To anyone who's interested in reading this- I thought it cleared up some questions I had about WL's mindset.
I'm kind of a psychology junkie so I find this fascinating whether related to the LC or not.
I've read a little bit about thought reform tactics and coercive persuasion tactics, Totalism, and other tactics used to create control and exploit.
From what I understand, "thought reform" as we know it now originated in China (or was used then) in the 40's and 50's by the communist government. There's all kinds of tactics from mild to extreme. It really bothered me to have to recognize that I see these implemented by WL and practiced. Whether or not you agree on the morality of using these methods- they were and are used. When I have more time I can go back and point out just the ones I saw. I'm sure most former members could look up Chinese thought reform and recognize it themselves as well.
So, the point is - they were/are used. I can't convince anyone on the morality of that and we have to decide that for ourselves. Maybe WL truly believed he was doing it for the "greater good" and that the saints would all be better off if he used the same methods used by the Chinese communist government on Christians. Maybe, maybe not.
There's little doubt, in my opinion, that this was not a well-thought out plan and strategy used by WL. His writings/teachings/arguments are full of totalism and the thought reform/coersive persuasion techniques. It's there- you can decided for yourself if it's wrong or not but it's at least mixing preaching the gospel with a method meant to manipulate and exploit. I do not doubt that WL was a very smart man, probably a genius.
For a few months, I've been trying to point these things out my family and friends in the church. Some are as shocked as me but others won't hear it. I've been realizing how hard it is for them to just "hear" another point of view because of these tactics used on them. I admit, I didn't want to hear anything negative about the church in the past. The fear of being "poisoned" is real! Also, because they associate their relationship with the Lord to the LC due to these tactics, it's an inevitable strong hold to block out reason and not listen to it. These tactics create a situation where their very existence and spirituality is threatened by the possibility that the Lord's Recovery isn't real and the local church has or always was a cult. I realized that they are very damaged by these methods. I'd be lying to myself if I said that I wasn't too. Most experts agree that these techniques are psychologically damaging. The biggest one I see that prevents them from seeing through it is disinhibition. This is where you reduce someone to a child-like state where they are unable to think critically or make decisions for themselves. I believe it's evil, but- how could WL use it and it not be? I feel like if I could just explain to my family these tactics then maybe they could see. I know it's not my job to do anything and I should just pray but I'm having a hard time accepting that it's all I can do.
I read a study on thought reform in China by Robert Lifton and came across a video of a speech he gave on a topic related to it. It's over the thought reform methods used in cults/governments in past/present and the effects they could have on our future and implications of that. I feel like knowledge is power (mental strength) and I don't even need to read anything attacking the LC. All I have to do is read and educate myself on what healthy/unhealthy practices are and I can just look at the LC and say, "Yep, that's wrong and it's damaging people."
The clip is REALLY good and I need to listen to it again. His audience is obviously an academic crowd so he doesn't always speak in layman's terms.
I felt like I recognized many of the techniques he talks about in the LC and wanted to share.
I know we all have our input to bring to the table and I'm less informed on theology and more prone to recognize the psychology/social aspects of a situation. By no means am I an expert though- I just like reading what the experts say and talking about it
Not ALL of this video relates to what I see in the LC but you'll be able to pick out for yourself.
I still want to learn about how to possibly bring this up to my family. I was thinking that if they could just educate themselves on these tactics and be able to spot them... that might help separate their relationship with the Lord from the LC. We really have all been programmed by WL.... I can't imagine being 40 plus years in the LC and realizing this.... at what point is it not worth the pain?
I definitely have more of a burden for the younger generation, just bc they have their whole lives ahead of them. But everyone needs to know.
How do people "de-program" though?? Can you help them? Should you?
Here's the link.....
https://archive.org/details/RobertJa...yTotalismCults