The Truth fails the sect test Shocking results of a daunting test Berlin, Germany July 22, 2000 taz We have often voiced our disrespectful opinion on these pages about Christian and other types of sects, and in doing that, have not always run into enthusiastic applause from the people we were talking about. As proof that we do not think that we are immune ourselves, we ordered a "sect check list" from the Professional Association of German Psychologists, Inc.

in order to investigate The Truth for characteristics of a "destructive cult."

Sect check: Monopoly on Truth: the group has the only valid system of explaining the world.

The Truth: Bingo! At most, we share the sole claim to truth with the Pope.

Expansive claim to power: "We have to save the world"

is the pitch.

That's exactly the way it is! Just a smile a day can save the world.

Leader, guru, master, personality cult: He is venerated as God, saint or a "channel" (channel of God), is all-powerful, clairvoyant or has miraculous abilities.

Being master, God, even a channel, that goes without saying for a Truth editor!

Saint-like veneration and idealistic stories are propagated.

Always! We are famous for our stories.

Elite. Members of the group monitor, supervise and punish each other with threats of fire and brimstone.

Internally, there is a special jargon.

Yes, our middle names are "fire and brimstone." Besides that we like to mutually discipline ourselves, for example with out special jargon: Ygat grumpf thpthzzzt.

Elite consciousness. Group members feel like the Avant Garde of world salvation.

Is there anything else in the world besides The Truth?

What's wrong with that?

Exploitation: Group members (more or less voluntarily) let themselves be exploited as a cheap form of labor.

Of course those who work for the Truth are exploited, they do it to themselves.

Subversive activities: The group believes it is above the law and urges members to perform illegal activities.

Law, what's that? Any more of those lies and we'll send our boys around.

Control of consciousness. De-personalization: total acceptance is demanded, the group and the common goal are more important than the individual.

That is the only way it works!

Material dependency: The group member has no private property and/or money.

What is money? A Truth editor doesn't need money!

Breaking with one's own personal past: relations to family of origin, to spouses and friends are broken off.

Schools, studies and careers are given up.

For Truth you just have to make small sacrifices.

Techniques for personality alteration. Techniques are used to mobilize emotions, create a euphoric effect and alter consciousness.

Joking and degrading, ribald tales and comments - all techniques to make even the toughest nuts giggle.

Contact to the outside. The group practices manipulative methods of recruitment in which people are lured in with unrealistic promises.

Why else would the Truth Club have been founded?

Bunker mentality: The group shuts itself off from the outside ("Heaven inside, Hell outside"). Conspiracy theories and persecution complexes are the rule.

That is an untrue claim by our enemies. We are not persecuted by anybody, even though the readers are eavesdropping on us with directional microphones and want to destroy us with death-rays from outer space.

The bunker of Truth will prevail!

The disturbing result of the open, self-critical weltanschauung check: The Truth is clearly a dangerous cult. Therefore, don't read this page!

--- Unofficial translations of German media, For non-commercial use only Recent events - http://cisar.org/trnmenu.htm Informational publications http://members.tripod.com/German_Scn_News Over 1200 articles sorted by date http://cisar.org/sortdate.htm

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