Steve Martin has written a fascinating book, The Heresy of Mind Control, for those in the helping fields and for all of us who have been or are being traumatized and enslaved by an abusive person (pastor, therapist, priest, husband, boyfriend, doctor, lawyer, employer, etc…) or an abusive system/group (totalitarian government, terrorists, church, employment…). Eventually I will post on this when I have my notes completed. For now though, here is Steve’s outline he sent me. You may purchase his book at his website: www.recognizeheresy.com
Freedom
PS. There seems to be a problem with the formatting from the document Steve sent me to transferring it into this post. Please understand Steve had logical formatting and will tend to this little quirk when he has time. In the meantime, the info is there and one can learn more about his book by going to his site and better yet, by ordering it…
………………..
THE HERESY
of
MIND CONTROL
Recognizing Con Artists, Tyrants, and Spiritual Abusers
in Leadership
by
Stephen Martin
________________________________________________________________________
Introduction
Just Suppose
Taken in Unawares
What is a Cult?
Terrorist Groups, Cults, and Abusive Relationships
In Unexpected Places
The Meeting Ground of Psychology, Sociology, and Theology
The Focus of this book: characteristics, not certain groups
Format: summary and paraphrase of criteria, various examples, Scripture passages that address and oppose these cultic practices.
Chapter 1
Thinking Inside the Box
(Milieu Control)
The Need for Outside Input – Overcoming Hindrances
Cunning Disregard
Have Nothing to Do With Them
“Don’t Listen”
Overcome Closed-Mindedness
Chapter 2
Illusion to Disillusion
(Mystical Manipulation)
Visions and Revelations
Stories
Euphoria-inducing Techniques
Power and the sense of Higher Purpose
Misguided Devotion
Submitting to Abuse
Submitting to Exploitation
Chapter 3
Getting Nowhere Fast
(The Demand for Purity)
Amount of Work and Commitment
Amount of your Ability – Works vs. Grace
Attributing Sin
“Reach Maturity Now”
Man-Made Rules for Escaping Impurity
Chapter 4
Vocal Self-Degradation
(The Cult of Confession)
A Misused Bible Verse
“Everyone Else is Doing It”
No-win Situations
No Privacy
No Restoration
No Encouragement
Demon Labels
Misplaced Accountability
Restoring Self-Esteem
Chapter 5
Thou Shalt Not Question
(The “Sacred Science”)
The Fear to Disagree and to Criticize
The Power of Charisma
Freedom to Doubt
Consequences of Differing
Fear to Speak Out
The Slant on Slander
Dealing with the Wrongs of Leaders
What about Obedience and Respect?
Why Question and Doubt?
Chapter 6
The Language of Nonthought
(Loading the Language)
Shut out the Truth & Alienate from Outsiders
Create Guilt to Suppress Thought
Create Guilt to produce Dependence
Emphasize Agreement & Unity more than Truth
Control of Behavior
To Label, Hurt, Judge and Condemn
Manipulating the Bible
The Remaining Wounds from Loaded Language
Chapter 7
Fitting the Rigid Mold
(Doctrine Over Person)
Freedom to Be Ourselves
The Remolding Process
Your Feelings
Your History
Your Health
Your Experiences and Circumstances
Predictions that Fail
Denial and Suppression
Narrowing the Playing Field
Different Needs, Different Treatments
Leading by Gentleness
The Priority of Human Well-Being
Chapter 8
The Elitists
(The Dispensing of Existence)
What About Christianity Itself?
We vs. They
Is Salvation Found in a Group?
The Same Claims of the “Only Ones”
Epilogue
From Control to Freedom
APPENDIX 1
Comments on Visions
Appendix 2
Therapeutic Confessions
Appendix 3
Pros and Cons of an Accountability Partner
Pros
Cons
Other comments:
Appendix 4
What Is Faith?
Appendix 5
How will God deal with those who have never heard about Jesus?
[...] Two of the best books on Spiritual Abuse are FREE online Thanks to PureProvender blog for this reference material. PureProvender blog is probably the best resource list I have seen for Spiritual Abuse Best books on spiritual abuse: The Heresy of Mind Control is a free online book that offers THE most detailed treatment of the subject of spiritual abuse available online, as far as I know. The author, Stephen Martin, goes into great detail and provides cogent analysis of the methods abusers use to control the flock. It is in a PDF format and is 167 pages, but it’s well worth reading every page. Some of the chapter titles include the following: Milieu Control, Mystical Manipulation, The Demand for Purity, The Cult of Confession, (Thou shalt not Question) The Sacred Silence, Loading the Language, Doctrine over Person, Dispensing of Existence, From Control to Freedom. To open the book, you need to click the link at the bottom of the page. For a nice, clear table of contents, you can take a preview on the Freedom4captives site. [...]