Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 2, No. 2, 2003, Page 39
and since he controlled all communications, he would sometimes lie to the brother and/or
sister about each other‘s interest in the other. These kinds of behaviors are detailed in Jim
Guerra‘s book, From Dean‘s List to Dumpsters, Chapters 19 and 24 (Guerra, 2000).
Roberts has a unique way of disciplining members, especially brothers, who offended him in
some way. He would send them to a remote location and tell him to wait until another
brother came to get him. Often, another brother would not come for a year or more. In
some cases, another brother never came. In one case, a woman told us that when she
insisted on visiting her parents, Roberts gave permission to do so and told her where to
meet up with the group again. She went to that location, but no one ever showed up. She
had been kicked out of the cult for having a ―rebellious spirit.‖ Jim Roberts had, and still
has, absolute control over all the members of the cult.
As we have learned more and more about the Jim Roberts Group, we have found only one
likely motive for doing what he is doing. While many cults seem to be driven by a
combination of greed, money, sex, and power lust, we can find only one piece of that
equation in this group, power. With the exception of a fairly successful stint in the Marines,
Roberts had generally been associated with failure in every other aspect of his life. When
he discovered he could control other people‘s lives, he seized on that opportunity and has
held on for dear life for the past 30 years. He exercises ―iron fisted‖ control over the group
in regards to what they do and where they do it, as well as directing what they study and
restricting the limited outside information to which they have access. His basic dogma is
that everything they did and everyone they knew in their previous life was sinful. Ministers,
preachers, priests, and the like are portrayed as ―false Christians‖ because they do not live
the scriptural life of the Jim Roberts Group. He promises eternal damnation for those who
leave the group, eternal life for those who abide by his rules, and he demands, and gets,
blind loyalty from those who remain in the group.
Jim Roberts has left a wake of human destruction for over 30 years. Not only deaths, but
also irreparable physical injuries and emotional and psychological problems have affected an
unknown number of young people who will never be what they could have been because
they were in his cult. Although we don‘t have reliable statistics, we do have knowledge of
compelling cases of injury and abuse. Brother Amos, for example is a paraplegic. A recently
exited sister is blind in one eye from an infection that she got while in the cult. A brother
named Jason was hit by a car while riding his bike. A brother from Canada has been in
three psychiatric hospitals since he was kicked out the group. My son has been ―roaming‖
the country alone for years. The whereabouts of another brother kicked out years ago is
still unknown. And we can only speculate about how many members Roberts sent away to
a remote location and never called back or how many families have been psychologically
injured and/or torn apart by the loss of their loved ones.
Part III: The Roberts Group Parents Network (Ronald Loomis)
I have been involved in studying cults and educating others about them for 35 years. Along
the way, I met a few families who had loved ones in the Jim Roberts Group. For many
years, they had been communicating with one another by phone and more recently by e-
mail. In 1995, some of them asked if I would assist in organizing a weekend conference for
families with loved ones in the JRG, and they offered to pay me for my time. By then, I had
learned enough about the JRG to know that this group is unique and very difficult to get
members out of and I did not feel comfortable accepting payment to assist them. I agreed
to do it for expenses.
In 1997, I arranged for our first meeting at an airport hotel in Philadelphia, PA, which we
called the Parents Group Conference. There were 23 people in attendance representing 12
families with loved ones in the JRG. Four exit counselors and a private detective with
experience dealing with cults made presentations and we consulted with two former
and since he controlled all communications, he would sometimes lie to the brother and/or
sister about each other‘s interest in the other. These kinds of behaviors are detailed in Jim
Guerra‘s book, From Dean‘s List to Dumpsters, Chapters 19 and 24 (Guerra, 2000).
Roberts has a unique way of disciplining members, especially brothers, who offended him in
some way. He would send them to a remote location and tell him to wait until another
brother came to get him. Often, another brother would not come for a year or more. In
some cases, another brother never came. In one case, a woman told us that when she
insisted on visiting her parents, Roberts gave permission to do so and told her where to
meet up with the group again. She went to that location, but no one ever showed up. She
had been kicked out of the cult for having a ―rebellious spirit.‖ Jim Roberts had, and still
has, absolute control over all the members of the cult.
As we have learned more and more about the Jim Roberts Group, we have found only one
likely motive for doing what he is doing. While many cults seem to be driven by a
combination of greed, money, sex, and power lust, we can find only one piece of that
equation in this group, power. With the exception of a fairly successful stint in the Marines,
Roberts had generally been associated with failure in every other aspect of his life. When
he discovered he could control other people‘s lives, he seized on that opportunity and has
held on for dear life for the past 30 years. He exercises ―iron fisted‖ control over the group
in regards to what they do and where they do it, as well as directing what they study and
restricting the limited outside information to which they have access. His basic dogma is
that everything they did and everyone they knew in their previous life was sinful. Ministers,
preachers, priests, and the like are portrayed as ―false Christians‖ because they do not live
the scriptural life of the Jim Roberts Group. He promises eternal damnation for those who
leave the group, eternal life for those who abide by his rules, and he demands, and gets,
blind loyalty from those who remain in the group.
Jim Roberts has left a wake of human destruction for over 30 years. Not only deaths, but
also irreparable physical injuries and emotional and psychological problems have affected an
unknown number of young people who will never be what they could have been because
they were in his cult. Although we don‘t have reliable statistics, we do have knowledge of
compelling cases of injury and abuse. Brother Amos, for example is a paraplegic. A recently
exited sister is blind in one eye from an infection that she got while in the cult. A brother
named Jason was hit by a car while riding his bike. A brother from Canada has been in
three psychiatric hospitals since he was kicked out the group. My son has been ―roaming‖
the country alone for years. The whereabouts of another brother kicked out years ago is
still unknown. And we can only speculate about how many members Roberts sent away to
a remote location and never called back or how many families have been psychologically
injured and/or torn apart by the loss of their loved ones.
Part III: The Roberts Group Parents Network (Ronald Loomis)
I have been involved in studying cults and educating others about them for 35 years. Along
the way, I met a few families who had loved ones in the Jim Roberts Group. For many
years, they had been communicating with one another by phone and more recently by e-
mail. In 1995, some of them asked if I would assist in organizing a weekend conference for
families with loved ones in the JRG, and they offered to pay me for my time. By then, I had
learned enough about the JRG to know that this group is unique and very difficult to get
members out of and I did not feel comfortable accepting payment to assist them. I agreed
to do it for expenses.
In 1997, I arranged for our first meeting at an airport hotel in Philadelphia, PA, which we
called the Parents Group Conference. There were 23 people in attendance representing 12
families with loved ones in the JRG. Four exit counselors and a private detective with
experience dealing with cults made presentations and we consulted with two former
