Apostolic Pentecostalism; The Cult of Christianity

How Brainwashing = Religious Indoctrination

Kelly Spies, Yahoo! Contributor Network
Apr 30, 2007 "Share your voice on Yahoo! websites. Start Here."

An Apostolic Pentecostal is a person that believes in speaking in tongues - glossolalia - as proof that a person has received the Holy Ghost. Pentecostals are people who believe in dramatic demonstrations of the Gifts of the Spirit, such as prophecy or the interpretation of tongues. Pentecostal Oneness believers reject the concept of the Trinity and are convinced salvation relies upon the literal form of baptism; dunking rather than sprinkling and repentance of one's sins. People who are not familiar with Pentecostalism may think that the following descriptions are exaggerated and shocking, however the things depicted in this article are indeed accurate as I have witnessed it first hand. I spent a part of my childhood as a member of this religion because my parents were, and still are, heavily involved in their local Apostolic Pentecostal church. This is my perspective of the methods used in brainwashing new members into the Pentecostal religion and their indoctrination.

Social Bonds Must Be Severed

One of the tasks involved in submerging into the Pentecostal religion is breaking the bonds with friends and family. When a new member of the congregation is first introduced they are bombed with love, compassion, new friends that tend to leave them estranged from friends and family. What happens is the new member begins to take on the jargon and mentality of the church, most outsiders to the religion do not understand it. This provides a barrier that is difficult to cross because the new convert has been taught to represent God in everything they do, they begin to use phrases like "Praise God" and "The Holy Ghost checked me." Most people find this to be a bizarre way of talking outside of church.

Pretty soon the convert begins to push this new found religion on others. Typically the family reacts by trying to turn the convert away from their new church but this in turn causes frustration because the convert believes the family simply can not "see the truth." At this point the new recruit will discuss this problem with other church members and may even testify in church about the resistance of family members. Church Elders will advise the convert to preach the truth and convince the family to attend church.

The cycle continues as the convert becomes even more of a pest, totally convinced that the devil has a hold on the minds of family and friends, until eventually they are considered to be insane. Church friends will now inform the convert that their family and friends have rejected the truth and nothing more can be done, separation is best. From that moment on the bonds that keep families together will be broken because there will no longer be any commonality between them.

The new recruited members of the Pentecostal church will become lonely, but never fear the congregation is near. This babe in Christ, as they are often called, will jump promiscuously into friendships in the church without taking the time to find out about the other persons past or present and many of these people have led lives of crime and drugs or worse. Church member's past will not matter to the convert since all their sins were previously washed away. Thus the recruit will endeavor to build a new safety net of friends and claim the other church members as family.

To leave the church is to be cut off from this "brothers and sisters in Christ." Separation from the church can be devastating to a member who no longer has other family or friends as a support group.

ProperChurch Procedure; What Every Good Pentecostal Knows

Apostolic Pentecostals can be more easily spotted than their Trinitarian counterparts. Apostolics have a very precise way of being viewed by the outside world. They endeavor to separate themselves physically from the rest of the world in order to be seen for the church they represent. All Apostolics are trained right from the start to alter the way they dress. Women are forbidden from wearing pants, jewelry of any kind, including watches and wedding bands, sleeves must reach half way between the elbow and wrist, make up is a no no and skin is off limits. Men are not allowed to wear shorts, jewelry or have long hair; their sleeves must be the same lengths as the women's.

Rock and Roll music (this constitutes any music not played on the local Christian radio station and even some of that is off limits if it has too fast of a beat) is of the devil. It is not allowed in any form in the home, car or church. Any music that makes the body want to move in wantonness is considered soul threatening.

Sitting on the front pews as close to the pulpit is a requirement. The closer to the front of the church a member sits, the Godlier they are considered. Pentecostals will leave items on the pews or in chairs to mark their seat; this is done throughout the week. Sitting in the back of the church is a clear indication of being a backslider and heavy prayer is ignited instantly.

If one is to survive in his or her local Apostolic church, emulating the Pastor and his family is a must. This is also considered to be another sign of holiness. The more recognized by the Pastor the holier the church goer is.

Sensory Overload - It's all about Hypnosis

There are two things that All Pentecostal and charismatic churches use to manipulate and influence people with; sensory overload and expected response. When a person is blind sided by something that they have no time to prepare for, their instincts takes over and they react. For example, when a sales person starts spewing facts about a product at you in a fast manner, they are overloading you with information using things like the pitch of their voice and hand gestures. They are attacking your sense of hearing and seeing. Normally a person can not process all this information at a high speed; the one thing that can is the emotional response mechanism. Music is one way Pentecostals use this technique to create sensory overload.

Loud music with just the right chord progressions tend to shut down the rational part of the brain. Pentecostal musicians are employed to help lower normal rational functioning long enough to stimulate a person to high levels of emotion. It makes it easier for people to accept religious persuasion if accompanied by emotional music. The resonance of the music makes it feel tangible, real, and powerful.

Another technique of sensory overload is shouting. Apostolic Pentecostal Preachers are known for shouting their messages. This makes it unavoidable to a person's consciousness. As the person shouts over the loudspeaker, the high state of sensory focus and overload imprints the message in one's mind. During emotional releases in this kind of environment, it is easy to truly feel changed. This change is simply a state of hypnosis.

The rational faculty shuts down for a moment, emotions soar to the highest levels and the person is left feeling liberated. The rational faculty is designed to protect us from being emotionally controlled and that gets stopped from happening. Losing the ability to use rational, Pentecostals often lose control, run around, shouting and speaking in tongues as they climax in a state of ecstasy.

Once someone accepts this emotional state as evidence of Religious Truth, they are open to emotional manipulation and control. A person can eventually become a slave to this kind of emotional manipulation.

This is all learned though the process of feedback. The positive feedback and the negative feedback are not rational instructions, but emotional responses to one's actions. Sometimes there is childish glee, shouting, hugs, big smiles, and back patting for positive feedback, and frowns, strange stares, and social estrangement for the negative feedback. The particulars of the feedback can vary from place to place, but the power of such conditioning is enormous in Pentecostal churches. Churches manipulate people using emotional feedback.

Many Preachers like to say that they used to dance with the Devil, but now they dance with the Lord. This statement is a little revealing. Church has become their dope. In traditional Christian churches emotional restraint and self control are taught regularly but in an Apostolic Pentecostal church acts of wild behavior are condoned, emotional ejaculation is encouraged.

Divine Authority

The term "authority" suggests an author, as in, what did he write? Most religious organizations require serious study before granting a minister his license - sometimes from four to eight years in seminary. Many Pentecostal sects do not require anything in the way of qualifications. Full institutional credentials are not necessary for pastoral duties, only the skill of verbal communication and a working knowledge of how to make the books look legal.

The idea that a church should be ran like the military with a commander at the top, lieutenants and generals guiding the ranks is a dangerous concept. In such a system, it doesn't take long to realize that questioning the chain of command isn't taken lightly. In a Pentecostal church questioning the chain of command is considered rebellion.

If a board member asks a pastor to quit teaching on certain things this would be rebellion against someone higher than him in the "established leadership" of the church. Whatever the Pastor says goes because he has been marked as an official "man of God."

The entire Apostolic Pentecostal movement is a fraud that drains the life out of people. Children go to bed at night crying because they are not allowed to live life like other children. Kids are labeled rebellious and are beaten because they don't live up to the churches standard of holiness. Women are taken from their natural inclinations to make themselves up to being a plain person that becomes void of will and spirit. Men become emotionally manipulative because they are taught their wives are beneath them. Some will go on, read this, and still refuse to accept the Truth about the Apostolic Pentecostal way of life because it does not compute - it cannot be - according to their Pastor.

Published by Kelly Spies

I'm just a chick with a lot to say about different things. I've been writing for most of my life and aspire to someday be a published novelist as well as content writer. View profile

Apostolic Pentecostalism; The Cult of Christianity

How Brainwashing = Religious Indoctrination

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