Combating Cult Mind Control: The Guide to Protection, Rescue and Recovery from Destructive Cults

by Steven Hassan

David, a young man in the group, felt the subtle power of the group pressuring him to become more “spiritual.” To prove his commitment to the group and be more accepted, he decided to stop taking insulin for his diabetes, believing that God would heal him. The members applauded his faith and his decision to throw away his insulin. In a matter of days, David’s health deteriorated. By the end of the week, the leader ordered around-the-clock prayer teams. Gretchen’s team was on when David took his last breath; yet the group, spurred on by the leader’s anxious exhortations, was convinced that David would be resurrected. They prayed for 15 hours over his body. David’s father, at that time a group co-leader, beat on his dead son’s chest, rebuking Satan and the angel of death, while David’s mother had to be removed from the room because her grief and anguish were viewed as spiritual weakness. Gretchen held David’s hand much of the day, as his body turned blue and became stiff. Even after the police arrived and the coroner took away the body, the group members continued to believe that the young man would return. For three months following his death, a place was set for him at the table, and members (including young children) had visions, dreams, and prophecies concerning his resurrection.