by A Wellspring Alum

With the Heaven’s Gate tragedy still so fresh in all of our minds certain questions seem to come up: What kind of person joins a cult? Why do they stay and put up with the abuse? How could anyone be so devoted that they would kill themselves? Can’t they see that what they are doing is crazy? Are they crazy?

I feel that I am in a unique position to address these questions as I spent 10 years with a communal cult. Yet, now being out for 11 years, I also can look at the horrors that happened at Rancho Sante Fe and ask, along with the rest of a stunned nation, “Why did they die like this?”

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Cults in America
by James R Lewis

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Since the early 1970s, alternative religious movements known as cults have been the focus of ever-increasing controversy in America. This reference handbook compares present-day cults to events in earlier American history, while primarily dealing with cults as a contemporary phenomenon. The key issue of mind control is covered in detail, as are deprogramming and the anti-cult movement. Overviews of the most controversial churches, and biographies of their leaders, are prominent features of this book. Legislative efforts and court decisions, particularly those surrounding the issue of religious liberty, are covered in detail. The volume features a directory of organizations in both the United States and Europe, a selected bibliography, print and nonprint resources, a chronology with the dates of religious events in American history, and coverage of events such as the Solar Temple and Heaven’s Gate incidents. Alamo Christian Foundation (Music Square Church) identified as a cult on pages 66 and 67 of the book.

Click on the picture below to view the pages 66 and 67 in the book.