many of you know that i survived a cult of 13 yrs and an abusive marriage of 25 yrs. the two were closely linked. when i hear of other people who have been through similar experiences, — well it angers me among other emotions!! Ones who stand behind God to manipulate, control, and hurt others are a special kind of evil. taking something that is pure- ie. God and turning Him into your weapon of choice hits it’s target in a vulnerable spot that can leave them staggering. Now most of you reading this would probably think that this would never happen to you. I thought the same. I am an intelligent woman. the people i know that were in this cult are intelligent, capable human beings. my one friend described it like this;  when you place a frog (me) in a pot of cold water and turn on the heat– well the frog doesn’t normally jump out even though it may get to a boiling point.  the frog didn’t notice because it happened GRADUALLY. this is how it happens in a cult. they start out with small things and mostly right things as well and then little by little they work on you.  FEAR is their number one tactic behind this. if they can take people who are seeking to better themselves or serve God or whatever reason someone may find themselves in a susceptible state of mind and then use this as their way in to someone’s soul–they will do it. I have studied other cults and it doesn’t matter what their particular message is, the result is all the same. Control people. Control them through fear. Dig into their perceived weakness and turn the knife. Over a period of time and usually with isolation from others, the person begins to think that if they leave, then they are damned. Some may scoff at this; but i tell you it is REAL.  the leaders of the cult i was in and my then husband used fear to control me constantly. the fear of hell, the fear of losing my children, the fear of being alone, and the fear of losing my mind were all a reality to me. every minute detail is put under a microscope for them to pick apart………….. ok………… i always find that i can only write about this subject for a certain amount of time until it affects me too much. so i will continue another time. (please note that i realize that i do not capitalize when i write; it is pure laziness on my part and maybe a bit of rebellion ;/)