Following a "Prophet" : A personal Testimony.

In an attempt to relate my cultic experience, I'll begin by describing my pre-cult frame of mind.

I was an extremist, highly idealistic, a black and white thinker, a dreamer, etc…I perceived society as an incomplete and dysfunctional product of man. In many ways I still do, but that's beside the point. The point is that I was a vulnerable youth looking for answers.

I was a student at Santa Barbara City College. I had a hard time taking school seriously. I thought there were "answers" to be found elsewhere. It was only a matter of time until I would run into the wrong influence.

I met him in a park. He was an older man who was equally dissatisfied with a society of fallen men. He carried a Bible, called himself a Prophet, and spouted words of wisdom to those who were willing to listen. He berated those who disagreed with him, and befriended those who didn't question his theology. As a general rule, he was surrounded by vulnerable youths who knew no better. I myself had a simple faith in God, and periodically read the Bible. Nevertheless, I had little knowledge concerning the fundamental principals of the Bible. This made me very vulnerable and receptive to his interpretation. I was deeply impressed by his front of stability. He lived on the street, free and careless, ate out of garbage cans, (if he had to), and basically answered to no one, including himself much less God.

In a matter of weeks, I had dropped out of school, moved out to the beach, and embarked on what would be nine solid months of hell!

I want to acknowledge the fact that man has performed atrocities in the name of God throughout history. Nevertheless, this has no bearing on the character of God, it rather solidifies the concept that man has fallen, and continues in fallen ways.

Anyway, within a few months I became indoctrinated with his twisted understanding of how to relate the teachings of the Bible to real life, and I was slowly loosing the ability to think for myself. I took on his, "us/them" mentality, and disconnected myself with family and friends. I began to perceive any concern from loved ones as a source of opposition. I met their concern with stern defensiveness protecting the validity of this man and his teachings.

This phenomenon of what is known as mind control can be described by an experiment someone did using a frog. If a frog is placed in a pot of boiling water, it will jump out. It that same frog is placed in warm water as the heat is gradually increased, it will remain in the pot till it boils to death. The point is, is that we can rarely sense destruction when it builds gradually.

Encountering opposition at the beach, we got in a car and traveled 7,000 miles, from one end of the country to the other. East to west, as well as north to south. The day's were grueling. Through this man's constant anger and criticism, I had further lost the ability to think, feel, and believe that I had the ability, much less the right to make a decision. I became utterly dependent on him.

I was constantly on the verge of what I considered to be, either a spiritual breakthrough, or a nervous breakdown. The reasons being that I had been constantly reminded of the severity of God upon those who were disobedient. At the same time he would tell me of rewards given to those who walked, "the road less traveled." I began to think that everything he said was directly from God. If I were to defy him, I would be in defiance of God. I interpreted my misery as what had to be endured by those who wanted to please God.

We ended up in Chicago and lived with an old friend he knew 12 years ago. After a few months in the apartment, I was no longer stable enough to bear the weight of this man's neurosis. I had become so dependent, my dependency turned burdensome to him. Ironic! To alleviate me from his presence, he suggested that God might want me to go out into the streets of Chicago during the coldest month of the year. Unquestioning, and penniless, I would walk for hours, sometimes all through the night just to keep from freezing to death. There was two feet of snow on the ground, and a wind chill factor of below zero.

After 8 days of this reality, my parents and brother had flown from Los Angeles to Chicaog after discovering my whereabouts from a detective agency. They interceded, and with an exit counselor drove me to an isolated cabin where we remained for one week. During this time, I learned about techniques of mind control and how they applied to my situation. The "Prophet" turned out to be a sociopath. I awoke from the state of mind control after six days of rigorous deprogramming sessions.

In conclusion, those who consider themselves immune to mind control, are the most vulnerable. My hope is that society will pay more attention to this phenomenon as a result of crises such as the event in Waco Texas. Educate yourselves, and above all, don't blame God for man's fallen ways.

There are some 2,500 known cults in the U.S. and they are on all college campuses, street corners, banks etc. trying to recruit YOU!