The unravelling of a cult

A former friend turned enemy after I left a cultic group in Columbia, SC in 2002 contacted me recently. She apologized for judging, opposing, fearing and speaking against me for leaving the group she was in.

She married a man inside the cult. In fact, all marriages that have occurred, have happened only inside the group. Can anyone say "red flags"?!!

So anyway, my friend is now married to one of the longest-time members of the group and he takes their children to the church while she's 7 weeks on the other side of leaving. She is facing fierce attack from the group now as the "outsider" that she has become.

When I left the group, they egged my house and car. I know... "big deal... other people get bombed or poisoned"... but still it shows you a bit about the "Christian love" of this group.

She's currently recovering in a healthier church where they don't operate with the hyper-authoritarian rules of the cult. It took her a lot of courage to contact me because of what the group teaches its members about me (that I'm the Judas that Satan entered to dismantle, destroy and bring disunity to the brethren).

Anyway, I have been so amazed by this woman's strength to leave this group who's leader has as history calling on members to divorce their spouse when they opposed him and his flock.

Her story is so amazingly similar to my own and the reasons I had to leave the group. She's still detoxing and has some of the friends around her now who I think will help her recover. But living with a man more committed to the leader than to her (and who has already likely been asked to divorce her for the sake of his eternal soul) has *got* to be incredibly painful.

If you have the strength, please pray for her. Let's call her Gina. She's going through some incredible pull right now to return to them and the pull has got to be incredible after being on the inside for 5 years. I was only there for 6 months and I was so tempted to return after I left.

God bless you, Gina. God truly bless you. This is only the beginning, hun! :)

In case you're curious why I believe this group to be cultic, consider the fact that in 6 months, I observed 14 of 15 of these characteristics going on.