Showing titles in Cults

In the Shadow of Enlightenment is the gripping story of Carroll’s childhood inside the Osho Rajneesh cult—one of the most controversial spiritual movements of the 20th century. While in the commune, Sarito was submerged in a world where devotion and freedom clashed with manipulation, sexual misconduct, and neglect. This was the life she knew until the movement collapsed amid scandal and criminal charges in 1985, when sixteen-year-old Sarito was thrust into a society she knew little about.

In 1632, an entire convent in the small French village of Loudun was apparently possessed by the devil. After a sensational and celebrated trial, the convent's charismatic priest Urban Grandier - accused of spiritually and sexually seducing the nuns in his charge - was convicted of being in league with Satan. Then he was burned at the stake for witchcraft. A remarkable true story of religious and sexual obsession, The Devils of Loudun is considered by many to be Brave New World author Aldous Huxley's nonfiction masterpiece.

One-on-one with Satan. A chilling and highly convincing account of possession and exorcism in modern America, hailed by NBC Radio as "one of the most stirring books on the contemporary scene."

Scientology, created in 1954 by a prolific sci-fi writer named L. Ron Hubbard, claims to be the world's fastest-growing religion, with millions of members around the world and huge financial holdings. Its celebrity believers keep its profile high, and its teams of "volunteer ministers" offer aid at disaster sites such as Haiti and the World Trade Center. But Scientology is also a notably closed faith, harassing journalists and others through litigation and intimidation, even infiltrating the highest levels of government to further its goals.

When she was 18 years old, Carolyn Jessop was coerced into an arranged marriage with a total stranger - a man 32 years her senior. Merril Jessop already had three wives. But arranged plural marriages were an integral part of Carolyn's heritage: She was born into and raised in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS), the radical offshoot of the Mormon Church.

Right under the noses of neighbors, clients, spouses, children, and friends, a secret society, simply called School—a cult of snared Manhattan professionals—has been led by the charismatic, sociopathic, and dangerous leader Sharon Gans for decades. Spencer Schneider was recruited in the eighties, and he stayed for more than twenty-three years as his life disintegrated, his self-esteem eroded, and he lined the pockets of Gans and her cult.

The revealing and inspiring memoir of a woman forced into polygamous marriage in FLDS Church and her brave struggle to protect others from the same fate. Rebecca Musser grew up in fear, concealing her family's polygamous lifestyle from the "dangerous" outside world. Covered head-to-toe in strict, modest clothing, she received a rigorous education at Alta Academy, the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints' school headed by Warren Jeffs.

In the 1950s, a young Indianapolis minister named Jim Jones preached a curious blend of the gospel and Marxism. His congregation was racially mixed, and he was a leader in the early civil rights movement. Eventually, Jones moved his church, Peoples Temple, to northern California, where he got involved in electoral politics and became a prominent Bay Area leader. But underneath the surface lurked a terrible darkness.

In 1979, a fiery preacher named Jane Whaley attracted a small group of followers with a promise that she could turn their lives around. In the years since, Whaley’s following has expanded to include thousands of congregants across three continents. Based on hundreds of interviews, secretly recorded conversations, and thousands of pages of documents, Pulitzer Prize winner Mitch Weiss and Holbrook Mohr’s Broken Faith is a terrifying portrait life inside the Word of Faith Fellowship, and the harrowing account of one family who escaped after two decades.

A sparklingly strange odyssey through the kaleidoscope of America's new spirituality: the cults, practices, high priests, and prophets of our supposedly post-religion age.

In 1993, David Koresh and a band of heavily armed evangelical Christians took on the might of the US government. A two-month siege of their compound in Waco, Texas, ended in a firefight that killed seventy-six, including twenty-five children. America is still picking up the pieces, and we still haven't heard the full story.

In the middle of the Ozzie and Harriet 1950s, the birth control pill became available and a maverick psychoanalytic institute, the Sullivan Institute for Research in Psychoanalysis, opened its doors in New York City. Its founders wanted to start a revolution, one grounded in ideals of creative expression, sexual liberation, and freedom from societal norms, and the revolution needed to begin at home.

I have been an Occult researcher for 50 years, and have directly interacted with dozens of individuals experiencing demonic possession. Rather than attempting to exorcise them, I would sit down and have a drink with them, asking questions and letting them tell their side of the story. I remain friends with some of them, even was married to one for a decade. I learned more from those conversations than I could've ever learned from any book.

THE OLD AND NEW APOSTLES The movements known as the NEW APOSTOLIC CHURCH and the OLD APOSTOLIC CHURCH have no association with any other orthodox Christian organisation - Pentecostal or otherwise. The term "Apostolic" is used to emphasise the claim that they are a truly "Biblical" movement, headed and governed by "Apostles" as in New Testament times. As a point of interest, we shall note that they have a surprising likeness to Roman Catholicism in their church governmental system. Who are they? And what do they believe? the Old and New Apostles: What Do They Believe? compares the teaching ...

This book will explore the stories and role of demonic beings in different world cultures and religious traditions. Each chapter will detail dark creatures from all corners of the world and explore the symbolic meanings and cultural impact of these entities, showing how they reflect human fears, moral dilemmas, and spiritual beliefs. So what awaits you on this journey? Ancient Mesopotamian Demons Demonic Figures in Hindu Mythology Biblical Demons and Angels Demons in Islamic Texts Dark Creatures of Japanese Folklore Norse Mythology’s Dark Beings Dark Creatures in Slavic Mythology Spirits ...

Are you concerned about the doctrines of Jimmy Swaggart Ministries (JSM)? With respect to the Scripture and sensitivity to people, this book gives a detailed account of the history of JSM with an in-depth analysis of Swaggart's teachings. While this writing compares Swaggartism to biblical Christianity, this is not a treatise against Christians who follow Swaggart. Rather, it is written to help believers recognize that some of the doctrines espoused by Jimmy Swaggart may hinder a close walk with Jesus. Jimmy Swaggart was one of the most famous televangelists of the 1980s. He has made a ...

Join Moss Matthey as he recounts his uplifting journey from the confines of a fundamentalist Christian cult to an empowering Pagan coven. Weaving his lived experiences with a gentle introduction to Witchcraft, Moss explores what differentiates Paganism from cults and high-control religions, inviting you to shed oppressive spiritual experiences and find support.

In this colorful, eye-opening memoir, Jayanti Tamm offers an unforgettable glimpse into the hidden world of growing up cult in mainstream America. Through Jayanti's fascinating story, the first book to chronicle Sri Chinmoy, she unmasks a leader who convinces thousands of disciples to follow him, scores of nations to dedicate monuments to him, and throngs of celebrities (Sting, Pope John Paul II, Nelson Mandela) to extol him.

In the 12 fascinating lectures of Warping Reality: Inside the Psychology of Cults, you will learn about some of the most widely known cults of modern times. But unlike any standard news reporting or documentary about the Peoples Temple, The Manson “Family,” The Branch Davidians, Heaven’s Gate, Children of God, the Unification Church, and NXIVM, your expert, Dr. Wind Goodfriend, will help you explore the psychology of these cults. How could these cult leaders have committed such heinous crimes under the guise of “helping” members in their development?

Radhia’s personal story and comprehensive knowledge along with her authentic, and unfiltered humorous style presents a compelling portrayal of both the political and cultural dynamics of group-think and mind control. After 25 years of her adult life in a cult under the influence of a narcissistic sociopath, she sought to understand why she made the choices she made in her life, so she could better understand why others make their choices.