You have probably heard of and have a good understanding of the word narcissist. It has been used more in the last four years than any other time in recent history. The interesting thing about one who is described as being a narcissist is that all Cult leaders who have been studied possess strong narcissistic instincts.
Cult leaders have the ability to pursued, motivate and manipulate the minds people without them ever realizing it until it’s too late. In recent history there have been several narcissist cult leaders who along with their followers have shocked the world. To name a few in the late 1960’s there was Charles Manson who led the Manson family and killed seven people in order to start a race war. Heaven’s Gate was another Cult who believed God to be an alien. 39 members of that cult committed suicide. I ‘am sure most of you remember the Branch Dividians in Texas who had a 51-day standoff with Law enforcement before going down in a hail of bullets and fire. And finally, Jim Jones probably one of the most well-known cult leaders who convinced over 900 members to commit suicide via drinking the infamous Kool-Aid.
One of the greatest charms of a narcissist cult leader is the ability to draw people into the cult without them knowing it. Members when challenged, will vehemently deny they are a member of a cult.
Psychology Cults studies have Identified several traits and characteristics of cult members. www.onlinepsychologydegree.info describes ten of the most prominent traits of a cult. Below are some excerpts from the website I found most interesting:
- Cults are attractive because they promote an illusion of comfort.
Jon-Patrik Pedersen, a psychologist at CalTech, has pointed out that cult leaders often make promises that are totally unattainable, but also offered by no other group in society. Such things might include financial security, total health, constant peace of mind, and eternal life — the things every human desires at the deepest level.
- Cults satisfy the human desire for absolute answers.
Dr. Adrian Furnham describes in Psychology Today, humans crave clarity. Many people join cults because they believe they’re being offered solid, absolute answers for questions such as good vs. evil, religion, the meaning of life, politics, etc. Many cult leaders promote messages that are simple and seem to make sense, the exact opposite of what we’re often provided with in typical, everyday life.
- Cult leaders convince their victims to separate themselves from society, give up personal possessions and sometimes huge sums of money. They convince people buy into whatever they are promoting.
Paranoia: To maintain a false sense of comfort, cults often rely on paranoia tactics. Cult leaders convince their victims that a group, their families, and/or the government is out to get them, but that the cult can provide safety. Once a cult member comes to the conclusion that their families and country cannot keep them safe, they begin to worship and put all of their faith in their cult leader.
- Cult members often have no idea they’re in a cult.
Psychologist Dr. Margaret Thaler Singer spent most of her career studying the psychology of cults and brainwashing. She found that most people enter a cult willingly, without realizing the power it is bound to have over them. Singer theorizes that this is partly because some people are more willing to see the perceived benefits than they are the potential dangers. She also mentions that many people assume cults are only religious, though in truth, cults can also be political groups, lifestyle groups, or business groups.
An interestingly, those in the cult count any negativity toward their leader as a threat. They believe the leader words are always the truth and anyone who contest the leader’s words is the enemy. In order to maintain order in the cult, there must always be a foe. There has to be an us against them frame of mind to maintain cohesiveness within the cult. Compromise in the cults mind is a sign of weakness. This frame of thought is continuously shared from the leader to the followers. Truth is only truth if it aligns with the message the cult leader is sending.
Cult members by way of their affiliation with the cult have little to no sympathy or empathy for anyone who is not in agreement with them. They are taught that power must be absolute, and their leader is the only one who is capable or qualified to garnish the reins of authority and power. They will compromise any past morals, relationships, friends or beliefs in order to align with and please the leader. They other members in contempt if they challenge anything the leader has said.
The greatest threat of a cult on a society is what happens when the leader is finally challenged, and the leader is in danger of losing control? We seen the atrocities committed by the afore mentioned cults at the beginning of this post. It is usually attempted destruction to themselves and others.
If you are not a member of a cult it is easy to draw a correlation to what is happing in our country today. We have leader who will not accept defeat and followers who are increasingly ready to drink the kool-aid of division. Now more than ever we should be constant in prayer for our country, for the leader and for his followers that they may see things in the real truth and not the alternative truth they are often drawn to like moth into the light. We who are not members of a cultic mindset have an obligation to show love and not condemnation towards them if we are ever going to have an opportunity for peace. I was a young boy during the Nixon years and still remember my friends who were stark supporters of the President Nixon who won the presidency twice. After the scandal of Watergate and the exposure of his corruption and eventual resignation; life went on.
They are still here and many count that era as a life lesson on the character of man. Remember that many may never now or admit to a cult mentality. You may even know someone who fits the description of the cult mentality attributes. If we hold fast to our faith and be still and know he is God, He will help us through this time in history.