Ever been a cult member?

[PacificDude]

I was a Unification Church member (Moonie) for a year. It was one hell of a crazy ride. But I was 18, homeless, naive, and without any true friends or family to speak of. In other words, I was exactly what they look for in a potential convert.

It's so easy for these cults to make you believe they are the answer to peace and salvation. Here's a good movie that realistically shows how they recruit the lost and vulnerable. I'm so grateful I was able to get the hell out before it was too late:

Ticket to Heaven:

[neonspectraltoast]

Thank goodness you got out. And no, I can't relate, because I'd be immediately mollified.

[Matthew Mussolini]

I was a Unification Church member (Moonie) for a year. It was one hell of a crazy ride. But I was 18, homeless, naive, and without any true friends or family to speak of. In other words, I was exactly what they look for in a potential convert.

It's so easy for these cults to make you believe they are the answer to peace and salvation. Here's a good movie that realistically shows how they recruit the lost and vulnerable. I'm so grateful I was able to get the hell out before it was too late:

Ticket to Heaven:

Eeek!

I need to make sure I never do something like that because I technically invented my own new Religion that doesn't resemble any others prior to it, but I don't tell people I have the ticket to salvation or that people have to believe what I do or there will be consequences.

I better be sure to never ever do that. I'm quite up front with people that I believe some of the stuff I say to be bullshit and some of it true. I'm not always able to discern the diffference.

[PacificDude]

Thank goodness you got out. And no, I can't relate, because I'd be immediately mollified.

neonspectraltoast Thanks, neon. What finally gave me the courage to escape (they watch your every move - even when you go to the bathroom!) was they had matched me up with a girl I had never met to get married in one of their insane mass wedding ceremonies in NYC. More than 500 couples! I literally left the church center at 2 a.m. before everybody got up at 4 a.m. for daily prayer and worship (to Rev. Moon and his wife). I said a prayer to Mother Teresa and made a quick run for it! I was very lucky :-)

[PacificDude]

Eeek!

I need to make sure I never do something like that because I technically invented my own new Religion that doesn't resemble any others prior to it, but I don't tell people I have the ticket to salvation or that people have to believe what I do or there will be consequences.

I better be sure to never ever do that. I'm quite up front with people that I believe some of the stuff I say to be bullshit and some of it true. I'm not always able to discern the diffference.

Matthew Mussolini Trust me, your religion could not be more deceptive or delusional than The Moonies. While we were all starving to death, sleeping on floors, and selling flowers up to 20 hours each day - Rev. Moon was sleeping in a mansion and eating exotic food he ordered from expensive restaurants. No wonder he was so fat! Haha.

[everything bagel]

I was a member of the Hip Forums cult

[lode]

Huh. This is legit fascinating. When did you finally break and decide not to be a Mooney? Where was this at?

Are there still mooneys?

[PacificDude]

I was a member of the Hip Forums cult

everything bagel You bring up a legit point, bagel: Moonies or Hip Forums? Which is more toxic to the soul ;-)

[PacificDude]

Huh. This is legit fascinating. When did you finally break and decide not to be a Mooney? Where was this at?

Are there still mooneys?

lode It was in Chicago during the early 1980s. I decided to leave because I was not going to marry a girl from another country I had never even met!

P.S. Yeah, they're still around, but now that Rev. Moon has passed away, they basically make their money (they were always a business, never a true church) through restaurants they own, arts and crafts shops, the fishing industry, and donations from the lost souls that still believe in them. The days of selling roses at the airport are over and done.

[PacificDude]

12 roses will get you a ticket to heaven just for $20!!

[6-eyed]

Eeek!

I need to make sure I never do something like that because I technically invented my own new Religion that doesn't resemble any others prior to it, but I don't tell people I have the ticket to salvation or that people have to believe what I do or there will be consequences.

I better be sure to never ever do that. I'm quite up front with people that I believe some of the stuff I say to be bullshit and some of it true. I'm not always able to discern the diffference.

Looks like another interesting old movie to add to my viewing queued

[PacificDude]

Looks like another interesting old movie to add to my viewing queued

6-eyed Roger Ebert liked it. Plus I can say (from personal experience) that the movie is totally true to life :-)

Here's the movie trailer for you if it will help you to decide:

[Beach Ball Bitch]

I have never been a cult member. I know people who have been though. Glad you are out of that mess. . Congrats on the escape. Hard to walk away from things like that, when they become your family and are cut off from everyone else

[PacificDude]

I have never been a cult member. I know people who have been though. Glad you are out of that mess. . Congrats on the escape. Hard to walk away from things like that, when they become your family and are cut off from everyone else

Beach Ball Bitch Thanks much! The hardest part was leaving behind many good people I thought of as my true family. Plus it didn't help matters that I'd been conditioned to believe if I ever left the "church" I was destined for a life of hell. I often wonder and worry about the brothers and sisters I left behind. Thing is, we can only save ourselves :-)

[Beach Ball Bitch]

Yep, we can only save ourselves. So true. I realize I can’t save the world. It is nice to belong and feel welcome... I am very comfortable alone. There is a lot to be said for independence. I really don’t like to rely on others for my well being.

How long have you been out of the moonies? Ah you don’t have to say, if you don’t want, it will tell all your age....What was it that made you decide to go?

[PacificDude]

Beach Ball Bitch Well, let's just say I left during a time when musical groups like Foreigner were all the rage...haha. I left because I was not about to marry a woman I'd never met living more than 3,000 miles from me. I mean, The Unification Church (Moonies) was all about one race - so they purposely joined together people of other races - so ultimately through our children there would only be one race.

My wife to be was Korean, and did not speak a word of English. I got to see a picture of her (she was very pretty), but apart from that I knew nothing about her. It was sad for her. And it was sad for me. So I got the hell out! God only knows who they hooked the poor girl up with:

[Beach Ball Bitch]

. Well I didn’t know that is was about marrying people to create a race, I would have run as well if I was to marry a complete stranger. Glad foreigner saved you from marrying a foreigner. . I knew a guy whose mom ran a cult in Minnesota. He was raised in it. He still talks to his sister but they both ran away. They were so watched they were never allowed to close any doors to rooms they were in. Not even the bathroom!