Dr. Robert J. Lifton's Eight Criteria for Thought Reform(aka mind control)

[brad]

When I left the lc's, one of the things that was helpful for me to articulate the feeling of angst that I often had within the group was Lifton's criterion for mind control. I realized my experience was more or less described by these 8 points, which are pretty self-evidently demonic and realized that, while there was clearly a form of godliness that I was experiencing, there was too much scary, communist-style demonic manipulation happening for me to feel like my soul was in a safe place

James 3:15+
"Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by his good conduct that his deeds are done in gentleness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, don’t boast and don’t lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, sensual, and demonic.For where jealousy and selfish ambition are, there is confusion and every evil deed. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceful, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace."

I may share my story in more detail in a future thread and unearth some of the prior research/quotes I have that helped for the sake of other who find this forum, but more or less this was one of the verses that made a big difference too:

1 Tim 3:8
Servants, in the same way, must be reverent, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for money;

The responses that I got to questions, like "what is LSM?" elicited some double-tongued answers that came from a place of having their allegiances divided between the lord and telling the truth [lsm is the headquarters, runs trainings, handles lawsuits, orchestrates the excommunicates of brothers (titus chu, the bro in brazil) from their own churches in other countries for doing exactly what they do (publish christian writings... jealousy?) of their denomination] and "the ministry" and telling the misrepresentation of the truth [it is just a publisher and they are not a denomination]

Anyway, realizing that their modus operandi seemed to fall neatly in line with classic mind control and that this culture was widespread, across the board, even in my quaint little locality I couldn't build my spiritual community there.

I pray that those reading these criteria would have their eyes open to the truth and realize there are SO many legitimate brothers and sisters out there who are not in love with the world to fellowship and earnestly pray to find them.

Taken from http://www.csj.org/studyindex/studym...ctr_lifton.htm

• Milieu Control. This involves the control of information and communication both within the environment and, ultimately, within the individual, resulting in a significant degree of isolation from society at large. constant meetings, pressure to go to more trainings, etc and spend more of your week 'in the flow/body' "one publication"
  
• Mystical Manipulation. There is manipulation of experiences that appear spontaneous but in fact were planned and orchestrated by the group or its leaders in order to demonstrate divine authority or spiritual advancement or some special gift or talent that will then allow the leader to reinterpret events, scripture, and experiences as he or she wishes.
  
• Demand for Purity. The world is viewed as black and white and the members are constantly exhorted to conform to the ideology of the group and strive for perfection. The induction of guilt and/or shame is a powerful control device used here. the lc's+lord's recovery vs the 'denominations/babylon.' they basically decide which people fall into which camp in history (plymouth brethrem, count Z, andrew murray, lee, nee fell in the good camp... today basically everyone else is in the divisions)
  
• Confession. Sins, as defined by the group, are to be confessed either to a personal monitor or publicly to the group. There is no confidentiality; members' "sins," "attitudes," and "faults" are discussed and exploited by the leaders. the cardinal sin is challenging 'the ministry.' have heard many stories of people with honest questions based on the bible getting called out in public and excommuncated.
  
• Sacred Science. The group's doctrine or ideology is considered to be the ultimate Truth, beyond all questioning or dispute. Truth is not to be found outside the group. The leader, as the spokesperson for God or for all humanity, is likewise above criticism. no need for comment here
  
• Loading the Language. The group interprets or uses words and phrases in new ways so that often the outside world does not understand. This jargon consists of thought-terminating clichés, which serve to alter members' thought processes to conform to the group's way of thinking. you "just need to do xyz... you're living in your mind, etc... this is a perfect framework for demonizing people who use their minds to realize something is wrong"...
  
• Doctrine over person. Member's personal experiences are subordinated to the sacred science and any contrary experiences must be denied or reinterpreted to fit the ideology of the group. not much to say here other that it's consistent with the culture
  
• Dispensing of existence. The group has the prerogative to decide who has the right to exist and who does not. This is usually not literal but means that those in the outside world are not saved, unenlightened, unconscious and they must be converted to the group's ideology. If they do not join the group or are critical of the group, then they must be rejected by the members. Thus, the outside world loses all credibility. In conjunction, should any member leave the group, he or she must be rejected also. (Lifton, 198 the long trail of bro/sisters who have been excommunicated have certainly experienced this...the lsm version of christian history also falls into this category
  

-Taylor