This is my notes for when I was in a cult and how I look back and determine the characteristics of what makes a cult:

• Value of Obdience to God over the Grace and Mercy of God
• People come from all over the country/world to live with the group
• People donate much of their personal possessions to the group
• People who once had prestigeous promissing carreers trade it in for unemployment/welfare/foodstamps/or other lesser working conditions
• The use of submliminal coersion to manipulate people into thinking “God wants you to do X Y and Z”
• One central Head/Father/Guru that seems to lead the group directly or indirectly
• Leader has to be accountable to no one for their actions (other than God)
• Leader hears from God directly
• The use of hypnotic prayer sessions – people fall asleep often during prayer meetings and discussions
• Family is destroyed with in the form of “obdedience to God”
• An unusual giving up of practices or hobbies that were once very close and dear to their personality: (I have a passion for playing the drums and am very good at it, but God won’t let me play any more)
• The promition of the concept of Unity, but in reality they argue that everyone else is wrong
• A focus on End Times or Bad Descructive Events coming very soon
• A willingness (but much more, a desire) to offer one’s life for the cause – Be a Martyr
• Trust in God to raise your children
• Demons are in everything
• Focus on warfare in the physical or “spiritual”
• The distortion of imaginary weapons and destruction of “the enemy”
• The act of teach that X Y or Z is wrong and that God hates it and hates you doing it, but then retorts saying, I’m not telling anyone to stop doing X Y or Z…
• Disregard to local authorities
• Claims that they have the authority and power over a city/state/region/world
• People come to visit for a few days or a week and then end up moving in
• If anyone disagrees with the core teachings of the group, they are considered to be afflicted with a demon – but openly says we are open to disagreements
• States that when people leave they are worse off then when they got there – instilling a fear of leaving
• States that God will work first or only with this group (Revival is begining here and spreading throughout the world from here as the epicenter)
• I hear God and you can too
• Unusual Fashion Changes that conform to the leader/group. (Men growing full length beards, long hair, shaved heads, wearing dresses).
• Radical changes in personalities that are way outside of the normal characteristics of the individual
• Exclusion of Family – “they don’t get it”, “they don’t/can’t understand”
• Focus on confession and then using the information gathered from private confessions and use them to manipulate individuals
• Focus on Being Perfect and God won’t accept you unless you are in perfect obedience to his “voice”
• They try to convince you that you have been through much trauma in your life: whipped, beaten, scorned…

Please note, that not any one of these things makes a group a cult, but rather these represent characteristics and in combination are more destructive.