LYING WITH THE TRUTH:

Deception and Mind Control
in the Worldwide Church of God,
A Case Study in Religious Manipulation

Preface: The Leopard Still Has His Spots, or, Why This Article is Still True

1. Getting Out: the Aftermath

2. How Did I Get Here?

2.1. Where Other Literature Failed

2.2. The Church’s Appeal

2.3. The First Church Services

2.4. Applied Ugliness

3. Going Deeper

3.1. The Unspoken Teachings

3.2. Ministerial Power

3.3. The Organization Chart

3.4. The Life of the Mind

3.5. The Other Sex

3.6. Artists and Their Ilk

4. The Evidence of Poison

4.1. Killing Bible Study

4.2. Killing Prayer

4.3. Killing the Sabbath

4.4. Killing Your Spirit

4.5. Killing Natural Affection

4.6. Killing Your Career

4.7. Killing Your Finances

4.8. Killing the Good Samaritan

5. Victims become Victimizers

5.1. Worse than an Infidel

5.2. Calvin’s Ugly Head

5.3. Fascist Families

5.4. A Culture of Cruelty

5.5. No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

5.6. Pushed to their Doom

6. The Shock of Recognition

6.1. Streetcorner Pharisee

6.2. The Place of Safety

7. The Tricks of the Trade

7.1. Truths Used in the Lies

7.2. Mystery Religion 101

7.3. Tossed To and Fro

7.4. The Unpardonable Corporate Sin

8. Hard-won Understanding

8.1. Redeeming Time Lost

8.2. Healing Words from Surprising Sources

8.3. The Cult Experience

9. Corrupt Fruit

10. Dear Amy: An Open Letter to a Friend on her Leaving the Worldwide Church of God

10.1. Notes on My Letter to Amy

10.2. The Terror of Prophecy

11. Notes about this Article

11.1. Note to the Second Edition

11.2. Note to the Third Edition

11.3. Note to the Fourth Edition

11.4. Note to the Fifth Edition

11.4. Addendum

Note on acronyms

12. Were We Really in a Cult?

12.1 Is the Worldwide Church of God Still a Cult?

12.1.1 Stabbed in the Heart

12.1.2 Looking at the Evidence

12.1.3 The Historical Outrageousness of the Changes

12.1.4 Now Joe has his Reward! The Approval of the Mainstream

12.1.5 What You Don't Know Can Hurt You -- and Others

12.2 Are Offshoots and Splits Also Cults?

12.2.1 Responding to Alan Ruth's Assessment

12.2.2 The Legacy of Spiritual Abuse Must Not be Trivialized

12.2.3 Need for Clarification on the Distinctive Signs of Cults

13. Where Do I Go After the Worldwide Church of God?

14. The Continuing Perils of Jesse

14.1 Part One: 1996-1998, Back to Church at Last

14.2 Part Two: 1999-2001, Church of God (Seventh Day) Love & Messianic Joy

14.2 Part Three: 2001-2002, Messianic Anguish

14.2 Part Four: 2002, back to Church of God (Seventh Day)

14.2 Part Five: 2002, the Bible Study Debacle

15. Bibliography & Links

15.1. Sources Used in this Article

15.2. Further Reading

15.3. Helpful Books & Websites re Mind Control

15.4. Emotional Healing Books & Websites

15.5. Antidotes

15.6. Ex-WCG Websites (if you absolutely have to!)

16. Copyright Notice