Shocking Moments When People Realized They Were In Cults
"Watching my grandma, who is the matriarch of my extended family and our family's glue, struggle to pay tithes AND offerings every week, regardless of how much of a difference it would have made to her vs. our rather large church. My grandma paid for her meds in change on a Monday while I watched our preacher get into a brand new, black and chrome Yukon Denali the Sunday prior. It didn't make sense."
"When I saw the leader pimp slap one of the followers and cut up a piece of 'holy' art."
"When the prophet snapped a crying toddler on the side of the head to get him to shut up, then demanded that children be kept out of earshot, a thousand yards away. Great compassion my ass. (Not to mention, he got drunk every night while he taught.)"
"When I was told that proceeding in a ceremony and receiving a gift that was a religious rite of passage to adulthood would require me to take upon myself certain sacred obligations, and I could not know them beforehand. I could either leave them in front of my family or essentially sign a blank check to swear any oath required of me later on."
"When they said I'm going to marry someone from Korea. When I said 'no,' they said they already bought the plane tickets."
"When I was told I couldn't ask questions. I was 14. All that did was make me ask more questions. I ended up at the public library reading up about cults. (This was in the 90s)."
"I was accidentally in a religious cult. I would see how the pastor would treat non-members and members who didn't comply with what he wanted. I would think, 'I hope he doesn't start acting this way towards me.' He would berate people, gossip, expect us to stay at his house until late hours, forbid us to hang out with non-members, and he even asked me to move in when I already had my own place. I noticed it was a cult when I told them I was hanging out with an old friend, and they proceeded to ask why, because they were my friends. I came to a service the following Sunday, and the pastor saw me and said, 'I had a message I was going to preach, but I'm going to preach a different message today.' The whole service was pretty much him talking shit about me and making rude jokes..."
"When they stopped allowing children who had gay parents to be baptized."
"One of the leaders said that we shouldn't watch any TV or read any material that wasn't published by the church. I said, 'Well, I just like 'Road and Track' magazine, I don't think that's anti-religious. He replied, 'That material will cause you to lust after material things, and you shouldn't read that.' It was at that point that I knew I had to get the hell out of there."
Were you in a cult? If so, share your experience in the anonymous comments form below, and you could be featured in an upcoming BuzzFeed post!
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Buzz Feed
38 minutes ago
- Buzz Feed
Older Adults, Share The Timeless Products You Swear By
Recently, I was looking for a new moisturizer and came across a recommendation on Reddit that suggested I "don't sleep on old lady products," alongside a glowing review of Pond's Cold Cream moisturizer. I remember my late grandmother using this stuff throughout the early 2000s, and I kind of love that it's still getting respect like the icon it is. In a world full of endless new skincare products and what feels like overnight trends, there's something comforting about a beauty product that's been around forever and still delivers. If it ain't broke, why fix it? So, if you're an older adult, I want to hear from you. What are the other old-school, maybe even slightly outdated, but still wonderfully perfect products or brands you absolutely swear by to this day? Because, let's be real, things just aren't made like they used to be. Maybe you've got a blender, rice cooker, or mixer that's been chugging along for 20+ years and still works like new. Your grandkids complain their modern versions don't last, and now they're scouring eBay trying to find your model. Perhaps you're personally behind Carhartt jackets making a fashion comeback, as you've had the same old Carhartt jacket for 29 years (yes, 29!) that you still wear every single weekend, bonfire, or whenever you need to do yard work. It's a little worn in, but there is no fraying or rips. You've had winter coats that don't even last a season, yet your trusty old workman's jacket has never let you down. Or maybe you've had the same Toyota RAV4 for 24 years. You've driven it cross-country from California to Michigan numerous times, clocked nearly 400,000 miles, and it still runs like a dream. Sure, you've had other vehicles, but nothing else has held up quite like this one. If you've got a product, brand, or even an appliance that's never let you down, tell us what it is and why it deserves legendary status. Drop it in the comments or submit it through this anonymous form. Some younger person out there wasting money on flashy, flimsy junk will thank you (me).
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- Yahoo
People Are Sharing The "Adult Problems" That Literally No One Prepared Them For, And Same
It's no mystery that adulting is hard, and unless you're incredibly rich and have the luxury of not worrying about the "everyday things," dealing with them is inevitable. Recently, Redditor u/Canadiens-Bacon asked those in the Reddit community to share the adult problems that no one prepared them for, and it couldn't be more real: 1."Budgeting for house maintenance. Getting a new HVAC, siding, or a roof is not cheap." —Long-Tip-5374 2."How fast your paycheck can be used, whether it's for bills, gas, food, pets, etc." —p1ue3 3."It's hard to make friends." —-burger 4."Chronic stress and worry. I just never feel like I can let my guard down, relax, and just be." —mmaine9339 5."Not being able to find a job despite doing everything you were supposed to do." —Littlescuba 6."How mean people ACTUALLY are." —MassiveTest4567 7."A lack of passion for being alive. I'm 45, and although I don't want to not be alive, I'm not super excited about being alive, either. I love my family, I do my job, and I try my best to be a good person, but at the end of the day, it's a lot of whatever. I'm not interested in pursuing anything or improving my station in life. I'm just kind of existing until I don't at this point." —spinvestigator 8."Watching your parents grow old." —PrincessPricilla3003 "This is the worst of it. My dad has always seemed so energetic, but he's starting to look and act like an old man lately. At least 5% of my thoughts every day are worrying about him." —Coffee-StainedChaos 9."Just how expensive furniture is." —violetfirez 10."That many workplaces are astonishingly like eighth grade." —swisssf 11."Making decisions every single day, even when you're tired, unsure, or just want someone else to decide for once." —Sorry_Confusion_1245 12."How fast fruit flies appear." —Delightful_Helper 13."Taxes. Doing them needs to be taught in schools, not geometry." —misshuntertoyou 14."Deciding what to eat every day." —Alternative-Log5191 15."Watching a loved one suffer in silence, hooked up to machines, and realizing that there's nothing you can do but pray they open their eyes again. No one prepares you for that kind of helplessness." —sarona_o 16."The feeling of loneliness. You work, go home, do chores, and sleep. Maybe you go on a vacation for one week out of the entire year. Everything revolves around work and chores — all day long." —Darkdesire8teen 17."How every time you think you're done with dishes, there are somehow more dishes." —kindofhappytobehere 18."I knew about the major bills, but I wasn't prepared for the constant cost/keeping track of other necessities like toilet paper, trash bags, detergent, and more. They just keep coming. I remember asking my dad for advice when I first moved out. He told me, 'You never have as much money as you think you do. Stay out of debt and stay out of jail." —614elisabeth 19."How fast produce goes bad." —vanmildwild 20."Your friends dying. It's going to happen, whether through tragedy or natural causes, you will lose some people well before their expiration date. It will be life-changing every time, but you will come out on the other side stronger. But, holy hell, does it suck in ways you can't imagine. Loss catches up to you at times you can't predict." —Markoff_Cheney "How no one tells you that a 'bad back' isn't something that older people get, it's something we all randomly wake up with at 26." —Canadiens-Bacon Honestly, yeah, my vegetables go bad TOO fast, and then I need to go out and buy more. It's a vicious cycle. What's an adult problem that no one prepared you for? Let us know in the comments, or you can anonymously submit your thoughts using the form below! Note: Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Yahoo
"I'm Now 23, And I Still Feel Like A Piece Of Sh*t Because Of It": People Are Disclosing Their Deepest, Darkest Secrets That They Never Said Outloud
Note: This post contains mentions of suicidal ideation. It's normal to have a secret or two, but sometimes, we have the urge to spill the beans. So when Reddit user wizardkoer asked: "What's a deep, dark secret you've never told anyone?" over 12,000 people shared their thoughts. Here's what they said below: 1."When I was going to school, we were really poor. My mom would regularly be in tears about bills. I used to sneak my lunch money back into my parents' possession by hiding it in laundry, jackets, cars, or her purse. They were always so happy and relieved to find extra cash they had forgotten about." —Azalis Related: 2."My wife has a ceramic mug that she uses all day, every day to drink water. As long as I've known her, she's used the same mug. Five years ago, shortly after we moved in together, I found the same mug on eBay. That replacement mug sits in a box at my office, just in case the day comes that I accidentally break the original." —FinishFine69 3."I used to put croissants through the self-service as bread rolls. They weigh roughly the same so it won't set them off, and it comes in as half the price. Peppers still get weighed as onions. Come get me supermarkets." —goatsofwrath_v2 "I bought five donuts recently, but told the machine I only had four. " —TheBahamaLlama 4."My girlfriend got extremely sick while we were sleeping next to each other. Like 'roll over off the bed and cover the floor in vomit' sick. I don't have the stomachs for it, and I started feeling sick as well and before I could get out of the room, I vomited all over her trash can. I immediately got out of the room and finished up in the restroom and then her roommate sister comes running in. She heard me bust out of the room and came to see what was happening." "There was vomit everywhere, an unbelievable amount for a small girl, and it was everywhere. She got my girlfriend in the shower and asked me to watch her while she got to work cleaning up our mixed awfulness. It took her a while and my girlfriend threw up a few more times from what we found out was food poisoning. Eventually, most of it was cleaned up, and I put her back in bed. I have not told a single person that it wasn't all her vomit, and I had, in fact, covered the other half of the room. I really hope she never finds this." —gamageeknerd "This is my worst nightmare." —ReasonableCheesecake Related: 5."I was never fully potty trained until seven. I cringe at that every day." —Camero32 6."I feel as though all my friends are to good for me and the only way to be entertaining is to act silly because my true personality can't carry a friendship." —packtrekpack 7."I cheated on my fifth-grade science fair project and ended up winning the entire competition. I'm now 23 and still feel like a piece of shit because of it." —RCTommy "I'm curious in what way you cheated a science fair." —Randomocity132 "It's really not all that interesting. I just didn't do the project by the assigned date, faked an illness the Friday it was due, and threw together a project over the weekend that I'd basically done the year before at a different school." —RCTommy Related: 8."I planned to commit suicide last summer on my birthday. I didn't because I got pulled over and the RCMP officer was kind to me on my way to the mountains. Then I met two older couples on the hike I was going to do it on, and they invited me to hike with them, then took me out to dinner and bought me my meal and a drink because they said no one should be alone on their birthday. They unknowingly stopped me with their kindness." —2468timetoinebriate "How has life been since? " —Mr_McGuy "Ups and downs. The whole thing stemmed from some declining health issues, but I just passed a huge milestone yesterday with it. I've since started seeing a therapist, and I still keep in touch with the people who saved me because I do honestly think that they were there for a reason, even if they will never know it. Thanks for asking, friend." —2468timetoinebriate 9."I'm a mom but I hate being around other moms. I'm not even sure why, but I find it annoying? I also hate talking about our kids all the time and nothing else." —catpants7 10."I pee in the shower every day." —Alpha_Meta_man "I think most people do this, but obviously, not me; I would never." —None 11."I really do not like 95% of dogs, and think that most dog owners are really out-of-touch with how well-behaved their pet is, how badly their house smells, and how hairy their couch is. I think it's supremely boring when people talk endlessly about them, and it's frustrating to be jumped on, licked, pawed at when I don't care to be. I don't disclose this because most dog owners are so obsessed with their dog that it's not worth mentioning." —abqkat Related: 12."It terrifies me to think about how completely and utterly lost I would be without my wife and daughter. Almost to the point where I'm worried my actual existence is completely and totally defined by my need to be a husband and father. Maybe, in that sense, I'm also scared of the fact that I have nothing else to offer the world other than being a family man." —Ng07605 13."Ate my boogers until I was like 32. Disgusting habit, but addictive like all disgusting habits. No excuses, I still can't believe it! But now, I'm getting payback from the universe as I'm trying to get my 4-year-old son to stop eating his *barf.* (And now I can't tell anyone that I made it onto a BuzzFeed list because they'll ask why!)" —Anonymous If you need someone to talk to, the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline is 1-800-950-6264 (NAMI) and provides information and referral services; is an association of mental health professionals from more than 25 countries who support efforts to reduce harm in therapy. Do you have an incredibly dark secret you would like to share? Tell us in the comments or anonymously in the Google Form below. Also in Internet Finds: Also in Internet Finds: Also in Internet Finds: Solve the daily Crossword
