Secret sect under investigation by FBI has markers of high-control group – experts
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An underground sect that the FBI is investigating after it was exposed for historical child sexual abuse has many markers of a high-control group, cult experts say.
The Christian sect has no official name or buildings, but is known to outsiders as the Two by Twos or The Truth, and has about 2500 members and 60 ministers in New Zealand.
A woman who left the group is among the speakers at Decult, Australasia’s first cult awareness conference, being held in Christchurch on 19-20 October.
Laura McConnell Conti grew up in the Two by Twos in Australia but left as a young adult and now helps to raise awareness of the group.
A hallmark of the sect is that its ministers are volunteers who travel in pairs and stay in members’ homes, relying on gifts or donations to meet their expenses.
The group has its own lingo – preachers are called ‘Workers’ and members ‘Friends’.
“My message is the group is a cult and it cannot be made safe,” McConnell Conti said.
“I know that people are trying very hard internally. Most of the ones who try internally then leave because they realise that Workers and elders do not want to change and that they are clinging on to power and money in the group and it’s not safe.”
She will speak at Decult alongside 40 other international experts, authors, academics, and advocacy leaders who understand and work to combat high-demand groups and cults.
Unite States cult expert Dr Janja Lalich is the keynote speaker.
McConnell Conti said media coverage of the Two by Twos since the FBI announced in February it was investigating historical child sex offending within the group had helped to lift the lid on its practices.
“It is highly controlling. It has an us and them mentality where if you leave you are in the world and if you are in the world you are not saved. They do not believe that people who leave the group have access to heaven, access to God.”
She said the Two by Twos also taught a deep distrust of authorities which had led to alleged sexual abuse going unreported.
The sect’s leader earlier confirmed police here were investigating at least one former minister for historical abuse, and the group was aware of 14 cases of allegations against members.
Content retrieved from: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/529402/secret-sect-under-investigation-by-fbi-has-markers-of-high-control-group-experts.
