A cult
I am writing this after watching the video 'Escape from the Exclusive Brethren - Interview with Jacky Hart'.
This is a part of a series of articles in which I talk against deprogramming, or shattering other people's principles without offering any alternatives.
The article is about the website WikiPeebia.com, or the organization that stands behind it.
The website says:
Will you join the Defence Against Religious Extremists (DARE) and support Ian by donating and sharing this appeal?
We have a David vs Goliath situation here. Our David is Ian McKay, an academic who has been researching the teaching and practices of an extreme fundamentalist religious organisation for some years. The Goliath of this tale is the Hales branch of the Exclusive Brethren.
It uses Biblical references, which suggests it is a Christian organization.
It targets a particular cult, and apparently in order to join the organization you have to have been a member of the Exclusive Brethren.
If this organization is so good, why cannot you just join it unconditionally? Why do you have to be an Exclusive Brethren first?
They do not accept bitcoin, so to donate money to them you have to support banks. No explanation is given. Apparently they just ignore currencies other than fiat.
How I left my cults
Whenever I was leaving a religion, I would join an alternative one.
First I would start attending a couple of Pagan meetings, eventually I joined Sikhism, Auroville, Rainbow Gathering and stuff, apart from that two different anarchist organizations (Seomra Spraoi and Occupy London).
I've never just left a cult with the sole intention of leaving it. I would but join another cult, and gradually leave the old one behind.
Yet the video talks about leaving the Exclusive Brethren as if leaving that particular cult was the only purpose of human life.
The website does talk about joining their organization, but it also uses vernacular such as 'True Leavers Stories' (as opposed to: 'people who joined our organization').
Imagine that Sikhism used the same principle, that for instance before joining Sikhism you would have to have been a Catholic or a Hindu.
How to join a cult
If you wan to join a cult, you can start by shopping for it on WitchVox. You do not need to have left any other particular cult. You just do your own thing.
You may want to join Auroville or Rainbow Gathering, but it may be difficult to join these movement permanently, so you have to have a plan for what to do next, like finding a regular job or coming back to your family.
Conclusion
It's nice to join a cult. (I have never joined one permanently). I believe, though, that cults shouldn't have a rule that you have to have been a member of another cult previously.
I do not really understand the idea behind Defence Against Religious Extremists, namely that you have to have been - and then left - Exclusive Brethren before you can join their ranks. Why cannot you just join them unconditionally, like you join Sikhism, or start attending some Pagan meetings?