Strong City Cult - Inside a Cult
I found this article about a show on the National Geographic channel called "Inside a Cult" which looks to be part of a series called Inside. The description of the episode is:
There were a couple of comments from Louis Marlowe's article about the show that were familiar:
To get the group's take (since we are about first-hand experiences here), you can visit their website.
Update: I found this video on Google Videos. No idea where it came from but it was posted on Jan. 3, 2008 so I don't think it's the National Geographic program. It looks like a documentary that was filmed by someone that found their way into the Strong City cult. Looks like they are a much more public cult than we were ('are' for those still in the group.)
Oh Good Lord. He even has the raised chair with "devotees at his feet" thing going on:
Of course, they aren't as "beautiful." And we would never have been allowed to go so gray, or dress so blah, and beards were discouraged... and where are their tans? It's obvious they are nowhere near as spiritual as we were. Seriously though, this image does make me want to watch that show more.
View all posts mentioning Strong City.
Doomsday cult leader Michael Travesser prophesied that the world would end October 31, 2007 -- but what happened? Go inside Travesser's cult to meet its leader, its followers and the dynamics that shape cult behavior.Unfortunately, it was on last night so we missed the premiere. But it looks like it repeats next Wednesday afternoon (Unbelievable how difficult they made finding that information on the National Geographic site. They need to rethink their schedule design for functionality.)
There were a couple of comments from Louis Marlowe's article about the show that were familiar:
- There is nothing creepier than the smugness of the true believer.I'm going to set my DVR to record this show. They only had 56 members in THEIR cult (and that wasn't meant to be "Ha! Fledgling, wanna-be, pretender cult!" I just find it interesting when people are able to use a small group of people in a unique situation to gain insight into much larger, more all-encompassing issues. )
- With cults, it's always us and them.... To question authority is to damn the divine.
- Everything outside the community is suspect; only the spiritual leader can provide absolute truth.
To get the group's take (since we are about first-hand experiences here), you can visit their website.
Update: I found this video on Google Videos. No idea where it came from but it was posted on Jan. 3, 2008 so I don't think it's the National Geographic program. It looks like a documentary that was filmed by someone that found their way into the Strong City cult. Looks like they are a much more public cult than we were ('are' for those still in the group.)
Oh Good Lord. He even has the raised chair with "devotees at his feet" thing going on:
Of course, they aren't as "beautiful." And we would never have been allowed to go so gray, or dress so blah, and beards were discouraged... and where are their tans? It's obvious they are nowhere near as spiritual as we were. Seriously though, this image does make me want to watch that show more.
View all posts mentioning Strong City.
