Spiritual abuse is much like emotional abuse and verbal abuse, and in fact spiritual abuse includes both of these as well. Spiritual abuse can be even more powerful and devastating because a Supreme Being is conveyed as the author of that which is perpetrated, and the subject is depicted as the one who is at fault. This book exposes the lies of this deceitful system, and is a therapeutic tool for recovery from cults.

The Heresy of Mind Control – Recognizing Con Artists, Tyrants, and Spiritual Abusers in Leadership
Copyright © 2007, 2009, 2012, 2015 by Stephen Martin

FROM THE INTRODUCTION:
Suppose you move to a different area, and are keeping your eyes open for a good group to belong to (a social club, a church, a synagogue, or service organization). You visit one such group where the people are very friendly, loving, and give you individual attention. The group has a variety of programs: a rehabilitation program for drug addicts, services and nursing homes for the elderly, help for the poor, and free clinics. The leader inspires the disillusioned, the disenchanted, and those who have been rejected elsewhere. He is well-known and respected in the area, and the mayor gave him a position as Director of the City Housing Authority. Would you join this group?

Suppose you spend four years in college and nearly two years in
graduate school to prepare for a career in Christian music. Then the
ministers of your home church tell you that you are not needed in their
music program. Shortly afterward, you find a new group that
welcomes you with open arms. They really care for people. The leader
of this group has fascinating Bible studies. You and everyone else are
able to sit and listen to him for several hours at a time. Would you stay
in this group?

If you answered “yes” to the first situation, you joined the church
led by Jim Jones who led over 900 of his followers into a mass suicide
murder. If you liked the second group, you became a follower of David
Koresh who led over 80 of his followers to die in a blaze of fire.
A wolf in sheep’s clothing is a short and simple description of a cult
leader – as these men were.

Are there any warning signs that a group and its leader are
dangerous? That’s largely what this book is about. It also serves as a
therapeutic tool for victims of spiritual abuse.