Devil's Deception In Religions

Extremism
Chapter 1 "EXCEED OTHERS IN PIETY"

The devil comes to you from your pious side, telling you how righteous and religious you should be. But, underneath it all his objective is to increase your pride in yourself and 'your religion' as superior to others.

Chapter 2 "SURPASS OTHERS IN KNOWLEGE"

He insists you gain knowledge to surpass other people.

Chapter 3 "SACRIFICE THIS WORLD TOTALLY"

He works on your

Chapter 4 "UNQUESTIONING DEDICATION"

He

Chapter 5 "TOTAL COMMITMENT"

He

Chapter 6 "BLIND FOLLOWING"

He

Chapter 7 "RATIONALIZATION OF THOUGHT"

He

Chapter 8 "DENOUNCING ALL OTHERS"

He

Chapter 9 "EXTREMIST ACTIONS"

He

THE PROGRAM OF BONDAGE

"COMMITMENT MANIPULATION" TACTIC

He

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DISCIPLESHIP MEMBERSHIP CARD

As a member I agree to:

Give up nearly all my personal time to the program...
Open up completely & share everything about myself; not just my sins...
Relinquish my privacy of thoughts, sinful or not...
Be willing to give up my opinion if it conflicts with my discipler, and accept his opinion as right...
Believe that it is a sin not to trust my discipler's judgment...
Obey all requests of my discipler...
…even if the request affects a decision such as not being allowed to announce my engagement until my discipler wants me to, not pick a wedding date until my discipler approves, to put off my wedding date until my discipler has peace about it. I will obey my discipler in matters of dating, changing jobs, going to college, moving, or whatever is requested of me. If I do not obey, then I accept whatever punishment my discipler believes appropriate. I will accept being called "rebellious," "hardhearted," "not trusting," "uncommitted," prideful or whatever else my discipler thinks that I should be labeled. I will accept my discipler's opinions as the truth and feel terribly guilty for not obeying.

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You should wonder why a group would want to conceal the way it really operates from newcomers or those on the outside. Jesus certainly did not operate this way. Furthermore, Jesus made it clear he did not teach something different to his inner circle than what he taught outsiders (John 18:20). The insiders even look at each other as more committed than people not fully in the program of discipleship. In this book, you will find out more about why some discipleship groups follow a different practice toward their followers than did Jesus.

In a recent bulletin of a church that had discipleship, there was a special notation that the discipleship class was by invitation only! No other activity at this church had this requirement. I had to wonder what secret Bible knowledge has to be by invitation only. My guess is that they were teaching some ideas that were controversial to the average person. They were going to make sure that the only people they would teach would be those they thought could swallow this stuff behind closed doors. Their excuse is that some people are not ready for their lessons yet, and only the discipleship leaders can tell when they are ready.

CHECKLIST

The Discipleship Game—Chapter 1

Check those that apply to your group:

Did not get my fully informed consent before I joined
Withheld certain teachings until I was more trusting
Wanted my commitment as soon as possible
Consistently makes new demands of me
Did not tell me that anything less than total obedience is unacceptable
Seems to create non-Biblical classes of sins (e.g., labeling people as "full of pride" if they do not agree with the discipler's decisions or advice
Leaders do not tell me "no," but instead ask me to "pray about it" and delay my decision
See themselves as "more committed" than those not in the discipleship
Want me to refrain from making decisions without the discipler's concurrence
I am frequently told to "pray about it more" when making decisions
Disciples are rebuked for actions that are not really sinful but which merely differ from the leaders' opinions
My leader/discipler makes no distinction between moral advice and non-moral advice
NOTE: If you have checked any boxes, it indicates a misunderstanding of Scripture and may represent the presence of abuse and excessive control.