 "58 in Kenya starve themselves to ‘meet Jesus’: The demons of cult explained")
Police in Kenya have found 47 bodies thus far in the investigation of a cult. Pastor Paul Makenzi of the Good News International Church reportedly told followers to starve themselves in order to “meet Jesus”. Makenzi was arrested on 14 April, “Today we have exhumed 26 more bodies and this brings the total number of bodies from that place to 47,” said the head of criminal investigations in Malindi, eastern Kenya, Charles Kamau. He said the search was continuing not just for bodies but for survivors of the cult. Let’s take a look at why people join cults and a few violent ones: Why do people join cults? Experts say people don’t really join cults – they join communities. The New Yorker quoted the daughter of a Christian cult member as writing, “All they saw was the misery wrought by greed—the poverty and war, the loneliness and the f%^&%%t cruelty of it all. So they joined a commune, a community where people shared what little they had, where people spoke of love and peace, a world without money, a cause. A family. Picked the wrong goddamn commune. But who didn’t.” Some like NXIVM, promote themselves as a better way to live – and think. As therapist Rachel Bernstein told Insider, “A lot of people will say, ‘How could you have gotten involved?’ And it’s because you’re never given all the information about a group that turns out to be a cult from the beginning.” “So you only have the information to go on that you’ve been given, which is very select and you make your judgment call based on that. No one’s able to make a fully educated decision before getting involved in a cult.”
Bernstein says those eager to get a leg up – either in their personal or professional lives – could be vulnerable.
“Sometimes people are just wanting to connect with people they think they have something in common with, and a cult provides instant community and love-bombing and a language that suddenly you all speak,” Bernstein added. “Nobody joins a cult. Nobody. They join a good thing, and then they realize they were f$%^^&e,” a former NXIVM member was quoted as saying by The New Yorker. [caption id=“attachment_12500322” align=“alignnone” width=“640”]
Experts say many people think it could never happen to them, but that ‘anyone can be fooled’. AFP[/caption] So, how do you know if you’re in a cult? As per SMH, cults usually have a few key characteristics:
- A charismatic leader
- An indoctrination process and
- Exploitation of members
Detective Lex de Man, who cracked Australia’s arguably most famous cult, said the people behind cults have just a few motives – money, control (of people with money) and sex. Many people think it could never happen to them – but this is far from true. Speaking to Sydney Morning Herald, Dr Steve Hassan said it is a fallacy to think only the dumb are targeted. In fact, it’s usually the opposite – famous, well-connected and wealthy people who join such groups.
“Anyone can be fooled,” de Man told the newspaper.
According to The New Yorker, cults also have a self-protection method – those that are within the group immediately and reflexively dismiss criticism from outsiders. Violent cults Now, let’s take a look at a few examples of violent cults. Jonestown - USA Arguably, the most infamous one in history was at Jonestown – the Peoples Temple of the Disciples of Christ. In 1978, more than 900 people including many women and children committed suicide on the orders of cult leader Jim Jones. According to The Guardian, it was the single largest incident of intentional civilian death in US history. It also left a cultural impact by bringing the phrase drinking the ‘cool aid’ into the mainstream. The Family – Australia According to Cosmo, this cult kicked off when yoga teacher Anne Hamilton-Byrne claimed to be Jesus Christ come again. Hamilton-Byrne would go on to adopt more than two dozen children whom she would beat, starve or administer LSD. Worse, the cult went on for years – authorities only intervened in 1987 and Hamilton-Byrne faced the paltry charge of fabricating birth certificates. She would live till the age of 98 and escape punishment for her behaviour, as per Cosmo. The Branch Davidians – USA This group, an offshoot of the Seventh Day Adventists, came to the limelight during the siege at Waco. The siege between US authorities and the group headed by the charismatic David Koresh began after a shootout on 28 February, 1993. Koresh, who claimed to be the Messiah and that all the women in his group were his wives, proclaimed the apocalypse was near.
Four US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents and six Davidians were killed.
On 19 April, 1993, FBI agents in armoured vehicles smashed into the compound buildings and pumped in tear gas. The causes of the subsequent fires are still disputed, but the compound burnt to the ground. Koresh and 20 children were among the 77 left dead.
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