blood products by Jehovah’s Witnesses, and refusal of medical care by Christian Scientists. Less well-known are some newer belief systems. Scientology, for example, is strongly opposed to psychiatry and all psychiatric medications and procedures.12Popular culture, New Age beliefs, television infomercials, and magazines contribute countless philosophies, products, and approaches to healthcare that, regardless of research, are largely accepted on faith by the public. Then there are the small, usually Christian, congregations that believe in faith healing and suffer deaths from what is called religion-motivated medical neglect. A 1998 study found that between 1975 and 1995, 172 child fatalities in the US were clearly linked to religion-based neglect. Investigation revealed 140 could probably have recovered if treated. Another 18 would have had a 50% chance of survival, and all but three of the remaining 14 would have benefited from someclinical help.13Eleven fatalities were preventable by vaccination.14Of the 59 prenatal and peri-natal deaths, all but one should have had a good outcome. No deliveries were attended by a licensed midwife, and six mothers died of obstetrical complications.13The First Amendment to the US Constitution guarantees American adults freedom to choose beliefs over medical care, even in the face of imminent death. When minor children are involved, however, state child-neglect laws come into play, and every state is different. Some states have “faith-healing” clauses that give criminal immunity, but in other venues, parents have been charged with child abuse, manslaughter, or homicide when their children died for lack of medical care.15In some states, courts can overrule parents only when a child’s life or long-term health is threatened and only if the ill child is discovered in time. Such laws don’t address the suffering and disability of those who survive.16As for refusing vaccination, most states exempt religious parents from prosecution under the child abuse and immunization laws, though a large percentage of unvaccinated individuals increases risk of the disease to the community at large.14Be sure you know the laws of your state and the policies of your institution, including the definition of “minor.” Remember, treating a child in a non-emergency situation without parental permission makes you and your organization liable to a suit. Document well, quoting when -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Page 5 possible. Describe mental status to ensure that the parent making the decision is mentally competent. If a physician is not present, try to detain the patient until the provider arrives.17Except for refusal of ambulance transportation,18the physician is ultimately responsible for providing the data for informed consent or refusal of care. However, you must speak up if you believe the patient doesn’t understand or is being coerced. Explore not only the risks of refusing medical care, but also the implications, from the patient’s viewpoint, of accepting it. Offer options as accurately as you can, but do not expect argument to triumph over matters of faith.17 Evaluate patient and family actions within the context of their religious community. Is pressure being applied by other members? If so, what are the consequences to the patient and family? The patient may or may not choose to share information with fellow church members, but staff must maintain strict confidentiality at all times.19Try to build trust, engage with the patient and community, rather than setting up an adversarial relationship. Keep lines of communication open, and avoid assumptions about any one person or faith. Doctrinal positions can change over time,20and people can, too. If the situation allows time, keep creatively searching for the middle ground. It may turn out that refusal of care varies with the circumstances. In one case, for example, the members of a religious group opposing vaccinations became willing to be immunized once they realized their refusal increased the risk to the community at large.14To deal with future problems, contingency planning can be helpful, especially when based on actual experience. Hypothetical situations that at first seem fairly straightforward become, in reality, complex dilemmas involving an ever-widening number of participants. In one instance, a teenager who refused a needed treatment out of loyalty to his religion also made it clear he didn’t want to die. Opinions polarized as staff tried to resolve the issues of professional responsibility, respect for religious belief, and age of consent. In retrospect, they realized they failed to anticipate their own role confusion, to consider the underlying social issues, and to communicate with patient and family. Ultimately, this situation was resolved by a persevering physician who couched the teen’s choices in such a way that he could be both religiously loyal and medically safe.21A Potentially Dangerous Group A nurse working at a rural regional health center is worried about a small group outside of town. They dress in long black robes, keep to themselves, and are rumored to be stockpiling weapons. When someone’s cat disappears, talk turns to satanic ritual abuse, and fear grips the town. Is this a dangerous cult, or is it an innocent group suffering from fear-induced prejudice?To identify potentially dangerous groups, the Ontario Center for Religious Tolerance suggests the following additions to the earlier list of cult characteristics: 1. The belief system is intensely focused on the impending end of the world and the group’s elite role in the event. 2. The leader dominates the members, closely controlling them physically, sexually, and emotionally. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Page 6 3. Contact with nonbelievers is severely restricted. Members demonstrate extreme paranoia, believing they are closely monitored and in danger of persecution by the government or outsiders. 4. Members may violate serious laws and justify antisocial acts that further their cause (probably the most dangerous sign). 5. Group leaders stockpile firearms, poisons, or weapons of mass destruction.22Again, these criteria must be applied with caution. For example, apocalyptic theology is part of many mainstream religions; however, the congregations do not stockpile weapons to launch Armageddon. There is no question that, though rare, dangerous groups exist, both known and unknown. Many groups making headlines over the past three decades are still in existence. The UFO cult Heaven’s Gate and David Koresh’s Branch Davidians reportedly have a handful of remaining loyal members, despite the death of their peers. Aum Shinri Kyo (known for releasing sarin gas in the Tokyo subway in 1995) and the Solar Temple (murders and suicides in Europe and Canada, 1994, 1995, and 1997) may still have as many as 500 members each. Membership in potentially violent racist groups and militias probably exceeds 50,000.23Our concern lies in the extent to which human rights abuses can and do occur by and within these potentially dangerous groups. But a response based on rumor rather than fact can risk the same abuses it purports to eliminate. Violence is committed against people in cults as well as by them.24As professionals educated in human behavior, nurses have a responsibility to support rational decision-making and legal response in the face of rumor and panic. Though our vignette presents some troubling issues, it clearly does not offer any hard data to make a judgment. Take, for instance, the fear of satanism. Satanic cults do exist, but no claims of satanic ritual abuse have ever been proven despite intensive investigation by the FBI and other authorities.25Talk-show hosts over the past 20 years have done much to heighten American belief in satanic activity, most notably Geraldo Rivera, who publicly recanted and apologized for this in 1995.26 In addition to several excellent online sources of information, you can contact organizations that both track potentially dangerous groups and value religious and political tolerance. The Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, AL, is one. Websites noted in the online version of this article are others. Law enforcement authorities can investigate weapon offenses and reports of illegal activity. In the event of violence involving any group, we are ethically committed to provide care to all, regardless of their value system.27Helping the Cult Victim Concerned families and friends of current cult members should educate themselves about specific groups and cult involvement in general. They need to keep the lines of communication open with the member, treading lightly when discussing his or her group and creating a safe, nonjudgmental place he or she can go to when ready.28Nurses should similarly educate themselves and tread lightly. No one is likely to admit to belonging to a cult; however, the sameperson might confess to lifestyle habits that call for further questioning. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Page 7 Social worker Livia Bardin in Coping With Cult Involvement lists concrete steps to evaluate the cult and its effect on the member as well, as resources to use in managing the situation.29The coercive “rescue” technique called deprogramming has been abandoned in favor of a less traumatic, voluntary educational approach called exit counseling. Steve Hassan, former cult member turned mental health counselor, describes his own non-coercive approach in his book, Releasing the Bonds.30No matter how people leave a cult, they will probably need assistance in dealing with feelings, future plans, and reentry to society. In addition to the psychological care of individual and group therapy, as well as exit counseling, they might require medical and dental care, nutrition and rest, education, job counseling, legal and financial aid, and spiritual help. They often need housing, material help with anything from new clothes to furniture, and a new social network. Service needs depend on when their lives were interrupted and what they did before joining.31People should choose a therapist familiar with cult experiences. Many therapists aren’t trained to recognize signs of post-cult trauma and may misinterpret certain behaviors. If the cult is religious, spiritual counseling is indicated. Wellspring Retreat and Resource Center is a residential rehabilitation center that focuses on cult recovery. Its staff offers spiritual counseling if the client requests it. Wellspring’s website provides information about spiritual and other cult-related concerns.32As with any abusive situation, victims need to be heard, not judged. Listen empathetically, and then try to connect them with professional helpers. Therapists at Wellspring stress the importance of a trusting and nonjudgmental relationship. Cultic involvement is intensely personal, and so is the therapy. Clients need to understand that the ideals that brought them into the group, like serving God or humanity, can be fulfilled in other contexts. They need to regain belief in self and see the world as meaningful and themselves as a positive part of the world.33 Respect for a patient’s beliefs can be controversial when a cult is involved.34When healthcare conflicts with beliefs, you may find yourself unable to reconcile the demands of the situation. The American Nurses Association Code of Ethics27directs us to consider a person’s lifestyle, value system, and religious beliefs as we promote and restore health, prevent illness, alleviate suffering, and give supportive care to the dying. We support self-determination, and we also realize that sometimes public health needs may outweigh individual rights. As we resolve conflicting interests, we must try to ensure patient safety, guard the patients’ best interests, and preserve our professional integrity as nurses. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Anne Tapper, RN, MA, MSN, is a therapist/case manager at the Opioid Treatment Program, Philadelphia Veterans Administration Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- References -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Page 8 1. Aranoff J, Lynn SJ, Malinoski P. Are cultic environments psychologically harmful? Clin Psychol Rev. 2000;20(1):91-111. 2. Langone M. Cults: Questions and answers. Available at: www.csj.org/studyindex/studycult/cultqa.htm. Accessed May 24, 2002. 3. Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance. The anti-cult movement (a.k.a. ACM). Available at: www.religioustolerance.org/acm.htm. Accessed May 24, 2002. 4. Singer MT, Temerlin MK, Langone MD. Psychotherapy cults. Cult Stud J. 1990;7:100-125. 5. Dickerson T. People’s Temple (Jonestown) Religious Movements Homepage. 1998. Available at: http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia. edu/nrms/Jonestwn.html. Accessed May 24, 2002. 6. Martin P. Toxic faith or thought reform, Part 1. Wall Street J. Available at: http://wellspringretreat.org/html/journal/...er_1999_8-2.htm. Accessed May 12, 2002. 7. Mega LT, Mega JL, Mega BT, Harris BM. Brainwashing and battering fatigue. Psychological abuse in domestic violence. N C Med J. 2000;61(5):260-265. 8. Rhoads K. Working psychology: ethics of influence. Available at: www.workingpsychology.com/ethics2.html. Accessed May 24, 2002. 9. Sagarin B. Cult influence tactics. Working Psychology: Introduction to Influence. 1997. Available at: www.workingpsychology.com/cultdef.html. Accessed May 24, 2002. 10. Chambers WV, Langone MD, Malinoski P. The group psychological abuse scale. Presented to Division 36 of the American Psychological Association Annual Meeting, Toronto, Canada, August 12, 1996. Available at: www.csj.org/studyindex/studyresearch/study_gpa.htm. Accessed May 24, 2002. 11. Martin P. Director, Wellspring Retreat and Resource Center. Telephone communication June 1, 2001. 12. Why is Scientology opposed to psychiatric abuse? Available at: http://faq.scientology.org/page24.htm. Accessed May 24, 2002. 13. Asser SM, Swan R. Child fatalities from religion-motivated medical neglect. Pediatr. 1998;101:625-629. 14 Hinman AR. How should physicians and nurses deal with people who do not want immunizations? Can J Public Health. 2000;91(4):248-251. 15. Dickinson ML, Weinstein KR. Immunity from criminal prosecution for parents who withhold medically necessary treatment from children on religious grounds. Health Care Law Newsl. 1995;10(5):8-12. 16. Schneider CE. Justification by faith. Hastings Center Rep. 1999;29(1):24-25. 17 Shea MA. When a patient refuses treatment. RN. 1996;59(7):51-51,54. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Page 9 18. Adams J. Respecting the right to be wrong. Acad Emerg Med. 1998;5:753-755. 19. Muramoto O. Bioethics of the refusal of blood by Jehovah’s Witnesses: part 3. A proposal for a don’t-ask-don’t-tell policy. J Med Ethics. 1999;25:463-468. 20. Muramoto O. Bioethical aspects of the recent changes in the policy of refusal of blood by Jehovah’s Witnesses. BMJ. 2001;322:37-38. 21. Lawry K, Slomka J, Goldfarb J. What went wrong: multiple perspectives on an adolescent’s decision to refuse blood transfusions. Clin Pediatr(Phila). 1996;35:317-321. 22. Lewis JR. Safe sects: early warning signs of “bad religions.” Available at: www.religioustolerance.org/safe_sec.htm. Accessed May 31, 2002. 23. Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance. Doomsday, destructive religious cults. Available at: www.religioustolerance.org/destruct.htm. Accessed May 31, 2002. 24. Institute for the Study of American Religion. The anti-cult movement. Available at: www.americanreligion.org/cultwtch/anticult.html. Accessed May 31, 2002. 25. Lanning KV. Investigator’s guide to allegations of ritual child abuse. Available at: www.religioustolerance.org/ra_rep03.htm#fbi. Accessed May 31, 2002. 26. Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance. Geraldo Rivera’s influence on the satanic ritual abuse and recovered memory hoaxes. Available at: www.religioustolerance.org/geraldo.htm.Accessed May 31, 2002. 27. The Center for Ethics and Human Rights. Code of ethics for nurses, working draft #10A. Rev. March 2001. Available at: www.nursingworld.org/ethics/chcode10.htm. Accessed June 19, 2002. 28. Pile L. The next step. Available at: www.wellspringretreat.org. Accessed May 31, 2002. 29. Bardin L. Coping With Cult Involvement: A Handbook for Families & Friends. Bonita Springs, FL: American Family Foundation; 2000. 30. Hassan S. Releasing the Bonds: Empowering People to Think for Themselves. Danbury, CT: Aitan Publishing; 2000. 31. West LJ, Martin PR. Pseudo-identity and the treatment of personality change in victims of captivity and cults. Available at: http://wellspringretreat.org/html/journal/...er_1997_7-3.htm. Accessed June 14, 2002. 32. Martin P. Dispelling the myths. Available at: http://wellspringretreat.org. Accessed May 31, 2002. 33. Martin P. Toxic faith or thought reform, part 2. Available at: http://wellspringretreat.org/html/journal/...er_2000_9-1.htm. Accessed May 12, 2002. 34. Post SG. Psychiatry and ethics: the problematics of respect for religious meanings. Cult Med Psychiatry. 1993;17:363-83.

The leader of the Jonestown cult, the Rev. Jim Jones, preached racial equality and integration, and led programs to help drug addicts and the elderly after moving his People’s Temple Full Gospel Church from Indianapolis, Ind., to San Francisco, Calif., in 1970. His work, and his commanding presence, drew followers, and some powerful political allies, but there were also whispers about abuse, threats and fraud at his temple. When a magazine published an expos� about the temple, Jones and his followers packed up in 1978 and moved to the jungles of Guyana in South America. Grace Stoen, a former member of the People’s Temple, said she and others who had separated from the group tried to get involved in what they suspected was happening in Jonestown, Guyana. “We were trying to let the government know that people were being held against their will,” Stoen said One man who listened to Stoen’s warnings, California Congressman Leo Ryan, opened an inquiry into allegations of torture and sexual abuse within the People’s Temple. In November of 1978, Ryan, concerned family members, a small team of reporters and congressional aide Jackie Speier headed to Jonestown. Speier said she expected they would make some troubling discoveries, but she never expected they would be in immediate danger. “He [Ryan] knew that I had fears and concerns about the trip. I thought we were moving too quickly.” Once at the camp, TV reporter Don Harris was handed desperate messages from Jones’ followers begging for help. Jones told Harris that the messages meant nothing to him. “People play games, friend. They lie. They lie. What can I do about lies? Will you people leave us? I just beg you please leave us,” Jones said to Harris. Ryan’s group took rising tensions at Jonestown as an indication that they should head back to the United States while they could. But the congressman’s group and some escaping cult members were ambushed by Jones’ gunmen at the airstrip they planned to depart from. “They came among us and shot us at point blank range, and then they left,” Speier said. “You could see bodies kind of lying all over. And when no one’s moving, you know,” she said. Five people, including Ryan,were killed in the ambush. Shortly after the attack, Jones gathered everyone around a large vat filled with a grape-flavored drink and cyanide. Then he proceeded to film the largest mass suicide to be recorded in modern history. Almost all of the members of the People’s Temple had been poisoned, nearly a third of them were children. Those who resisted were forced to take the poison by armed guards. In the end, Stoen’s warnings and Ryan’s trip didn’t help most members of the People’s Temple. Stoen ended up losing her son, John, in the massacre and Jones taught the world a lesson about the power a single hypnotic leader can have over his people Jones was found shot in the head with the bodies of his flock lying around him. It’s not clear who fired the shot that killed Jones. Jonestown Memorial Minister Jynona Norwood, who lost 27 relatives in the mass suicide, leads today’s ceremonies in Oakland. Norwood is campaigning to build a wall commemorating the victims, saying it’s up to the living to speak for the dead. The mass grave is now only marked by a modest headstone and Norwood says she believes a more substantive memorial should be placed at the burial site.

from texasmonthlymagazine.com“‘FLAMES AWAIT.’” Hoping to make life so uncomfortable for the Davidians that they would have to leave the compound, the Hostage Rescue Team—against the wishes of negotiators—was allowed to begin engaging in psychological operations. Defense attorney Dick DeGuerin, whom Koresh’s mother had asked to represent her son, was allowed past the perimeter and into Mount Carmel in hopes that he could broker a surrender plan. The decision—to allow a defense attorney into an unsecured crime scene where federal agents had been killed—was unprecedented. Inside the building, conditions were deteriorating. Doyle Toward the end of March, they started trying to disrupt our sleep. They shone bright lights into the building all night long and blasted stuff over the loudspeakers: reveille, Tibetan monks chanting, Nancy Sinatra singing “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’,” even some Christmas carols. They slowed songs down and then sped them up so they sounded distorted. They played telephones ringing and babies crying and rabbits being slaughtered. Once, they made a recording of a helicopter that had been buzzing the building the day before. They played that over and over, and I kept instinctively flinching and ducking my head down, even though I knew the helicopter wasn’t actually there. Ray There we were, out on that rolling prairie, surrounded by farms that had been handed down from generation to generation. There were cows and horses and swing sets in people’s backyards and little red wagons out on front porches. And then there were these gigantic spotlights and these speakers blaring and these armored personnel carriers barreling around this pastoral setting. I’ll tell you, it was completely surreal. Noesner The Davidians believed in a confrontation between good and evil, and of course Koresh and his followers’ interpretation was that they represented the righteous and the good and that the authorities were agents of evil. They looked at themselves as martyrs. Thibodeau Scripture talks about how, in the latter days, the Beast will war against the people of God and destroy them—or, basically, exactly what was happening to us. Everything that David had been teaching us was actually taking place. It did seem like prophecy was being fulfilled. Doyle We had hardly any water for bathing, and we were all getting pretty rank. We had to use five-gallon buckets to dispose of our waste because we couldn’t go outside to our outhouses. I was getting one, maybe two hours of sleep a night. Thibodeau If I had been on the outside while this was going on, I would have been the first person to say, “These people are nuts, man! What are they doing staying in there? It’s time to come on out.” But having been there, I can’t say that. I challenge any American family to think about what they would do if they were invaded by a hostile force. If tanks pulled up outside their house and there were armed men inside, would they send their kids out? A lot of Americans would fight that to the end. Sage We pleaded with them every single day, for 51 days. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, they had the option of coming out. And they never did

Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. -- After fielding more than 1,500 telephone calls from anguished relatives across the country in the last 24 hours, investigators said Friday that they had identified 30 of the 39 members of a millenarian cult who had committed mass suicide in a hillside mansion here. Officials of the San Diego County Sheriff's Office released the names to the public Friday evening and pleaded for help in identifying the remaining nine bodies. At the same time, investigators revealed that about a half-dozen of the 18 male members of the cult who died had been surgically castrated, including Marshall Herff Applewhite, the 65-year-old leader of the group whose body was also found among the dead. The group demanded celibacy of its members and avoided any suggestion of sensuality. Speaking at an afternoon press conference, Brian Blackbourne, the chief medical examiner, said the castrations appeared to have been done sometime well in the past and had been carried out with satisfactory surgical skill. He offered no other details or explanations of the finding. The bodies of the group, identified by the authorities as Heaven's Gate, were discovered in the mansion Wednesday, scattered on their backs on cots and mattresses. All but two had purple cloths over their heads and shoulders like shrouds. Most of them died of suffocation. Plastic bags had apparently been placed over their heads after they had ingested a potent mix of phenobarbitol and alcohol. According to material the group posted on its Internet site, the timing of the mass suicide was probably related to the arrival of the Hale-Bopp Comet, which members seemed to regard as a cosmic emissary beckoning them to another world. As the authorities went about the sad task of notifying and talking with relatives of the victims Friday, a farewell videotape made by the cult members suggested that they had gone to their deaths quite willingly, some even joyfully. "We couldn't be happier about what we're going to do," one woman said, her voice choking a bit but her face anything but sad. Another woman, smiling, added, "We are all happy to be doing what we are doing." A toll-free number set up by the police led many relatives to call in, already suspecting the worst because, in many cases, their loved ones had been away or out of contact for months or even years. Other relatives called in after excerpts of the tape, in which pairs of cult members spoke, one after another, were broadcast over national television. "Most of the families are breaking down when we talk to them," said Calvin Vine, an investigator from the San Diego County Medical Examiners Office. By contrast, there was a tear or two on the farewell tape, but they seemed almost tears of joy. The authorities said that while they were dealing with a mass suicide almost without parallel in the United States, it nevertheless appeared to be nothing more than that, with no suspicious criminal elements. "We are proceeding with the preliminary conclusion that what we are looking at is, in fact, 39 suicides," said one investigator, Jack Drown, a San Diego County undersheriff. He conceded, however, that it might never be known just what kind of cult mindset had led the members of the group, known as Heaven's Gate, to shut themselves up in a rented palatial house and then consume lethal combinations of vodka and phenobarbitol. To that point, the group had lived quietly, almost unnoticed in this upscale community, with members spending much of their time designing computer programs for various commercial clients. "I'm not too sure we will ever have satisfactory answers," Drown said. Investigators also disclosed Friday that the cult, which had a nomadic history in this country, might have been planning a trip of some sort abroad. They said that while checking the house, they had found a map plastered to a wall with markings that indicated the course of an overseas journey. The investigators did not elaborate. The farewell tape, broadcast by ABC television, was especially strikingly for its upbeat tone, considering what lay ahead for those speaking and peering into the camera. On it, one cult member -- none identified themselves -- said his death would bring him "just the happiest day of my life." "I've been looking forward for this for so long," he added. A woman who appeared to be in her 20s looked intently into the camera and said, grinning broadly, "We are all choosing of our own free will to go to the next level." Another woman said, "We just wish you could all be here and doing what we are doing." The tone of that farewell tape, made with the cult members sitting in pairs on chairs placed outside in a setting of trees and bushes, was similar to the tone of another tape found after the 39 bodies were discovered, with men and women alike dressed all in black, their hair closely cropped and their faces covered by diamond-shaped purple cloths. On the second tape, Applewhite attempted to explain why he and the others were about to take their lives. He said that human bodies were just temporary earthly parking places for the soul and that suicide would free the soul to make a rendezvous on a higher plane of existence with an Unidentified Flying Object that is trailing the Hale-Bopp Comet, currently on a swing past Earth. "We have no hesitation to leave this place, to leave the bodies that we have," he concluded. As of late Friday, the coroners had completed 21 of the autopsies, and medical examiners said they were prepared to release some bodies to relatives as early as this weekend. Relatives were being told that they did not need to come to San Diego to claim their loved ones but could instead have mortuaries arrange shipments. While the cult members may have taken many of their secrets to the grave, the authorities said Friday that they were confident the people who died here were the only active members of the group. "We have been told that this is not a splinter group," said Jerry Lipscomb, a San Diego County homicide detective. "We see no other tie. They are not a splinter group. They are not a group that controls any other." Also Friday, the authorities provided further details of the elaborate planning that went into the suicides. Blackbourne described one document, found by detectives, that was titled "The Routine." It outlined how the cult members were to go about killing themselves. First, it said, 15 of the 39 cult members, called "classmates," would kill themselves with help from 8 "assistants." Then 15 more "classmates" and 8 more "assistants" would repeat the process. It was unclear how the final 9 cult members were to go about killing themselves. To bring on death, the cult members were to ingest, in order, a dosage of Dramamine, followed by "tea & toast," followed an hour later by "alco. & med." When the bodies of the cult members were searched, Blackbourne said, the pockets of their matching black tunics were found to contain a collection of odd items -- $5 bills, rolls of quarters, tubes of lip balm, pencils and ballpoint pens, and facial tissue. Beside each body was a travel bag. But Blackbourne said he had not been told what the bags contained.

the word never returns void . But, it was not taught truthfully in TWI,so.........................lots of rewinding and lots of wasted time,i don't regret searching for answers, i do regret the obstacle course twi tooks us all through,and the people it damaged and the hurt it caused people that were looking for TRUTH

Tex & Mex: Want a secret fajita ingredient? Try tequila Web Posted: 03/25/2008 11:48 AM CDT Bonnie Walker Express-News Staff Writer Fajitas: who says they need improvement? Not I. But a splash of a secret ingredient might not hurt. Recipe • Tequila-spiked fajitas Few dishes say "San Antonio" more strongly than a sizzling platter of fajitas and a side of homemade pico de gallo. My homemade version uses fresh lime juice, salt, pepper and perhaps some slices of fresh garlic in the marinade. We toss the whole skirt steak on a hot grill, then enjoy the aroma while standing by with our cold beer. When the meat is cooked, we slice it into strips as quickly as we can and serve them on soft, fresh flour tortillas. I have to admit I've never understood the attraction of the grilled green bell peppers on a Tex-Mex dish, any more than I can understand it when I order a chile relleno and get a stuffed bell pepper. (Yes, it happens, right here in River City.) Poblanos and jalapeños softened on the grill, along with onions, is an adaptation that I enjoy more. (But I don't plan to invite defeat by launching a crusade to change the unchangeable in San Antonio.) If fajitas are the signature dish among our local Tex-Mex restaurants, tequila has to be the signature drink, even if we only counted the number of margaritas sold here. Which brings us to our secret ingredient. If you want your beer and your tequila, too, while maintaining a dignified sobriety, I suggest adding a dash or two of tequila to the marinade for your skirt steak. The proper response right about now should be "yum-yum." Think of the mellow depth of flavor a reposado or gold tequila might add to the flavorful cut of meat. Author and herbalist Lucinda Hutson is one cook who loves to use the popular Mexican libation in cooking and promises it will hold up well to the flavors of most any food. Finally, we all know that pico de gallo is the perfect accompaniment to fajitas. Try tossing a dash of tequila in there, too, if you're serving only to adults. In this case, a silver tequila might be suggested for bringing out the fruity flavors of the tomatoes and peppers. A nice, straight shot of that reposado can be the reward to the guest who figures out your secret ingredient. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------