American Cults - Cabals, Corruption, and Charismatic Leaders

"From false religions and offshoots of traditional religions to political, financial, sexual and hate groups, American Cults looks at 40 groups and leaders, their histories, deceits, manipulations, and twisted ideologies"--

Inhaltsverzeichnis

About the Author

Acknowledgments

Introduction: Crystal Balls and Conspiracies


Prologue: What Makes a Cult Possible?

Part I: In the Beginning: Why is America Such a Fertile Field for the Growth of Cults?

Ch. 1. Lip-Service Religion

Ch. 2. Rebelliousness

Ch. 3. Entrepreneurship

Ch. 4. Religious Freedom

Ch. 5. Evolving Social Media

Ch. 6. Infatuation with Conspiracy Theory

Ch. 7. Living on “The Eve of Destruction”

Part II. Offshoots: Breaking Away from Traditional Religions

Ch. 8. Cyrus Teed and the Koreshan Unity

Ch. 9. Father Divine and the Peace Mission

Ch. 10. Jim Jones and the People’s Temple Full Gospel Church

Ch. 11. Jim Baker, the PTL Club, and the Return of Jesus

Ch. 12. The Evangelical Church, Politics, and the NRA

Ch. 13. Joshua, Jesus, Mohammad, and the Implications of Jihad

Ch. 14. David Berg and the Family International

Ch. 15. The Watchtower Society and Jehovah’s Witnesses

Ch. 16. Gay Rights, Free Speech, and the Westboro Baptist Church

Ch. 17. Jane Whaley, the Word of Faith Fellowship, and the Gospel of Prosperity

Ch. 18. David Koresh and the Branch Davidians

Part III. Science, Politics, Economics, and Metaphysics: A Codependent Relationship

Ch. 19. The Cult of Scientism

Ch. 20. The Dogma of Politics

Ch. 21. Multi-Level Marketing Cults (MLMs): Pyramids, Ponzis, and Profits

Ch. 22. The World of Metaphysics: “It Seems to Me …”

Ch. 23. Sun Myung Moon and the Unification Church

Ch. 24. Eckankar: Discovering God

Part IV. The Universe and Beyond: Answers from the Final Frontier

Ch. 25. The Christian Rapture, Carl Jung, and Flying Saucers

Ch. 26. The Church of Scientology

Ch. 27. Raëlians and the Elohim: Intelligent Design for Atheists

Ch. 28. Into the Universe: Latter-day Saints and the Colonization of the Cosmos

Ch. 29. Heaven’s Gate: Help from Above?

Part V. Prophets of the End Times: Telling the Future for Fun and Profit

Ch. 30. From 666 to the “Seventy Sevens”: What Does the Bible Really Say about THE END?

Ch. 31. From Nostradamus to Edgar Cayce and Beyond

Ch. 32. The Doomsday Clock

Ch. 33. Roch Thériault and the Ant Hill Kids

Part VI. The Rise of Racial Religion Cults and Social Media: From WASPS to Computers and Beyond

Ch. 34. From the Ku Klux Klan to White Nationalism

Ch. 35. The New Militia Movement

Ch. 36. Nuwaubian Nation: From Black Supremacists to UFOs

Ch. 37. Social Media and the Rise of Hate Groups

Ch. 38. Spoofing the Movement: Fun with Cults

Ch. 39. QAnon: Political Conspiracy and Religious Icons

Part VII. Sex in the City: The Dark Potency of Cults

Ch. 40. Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh: Coming to America

Ch. 41. Keith Raniere and NXIVM: The Case of the Self-Styled Revered One

Ch. 42. Sullivanians: Sex as a Way of Life

Part VIII. Conclusions: What’s Ahead for Individual Freedom?

Epilogue: How Do I Get Out?

Bibliography

Index

Über den Autor / die Autorin

Jim Willis earned his master’s degree in theology from Andover Newton Theological School, and he has been an ordained minister for over 40 years. He has also taught college courses in comparative religion and cross-cultural studies. His background in theology and education led to his writing more than twenty on history, religion, the apocalypse, cross-cultural spirituality, and the mysteries of the unknown. His books include Visible Ink Press’ Censoring God; Hidden History; and Lost Civilizations. He lives in the woods of South Carolina.

Zusammenfassung

America has spawned hundreds of cults. Charismatic leaders periodically burst into the news for the most awful of reasons. We are awash with stories of brainwashed members’ struggles to leave. Meet the messianic leaders, see the indoctrination and manipulation, look at their beliefs, and read the stories of some of America’s most notorious, eccentric, and unusual cults!

From false religions and offshoots of traditional religions to political, financial, sexual, and hate groups, American Cults: Cabals, Corruption, and Charismatic Leaders looks at 40 groups and leaders, including their histories, deceits, manipulations, and twisted ideologies. Some rely on systems of obedience, submission, and dependency. More than a few have mystifying beliefs. Others are dark and murderous. You’ll encounter curious, bizarre, and sometimes upsetting stories of …

Charming, manipulative, and exploitative leaders—Jim Jones, Jim Baker, David Berg, David Koresh, and many, many others.

The breakaways from traditional religions—Father Divine and the Peace Mission, Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Westboro Baptist Church, the Gospel of Prosperity, and many more.

Political, Ponzi, metaphysical, and science schemes—the cult of the scientific method, pyramid schemes, political cults, the Unification Church, and much more.

Aliens, extraterrestrials, and the cosmos—Church of Scientology, Raëlians and Heaven’s Gate, to name a few.

End-times and doomsday cults—rapture beliefs, Edgar Cayce, the Ant Hill Kids and more.

Racial, radical, and social media cults—QAnon, Ku Klux Klan, Oath Keepers, Antifa, and others.

Sex, perversity, and submission—NXIVM, Sullivanians, Rajneesh, and many more.

American Cults looks at why America is such a fertile ground for cults, how some people got caught in their webs, and how some managed to escape! With more than 120 photos and graphics, this tome is richly illustrated. Its helpful bibliography provides sources for further exploration, and an extensive index adds to its usefulness.

Produktdetails

• Autoren: Jim Willis
• Verlag: Visible Ink Press
• Sprache: Englisch
• Produktform: Fester Einband
• Erschienen: 07.03.2023
• EAN: 9781578598250
• ISBN: 978-1-57859-825-0
• Seiten: 300
• Serie: Dark Minds True Crimes
• Themen: Belletristik > Erzählende Literatur > Briefe, Tagebücher; Ratgeber > Spiritualität > Altes Wissen, Alte Kulturen; RELIGION / Cults, BODY, MIND & SPIRIT / Occultism, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Corruption & Misconduct, TRUE CRIME / Murder / Mass Murder