Hosea 4:6a (KJV)

Cults, Occult Bondage, Medical Pathologies

One of the best known of those who brought hope to people that were influenced by demons in modern times is Dr. Kurt Koch.  He was a psychiatrist who lived in Germany and left a heritage of books that give examples of those who were influenced by psychiatric or medical problems and demons in one way or another and he gave examples of how to tell the difference between demonic influence and psychological or psychiatric medical pathologies. It is important to recognize the difference between spiritual and medical sickness.  One thing that is noticeable about the study of demons and spiritual warfare is that people in cults tend to assume that everything that goes wrong can be blamed on demons.  Another famous aspect of a cult is that no one is allowed to disagree with the leader of the group unless it is in line with the rules and doctrines of the group.  Guilt and shame or other coercive methods are used on people to keep them in line.  People that displease the group by disagreeing with an accepted postulate that is claimed as special knowledge, extra-Biblical knowledge, or a misapplication of a Biblical precept are quickly dealt with in a way to keep them in line or they are rejected by the group.  One person or a group of those who are leaders in a cult may profess that exorcism is a cure all for medical pathologies that are not well understood.  Co-dependence is letting others do for us that which we can and should do for ourselves.  Denial of personal responsibility for our actions due to a medical pathology incurred by trauma and abuse comes from learned helplessness.  It is difficult enough for someone to know that he or she needs help, seek help, acknowledge the need for help, or to accept help when betrayal of trust and continuous abuse is the normative condition in life.  On the one hand there are healthy caregivers and on the other there are unhealthy caretakers that demand dependence upon them.

Cult leaders may indulge in mediumistic "faith healing" practices.  "TV preachers" can qualify as cult leaders as well.  It is highly recommended that at least the book, Occult Bondage and Deliverance by Kurt Koch¹ be read by any Christian.  The reason that it is recommended is that any Christian is likely to come across occult practices in the guise of super spirituality on the part of someone who appears to be a Christian.  Practices of fakery by those held in high regard by some Christians, are given as examples to contrast against legitimate means that are medical or Biblical.  Discernment in mundane matters is lacking as is spiritual discernment on the part of many believers.  This is costly in terms of human suffering in the here and now; spiritually, emotionally, psychologically, and physically.  Abuse and occult influence is passed on from parent to child and this cycle is repeated if intervention does not occur and/or if  someone in the cycle does not make a different choice.  Occult influence is found in many settings, including cultic churches.  Extremist denominations are fertile ground for the introduction of the occult into the lives of the people that are members of them.  

An example of someone who needed help from health professionals is that of a girl of about ten that had been severely abused by her father.  When he was six years old he began having sex with little girls in his neighborhood.  No doubt demonic influence had been present in her life.  Her father had traveled in the east and he understood the occultic practices of Indian folkways and used them.  His hero was someone who was famous for luring American college students to him and then murdering them.  He was an alcoholic and drug addict and kicked those habits by staying with a "Christian" cult for a time in the United States.  After awhile he relapsed and abused himself with alcohol and cocaine.  He thoroughly, sexually, psychologically, or physically abused his daughter on a regular basis.  He made his family follow certain ritualized practices associated with everyday living.  The similarities with Satanic Ritual Abuse and what took place in his family in practice were striking.  The only thing left out was the formality of dressing up as a Satanist and setting a specific set of rituals in a formal way.  He believed that he was acting as he should and as was his right in his alcoholic fog and drug induced state of consciousness. Characteristic to families where abuse is rife, is the fact that it is a closed system with strong loyalty issues, guilt, and shame.  In the case of advanced stages of alcoholism on the part of the abuser the nights are long with the abuser railing and demanding, trying to find an excuse to beat his victim(s).  Although in the details, the same kinds of abuse exist in cults but the forms that it takes mask the similarities.

The father's family was extremely dysfunctional with alcohol abuse and drug abuse common. Her relatives did not approve of her being in a psychiatric facility because they believed that demons infest hospitals.  They also felt as though psychiatric medicine and psychology were at best psycho-babble.  The same family members that objected to professional help also happened to be members of a cult.  After his wife divorced him the girl's uncle and aunt offered help.  They were seemingly well-meaning but routine drunkenness was part of their everyday life.  After some time in therapy it was discovered that they were "grooming" her.  This is a practice where the introduction of sexually explicit literature is given to the subject.  At some point the girl may be called upon to have sex with one of the partners involved in grooming the child or teenager.  Although for them this was normative behavior that was not known to the mother, they attempted to take the child out of the hospital, thinking they could talk the psychiatrist into releasing her to them.  The mother expressed something striking about the aunt of the girl. One night the mother was awakened by a lucid dream.  In her dream the aunt of the girl appeared to her and tried to convince the mother to give up the soul of the daughter to her.  The mother knew that it was not really the aunt and felt as though a demon or spirit wanted legal right to the daughter. The girl is now an adult and went through a long period of several years of healing with the help of doctors, social workers, and other health care professionals.  Due to the severity of the abuse there was doubt that she would make it expressed by one of the health care workers, but she did.  Prayer and the help of God was instrumental in the girl's healing.  She would not have made it without help from doctors and she would not have made it without the help of God.  

Severe abuse results in the formation of dissociative personality disorders.  Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is one end of the spectrum and Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) is the other as recognized by Dr. James Freisen more popularly known as Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD).  While it is true that demonic influence can be present in the life of someone so abused those pathologies can also be identified.  I have read criticism of Dr. Freisen in which his Christianity is questioned due to his work.  One country that I know of in which the medical establishment does not recognize the reality of DID is Ireland.  Many psychiatrists in the United States do not recognize it either.  Many health workers and doctors who do recognize it have a poor understanding of it and are ineffective in dealing with it.  Many Christians spend a lot of time and effort on discrediting the idea of DID due to ignorance.  I was not surprised to find that Fibromyalgia (FMS) is another diagnosis that results from trauma that both doctors and Christians believe is not real because of their ignorance.  These things get classified as something in the imagination of the patient or church member that has the misfortune to trust the wrong doctor or pastoral counselor.  As advanced as humankind is in the United States in matters of medicine and technology, people still have a great deal to learn and ignorance still causes harm to people by mishandling of people with DID.  Human nature is such that we want to think that in the realm of our expertise and experience we have the answers or that we alone can supply them.  This is due to pride and arrogance on our part but we have the ability to use denial to defend our position just as the alcoholic does to be able to keep on drinking.  

This section is not designed to generate the idea that all clergy and health care workers are ignorant and that people should avoid them.  Those who have problems in the psychiatric or spiritual realms should seek and find help.  Having an advocate who will not accept less than what is needed for a person can make the difference for people.  In spiritual matters our free will and ability to choose are of paramount importance.  Likewise, our ability to eventually take charge of our own healing is equally necessary.  The little girl of ten who is now an adult made a conscious choice to be well and took charge of her healing at a certain point along the way.  People around her and those responsible for her welfare had the charge to be there for her but not to mute her will in a way that would have abrogated that process of healing that eventually leads to wholeness.  People are not to stand in between God and others and deal with them in such a way that controlling behaviors rule whomever it is that needs either spiritual or medical help.  Cults and controlling doctors have a lot in common.  The demonic realm creates confusion enough that someone who is in a position of authority and is controlling can certainly manipulate people so that his or her needs for the gratification of the ego is met at the injured person's expense.  Cults have a person or persons standing in the way of God due to an unlawful influence over people who have placed too much trust in them and given too much control of their lives to them.  Listening with intelligence, spiritual discernment, and honest questioning in a sincere manner are necessary to spiritual, psychological and medical health.  The ability to love the LORD your God with all of your mind, strength, soul, and heart should never be relinquished.  However, people who have been abused by someone who does have legitimate earthly spiritual authority over them, such as a parent or minister can incur such damage to their souls that they are in bondage psychologically and this leaves open the possibility for spiritual bondage to the dark side.

How does it start?  I have often wondered how spiritual rebellion in a family starts and if it is possible to determine when it starts.  While things may have gotten off center in the past of my family for other reasons, I can at least relate a definite instance of rebellion that has had an influence down to the present.  A person whose great-grandparents had a big farm and were related to the people who had a little town named after them.  The little boys and their parents attended a little church every Sunday.  One day the preacher lodged a complaint privately with the father because the little boys cussed in Sunday School and were disruptive.  The father was a proud man and he also had a lot of money and influence in the community.  He told the preacher that he would no longer go to church and that he would no longer donate money to the church.  

In some ways the effects are not glaring and culturally the family is nominally Christian, but one day his sister accused the Billy Graham Crusade of being "all about money".  It seems that one of the big reasons she does not go to church is that all churches want from people is their money according to her.  Many years ago a church his parents attended was going to make some addition to the church and a couple visited them personally to see if they would help out.  His father became indignant and ordered them out of his house and since then he has not attended church.  His mother does so infrequently without him now.  I do not know how common it is for people to object to church expansion and collecting money for needed repairs or new projects, but it is a flash point in his family.  Those attitudes can be passed along from generation to generation by children learning how the parents feel about such things without help from the demonic or occult.  However, resistance to being with God's people eventually has effects on people.  Two of his sisters have been addicted to cocaine, his brother rejects Jesus Christ and God, and other members of his family have veered off course while still admitting some affinity to God nominally.  The lack of trust and stubbornness in matters of Christianity may show up in some small way and remained confined to one area of a person's spiritual life and personal life in general.  Somehow the spiritual darkness that comes from sin of a major kind such as addiction to drugs and alcohol can affect people to a great extent.

Another example is a man who was actively involved with the kind of TV preachers that are considered charlatans and he made a lot of money as a result.  Oral Roberts is one of the people that he made a lot of money from during his life.  Kurt Koch relates several incidents of flagrant shamanistic fakery on the part of Oral Roberts.  During the Berlin Conference on Evangelism and American asked Roberts if it was true that he asked viewers to place a glass of water on their televisions.  He said that he did.  The American asked if it was true if he asked them to drink the water at the end of the broadcast to be healed and again Roberts said yes.²  Although it is witchcraft in elementary form, this is a possible portal that a trusting viewer may open up his or her life to demons with.  Another TV preacher was famous for asking people to put their hands on the face of the TV screen to receive healings.  He asked people to send in prayer requests along with money.  Investigations revealed that the money was taken out of the envelopes but the prayer requests were thrown away without being read.  It may be possible that this man ended up coincidentally being involved with fakes that the Apostles would have labeled as anti-Christs, but it is not likely.  How many millions of people have been exposed to such spiritual nonsense and behavior fitting to an anti-Christ by these TV preachers?  Witchcraft, wiccan, pagan, and occult practices that have gained popularity in the United States among Christians is not a coincidence.  God's precious little lambs are being led to the slaughter by crackpot Christians in greater numbers than any other group of people no doubt.  The sister who accused the Billy Graham Crusade of having money as its only interest had no quarrel with cocaine and alcohol soaking up all her money.

It may seem unnecessary to mention cults in this study of demons on the face of it, but as Christians we have spiritual authority over our children as parents and we are to be responsible and accountable for our actions.  We are also to be responsible with how we deal with friends and other family members and not allow ourselves to be used by someone who has a higher opinion of his or her abilities than is actually the case and that includes ministers or others who claim to have some special knowledge of spiritual matters.  Cults attract people who have been abused in their families or by authority figures beforehand.  Regardless of many circumstances, people who are well-balanced tend to dislike cults and see straight away the dangers inherent in them.  In many senses of the word cults are dysfunctional.  They increase, manipulate, and exploit dysfunctional behaviors among their members.  The example of Jim Jones and Jonestown is a tragic one and fits the case of a cult that went too far.  While I was in college I listened to the tapes of Jim Jones talking over a loudspeaker and exhorting his followers. He sounded like a madman because he was.  It raised the hair on the back of my neck.  The Branch Davidians are another spectacular example of a group of people who were deceived into following someone that had a supposed special truth who played the role of an avatar or messianic figure.

People who are dysfunctional and conduct their lives that way tend to gravitate toward groups that are dysfunctional.  Kurt Koch lists some areas in Christendom and elsewhere that have potential as pitfalls.  He lists 47 forms of superstition that includes fortune-telling, magic, and spiritism.  The tongues movement and the preoccupation with "Day X", the soon return of Jesus are also discussed with case studies.  "Get rich" quick doctrines with the trappings of religiosity have been a pitfall.  Fake healings and false healers are another area of spiritual abuse that are advertised as "miracle healings" and "miracle healers".  I have talked to many people who have been the victims of spousal, parental, or spiritual abuse and it seems that they have no compass, no reference points by which to escape the effects of the abuse perpetrated upon them.  I talked to two former members of a cult that were in a cultic church who described their experiences.  Although there was a great deal of teaching about the Bible and the children were taught to read Hebrew from an early age something was missing from the equation.  The young girl in her early 20's tearfully recounted that she wished that she had been taught how to get along in life with other people in a healthy way.  Her mother was extremely abusive and later in life became increasingly so to the point that she is almost totally dysfunctional.  Somehow a concentration on the esoteric teachings of the leader of the church and the rigorous training became all-encompassing.  

The church was so well-organized and structured that everyday problems in the lives of those who went to it were subsumed and minimized by the nature of the organization.  Ironically a few key Biblical admonitions were ignored or explained away as if they were of no consequence.  Rather than working problems out the group had a system in place to decide matters of consequence.  A group of people designated as "witnesses" listened to a case.  They would go into a state of communing with God to receive direct revelation so the matter at hand could be decided.  All of the "witnesses" would suddenly jump and say at once the verdict.  The only problem is that it turns out that sometimes their verdict was at odds with the actual facts.  The Bible says that if a prophet is wrong even one time, that person is not to be regarded seriously and concludes that he or she had never been in touch with God as a prophet.  The structure of the church was such that the practice remains in spite of this.  It is difficult to admit that what you may have thought to be true of people you know and love for your whole life is shown to be a sham in part.  In this sense a cult is self-perpetuating if organizational structure and administrative authority is secure.  The young man gave up on the idea that there is a God as the only way to deal with things in his life in any meaningful way. 

Christianity is not a religion, but a relationship with God directly through Jesus Christ by His Holy Spirit.  The Bible is in part the record of the covenants between God and His people and the covenant with Jesus is personal in every case.  Accountability is personal and we are accountable to God as individuals.  That relationship supercedes any covenantal relationship with any organized religion.  The early "church" was referred to in the writings of Paul as "gatherings" of the people who are God's people.  A sharp distinction between temporal organizations and those gathered together as followers of Jesus is noticeable in the New Testament.  The teachings of the Bible seem paradoxical in some ways to us.  We are to be obedient to temporal authorities in temporal matters and it is a personal choice that decides if the spiritual authority of Jesus is being violated to the point that we refuse to cooperate with earthly power.  Personal accountability to God, personal responsibility for our actions, and the outcomes of our decisions rely on each believer learning the Bible.  The parents and family structure becomes of paramount importance because the knowledge of that personal relationship has to be passed on or each generation discover it starting from scratch.  Cults can greatly subsume personal thinking and decision making by manmade rules and doctrines that undercut the Bible and the revelation to mankind of its truths.  People in abusive households or in cultic churches are not encouraged to think on their own and be open and honest.  Abuses by mainstream churches and leaders or doctrines in contrast with the teachings of the Bible stand in between the members of the church and the LORD.  Learning to employ reason and apply knowledge from experience in the light of scripture is extremely important.  Personal revelation at variance with the Bible employed to lead or influence people is damaging.  Passing on the knowledge of the Bible and how to have it as our guide in life as the direct revelation of God to each individual is therefore an important responsibility.  Pointing out pitfalls and how not to fall into error, fall short of the mark is not intended to keep people in line with the dictates of the doctrines of mankind but to make more clear how to get closer to God personally.  A mature and sincere wisdom based on the knowledge of God personally in the context of a secure and firm personal relationship with Him is one goal of anyone that is a believer.  The Shepherd's voice is that of Jesus and should not be replaced by anyone.  The voice of human teachers and preachers is to be such that it does not interfere with each believer hearing with intelligence the voice of Jesus. 

How would one know if they were in a cult? It may seem plain as the nose on your face as to what constitutes a cult. Is it really? The key is our susceptibility to it based on our past relationships and how easily we can be manipulated by another. We tend to look at religions out of the mainstream and define cults according to our reference points, our past, our perceptions of normative standards. Our litmus test may be faulty. The same is true when we become subject to an abusive relationship that is mutually self-destructive. Finding fault with other religions will not ensure that you are cult-proof. Cults can be formed from people having a common cause that is not obviously religious by nature.  In some senses of the word there are likely churches or other groups that function organizationally within acceptable parameters yet the individual church or group is cult-like due to localized practices unique to a particular congregation. In instances like this, it is usually discerned and dealt with administratively as well as from a management point of view by the churches' or group's administrative oversight body.

So, the question remains, how can you tell? The following checklist is from a reliable source and I have provided links. Many of us would not run across something like this, but you never know. So, if one day something weird is going on, maybe this might help in order to evaluate it. It is by no means comprehensive and as they explain, it is intended to provoke thought leading to a critical assessment. It is something reliable to go on until you can decide for yourself whether it merits serious consideration.  Although the demonic realm is real and psychiatric illness is equally manifested in the lives of people who have been in abusive relationships or cults discernment based upon reason and knowledge is invaluable so that we can decide for ourselves what the case is. Although the differences between a cult and normative religious practices may seem subtle to you a close relationship with the LORD and a thorough knowledge of the Bible will bring into sharp focus the differences.  Being in error and at variance with the Bible can lead to a group becoming a cult or it may simply be that they are in error and at variance with the Bible.

Mind-Manipulating Groups:
Are you or a Family Member a Victim?

The following statements, compiled by Dr. Michael Langone, editor of Cultic Studies Journal, often characterize manipulative groups. Comparing these statements to the group with which you or a family member is involved may help you determine if this involvement is cause for concern. Place a checkmark beside all items that characterize the group in question. If you check many of these items, and particularly if you check most of them, you might consider examining the group more closely.

Keep in mind that this checklist is meant to stimulate thought, not "diagnose" groups.

We suggest that you check all characteristics that apply to your or your loved one's group, then print this browser page for future reference. You may find that your assessment changes over time, with further reading and research.

 The group is focused on a living leader to whom members seem to display excessively zealous, unquestioning commitment.

 The group is preoccupied with bringing in new members.

 The group is preoccupied with making money.

 Questioning, doubt, and dissent are discouraged or even punished.

 Mind-numbing techniques (such as meditation, chanting, speaking in tongues, denunciation sessions, debilitating work routines) are used to suppress doubts about the group and its leader(s).

 The leadership dictates sometimes in great detail how members should think, act, and feel (for example: members must get permission from leaders to date, change jobs, get married; leaders may prescribe what types of clothes to wear, where to live, how to discipline children, and so forth).

 The group is elitist, claiming a special, exalted status for itself, its leader(s), and members (for example: the leader is considered the Messiah or an avatar; the group and/or the leader has a special mission to save humanity).

 The group has a polarized us- versus-them mentality, which causes conflict with the wider society.

 The group's leader is not accountable to any authorities (as are, for example, military commanders and ministers, priests, monks, and rabbis of mainstream denominations).

 The group teaches or implies that its supposedly exalted ends justify means that members would have considered unethical before joining the group (for example: collecting money for bogus charities).

 The leadership induces guilt feelings in members in order to control them.

 Members' subservience to the group causes them to cut ties with family and friends, and to give up personal goals and activities that were of interest before joining the group.

 Members are expected to devote inordinate amounts of time to the group.

 Members are encouraged or required to live and/or socialize only with other group members²

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: 

because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, 

that thou shalt be no priest to me: 

seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children. 

As they were increased, so they sinned against me: therefore will I change their glory into shame. 

They eat up the sin of my people, and they set their heart on their iniquity. 

And there shall be, like people, like priest: and I will punish them for their ways, and reward them their doings. 

For they shall eat, and not have enough: 

they shall commit whoredom, and shall not increase: 

because they have left off to take heed to the LORD. 

Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart.

Hosea 4:6-11 (KJV)

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References

^{1, 2}Kurt Koch, Occult Bondage and Deliverance, Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids, MI, 1972.

³Cultic Studies Journal, "Psychological Manipulation and Society", Vol. 10, No. 3, 1993.

(KJV) The Holy Bible, The King James Authorized Version, (Cambridge: Cambridge) 1769.

Resources

CSJ Cult Checklist

Koch, Kurt, Between Christ and Satan, Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids, MI, 1971.

Kurt Koch, Demonology Past and Present, Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids, MI, 1973. 

Kurt Koch, Occult ABC, Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids, MI, 1978.

Kurt Koch, Christian Counseling and Occultism, Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids, MI, 1978.

Kurt Koch, Satan’s Devices, Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids, MI, 1978.

Edward F. Murphy, Handbook for Spiritual Warfare [computer file], electronic ed. of the revised and updated edition, Logos Library System, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson) 1997, ©1996 by Edward F. Murphy.