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Monday, December 12, 2016

BLASPHEMOUS NOVEL "THE SHACK" TO BE RELEASED AS FILM FEATURING GOD AS WOMAN; MUSIC FROM HILLSONG UNITED

 
BLASPHEMOUS NOVEL "THE SHACK" TO BE RELEASED AS FILM FEATURING GOD AS WOMAN; 
MUSIC FROM HILLSONG UNITED 
BY HEATHER CLARK
 
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:
 
Concerns are being raised as the popular and blasphemous novel “The 
Shack” will be released as a film in 2017—a book that portrays God the 
Father as a woman, and that some say unbiblically teaches universalism.
William P. Young’s 2007 novel is stated to have sold approximately 20 million copies and has been translated into 39 languages. In 2013, Lionsgate Entertainment obtained the rights to turn the book into a film, which is now scheduled to be released in March 2017 and is currently being promoted nationwide.
“The Shack” tells the story of a man named Mackenzie “Mack” Phillips who faces a crisis while on a family vacation as his youngest daughter Missy is abducted and presumably killed in an abandoned shack. Years later, the grieving father receives a note from “Papa,” who tells Phillips that it has “been a while” and to meet up at the shack the following weekend.
Reluctantly, Phillips returns to the site, where he meets the Godhead, portrayed as what Young called a “fat black woman,” another young woman named Sarayu, and a carpenter named Jesus, who seek to help him deal with his faltering faith and to learn to forgive.

The film features Octavia Spencer as “Papa,” who is asked blatantly by Phillips, played by Sam Worthington, “Where were you when I needed you?”
“I never left you. I never left Missy,” she replies with tears.
Sumire Matsubara, a young Asian woman, plays the Holy Spirit, portrayed in the book as Sarayu.

Spencer told reporters prior to the film’s production, “[P]eople have to remember it’s a manifestation of God—how [the film subject] sees God—not necessarily how or who or what God is.”
In addition to music from country stars Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, Lady Antebellum, Brett Eldredge and Dierk Bentley, the film also features songs from Christian-identified groups Hillsong United and NeedtoBreathe.
But some have expressed concern not only over the portrayals in “The Shack,” but also the numerous messages that they state are unbiblical. James De Young, a professor of New Testament Language and Literature at Western Seminary in Oregon, wrote a book entitled “Burning Down the Shack: How the ‘Christian’ Bestseller is Deceiving Millions.”
“A relationship with God comes only by personal trust or faith placed in Jesus Christ,” he told WND. “For the book to ignore this core of faith is to propound another and different gospel to that of Jesus and the Apostles. It is the heart of the gospel, but it is ignored in the heresy of universal salvation.”
De Young said that in “The Shack,” “ultimately there’s no divine Savior and Lord, because if people including the devil and his angels get into Heaven, there’s no cross left to preach.”
“If we cast off the uniqueness of the gospel message, then God is relegated to an understanding of a deity of our own creation,” he stated.
Others have also noted that “The Shack” suggests that God is all love and no justice, and will never judge men for their sins, nor will any be tormented eternally in Hell.
“I can already imagine ‘The Shack’ Bible studies, sermon series, and of course the social media hype, not to mention busloads of small groups fellowshipping and praising ‘Papa’ for another opportunity to share Jesus. But which Jesus?” asked Amy Spreeman of Berean Research.
 ________________________________________________________
 OCTAVIA SPENCER PLAYS GOD (BUT NOT THE GOD OF THE BIBLE):
 The Shack: Its Dangerous Theology and Error 
(Full Documentary Film)

THE SHACK: Exposing Its Dangerous Heresies (Iron Sharpens Iron Radio Interview)



________________________________________________________
SEE OUR PREVIOUS POSTS ABOUT THE SHACK & THOSE PROMOTING IT AND OTHER SOURCES; THESE ARE JUST TWO:

SEE ALSO: https://reformednazarene.wordpress.com/2017/02/18/christians
-falling-for-the-shack-must-get-back-to-the-word-of-god/

MACY'S NO LONGER DONATING TO PLANNED PARENTHOOD THROUGH EMPLOYEE MATCHING GIFT PROGRAM

 
MACY'S NO LONGER DONATING TO PLANNED PARENTHOOD THROUGH EMPLOYEE 
MATCHING GIFT PROGRAM
BY HEATHER CLARK
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:
 
A watchdog group that monitors the social stances of major corporations, as well as those who donate to the abortion and contraceptive giant Planned Parenthood, has announced that the retail store Macy’s has discontinued donations to the organization through its matching program.
“Macy’s confirmed with 2ndVote … that the company no longer gives and no longer matches donations to Planned Parenthood,” 2ndVote said in a post on Wednesday.
Representatives with the retailer had explained to the Daily Signal last year that Macy’s hadn’t been giving to the organization directly, but matched employee donations in a few instances.
“Our company makes no direct donations to Planned Parenthood,” it said. “In our Matching Gift program, we will match our employees’ donations to any 501c3 organization. We are a company of 160,000 people, and we do match a small handful of gifts each year to Planned Parenthood organizations given that they are 501c3.”

Macy’s has not released an official statement declaring its discontinuance, and is not commenting to the media, but 2ndVote states that they were able to obtain confirmation.
“Macy’s has listened to its customers and this shows that informed consumers are able to effectively engage companies for taking positions on the issues,” said 2ndVote Director of Communications Robert Kuykendall. “Ultimately, people don’t want to support organizations like Planned Parenthood that don’t match their values and they would rather do business with a more neutral company, especially on the life issue.”
Kuykendall’s organization maintains a list of companies that give to Planned Parenthood in one form or another. It currently has 36 major corporations on its direct donation list, including Avon, Clorox, ExxonMobil, Microsoft, PepsiCo, Starbucks and Verizon.

2ndVote says that 25 percent of Planned Parenthood’s annual revenue comes from private donations. Planned Parenthood’s annual report released last December outlined that it received $353 million in private contributions and bequests from June 2014-June 2015.
The organization also received $553 million in government grants during the period, up from $528 million the year prior, which equated to 43 percent of its total income. And despite its expenditures, Planned Parenthood still garnered a $61 million dollar profit.
It performed 323,999 abortions, or approximately one-third of all abortions nationwide when compared to data released by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

As previously reported, Planned Parenthood, originally known as the American Birth Control League, was founded by Margaret Sanger, a feminist who decried what she characterized as women serving as “incubators.”
“Woman’s role has been that of an incubator and little more. She has given birth to an incubated race,” she wrote in “Woman and the New Race.” “In the mass, she has brought forth quantity, not quality. The requirement of a male dominated civilization has been numbers. She has met that requirement.”
“This is the dawn. Womanhood shakes off its bondage. It asserts its right to be free. In its freedom, its thoughts turn to the race. Like begets like. We gather perfect fruit from perfect trees,” Sanger said. “The relentless efforts of reactionary authority to suppress the message of birth control and of voluntary motherhood are futile. The powers of reaction cannot now prevent the feminine spirit from breaking its bonds. ”
Sanger, who was a staunch advocate of eugenics, also made a correlation between birth control and the purification of the races, referring to those with disabilities as being “morons,” “idiots” and “imbeciles.”
“Birth control itself, often denounced as a violation of natural law, is nothing more or less than the facilitation of the process of weeding out the unfit, of preventing the birth of defectives or of those who will become defectives,” she wrote in the aforementioned publication. “If we are to make racial progress, this development of womanhood must precede motherhood in every individual woman.”
 

SWEDEN: MUSLIM MIGRANTS DEFECATE, MASTURBATE, SCREAM ISLAMIC CHANTS IN CHURCH PEWS

SWEDEN: MUSLIM MIGRANTS DEFECATE, MASTURBATE, SCREAM ISLAMIC CHANTS IN CHURCH PEWS  
BY CHRISTINE WILLIAMS
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:
 
Christians have become frightened to visit the Holy Trinity church as newcomers are reported to yell loudly and smash liquor bottles during services, masturbate in the pews and urinate and defecate both inside and in the church grounds.
The “newcomers” are Muslim migrants that the Christians tried to open their hearts to and welcome.
These Muslim migrants event went a little further:
Aside from leaving their offensive bodily fluids everywhere, the migrants scream Islamic chants and smash liquor bottles on the floor in an attempt to silence Christian worshipers from praying to God.
Can one imagine the same being done by Christians in a mosque? It’s shocking and disgusting what the West puts up with in the name of political correctness and diversity. It’s even an insult to Muslims themselves: the most “racist” or ethnocentric gesture is to treat human beings as if they were animals who cannot be expected to behave in a civilized manner.

 
 
“Security Guards at Church Services As ‘New Clientele’ Defecate, Masturbate in Pews,” by Virginia Hale, Breitbart, December 9, 2016:
A church in Kristianstad has been forced to hire guards to keep the peace at services after the disruptive behavior of “new clientele” has become increasingly serious in recent years.
Christians have become frightened to visit the Holy Trinity church as newcomers are reported to yell loudly and smash liquor bottles during services, masturbate in the pews and urinate and defecate both inside and in the church grounds.
Concerned locals have even reported concern over attempts to kidnap children during baptism.
Police yesterday gave the go-ahead to the church to have Security guards at all future services, weddings and christenings. Staff have also received training on how to deal with threats and violence and sessions on conflict management are in the works, the Kristianstadsbladet reported.
Holy Trinity administrative manager Bengt Alvland told the newspaper that people have repeatedly tried to steal silver, and staff are having to keep the organ locked to prevent them from climbing on top of it to disturb worshipers.
He also recounted how, during baptism, people have tried to take children away from the priest and parents as the ceremony was ongoing. In addition, people have sat masturbating in the pews.
 “[A man] was pulling on his penis. He did not stop, even when a female police officer told him to”, Alvland said, adding: “There are no limits or inhibitions for these people. It makes the staff feel very concerned”.
He revealed that the people whose behavior is proving so disruptive are not the town’s “old homeless”, but are instead a “new clientele”.
“The fact that there are more security guards at the Town Hall and the railway station means there are fewer places for these people to go. Therefore, the church has become the weakest link”, Alvland explained.
Speaking on Holy Trinity’s request for security presence during services, he said: “We want a peaceful and safe environment for our staff and visitors”. The security industry is booming in Sweden, with sales for market leader Securitas reaching 80 billion Swedish krona in 2015, twice the amount the nation spends on defense.
After numerous comments on the story were posted on Kristianstadsbladet’s Facebook page, many of which connected the disturbances with mass migration to the city, the Swedish church issued a statement insisting that it’s “Swedish men aged 35-45 with drug problems” who are causing the trouble.
Stein Flom Jacobsen questioned this, writing on Facebook: “I see that these persons will be described as ‘Swedish men……’ what does that mean that they’re Swedish citizens, or that they are so-called ‘ethnic Swedes’? I know several addicts and have met a lot of them but never understood them to be menacing, or heard of this form of vandalism in churches, temples or mosques”.

BOSTON ISLAMIC CENTER WITH TIES TO MULTIPLE JIHAD TERRORISTS HOSTS INTERFAITH CALL FOR PEACE

BOSTON ISLAMIC CENTER WITH TIES 
TO MULTIPLE JIHAD TERRORISTS 
HOSTS INTERFAITH CALL FOR PEACE
BY ROBERT SPENCER
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:
 
The cynicism of this is breathtaking, but the easy marks among Jewish and Christian leaders are lining up to participate.
“It’s ironic that they would hold a rally against hate in one of the most hateful houses of worship in New England where imam after imam has been found to preach anti-Semitism, homophobia, and hate for the United States, its people and its government.”
Yes, but there is never any shortage of useful idiots among Jewish and Christian leaders. And this article goes easy: not only was the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center frequented by the Tsarnaev brothers, Siddiqui, and Mehanna, but also Ahmad Abousamra, the Islamic State’s “social media guru.” And Alamoudi wasn’t just “sentenced in 2004 to 23 years in prison for taking part in a plot to kill Saudi royal officials”; that operation was an al-Qaeda plot.


“Controversial Islamic center hosts interfaith call for peace, despite terror ties,” by Brooke Singman, Fox News, December 9, 2016:
A Boston Islamic center that has been linked to convicted terrorists is hosting an interfaith event on Sunday to promote peace, but some critics say such “hateful houses of worship” are a dubious venue for a message of solidarity and hope.
The event, at Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center, is entitled “Out of Many, One,” and has Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., slated to speak. It is sponsored by the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization, and aimed at bringing religious communities together under common beliefs.
This Cambridge mosque has been at the center of controversy for years.
“My hope is that we can provide a place for members of the community, who are so fearful and concerned about our values being challenged, to speak up,” Interfaith Organization Board Member Nahma Nadich told FoxNews.com. “We need to affirm our values and be in solidarity with each other to protect all members of our community against hateful, divisive rhetoric.”
But the location of the event has raised concerns, as the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center operates two mosques –one in Boston, where the event will be held, and one in Cambridge where several convicted terrorists reportedly worshiped. They include Boston Marathon bombers Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev; Aafia Siddiqui, who plotted a chemical attack on New York City and Tarek Mehanna, who was sentenced in 2012 to 17 years in prison for conspiring to aid Al Qaeda.
In addition, a founder of ISBCC, Abduraham Alamoudi, was sentenced in 2004 to 23 years in prison for taking part in a plot to kill Saudi royal officials, has allegedly worshiped at the mosque.
Neither the mosque nor top officials have been implicated in criminal activity. But critics say several speakers at the mosque have delivered fiery and hateful sermons, and that its connections to terror make it an unlikely host of an event calling for peace.
“It’s ironic that they would hold a rally against hate in one of the most hateful houses of worship in New England where imam after imam has been found to preach anti-Semitism, homophobia, and hate for the United States, its people and its government,” Director of Research at Americans for Peace and Tolerance Ilya Feoktistov told FoxNews.com.
U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts Carmen Ortiz has dismissed Americans for Peace and Tolerance’s claims as “incredibly racist and unfair.”
But Feoktistov referred to a 2010 video of Abdullah Faaruuq, a guest preacher, exhorting worshipers to “grab onto the rope, grab onto the typewriter, grab onto the shovel, grab onto the gun and the sword.” Faaruuq told FoxNews.com last year that ISIS was not created by Islamic teachings, but rather by America.
“It was created by the United States’ encouragement into other people’s countries seeking weapons of mass destruction that don’t exist,” Faaruuq said. “Destroying their societies and leaving the bitter taste in young people’s mouths.”
In August, ISBCC appointed an associate imam, Abdul-Malik Merchant, who, according to APT shared anti-Semitic posts on social media. Merchant issued an apology to the Jewish community.
Local Jewish leaders said neither the ISBCC nor the mosques it operates should be judged by the actions of a few….
Feoktistov said faith leaders and elected officials are turning a blind eye to what has taken place in the mosque.
“I think lawmakers discount the hatred for political reasons because the hatred is being spouted by what they consider to be a valuable minority,” Feoktistov told Fox News. “They are holding this event at an extremely hateful place, and that doesn’t bother them at all.”…
The “Interfaith call for Dignity & Diligence” event will take place at ISBCC in Roxbury, on Sunday, Dec. 11 at 6 p.m.
ISBCC Executive Director Yusuf Vali said in a statement that the work at the ISBCC embodies a community that “builds bridges” and “brings people together.”…

MITT ROMNEY IS OUT, REX TILLERSON IS IN

 MITT ROMNEY IS OUT, REX TILLERSON IS IN

Exxon Mobil CEO reportedly Trump's top pick for secretary of state

 Alex Jones breaks down the reason that Donald Trump has reportedly picked Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson as secretary of state, passing over both Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman, who had been on the short list to be America’s top diplomat.

 

BERLIN SENATE'S NEW MUSLIM SECRETARY OF STATE CLAIMS SHARIA "ABSOLUTELY COMPATIBLE" WITH GERMAN LAW

MERKEL COULDN'T FIND A GERMAN, SO SHE APPOINTS A PALESTINIAN WITH MIDDLE EAST MULTICULTURAL SYMPATHIES LIKE HERS
 http://www.infiniteunknown.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Sawsan-Chebli.png
BERLIN SENATE'S NEW MUSLIM SECRETARY OF STATE CLAIMS SHARIA "ABSOLUTELY COMPATIBLE" 
WITH GERMAN LAW 
BY ROBERT SPENCER
 
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:
 
Stonings, amputations, warfare against non-Muslims, institutionalized 
subjugation of women and non-Muslims, denial of the freedom of speech — 
what do you mean, incompatible with German law? This is the new, Merkelian, 
multicultural Germany.
 
“Berlin’s New Secretary of State is Pro-Sharia Law Conservative Muslim,” by Oliver JJ Lane, Breitbart, December 11, 2016 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):
The daughter of Palestinian immigrants is to be the Berlin senate’s secretary of state for coordinating federal and state affairs, but attention has focused on her recent remarks in support of Sharia law.
Berlin state senate member, former deputy speaker for foreign affairs and Muslim rising star of German politics Sawsan Chebli is to get a new cabinet post. The appointment by the Red-Red-Green coalition government has caused concern after a recent interview in which she expressed her view that Sharia law was perfectly compatible with secular German society.
Speaking back in August alongside Berlin Social Democrat party Mayor Michael Muller, she not only defended Sharia law against suspicion by many Germans who she accused of not understanding what it meant, but she also went on the attack too. Criticising members of anti-mass migration party Alternative for German (AfD), she said their views towards foreigners made them fundamentally un-German.
Speaking to the Franzfurter Allgeimeine Zeitung, she said: “My father is a pious Muslim, hardly speaks German, can neither read nor write, but he is more integrated than many functionaries of the AfD who question our constitution”.
Germany’s newspaper of record and the nation’s most widely-read broadsheet Welt reported Sunday that while the politician attempted to portray the image of the perfect “successful migrant” who despite being born to illiterate, stateless parents was able to succeed in education and enter politics, there are “cracks” displayed by her support of Sharia.
In August she complained that in political discourse, German national law and Sharia law are always presented as contradictory to each other, and said “Everyone talks about Shariah, but hardly anyone knows what Sharia means”. Remarking that Sharia exists “largely to govern the relationship between God and man”, Chebli said Sharia law was “absolutely compatible” with Germany….
______________________________________________________

Germany: Steinmeier sending diplomat to Turkey to improve relations – FM spokesperson 

 Published on Aug 8, 2016

Spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry Sawsan Chebli announced today that Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has sent State secretary Markus Ederer to Turkey in order to have direct talks with the Turkish authorities, during a press conference in Berlin on Monday.

SOT, Sawsan Chebli, spokesperson for Foreign Ministry (German): "We must ask ourselves the question: 'what do we actually want?' Turkey is an important partner. Turkey is an important neighbour and with each set of the refugee agreements there are important things we have to discuss with and work with them on: political, economic, and, based on the 3.5 million Turkish-Germans living here, we have a closer relationship. And when we take a look at Turkey we must ask ourselves the question: 'how do we get out of this very difficult, very [..] confrontational situation?' It is important for us to have another conversation which is why Foreign Minister [Frank-Walter] Steinmeier sent the Secretary of State to Turkey to have a direct conversation with the Turkish [and] also to search for different levels and to strengthen and bring closer the conversation, instead of, like I said, speaking over the mega phone and microphone."

SOT, Sawsan Chebli, spokesperson for Foreign Ministry (German): "In our view it is good that, following the downing of a Russian warplane through Turkey in the past years, that there is an approach. We can only welcome that, because the more that is spoken to each other - also with the conflict background in the region in which Turkey is part of - the better."

SOT, Sawsan Chebli, spokesperson for Foreign Ministry (German): "Turkey is and will stay an important partner in NATO and we don't presume therefore at the present moment that [NATO] cooperation, through the relationship between Russia and Turkey, could somehow have an impact [on NATO relations]."


PRESIDENT TRUMP, HERITAGE FOUNDATION IS THE CONTROLLED OPPOSITION

PRESIDENT TRUMP, HERITAGE FOUNDATION IS THE CONTROLLED OPPOSITION
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:
 
By Kelleigh Nelson

December 12, 2016
NewsWithViews.com
Don’t fear the enemy who attacks you, but the fake friend who hugs you.
The government is best which governs the least, because its people discipline themselves. —Thomas Jefferson
In my last article, I documented Heritage Foundation’s drafting and promotion of job destroying NAFTA, but Heritage is also responsible for many other ills that American citizens face today, including healthcare and education.
Who Funds Heritage
Heritage is not required to disclose its donors, but according to a Media Transparency report in 2006, donors have included the John M. Olin Foundation, the Castle Rock Foundation, the Richard and Helen DeVos Foundation (founders of Amway and father-in-law to newly appointed Education Secretary, Betsy DeVos), Bradley Foundation (board members include Federal Reserve and CFR members), the Koch Brothers and Claude Lambe Foundation, and Richard Mellon Scaife, who gave over $30 million to Heritage.
Scaife supported abortion, and paid for a full-page ad in the WSJ in 2011, “From the Desk of Richard M. Scaife – An Open Letter to Fellow Conservatives: Why Conservatives Should Oppose Efforts to Defund Planned Parenthood.” His mother was a good friend of Planned Parenthood founder, Margaret Sanger, and had her in for tea every Sunday afternoon.
The list of President Trump’s Supreme Court justices was culled with the aid of the Heritage Foundation and Federalist Society. Only two justices on the list are truly pro-life. There are now 38 signees on the Coalition Letter on the Pledge for a Pro-Life Nomination for Justice Scalia's Seat on the Supreme Court.
Over the past 25 years, Heritage has also been funded by private foundations such as Pew Charitable Trust which also funded many GOALS 2000 initiatives. Bill Clinton signed the Goals 2000 law on March 31, 1994, creating new education bureaucracies and facilitating federal control of local education institutions. William Greider’s bestseller, Who Will Tell the People: The Betrayal of American Democracy reveals other benefactors: “Heritage received grants from Amoco, General Motors, Chase Manhattan Bank (David Rockefeller) and right-wing foundations like Olin and Bradley.”
Heritage and National Healthcare
As John Adams said, “Facts are stubborn things.” Heritage has promoted much that is anathema to our Constitution. Let’s look at the facts.
Assuring Affordable Health Care for All Americans is the Heritage Foundation plan, written by Republicans and endorsed by the so-called conservative right. You will notice that Stuart M. Butler wrote this Heritage monograph. Butler is a Brit who is a senior fellow at the liberal Brookings Institute, the same Institute that is promoting the privatization of education. Please pay particular attention to Item #2 on page 6 of this document wherein it states, "Mandate all households to obtain adequate insurance."
James Taranto, who writes the Wall Street Journal’s “Best of the Web” column, put forth a lengthy and informative discussion on the conservative origins of the individual mandate, whose inclusion in Obamacare is today its most controversial feature on the Right.
Taranto writes that he was there when the Heritage Foundation was promoting the mandate:
Heritage did put forward the idea of an individual mandate, though it predated Hillary Care by several years. We know this because we were there: In 1988-90, we were employed at Heritage as a public relations associate (a junior writer and editor), and we wrote at least one press release for a publication touting Heritage’s plan for comprehensive legislation to provide universal “quality, affordable health care.”
As a junior publicist, we weren’t being paid for our personal opinions. But we are now, so you will be the first to know that when we worked at Heritage, we hated the Heritage plan, especially the individual mandate. “Universal health care” was neither already established nor inevitable, and we thought the foundation had made a serious philosophical and strategic error in accepting rather than disputing the left-liberal notion that the provision of “quality, affordable health care” to everyone was a proper role of government. As to the mandate, we remember reading about it and thinking: “I thought we were supposed to be for freedom.”
The plan was introduced in a 1989 book, “A National Health System for America” by Stuart Butler and Heritage Senior Researcher, Edmund Haislmaier. We seem to have mislaid our copy, and we couldn’t find it online, but we did track down a 1990 Backgrounder and a 1991 lecture by Butler that outlined the plan. One of its two major planks, the equalization of tax treatment for individually purchased and employer-provided health insurance, seemed sensible and unobjectionable, at least in principle.
But the other was the mandate, described as a “Health Care Social Contract” and fleshed out in the lecture. [Link]
Now, Stuart Butler claims we shouldn't blame Heritage for the Obamacare mandate. He links to the Amicus brief filed in the 11th circuit court of appeals, dated May 11, 2011. If you read the Amicus brief, notice Edwin Meese's name as well as Randy Barnett, of Georgetown University who has long been promoting a Constitutional Convention with Michael Patrick Leahy of Tennessee.
I find it interesting that the Affordable Health Care Act was signed into law by Barack Hussein Obama on March 23, 2010, but Heritage Foundation didn't file their Amicus brief until over a year later. Ahem!
Heritage's Mandate for Leadership
In 1980, Heritage published their Mandate for Leadership to guide the incoming Reagan Administration and its transition team. Working the high-level inside track on these personnel hiring’s was Reagan's "Kitchen Cabinet," of which Council for National Policy member, Joe Coors, was probably the best-known member.
A Reagan loyalist since the 1968 GOP convention, Coors began spending a lot of time in Washington, D.C. and at the White House. The attempt at governance by the Kitchen Cabinet became so elaborate that they actually established an office in the Executive Office Building across from the White House.
Embarrassed by the image of a covey of millionaires seeming to run parallel and sometimes conflicting personnel recruitment operations, senior White House staff produced legal opinions saying that it was illegal for a private group to occupy government property, in this case a White House office.
Although Coors produced a legal opinion arguing there was no violation of law, Coors and friends were evicted. Heritage could hardly claim diminished relations with the Reagan Administration, however, as an estimated two-thirds of its Mandate recommendations were adopted in the first year of the Administration.
Further, Heritage was using a letter of endorsement from White House Chief of Staff, Ed Meese, CNP charter member, in a December 1981 fundraising effort. In his letter of endorsement, Meese promised Heritage's president, Edwin Feulner, that "this Administration will cooperate fully with your efforts." The newly elected Ronald Reagan passed out copies of the Mandate at his first Cabinet meeting, and it quickly became his administration’s blueprint. By the end of Reagan’s first year in office, 60 percent of the Mandate’s 2,000 ideas were being implemented. After leaving the Reagan Administration, Meese joined the staff of the Heritage Foundation and is still there today.
Meese and his cronies were also involved in the theft of the Inslaw/Promis software that enabled the Justice Department to track criminal prosecutions. [Link] Meese had his intelligence buddies put a trap door in the software so the Bushes could monitor everyone. The Justice Department started sharing the illegally obtained PROMIS software with other agencies, including agencies where PROMIS was modified for intelligence purposes and sold to foreign intelligence operations in Israel, Jordan, and other places. Michael Risconsciuto of the Wackenhut security firm (former FBI and CIA) had testified that he was contracted to install a "trap door" in the software to allow the CIA to tap into PROMIS software worldwide. It appears that the original petty crimes of the Justice Department led to the exposure of a sensitive national security operation. [Link]
It also monitors all of us, and today there's an even greater software program out there...but that's another story.
Edwin J. Feulner, formerly the president of Heritage Foundation, had a yearly income including deferred compensation of $1,098,612. Former Attorney General, Edwin Meese, takes home half a million a year from Heritage. This is where your $25 monthly donations go…to enrich the lives of these top dogs. Feulner is also a charter member of the Council for National Policy (CNP).
The Rockefeller/Heritage Connection
Education researcher Chey Simonton states in her article on the Rockefeller/Heritage Connection,
"The top men of the Heritage Foundation, first Weyrich, then Ed Feulner, and now Jim DeMint, with the trust and cooperation of masses of sincerely committed conservatives, have been in a position to further elitist Rockefeller goals. (These are the Rockefeller Republicans Phyllis Schlafly called the Kingmakers, in her book, “A Choice Not an Echo.”) Along with radical World Government advocate, Walter Hoffman of the World Federalist Association, they participated on the 16 member U.S. Commission on Improving the Effectiveness of the United Nations. Working with the US Information Agency, Feulner also participated in facilitating the infamous 1985 US-Soviet Education Technology and Cultural Exchange Agreement. Soviet pedagogy, based on behavioral conditioning for a compliant collective labor force, is a dream come true for the dozens of multinational corporations funding all the think tanks promoting American education reform. The humanist Carnegie Foundation, a century-long collaborator with Rockefeller philanthropy, facilitated the Soviet side of this Exchange Agreement."
Remember, in 1934, the Carnegie Corporation called for a shift from free enterprise to collectivism. They wanted the Soviet planned economy. [Link]
Thus, Heritage's communist connections, were established rapidly after the historic meeting between Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev at the Geneva Summit.
Feulner was appointed by Reagan as chairman of the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy. The commission was responsible for expediting a signed Soviet-American Educational Exchange Agreement. The National American Legion was one of hundreds of conservative groups refusing to do anything about the US/Soviet Education Agreements.
In 1995, education researcher, Charlotte Iserbyt, identified conservative “Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing,” who not only gave the Soviets access to American education, but whose act of treason “virtually merged the two educational systems.” Leading the pack for an educational exchange initiative was none other than:
“Edwin Feulner, former President of Heritage Foundation, who strongly supported the U.S.-Soviet education agreements, and who had an office in Moscow, supported Soviet-style magnet schools (i.e., tax supported choice/charter schools), and had state affiliate organizations across the nation writing charter school legislation that reads like it has been written by the U.S. Department of Education, the Carnegie Corporation and the National Education Association."
“Paul Weyrich’s constitutional-convention promoting American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) gave an award to Oregon’s Department of Education for its education reform, especially the work force training component and its certificate of initial mastery (CIM) necessary to get a job. Same old Common Core folks! See the June, 2011, WSJ article, "Industry Puts Heat on Schools to Teach Skills Employees Need."
 We must remember, the 1955 UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) book, MENTAL HEALTH IN EDUCATION, is the earliest reference to the need for "choice" in education. The Charter Schools concept, strongly marketed around the country by Heritage affiliates, with the help of many CNP members in every state, attempts to link patriotic free enterprise themes to a blatantly unconstitutional system of corporate fascism to business/government partnerships in the education of our children.

At the same time, note that Heritage founder, Paul Weyrich, once served as advisor to former Russian President, Boris Yeltsin of Chechnyan genocide fame. He wrote about it in an article in the Heritage affiliate, Townhall Magazine. In 1987, Weyrich also wrote an article in The Washington Post, A Conservative's Lament, which virtually recommended a new Constitution and parliamentary form of government for the U.S.
Both Feulner and Weyrich were also involved with other powerful players and shadowy figures, some from the right and some from the left. They have been included in groups formed to reinvent the UN, supposedly to face the 21st century. It is becoming more and more evident that Weyrich and Feulner were in fact organizing a tight group that represented the merger of right and left, which we have seen over the past 65 years, and which was quite obvious in our recent election.

"BASIC BIOLOGICAL TRUTHS": ARKANSAS SUPREME COURT OVERTURNS RULING ALLOWING LESBIANS TO BE LISTED ON BIRTH CERTIFICATES

"BASIC BIOLOGICAL TRUTHS": ARKANSAS SUPREME COURT OVERTURNS RULING ALLOWING LESBIANS TO BE LISTED ON BIRTH CERTIFICATES
BY HEATHER CLARK
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:
 LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The Supreme Court of 
Arkansas has overturned a lower court ruling that allowed lesbian 
partners to be recognized on birth certificates even though they are not
 the biological parent, stating that it is not unconstitutional to 
“acknowledge basic biological truths.”
“What is before this court is a narrow issue of whether the birth-certificate statutes as written deny the appellees due process,” Justice Josephine Linker Hart wrote on behalf of the majority. “In the situation involving the female spouse of a biological mother, the female spouse does not have the same biological nexus to the child that the biological mother or the biological father has. It does not violate equal protection to acknowledge basic biological truths.”
As previously reported, six lesbians had filed suit last year against the Arkansas Health Department’s Vital Statistics Bureau after it declined to recognize both women as the parents on the birth certificates, which they sought to do in order to obtain insurance coverage for the children.
The bureau stated that the women needed to obtain a court order in the matter.

In their lawsuit, the women alleged that the refusal violated the U.S. Constitution because they could not both be listed just like heterosexual parents. But the state argued that the requirement to obtain a court order is the same for heterosexual couples who have children out of wedlock and marry after the birth.
Last November, Pulaski County Circuit Judge Tim Fox sided with the lesbian women, stating that the birth certificates should be amended to include both of their names.
He drew a distinction between the various plaintiffs, however, as some had “married” before the birth and some after. Fox said that the latter scenario was not as clear in his mind in siding with the women, but decided to likewise allow their names to be listed.

But on Thursday, the state Supreme Court overturned Fox’s ruling, stating that there is an “important governmental objective” in requesting that biological parents be listed on the birth certificate, such as having genetic information available for medical purposes.
“The purpose of the statutes is to truthfully record the nexus of the biological mother and the biological father to the child,” it outlined. “On the record presented, we cannot say that naming the nonbiological spouse on the birth certificate of the child is an interest of the person so fundamental that the State must accord the interest its respect under either statute.”
“[T]he challenged classification serves an important governmental objective—tracing public-health trends and providing critical assistance to an individual’s identification of personal health issues and genetic conditions—and that the means employed—requiring the mother and father on the birth certificate to be biologically related
to the child—are substantially related to the achievement of those objectives,” the court declared.
Cheryl Maples, the attorney for the women, decried the ruling, stating, “There’s no requirement that DNA be given or that there be a biological relationship to a child to get on a birth certificate for a father, for the non-birth parent. All you have to do is legitimize the child, and you’re entitled, if you’re heterosexual. This is wrong.”
But Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge’s office said that they are satisfied with the outcome.
“If any changes are appropriate, it is the job of legislators to do so, not the circuit court,” spokesman Judd Deere told reporters.

MARKETING PSYCHOLOGY & AMERICAN CULTS: EXAMINING THE RETENTION PRACTICES OF SCIENTOLOGY, MORMONISM, & THE WATCHTOWER

MARKETING PSYCHOLOGY & AMERICAN CULTS: EXAMINING THE RETENTION PRACTICES OF SCIENTOLOGY, MORMONISM, & THE WATCHTOWER 
BY SETH DUNN
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:
 
Religious Marketing in a Land of Opportunity
Before British journalist Christopher Hitchens would ever become known as one of the “Four Horseman”[1] of the New Atheism movement, he was an award-winning, widely-read, globe-trotting journalist.  In a 1997 interview with The Progressive, the well-traveled Hitchens was asked why he chose to make his home in the United States.  He answered, “The first thing I can remember I ever wanted was to go to the United States. And for reasons that are as conventional as you can imagine: I wanted to know if it was really true that it was the land of opportunity, of democracy, and individual liberty. My conclusion was that, at least as compared to the ancien regime under which I had been brought up, it was.”[2]  Hitchens eventually became an American citizen and exercised the individual liberty afforded to him by his new country (along with its free market) to author and promote his best-selling[3] book God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything.  Hitchens, a vociferous and virulent critic of religion, promoted his book by touring the United States from coast to coast seeking to debate religious leaders about the soundness of his atheistic argument that religion “poisons everything”.  He did not lack willing debate opponents anywhere he went.[sg_popup id=”1″ event=”onload”][/sg_popup]
Nearly 80% of Americans identify as adherents of a certain religion.[4]   Almost all of these religions were imported from the Old World.  However, some of them are uniquely American.  The free exercise of religion guaranteed by the United States Constitution has, since 1789, allowed ample opportunity for not only the practice of religion but the invention and promotion of it as well.  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (commonly known as the Mormon sect) was founded in the United States in 1830 by New York native Joseph Smith.[5]  The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania (commonly known as the Jehovah’s Witness sect) was founded in 1870 by Charles Taze Russell.[6]  US Navy veteran L. Ron Hubbard founded the Church of Scientology in 1953.[7]   In totalitarian societies, such as those from which the very first non-native settlers of the American continent fled, these three sects would have likely been banned by law and quashed shortly after their founding.  However, in the land of opportunity, they have been allowed to thrive.
The convergence of the free market with freedom of religion has made it easy for religious organizations to grow on the American continent.  As religious organizations seek growth, they take part in what sociologist George Ritzer has termed “The McDonaldization of Society” which he defined as “the process by which the principles of the fast-food restaurant are coming home to dominate more and more sectors of American society and the rest of the world.”[8] “Churches unintentionally pick up on the ideas of McDonaldization through leadership magazines, conferences, and books that teach how churches can engage more of the American culture through certain structural, communications, and ministry models.”[9]  One of these models is brand marketing and, often times, it is picked up on quite purposefully.  Marketing strategy has come to be taught in seminary courses.  One seminary course text[10], Pastor’s Handbook, advises church leaders to emulate the practices of McDonald’s, Starbucks, and Disney World.[11]  The successful execution of church marketing is perhaps why religious activity has turned into one of the largest sectors of the American economy.
According to the authors of a study entitled “The Socio-economic Contribution of Religion to American Society: An Empirical Analysis” and published in the Interdisciplinary Journal of Research, their most conservative estimate of the revenue of faith based-organizations is “$378 billion annually – or more than a third of a trillion dollars…more than the global annual revenues of tech giants Apple and Microsoft combined.”[12]  Their least conservative estimate places “the value of faith to U.S. society at $4.8 trillion annually, or the equivalent of nearly a third of America’s gross domestic product.”[13]  These figures are staggering, especially when it is considered that religious activity is an unregulated sector of the economy.  The American economy, though fairly considered “free,” is not without regulation.  Massive corporations such as Apple and Microsoft as well as smaller, less influential businesses are regulated by powerful federal, state, and local government agencies which are tasked with protecting American consumers and investors.  Examples of such agencies, which regulate diverse sectors of the American economy, include the Federal Trade Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Food and Drug Administration, The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, and the United States Department of Agriculture.  Additionally various medical licensing boards protect patients from being taken advantage of by abusive or incompetent doctors and therapists. The missions of these various organizations fall in line with a biblical understanding of civil government.[14]  They are “avengers who bring wrath on the one who practices evil.”[15]
The Mission of the Federal Trade Commission and similar agencies can be summed up very simply: they exist to prevent and eliminate “unfair or deceptive acts or practices” [16] committed by nefarious and unscrupulous actors looking to turn a profit in the marketplace.  If a business becomes monopolistic or colludes with major competitors to corner the market, it is broken up by government “trust-busters”.[17]  If a business engages in an unfair marketing practice, such as a “bait-and-switch”, it subject to reprisal from a government authority.  However, if a religious organization becomes monopolistic[18] or engages in such a psychological marketing trick (as long as it’s not selling a guaranteed material good), it is insulated from prosecution.  Religious organizations can, quite frankly, lie to and psychologically manipulate their patrons in order perpetuate themselves numerically and financially.  Ironically, the very same religious and personal liberty that allowed Christopher Hitches to publish and promote a book about how religion “poisons everything” allows certain religious organizations to poison everything.
Of course, Hitchens and the rest of his New Atheist cohorts are incorrect to assert that “religion” poisons everything.  As atheists, they are committed to the idea that all religions are false.  If it is the case that all religions are false then the leaders and adherents of religions are either under delusion or, even worse, knowingly manipulating people to into believing lifestyle-effecting lies, often in the course of supporting themselves financially or procuring for themselves some degree of cultural influence.  However, it is not the case that all religions are false.  God exists and, furthermore, He has revealed how religious activities should be carried out in the pages of the Bible, which He inspired.[19]  According to God’s word, true and acceptable religion is “to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.”[20]  The antithesis of true religion is, in the course of seeking after the things of the world, taking advantage of the poor and ignorant, especially while making a tidy profit.[21]  Thus, in the absence of government regulation of religious practice (which historically, has been shown to be ill-advised and disastrous), it is up to God’s true church to expose the unfruitful deeds of darkness[22] perpetrated by the proprietors of false religion.
American society is full of religious organizations that defy God’s definition of true religion and blaspheme Him by disseminating unbiblical teachings about His natureHisJhhh hgg.  In an economy where taking unfair advantage of people is strictly prohibited in every sector but one, nefarious and unscrupulous actors looking to turn a profit are most likely to drift to that particular sector.  In America, that sector is religion.  While it may be true that the leaders of seeker-sensitive, market-driven Christian churches are in some way motivated by profit, the orthodox Trinitarian Christian theology which they hold to and promote may insulate their parishioners from eternal damnation.  In other words, someone (though he may be sorely lacking in discipleship) might actually come to saving faith through the gospel as presented by a McDonaldized Willow Creek, Purpose-Driven, or Andy Stanley church. Though neither is regulated in the American society, there is a difference between a huckster with the biblical gospel and a huckster with a false one.[23]  Examples of the latter type of huckster arguably include Joseph Smith, Charles Taze Russell, and L. Ron Hubbard.  Though they died long ago, these men founded cults that are today still operating successfully and drawing new converts.  Using psychological manipulation techniques and marketing tactics that profited-motivated businesses are prevented from unfairly implementing, these cults and other like them, control the minds and lives of millions of Americans.
By properly applying scripture, Christians can expose and critique the unbiblical and eternally damnable beliefs perpetrated by these cults.  Since men inherently lack the divine ability to see into the hearts and minds of others, there is no guaranteed way to determine which cult leaders and members are hucksters who know they are perpetrating a lie and which cult leaders are genuinely deceived (or even demon-possessed).  The Bible provides revelation from God which can be trusted to expose the false teachings of cults, regardless of the unknown internal motivations and mindsets of cultic false teachers.  Unfortunately, cult-members are often so brainwashed and conditioned by their cults that they are unable to see the way that their religious leaders have twisted and misapplied religious texts, especially the Bible, to gain control over their lives.  They may refuse to listen to biblical correction altogether.  Thus, another method of exposing damaging cult practices to deceived cult members may be useful: exposing the psychological tactics of cults.  No one likes to be ripped off or manipulated to their own disadvantage, even a cult member.  Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Scientologists can appreciate the type of work done by the Federal Trade Commission and consumer watchdog groups as much as atheists and Christians can.  Thus, Christians have the opportunity to identify the psychological tricks used by cults and inform cult members of the various ways of which they are being taken advantage.  Cult members, especially those who are savvy businessmen, having their eyes opened to the manipulative nature of their cults, will be empowered to abandon them.  The religious vacuum created in their lives can then be filled by a biblical Christian witness.  There are many examples of psychological manipulation being implemented by American cults.  By examining some of these examples, Christians can be prepared to engage in the practice of cult-busting as a part of the overall process of proclaiming the biblical gospel.
Escalation of Commitment – The Sunk Costs of Life in a Cult
Scientologists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Mormons, because of the way their cults operate, are prone to engage in the practice of Escalation of Commitment.  Escalation of Commitment is defined as the “’persistence in a losing course of action by a decision-maker’.  It is marked by the continuing investment of resources (e.g. time, money) despite negative feedback about a previous decision.”[24]  For a decision to be considered Escalation of Commitment it must involve “(1) a previous loss; (2) the option to either continue or withdraw from the decision situation; and (3) uncertain consequences of making the decision to continue or withdraw.”[25]  Perhaps the simplest and most relatable example of Escalation of Commitment is a moviegoer who buys a ticket to a really bad two-hour movie.  After one hour of not enjoying the movie, rather than walking out, the moviegoer stays in his seat and finishes watching the film.  Leaving at the halfway point would force the moviegoer to admit that he wasted his ticket money.  Instead of leaving and preserving for alternate use the remaining hour of his day, he holds out hope that the movie might get better.  It doesn’t and he wastes another hour watching the movie until its end.  With each passing second of the bad movie, the commitment of the moviegoer to a doomed endeavor (watching a bad movie when his intention was to enjoy a good movie) escalates.  Wasted time and money on a movie ticket does not amount to much in the course of one’s life.  However, the cost of a single movie ticket pales in comparison to much larger losses than can be incurred by the same flawed thinking.  Consider the case of an investor who purchases a block of stock for $10,000.  After a period of months the value of his investment plummets to $5,000.  Market analysis indicates that the company in which he owns stock is likely to go out of business.  Rather than admit his error, sell the stock, and recoup $5,000 of his investment for alternative use, the investor keeps his stock until it is worthless.  Such irrational behavior is not limited to individuals.  Large organizations and their managers also engage in Escalation of Commitment when they refuse to abandon large-scale multi-million dollar projects that show little indication of future success.  According a 1987 article in Harvard Business Review entitled “Knowing When to Pull the Plug”, “…all managers will make some mistakes and stick with some decisions longer than they ought to. Recent research has shown, however, that the tendency to pursue a failing course of action is not a random thing. Indeed, at times some managers, and even entire organizations, seem almost programmed to follow a dying cause.” [26]  No one makes the choice to enter into a course of action, whether it is a relatively unimportant or life-changing one, unless he thinks he is making the right decision.  Yet even highly-compensated business executives are hesitant to admit failure when it becomes apparent.  “Research has also shown…that executives fail to recognize when a project is beyond hope. People have an almost uncanny ability to see only what accords with their beliefs. Much like sports fans who concentrate on their own team’s great plays and the other team’s fouls, managers tend to see only what confirms their preferences. For example, an executive who is convinced that a project will be profitable will probably slant estimates of sales and costs to support the view. If the facts challenge this opinion, the manager may work hard to find reasons to discredit the source of information or the quality of the data. And if the data are ambiguous, the manager may seize on just those facts that support the opinion. Thus information biasing can be a major roadblock to sensible withdrawal from losing courses of action…In addition to the effects of rewards and biased information, (an additional)  psychological mechanism may be at work. Sometimes even when managers recognize that they have suffered losses, they may choose to invest further resources in a project rather than accept failure. What may be fostering escalation in these cases is a need for self-justification.”[27]  In the process of commitment escalation, decision makers demonstrate undue attachment to “sunk costs,” which are defined as “costs that have already been incurred and thus cannot be recovered.”[28]  Because of their desire for self-justification they do not wish to admit that the sunk costs which they have occurred have been wasted.  The type of thinking present in Escalation of Commitment, which causes individuals to continue with bad consumer choices and businesses to continue with doomed investments projects, is the same type of thinking that helps cults retain members.  Where cult members begin to doubt their religious choices, Escalation of Commitment keeps them from leaving their cult.
The religious practice of The Church of Scientology provides what is perhaps the best example of Escalation of Commitment in religious life.  According to the doctrine of scientology, “every person has two minds – the analytical mind and the reactive mind.”[29]  The reactive mind is the “single source of human aberrations and psychosomatic ills.”[30]  The purpose of practicing Scientology is to rid one’s self of the reactive mind, thus entering in to a superior state of consciousness, known in Scientology as “going clear”.  The reactive mind is removed though the process of auditing.  Auditing sessions are offered by the Church of Scientology for a fee.  As a Scientologist progresses in his religious practice, paying for auditing session after auditing session, he learns more and more about the very secretive religious beliefs of Scientology.  A practitioner of scientology begins with the status of “preclear.”  After a Scientologist has “gone clear” through the auditing process he can receive the status of “Operating Thetan”.  However, his potential for progression does not end at that point; there are different levels of Operating Thetan status which can be achieved, up to level eight.  To achieve these various levels one must continue paying for auditing sessions.  At Operating Thetan Level Three, the Scientologist is entrusted with the secretive story of how the reactive mind came to wreak havoc on the human psyche.  According to the doctrine of scientology, millions of years ago an intergalactic overlord named Xenu was dealing with overpopulation in his empire.  To solve his problem, he transported a multitude of frozen people to earth in space planes. Once there, the frozen people were dumped into volcanoes and obliterated by atomic bombs.  As their souls floated up into the atmosphere, they were caught by soul-catching devices that Xenu had placed there in anticipation.  These souls were then brainwashed by Xenu and trapped on earth.  As humankind evolved from early primates, these souls or “thetans” inhabited their minds.  Even today, when a child is born, one or more thetans leap into his body, essentially becoming his soul.  The reactive mind is a result of the bad experiences of these thetans in their past lives.  Once a human “goes clear” as a sufficiently leveled Operating Thetan, he can control matter, energy space, and time. [31]  The cost of the auditing sessions necessary to obtain this plainly ludicrous explanation of humanity’s problems[32] is estimated to be between $200,000 and $400,000.[33]  The amount of money and time spent to obtain Operating Thetan Level Three is perhaps the ultimate religious sunk cost.  Admitting the colossal mistake that one has progressively wasted hundreds of thousands of dollars and worked thousands of man-hours to obtain a “clear state” in a religion that is plainly as made up as a bad science fiction novel takes a Herculean psychological effort.  Furthermore, the discrediting of critical sources is a key tactic of Scientology’s leadership.  Critics of Scientology deemed “suppressive persons” by the church are essentially shunned by church members.  Furthermore, suppressive persons can be maligned under Scientology’s “fair game” doctrine.[34]  The maligning of the character of former Scientologists is easily enabled by the auditing practice, as church members often admit embarrassing facts about themselves in order to facilitate the process of going clear.  The Scientologist who considers leaving his religion faces losing friends, family, reputation, and any perceived progress in attaining a higher state of consciousness.[35]
The structure of the Jehovah’s Witness religion also leaves its members susceptible to Escalation of Commitment.  Unlike Scientology, this religion is not a “pay to play” faith where adherents are expected to pay their church for spiritual services.  However, like Scientology, this religion teaches a form of works righteousness (or self-justification), requires a significant investment of personal time, and exhorts enormous influence over personal, professional, home, and family life.  Jehovah’s Witnesses are well-known for their house-to-house proselytizing.  Each Jehovah’s Witnesses is considered a “publisher” [36]  by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society.[37] Publishers are required to turn in a periodic “time report” to the elders of their local congregation which detail their witnessing activities.  “This report is put on their file. There are secret files kept on all Jehovah’s Witnesses which are only viewed by the elders. If a Jehovah’s Witness refuses to turn in a time report, they are disciplined and put on list called ‘irregular publisher.’ The individual will be on this black list until they again turn in regular reports.”[38]  A convert to the Jehovah’s Witness faith “eagerly attends five meetings a week and spends at least ten hours a month knocking on doors and witnessing to people….if the JW is male and has not dropped out (of publishing) he has the opportunity to progress through the ranks publisher, servant, and perhaps even elder (a member of the congregation’s governing board).”[39]  If a Jehovah’s Witness spends seventy hours a month in preaching work, he attains the level of “Pioneer”.  One can become a “Special Pioneer” by devoting one hundred thirty hours or more to ministry each month. [40]  In a way similar to how Scientology confers “Operating Thetan” levels to practitioners who have earned them, the Watch Tower confers prestigious levels of achievement on its dedicated members.  Any member who begins to doubt the teaching of the Watch Tower or consider the troubling the nature of its well-documented doctrinal flip flops, is faced with Escalation of Commitment; admitting that the Jehovah’s Witness faith is a false one also means admitting that he has wasted countless hours pounding the pavement sharing the faith, all his kingdom work has been for naught, and his earned status in the organization is meaningless.  Further complicating matters is that Jehovah’s Witnesses are discouraged from reading “apostate” literature (i.e. literature that is critical of the Watch Tower).  So a Jehovah’s Witness is already conditioned to trust the Watch Tower and doubt its detractors.  Former Jehovah’s Witnesses are considered apostates.  “Apostates are the most despicable people on the face of the earth, Jehovah’s Witnesses are taught, with the result that a Witness would much rather encounter someone expelled from the sect for theft or adultery than find himself face-to-face with an apostate. The Watchtower tells them that they ‘must hate’ apostates and that they must not be ‘curious about apostate ideas.’ Therefore, any information that may come from an apostate source can be dismissed without even listening to it.”[41]  The Watch Tower, though Escalation of Commitment, sets its members up for failure.  They are conditioned to doubt negative information about the Watch Tower, trust their own biased information, and fear losing their personal investment in self-justification.
The Mormon faith is also set up to capitalize on Escalation of Commitment.  “Mormonism’s leaders believe that their organization, which was founded by Joseph Smith in 1830, has God’s complete authority, unlike any other institution on the face of the earth.”[42]  “This authority comes through the LDS priesthood. There are two divisions of the priesthood: the Aaronic and Melchizedek priesthoods, both of which are held only by males. The Aaronic priesthood is known as the ‘lesser’ priesthood and is made up of deacons (12 years old), teachers (14 years old), priests (16 years old), and bishops (the leader of local bodies of LDS believers). Meanwhile, the Melchizedek priesthood is named after the priest mentioned in Genesis 14…The offices in this (priesthood) branch are elders, high priests, patriarchs, seventies, and apostles.”[43]  Faithful Mormon males between the ages of 18 and 25 are expected to participate in a two-year long mission trip[44] as a part of their priesthood duty.[45]  Upon entering the Mormon mission field, the title of “elder” is conferred upon a young man.  As is the case with Scientology and the Watch Tower, the Mormon Church confers exclusive and prestigious titles upon its members.  In the case of Mormonism, these titles are conferred upon men who are still in their formative years. Mormons must earn the right to enter their religious temples through clean living.  Only those Mormons who support church leadership, are morally clean, pay a full tithe, live in harmony with the church, and do not sympathize with apostate groups earn a temple recommendation.[46]  Inside of the temple is where Mormon marriage ceremonies are performed; only those church members with a temple recommendation can attend these ceremonies.  Husbands and wives who are sealed in a Mormon temple marriage are taught that they have the opportunity to become gods and goddesses of their own planet.  Without a celestial marriage, a Mormon cannot become a god and continue his family into eternity.[47]  Furthermore, if a Mormon’s spouse leaves the Mormon faith, he cannot stay married to her and still become a god.[48]  As is the case with the priesthood, Mormon marriage commitments are typically foisted upon relatively young people.[49]  As Mormons mature and learn more about their religion, there is good reason that they should doubt what they have been taught.  The Mormon creation myth is every bit as fantastical and intergalactic as that of Scientology.  The Book or Mormon is not supported by any extant archaeological evidence.  The character of Joseph Smith was dubious at best.  As with L. Ron Hubbard, the historical record outside of his own cult paints him as a cad.  Maturing Mormons who are tempted to leave their faith face admitting that their priesthood titles and celestial marriage commitments are fanciful fabrications and that the work they performed for the salvation of themselves and others will not pay off.  Adults who decide to leave the faith must admit that they wasted two years of their life on a Mormon mission.  As it the case with the Jehovah’s Witness and Scientology cults, members of the LDS church are conditioned to look at their own biases with rose-colored glasses while dismissing detractors as apostates.  Escalation of Commitment exerts heavy pressure on Mormons to remain Mormon in the face of ample evidence that their religion and its founding prophet are counterfeit; their sunk costs are heavy.

The Consistency Trap – Mandated Testimony of Falsehoods
From small American beginnings, the Mormon and Jehovah’s Witness religions have spread all over the world.  The Mormon Church estimates its worldwide membership at 15,634,199.[50]  Jehovah’s Witnesses estimate their worldwide number to be 8,220,105.[51]  These numbers are impressive, considering that neither religion is yet two hundred years old and that both began with only a handful of adherents.  However, these numbers are not surprising.  Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses are known as the some of the most prolific proselytizers of any faith.  Every Jehovah’s Witness is expected to be a “publisher” who turns in witnessing reports.  The mandate of the Mormon Church is “every member is a missionary.”[52]  Because proselytizing is formally required by these cults (not just expected as in other religions), its members are susceptible to falling into what is known as a “consistency trap”.  (Ironically, they may try to use such a trap themselves in order to make converts).  G. Richard Sell, a professor of Business Ethics at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton College of Business, explains the use of consistency traps as follows: “Skilled negotiators know about the human need to appear consistent and try to use it as often as they can.  Truly manipulative people go beyond identifying their counterparts’ standard for positioning purposes and try to trick their opponents by using what I call consistency traps.  The goal of a consistency trap is to precommit you to a seemingly innocent standard and then confront you with the logical implications of the standard in a particular case – implications that actually turn out to run against your interests.  This is a form of intellectual coercion.”[53]  The consistency trap can be a marketer’s best friend.  They can also be useful for cults.
Testimonial write-in contests, which are typical of consumer product marketers, provide an excellent example of a constancy trap in action.  A typical contest resembles the following: The producers of Parkay Butter offer $5,000 to the consumer who writes in the best testimonial explaining why she “only uses Parkay Butter on her table.”  Not only will the winner receive the cash prize; her testimonial will be printed on Parkay’s butter packages.  Thousands of submissions are sent to Parkay.  For the cost of $5,000 to one winner, Parkay gains the business of every contest participant (to whom they paid nothing).  Each losing contestant submitted a testimony saying that she would “only use Parkay Butter on her table.”  Her own words, even though no one outside of Parkay will ever see them, will convict her in her own mind every time she is on the dairy aisle of the grocery store and thinks of reaching for a different brand of butter.  At the same time, almost no one is expected to begin buying Parkay butter because of the testimony of some stranger that is written on the package.  The purpose of the contest all along was to seal the participants in a consistency trap, not reach new customers.[54]  The proselytizing of Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses provides the same benefit to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, respectively.
Mormon Missionaries and Jehovah’s Witness publishers fail to gain a new convert much more often than they successfully win one.  Each time a Mormon Missionary or Jehovah’s Witness intentionally shares the teaching of his cult, he reaffirms that teaching and his dedication to his church in his own mind.  It is the practice of Mormons to share their testimonies[55] before their church.  Without doing so, a Mormon cannot participate in temple ceremonies.  “A Mormon testimony consists of being able to say, unequivocally, ‘I know the LDS Church is true and that Joseph Smith is a true prophet of God.’”[56]  In order to reject Mormonism, a Mormon must admit that he dedicated two years of his life on a mission trying to convince other people that a lie was the truth.  A generational Mormon must admit that he passed this lie on to his own children and encouraged them to go on missions of their own.  He must admit that every time he said “The Holy Spirit revealed to me that the Book of Mormon is true,” that he was deceived.[57]  He must admit that he gave a false testimony to his church about what he said he “knew”.  Similarly, in order to reject the Watch Tower, a Jehovah’s Witnesses must admit that he spent countless hours going to countless houses, knocking on countless doors, and trying to convince countless people to believe a false gospel.[58]  The Mormon and Watchtower cults, like marketers selling butter with a testimonial contest, condition their members to stay consistent with their doctrine through mandated and repeated personal testimonies.  In order to admit that Joseph Smith was a liar, the Mormon has to admit that he is a liar himself.  In order to admit that the Watch Tower is a false prophet, the Jehovah’s Witness must admit that he is a false prophet himself.  These cults have set up a systematic consistency trap.  Their leaders arguably understand the old axiom of business: “It is usually far cheaper to retain existing customers than it is to find new ones.”[59]
Bait and Switch – What the Cultist at the Door Doesn’t Share
Without any documentation from cult leadership to confirm, it’s impossible to definitively claim that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the Watchtower Bible or Tract Society intentionally use consistency traps to retain members.  However, there is a psychological manipulation tactic that Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses certainly use to gain converts; the bait-and-switch.  “The term bait-and-switch is most commonly used to refer to an advertising practice that is both unethical and illegal…It typically involves an advertiser luring customers into the store by advertising a product at an unrealistically low price (the bait).  The customer is then told that the advertised goods are (1) not available or (2) of inferior quality and/or not suitable for the customer’s needs.  The goal is to “switch” the customer to another, more expensive product or one that has a higher profit margin.  What sets bait-and-switch apart from other advertising practices is that the store does not intend to sell the advertised product – the advertised product is intended to attract customers, who are then persuaded to buy another product.”[60]
When Jehovah’s Witnesses knock on a door, they are often not entirely honest about the full requirements of their religion to the person who answers it.  “Dangerous cults don’t reveal all of their strange doctrines when they try to recruit new members.  For a Jehovah’s Witness to start his recruitment effort by saying, ‘Join us; if your child ever needs a blood transfusion you have to let him die’ or ‘Join us; our kids will have to give up sports and Christmas’ would be a deal-breaker.  Usually the Jehovah’s Witnesses approach people with more orthodox teachings – beliefs that are shared with other religious groups….As the prospect becomes more interested and more committed to the cult, the leaders gradually introduce the more bizarre doctrines.  The initiate is not allowed to know the inner secrets until he is fully indoctrinated.”[61]  Jehovah’s Witnesses (themselves a sub-Christian cult) typically operate within culturally Christian communities; they “bait” prospects with generically orthodox Christian teachings as they initiate regular Bible-study with them.  Then, once the commitment of a prospect has escalated, Jehovah’s Witnesses “switch” to teaching the heretical, controversial tenets of their cult.  Mormons do this as well.  Like Jehovah’s Witnesses, they are a sub-Christian cult that typically operates in culturally Christian areas.  Mormon missionaries approach prospects with generic Christian language.  They refer to Jesus as “savior” and to “the Godhead”.  However, the Jesus to which they refer is not the Jesus of orthodox Christianity but a created spirit-being from Kolob.  The Godhead to which they refer is not the Triune God of orthodox Christianity but “Three gods— God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost— who, while distinct in being, are one in purpose.”[62]  Like Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons hide the heretical, controversial tenets of their cult.  Mormon missionaries are not supposed to tell prospects and new converts about “deep doctrine” because it often scares off new members.  Such “deep doctrine” includes the notions that there is a heavenly mother, that Mormons can become gods, and that those Mormons who don’t pay their tithes could die in by falling fire.[63]  Deep doctrines come later, after commitment has escalated.  Scientologists arguably participate in bait-and-switch tactics as well.  Prospective scientologists are enticed with the idea that L. Ron Hubbard’s “Dianetics” methodology can improve their psychological state.  It is only at Operating Thetan Level Thee that they are informed of Scientology’s space opera creation myth.
Christians and Consumer Advocacy
At the most basic level, lost is lost.  Whether someone is an atheist, a non-religious theist, or a cult member, his biggest problem is that he doesn’t know Jesus and his biggest need is the gospel.  The gospel, that Christ died for humanity’s sins and was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures,[64] is the same for every person no matter his background.  Still special care can be taken to approach non-Christians in accordance with their backgrounds and personal situations.  Cultists, like all nonbelievers, are separated from God by their sin.  However, they are additionally insulated from and prejudiced toward biblical truth by the doctrinal perversion and mind control perpetrated by their cult.  This is a wall that needs to be broken down.  If a Christian attempts to break that wall by showing the cultist that he has been, as it were, sold a bill of goods, the Christian needs to ensure that the cultist knows that he isn’t just trying to sell him Christianity as a replacement product.
The Christian needs to present himself as someone who is there to help the cultist in the same way consumer advocates and government agencies are there to help consumers who have been ripped off.  In today’s Christian culture, this can be a difficult thing to do.  Perry Noble, the former pastor the largest Southern Baptist Church in the World[65] was removed from his office in July of 2016 for the abuse of alcohol.  His ministry comeback endeavor is church growth consulting.  In advertising his services, Noble stated, “Some may argue the church is not a business – I would disagree.  After all, at one point in serving as the Senior Pastor of NewSpring Church I was responsible for 425 employees and a $63,000,000 budget – which takes way more than a prayer meeting to manage!”[66]  Christianity is not a transactional religion and Christ’s church is not a storefront.  Methodological success and millions of dollars in revenue do not make a religious organization successful before the Lord.  Cultists who have spent their lives in works-based, self-justifying religions must be able to see that Christian salvation comes by God’s grace alone.  Cultists who have been trying to work their way to God need to be told, “It’s not by doing good deeds. You can’t work your way in. You do not have the ability to produce the things that only God can do in your life…. You can’t, and God never said you could. But He can, and He always said He would.”[67]  The Christian life is not for sale; salvation is free a gift of God.  Success in the Christian life comes by the sanctification of the Holy Spirit.  No gimmicks and manipulations are needed.
The Christian should be wary when exposing the psychological tactics cults use to cult members.  His audience might not be a deceived, ignorant, and innocent victim but a willing perpetrator of psychological manipulation and business-like marketing.  An iconic 1997 edition of Time Magazine featured the phrase “Mormons Inc” superimposed over a picture of the Salt Lake City Mormon Temple.  An article inside of the magazine revealed that the Latter Day Saints were some of the world’s savviest businesspeople.  Its writer reported, “…the Latter-day Saints employ vast amounts of money in investments that TIME estimates to be at least $6 billion strong. Even more unusual, most of this money is not in bonds or stock in other peoples’ companies but is invested directly in church-owned, for-profit concerns, the largest of which are in agribusiness, media, insurance, travel and real estate. Deseret Management Corp., the company through which the church holds almost all its commercial assets, is one of the largest owners of farm and ranchland in the country, including 49 for-profit parcels in addition to the Deseret Ranch. Besides the Bonneville International chain and Beneficial Life, the church owns a 52% holding in ZCMI, Utah’s largest department-store chain.  All told, TIME estimates that the Latter-day Saints farmland and financial investments total some $11 billion, and that the church’s nontithe income from its investments exceeds $600 million.”[68]  The Mormons are not novices when it comes to growing businesses or religions.  Neither or Scientologists; their religion counts among its adherents some of the film industry’s most influential power brokers.  Their mindsets should be juxtaposed against that of Jesus.  L. Ron Hubbard, a writer of pulp fiction before he founded his religion, is famously credited with saying, “You don’t get rich writing science fiction. If you want to get rich, you start a religion.”[69]  Jesus Christ, who died the death or a poor man and didn’t so much as have a place to lay his head[70] said, “I will build my church.”[71]  He did just that, without marketing, manipulation, or mind control.  The same cannot be said of the American cults.
*Please note that the preceding is my personal opinion. It is not necessarily the opinion of any entity by which I am employed, any church at which I am a member, any church which I attend, or the educational institution at which I am enrolled. Any copyrighted material displayed or referenced is done under the doctrine of fair use.
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[1] Evangelical Philosophical Society. “Interview with Paul Copan: Is Yahweh a Moral Monster?” Evangelical Philosophical Society. April 7, 2008. http://blog.epsociety.org/2008/04/interview-with-paul-copan-is-yahweh.asp (accessed November 13, 2016).
[2] Abramsky, Sasha. “Christopher Hitchens Interview.” The Progressive. December 16, 1997. http://www.progressive.org/christopher_hitchens_1997_progressive_interview.html (accessed November 13, 2016).
[3] Hitchens, Christopher. “God Bless Me, It’s a Best-Seller!” Vanity Fair. September 2007. http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2007/09/hitchens200709 (accessed November 16, 2016).
[4] Pew Research Center. “Religious Landscape Study.” Pew Research Center. 2016. http://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/ (accessed November 11, 2016).
[5] McKeever, Bill and Eric Johnson. Mormonism 101: Examining the Religion of the Latter-day Saints. Revised and Expanded ed. Baker Books, 2015. p 20.
[6] Barker, Jason. “Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society.” Watchman Fellowship. 2011. http://www.watchman.org/profiles/pdf/watchtowerprofile.pdf (accessed November 16, 2016).
[7] Branch, Rich. “Church of Scientolgy .” Watchman Fellowship. 1994. http://www.watchman.org/profiles/pdf/scientologyprofile.pdf (accessed November 16, 2106).
[8] White, Thomas and John Yeats. Franchising McChurch: Feeding American’s Obsession with Easy Christianity. David C Cook, 2009. p 13
[9] ibid
[10] This text has been used in the course Church Leadership and Administration at the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is published by a Southern Baptist publishing company.
[11] On pages 318, 384, and 386 of Pastor’s Handbook, Pastor John Bisagno encourages readers to adopt some of the business practices of these secular hospitality companies in order to attract and retain church attendees.
[12] Grim, Brian J and Melissa E. Grim. “The Socio-economic Contribution of Religion to American Society: An Empirical Analysis.” Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion, 2016. p 2
[13] ibid
[14] Their size, scope, competence, and compliance with a Christian view of justice are debatable.  However, that debate is outside of the scope of this paper.
[15]Romans 13:1-7
[16] Federal Trade Commission . “The Antitrust Laws.” Federal Trade Commission. https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/competition-guidance/guide-antitrust-laws/antitrust-laws (accessed November 19, 2016).
[17] “Trust-busting” is a term that referred to President Theodore Roosevelt’s policy of prosecuting monopolies, or “trusts,” that violated federal antitrust law.  See http://www.encyclopedia.com/history/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/trust-busting for further explanation.
[18] It may seem strange to refer to religious organizations as “monopolistic,” however, one of the marks of a cult is that, like a monopoly, it corners the market on something desirable.  In the case of a cult, it purports to have the market cornered on truth.  According to the Christian Apologetics Research Ministry, one of the tendencies of a cult is that it “often considers traditional religious systems to be apostate and it alone possesses the complete truth.”  For more information see https://carm.org/cults-outline-analysis.
[19] 2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:21
[20] James 1:12
[21] Luke 20:47, Ezekiel 16:49, Amos 5:12, Titus 1:11, 1 Peter 5:2
[22] Ephesians 5:11
[23] Philippians 1:15
[24] Horn, Marianna L. “The downside of persistence: The effects of mood on an escalation of commitment paradigm.” A thesis submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Auburn University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science, 2012.
[25] ibid
[26] Staw, Barry M and Jerry Ross. “Knowing When to Pull the Plug.” Harvard Business Review, 1987.
[27] ibid
[28] Investopedia. “Sunk Cost.” Investopedia. http://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/sunkcost.asp?lgl=no-infinite (accessed November 27, 2016).
[29] Branch, Rich. “Church of Scientolgy .” Watchman Fellowship. 1994. http://www.watchman.org/profiles/pdf/scientologyprofile.pdf (accessed November 16, 2106).
[30] ibid
[31] This information was a closely guarded secret for decades.  In recent years, media producers and former scientologists have begun to disseminate this information on the internet, in books, in documentary film, and even in an episode of South Park.
[32] It must be noted here that L. Ron Hubbard was a writer of science fiction stories before he founded Scientology.
[33] Branch, Craig. “Church of Scientology: A Religious Mafia?” Watchman Fellowship. http://www.watchman.org/articles/scientology/church-of-scientology-a-religious-mafia/ (accessed November 27, 2016).
[34] Breaking critics through litigation is a key strategy in fair game doctrine.  Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard once remarked, “The purpose of the suit is to harass and discourage rather than to win. The law can be used very easily to harass, and enough harassment on somebody who is simply on the thin edge anyway, well knowing that he is not authorized, will generally be sufficient to cause his professional decease. If possible, of course, ruin him utterly.”  For more information see https://gsethdunn.wordpress.com/2014/02/01/fair-game-scientology-ergun-caner-lawsuits-and-the-georgia-baptist-convention/.
[35] It is worth noting that the United States government (specifically the IRS) did challenge the religious status of the Church of Scientology.  The church was the subject of a massive FBI investigation that included raids on church property.  A number of church operatives went to jail as a result of these investigations.  Eventually, through the use of litigation, The Church of Scientology obtained recognition as a “religion” by the IRS.  For more information see Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief.
[36] Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. “What Is a Pioneer?” JW.ORG. 2016. https://www.jw.org/en/publications/books/jehovahs-will/jw-pioneer/ (accessed November 28, 2016).
[37] “The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania is a nonprofit corporation formed in 1884 under the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, U.S.A.  It is under the structure of this corporation, as well as a number of affiliated legal entities, that the religious group known as “Jehovah’s Witnesses” carries out its worldwide work.  For more information see https://gsethdunn.wordpress.com/2016/11/09/a-doctrinal-overview-of-the-watch-tower/.
[38] http://www.watchthetower.net/. “Tools of the Trade.” http://www.watchthetower.net/. http://www.watchthetower.net/tools1 (accessed November 28, 2016).  The proprietors of Watchthetower.net are Paul and Pat Blizzard.  The Blizzards are former high-level Jehovah’s Witnesses who are well-known detractors of the Watch Tower.  For more information on the Blizzards see http://www.watchthetower.net/bio.html.
[39] Hewitt, Joe B. Rescuing Slaves of the Watchtower. Garland, TX: Hannibal Books, 2011. p 11
[40] Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. “What Is a Pioneer?” JW.ORG. 2016. https://www.jw.org/en/publications/books/jehovahs-will/jw-pioneer/ (accessed November 28, 2016).
[41] Reed, David. Answering Jehovah’s Witnesses: Subject by Subject. Kindle Edition. Baker Books, 2011. p 18
[42] McKeever, Bill and Eric Johnson. Mormonism 101: Examining the Religion of the Latter-day Saints. Revised and Expanded ed. Baker Books, 2015. p 303
[43] ibid p 12-13
[44] Intellectual Reserve, Inc. “Missionary Program.” Newsroom. 2016. https://www.lds.org/callings/missionary/faqs?lang=eng#4 (accessed November 28, 2016).
[45] Intellectual Reserve, Inc. “Preparing to Serve.” www.lds.org. March 18, 2016. https://www.lds.org/callings/missionary/faqs?lang=eng#4 (accessed November 28, 2016).
[46] McKeever, Bill and Eric Johnson. Mormonism 101: Examining the Religion of the Latter-day Saints. Revised and Expanded ed. Baker Books, 2015. p 244
[47] ibid p 143
[48] Naylor, Carma. A Mormon’s Unexpected Journey: Finding the Grace I Never Knew. Vol. 1. Enumclaw, MA: Winpress Publishing, 2006. p 214
[49] The median age for a first marriage in the U.S. has climbed to 25.8 for women and 27.4 for men. In heavily Mormon Utah, the median age for first-time brides has jumped from 20 in 1970 to 22 in 2008, and from 22 to 24 for men. For more information see http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/religion/2011-04-22-mormon_dating_21_ST_N.htm.
[50] Intellectual Reserve, Inc. “Facts and Statistics.” Newsroom. September 01, 2016. http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/facts-and-statistics (accessed September 18, 2016).
[51] Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. “How Many of Jehovah’s Witnesses Are There Worldwide?” JW.ORG. 2016. https://www.jw.org/en/jehovahs-witnesses/faq/how-many-jw-members/ (accessed November 2016, 2016).
[52] Naylor, Carma. A Mormon’s Unexpected Journey: Finding the Grace I Never Knew. Vol. 1. Enumclaw, MA: Winpress Publishing, 2006. p 158
[53] Shell, G. Richard. Bargaining for Advantage: Negotiation Strategies for Reasonable People. Penguin Books, 2006. p 46
[54] This contest scenario is not of my own invention.  It was presented by the professor to my Psychology 101 class at Georgia Southern University in the year 2000.  It’s been sixteen years since I took that course.  His Parkay butter example sticks with me but I do not recall the professor’s name.  He was a Buddhist who proscribed spanking children so I didn’t put a lot of stock into some of the other things he said.
[55] A Mormon testimony includes affirming the knowledge that one preexisted with God on Kolob before being born on planet Earth.  Mormons believe that they preexisted as God’s spirit children on another planet before coming to Earth as humans.  Similarly, Scientologists believe that their thetan souls preexisted as extraterrestrials before their human hosts were born on Earth.
[56] Naylor, Carma. A Mormon’s Unexpected Journey: Finding the Grace I Never Knew. Vol. 1. Enumclaw, MA: Winpress Publishing, 2006. p 7
[57] Mormon testimony almost typically includes the claim that the Mormon received a “burning in the bosom” from the Holy Spirit that testified to the truth of the Book of Mormon.
[58] I use the term “countless” hyperbolically here since Jehovah’s Witnesses literally keep count of their witnessing encounters and turn in reports documenting their counts to their church’s leadership.
[59] Hayes, Jenny and Frances Dredge. Managing Customer Service. Gower Publishing Limited, 1998. p 4
[60] Fisher, Josie. Bait-And-Switch Practices. Vol. 1, in Encyclopedia of Business Ethics and Society, edited by Robert W. Kolb. Sage Publications, 2008. p 139
[61] Hewitt, Joe B. Rescuing Slaves of the Watchtower. Garland, TX: Hannibal Books, 2011. p 43-44.
[62] McKeever, Bill and Eric Johnson. Mormonism 101: Examining the Religion of the Latter-day Saints. Revised and Expanded ed. Baker Books, 2015. p 31
[63] Dunn, Seth. “An Interview with a Former Mormon.” Seth Dunn – A Christian Worldview. November 25, 2016. https://gsethdunn.wordpress.com/2016/11/25/an-interview-with-a-former-mormon/ (accessed November 28, 2016).
[64] 1 Corinthians 15:3-8
[65] That church is NewSpring Community Church in Anderson, SC.  For more information see http://thomrainer.com/sbc500/.
[66] Noble, Perry. “My Next Step.” PerryNoble.com. November 28, 2016. https://perrynoble.com/blog/my-next-step (accessed November 28, 2016)
[67] Barber, Wayne. “Ephesians 1:18-20 by Wayne Barber.” PreceptAustin.Org. August 01, 2016. http://www.preceptaustin.org/ephesians_118-20_by_wayne_barber (accessed November 28, 2016).
[68] Van Biema, David. “Kingdom Come – Salt Lake City Was Just for Starters – The Mormons’ True Great Trek Has Been to Social Acceptance And a $30 Billion Church Empire.” Time Magazine, August 4, 1997.
[69] Wikiquote contributors. “L. Ron Hubbard.” Wikiquote. March 16, 2016. https://en.wikiquote.org/w/index.php?title=L._Ron_Hubbard&oldid=2100019 (accessed March 28, 2016).
[70] Matthew 8:20
[71] Matthew 16:18