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In Reply to: Cult Personalities / Normal Personalities / Question posted by MLW on October 29, 2002 at 12:27:53:
Cults don't program anybody. It is the people we choose to be with whom we allow to have influence over us. This is also known as peer pressure. We submitted our will to the group as in a lynching party even when we knew that there was something wrong.
The problem with this line of thought is that most people like to think wonderful things of themselves and it is a lot easier to blame somebody else or an abstract group when we are the only responsible party for our actions or inactions.
That is why we must teach our children the critical skill of picking their friends. We picked the wrong friends and were influenced by their beliefs. When we run with the wolves we behave as such. When we decided to leave, we also left those influences and were able to slowly overcome the thought patterns. That was also an exercise of our own will, also known as "a sound mind" in the New Testament.
Surely you have noted how some people seem to be stuck in that Family mindset even when declaring they are not in the Family anymore.
