Thread by @CultExpert

The Cult of Trump is actually comprised of MANY other Christian cults.

In this post, I will list these cults, will tell you prominent members, will tell you what they believe, and will explain how their Dominionist vision affects our political system.

Long 🧵 ahead! Buckle up:

First, let's define "dominionism."

Dominionism is the theocratic idea that Christians are called by God to exercise DOMINION over every aspect of society by taking control of political and cultural institutions. Believers see the world as a constant battle between God and Satan.

People who OPPOSE the policies favored by these groups are thus knowingly or unknowingly doing Satan's work.

(SIDENOTE: Anyone with a passing knowledge of cults knows to be suspicious of simplistic "good vs. evil," "black and white" narratives like this.)

These groups sometimes have apocalyptic beliefs about "end times."

This fosters a fear that further renders members MORE loyal, dependent, and obedient to leaders that offer DIVINE intervention.

Enter Donald Trump:

Trump is quite obviously an imperfect, seemingly un-Christian figure. He's a, known philanderer, a crook, and a pathological liar, but the Christian Right has been able to justify their support for him by casting him as a modern-day "King Cyrus."

(In the bible, the pagan King Cyrus freed a population of Jews who were held captive in Babylon and helped to build the temple in Jerusalem. Cyrus is presented as a model for an ungodly man who carries out God’s purposes).

This narrative helped inoculate Trump from attacks on his character.

Former White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders echoed this sentiment here. 👇

Ok. Let's talk about some of the Christian cults that make up the Cult of Trump.

"The Family" (also known as "The Fellowship")-quasi-Christian org that connects influential people in D.C. (& around the world). Members hold group worship, Bible studies, prayer meetings + more.

"The Family" hosts the annual "National Prayer Breakfast" which every president since Eisenhower has attended. Members of Congress, lobbyists, foreign dignitaries, even Russian spies attend. Political figures network and communicate mutual interests.

The group was founded in 1935 by Abraham Vereide-a Norwegian-born Methodist minister. Veredie says he had a vision that God spoke to him and told him that Christians had been getting it wrong for 2,000 years by focusing on the poor and the weak. They saw Jesus as a STRONGMAN.

Veredie said that "godless communists" wanted to take over the world, so he created prayer groups of leaders that can help bring HIS vision of Christianity (the one where Jesus wants people to be rich and powerful) to the world.

Young recruits live in a house where there is "no swearing, no drinking, no sex, no self." They are ordered to NOT watch TV, read magazines or newspapers. Recruits are told they are training to learn how to rule the world.

Leaders promote a commitment to Jesus that they compare to the blind devotion that Hitler, Stalin, Mao Zedong, and Pol Pot demanded from their followers. Members are sworn to secrecy about their activities and leaders.

"The Family" is heavily involved in working to shape domestic and foreign policy. They own a great deal of property including a $1.8 million 3-story townhouse in D.C. known as "C Street" (that also sometimes houses some Members of Congress).

Membership is thought to include Mike Pence, Betsy DeVos, Chuck Grassley plus many others. "The Family" was thought to be instrumental in shaping Trump's cabinet-which included no fewer than 9 evangelicals.

To learn more about "The Family," check out the work of @JeffSharlet and his books "The Family" and "C Street." He helped create the series on Netflix "The Family" that I HIGHLY recommend.

Okay. Next group:

"New Apostolic Reformation" (NAR)-contemporary movement of networks of ministries led by (what they contend) are modern-day "apostles." NAR largely comprises churches nominally or formerly associated with Pentecostal denominations & Charismatic movements.

They also have roots in the shepherding/discipleship cults of the 1970s & 80s.

These networks boast significant membership-perhaps millions in the USA and a reported 300 million worldwide-and many fulfill criteria of the BITE model- such as deceptive recruitment practices,...

..restricting access to critical info and people, installing phobias + more.

(The BITE Model is a tool I developed to determine if a group/leader is exerting cult-like influence on someone. BITE stands for:

Behavior Control
Information Control
Thought Control
Emotional Control

NAR Followers believe that their leaders receive messages DIRECTLY from God. Some NAR leaders have asserted that Trump was chosen by God.

When it became clear Trump would be the GOP nominee, NAR leader Joseph Mattera (whose website's tagline is "Influencing the Leaders Who Influence Culture") helped organize a meeting at a New York hotel with more than 1,000 evangelical & Christian Right leaders.

Most of these leaders eventually pledged their unwavering support & wanted action on their agenda. Trump made good on his promises. This included appointments & signing "Religious Freedom" executive orders (which many experts like @FredClarkson contend LEGALIZE discrimination).

At the same time, Christian Right leaders launched a state legislative campaign known as "Project Blitz" (including many from the NAR) providing @GOP state legislators with a manual and model bills intended to further their goal of theocratic Christian dominion.

In 2018, at least 75 bills were introduced in 20+ states which closely resemble these "model bills."

In 5 states, these bills were passed.

Okay, let's move on to the next group:

"Opus Dei"-Secretive Catholic organization that operates in Washington DC out of the Catholic Information Center (CIC), a building located 2 blocks from the White House. They seek out the elite and wealthy and work to place the Catholic Church to the center of society.

Opus Dei demands secrecy & obedience among members who are ordered to "put away their scruples" to serve the group. They participate in secret initiation rites & some even practice self-flagellation (by wearing a cilice, a spiked thigh chain) to remind them of Jesus' crucifixion.

Members are arranged in an internal hierarchy. Some members ("numeraries") are to remain unmarried and celibate. Others ("supernumeraries") can marry but must turn over a portion of their earnings. Numeraries live under high-demand circumstances, often cut off from family.

According to the @washingtonpost, Opus Dei's small Washington Center has "an outsize impact on policy and politics." Membership in the group is small-only 3,000 in the U.S. and 85,000 worldwide, but the group focuses on "quality not quantity."

For years, the center was under the direction of Rev. C. John McCloskey (later relocated for groping a young woman). McCloskey recruited then-Senator Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, Sam Brownback, & others.

On the board of the CIC, is VP of the Federalist Society, Leonard Leo.

Leo & The Federalist Society have long sought a right-wing takeover of the Supreme Court. Leo helped block Obama's nomination of Merrick Garland and campaigned to put conservative justices Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett on the bench.

William Barr (along with Pat Cipillone before he was appointed White House Counsel) was one of the 8 member CIC Board of Directors before becoming Attorney General. In 1992, Barr gave a speech calling for "the imposition of God's Law in America."

Many experts contend that Barr's handling of the Mueller Report was consistent with the Opus Dei mindset to "put away your scruples for the good of the organization/mission."

For more on Opus Dei, see the book "American Kompromat" by @craigunger.

amazon.com/American-Kompr…

(BTW, this "ends justify the means" thinking is cult 101).

In 2009, conservative Catholics came together with Christian Right protestants to declare their SHARED goals. Together they signed the "Manhattan Declaration." politicalresearch.org/christian-righ…

Throughout history, Catholics and evangelicals haven't gotten along, but a year into Obama's presidency, they put differences aside to pledge to mutually fight for 3 shared goals which they said were ‘life, marriage, and religious freedom.’

This manifesto was signed by 150 leaders (including 50 sitting prelates -- bishops, archbishops, and cardinals). To date, 550,000 people have signed. politicalresearch.org/christian-righ…

Okay. Next Group:

The Unification Church (aka "The Moonies")-right-wing cult started in 1954 by the late Sun Myung Moon, who claimed he was the Messiah. Cult is highly intertwined with @GOP (and has been for decades). Moon organization comprises an extensive network of businesses & non-profits.

When Moon died in 2012, the group splintered into two factions.

One is run by his living wife, Hak Ja Han. In just the last year, prominent Republicans have participated in her events, including:

Mike Pence,
Mike Pompeo,
Newt Gingrinch,
And Donald Trump.

The other faction is run by Moon’s youngest son Hyung Jin "Sean" Moon. Sean is the leader of the World Peace and Unification Sanctuary, more commonly known as "Rod of Iron Ministries."

Sean Moon wears a crown of bullets and his "church" worships with AR-15's.

Sean purchased a 40-acre compound in Texas to serve as a "sanctuary" for what he says will be a war with the "deep state." In 2021 he hosted an event with Steve Bannon & former NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch.

Sean Moon also brought cult members to the Capitol on Jan. 6th.

(For anyone who's aware of my work, this is the cult that I was a member of for 2+ years in the 70’s before I was rescued and deprogrammed by my family).
freedomofmind.com/wp-content/upl…

Moon started (and his org still runs) the Washington Times propaganda paper in Washington D.C.

The @WashTimes has published many phony stories that have informed other groups in the broader Cult of Trump, as well as penetrated the mainstream including:

-Seth Rich conspiracy
-ANTIFA really stormed the Capitol
-COUNTLESS climate change denial stories

Moon had ties to Nixon, Reagan, & George H.W. Bush (and his legacy is now part of the world of Trump and Pence).

There are many other smaller cults closely affiliated with the cult of Trump (including “People of Praise” of which Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett is a member), but these are the big ones.

I want to close by stressing that most mainstream Christians-including the 38 member denominations of the National Council of Churches, most Catholics, and many evangelicals are not members of cults and reject theocratic strategies and ideas!

But it is important to underscore that the political movement we call the Cult of Trump was founded and depends in part on a variety of other cults. It is the dominant force in a major political party and it is not to be underestimated.

Thanks for reading and learning. 🙏

(If you want to learn more on this, I HIGHLY recommend following @FredClarkson. Fred's work was invaluable to me when writing "The Cult of Trump" and he is a wealth of knowledge on this topic. 🙏)