DEALING WITH GUILT
The following quote comes from a tract written by Randall Watters, a former Jehovah's Witness leader who now heads a Christian ministry in the United States. We believe it is important and has applications beyond those exiting cults.
"A very large part of the cultist's (and also the ex-cultist under therapy) problem is actually centred in the sin nature of the individual. No amount of counselling and logical reasoning or refutation can erase the effects of this sin problem. Psychiatrists are at a loss to cope with cultic brainwashing, and groups such as "Fundamentalists Anonymous" can only expose the failures of the cultic system; they cannot offer true healing.
"A born-again Christian, on the other hand, can offer healing through the Word of God, as only the Word of God recognizes sin as the problem, and can therefore address it accurately. Any other efforts have a limited value in terms of spiritual healing.
"More important than conquering the false guilt caused by the cult is real guilt born of the sin nature and our failure to be what we know we should; i.e., the guilt of sin.
"Secular counsellors do not recognize this kind of guilt, and sometimes even Christian counsellors do not address it. Deborah Davis, herself once a member of a cult, comments on the guilt of sin: 'I believe one reason why many psychologists and counsellors meet only partial success in helping cult victims back to normalcy is that they are not separating the two guilt factors. There is guilt born of personal failure, the result of human pride. For example an ex-cult victim will experience guilt because he has failed the cult, failed his prophet, and become a Judas, a backslider. The "guilt trips" placed on cult members by cult doctrine produce a form of human guilt, what I would term "unrighteous guilt." This kind of guilt can be singled out and eliminated in counselling.'
"But there is another form of guilt, proceeding from a man's conscience. This is the guilt of sin, what I call 'righteous guilt.' It cannot be counselled away. To eliminate it this kind of guilt a man (or woman) must seek and find divine forgiveness. The guilt of sin is a spiritual matter. Non-Christian psychiatrists, psychologists and counsellors do not recognise the reality of sin or the guilt which accompanies it. Consequently they lump all guilt into one category and view it as "unrighteous guilt." They talk of "False Guilt." If these two guilt factors are unknowingly lumped together and justified, the victim will continue to feel the pain of guilt, the result of sin. He/she will remain fragmented and alienated.
"Counsellors are baffled as to why so many ex-cult victims are not healed and continue to suffer severe depression, anxiety, and emotional trauma. They don't understand why they cannot seem to "break away" from their experience in the cult. The reason is that they are still carrying the guilt of sin. It is becoming a common belief that a thorough understanding of the dynamics of mind-control techniques will free a person from cultic bondage and ease the burden of an ex-cult member's guilty conscience. No, it won't. If guilt and sin can be explained away, there exists no need of a Saviour. The Apostle John wrote, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness," (1 John 1:19").
"In The Children of God, © Zondervan, 1984, p.180, Mrs. Davis sheds light on the need for Christian counsellors in the cult ministries who are acutely aware of the 'sin problem' in man, and who recognise the Christian approach to overcome sin. Only those who are born-again and who have a working knowledge of Paul's letters to the Romans and the Galatians are adequately qualified to provide true spiritual help to such persons."
"A very large part of the cultist's (and also the ex-cultist under therapy) problem is actually centred in the sin nature of the individual. No amount of counselling and logical reasoning or refutation can erase the effects of this sin problem. Psychiatrists are at a loss to cope with cultic brainwashing, and groups such as "Fundamentalists Anonymous" can only expose the failures of the cultic system; they cannot offer true healing.
"A born-again Christian, on the other hand, can offer healing through the Word of God, as only the Word of God recognizes sin as the problem, and can therefore address it accurately. Any other efforts have a limited value in terms of spiritual healing.
"More important than conquering the false guilt caused by the cult is real guilt born of the sin nature and our failure to be what we know we should; i.e., the guilt of sin.
"Secular counsellors do not recognize this kind of guilt, and sometimes even Christian counsellors do not address it. Deborah Davis, herself once a member of a cult, comments on the guilt of sin: 'I believe one reason why many psychologists and counsellors meet only partial success in helping cult victims back to normalcy is that they are not separating the two guilt factors. There is guilt born of personal failure, the result of human pride. For example an ex-cult victim will experience guilt because he has failed the cult, failed his prophet, and become a Judas, a backslider. The "guilt trips" placed on cult members by cult doctrine produce a form of human guilt, what I would term "unrighteous guilt." This kind of guilt can be singled out and eliminated in counselling.'
"But there is another form of guilt, proceeding from a man's conscience. This is the guilt of sin, what I call 'righteous guilt.' It cannot be counselled away. To eliminate it this kind of guilt a man (or woman) must seek and find divine forgiveness. The guilt of sin is a spiritual matter. Non-Christian psychiatrists, psychologists and counsellors do not recognise the reality of sin or the guilt which accompanies it. Consequently they lump all guilt into one category and view it as "unrighteous guilt." They talk of "False Guilt." If these two guilt factors are unknowingly lumped together and justified, the victim will continue to feel the pain of guilt, the result of sin. He/she will remain fragmented and alienated.
"Counsellors are baffled as to why so many ex-cult victims are not healed and continue to suffer severe depression, anxiety, and emotional trauma. They don't understand why they cannot seem to "break away" from their experience in the cult. The reason is that they are still carrying the guilt of sin. It is becoming a common belief that a thorough understanding of the dynamics of mind-control techniques will free a person from cultic bondage and ease the burden of an ex-cult member's guilty conscience. No, it won't. If guilt and sin can be explained away, there exists no need of a Saviour. The Apostle John wrote, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness," (1 John 1:19").
"In The Children of God, © Zondervan, 1984, p.180, Mrs. Davis sheds light on the need for Christian counsellors in the cult ministries who are acutely aware of the 'sin problem' in man, and who recognise the Christian approach to overcome sin. Only those who are born-again and who have a working knowledge of Paul's letters to the Romans and the Galatians are adequately qualified to provide true spiritual help to such persons."