Cultic Studies Journal, Vol. 5, No. 1 1988 Page 75
[Rob – 1986] [The elder] talked about how we should be enthusiastic about hating
sin. And he gave us a reference of Romans 12:9, which says, ―love must be
sincere, hate what is evil, cling to what is good.‖ And he talked about how not only
should we hate the sin but we should hate them -we should hate the sinner -we
should hate what is evil, and ...he was just very angry when he was saying this,
that, we should really just hate these people for what they are doing.
***
[Elders – 1985] God hates the man who spreads dissension between brothers,
brothers in the Lord, more than a man who would take the innocent blood -go out
and murder an innocent person! God hates that even more. Imagine that! Now
that's a pretty heavy statement.
The following testimonies illustrate how members react to officially labeled ―deviants‖ who have
been cast out of the sect, as well as subsequent reactions by the target to shunning.
[Gail] My family was put out for ―creating a faction.‖ My husband was a leader of
the church. He knew these people when, but after a proclamation of faction, friends
that we had known for years, some that I knew for 13 years, would not even
acknowledge that we were alive. We would see people at the mail and they would
duck into a store or walk on the other side. My husband saw a man in the bank,
and he would not even look at him. They sat three feet apart. We saw a woman in
the school office. Her son said ―Hi‖ to us as if nothing was wrong, but his mom
stared at the ceiling until we left.
***
[Phil] We got hate mail, accusing us of trying to take over the church. We got visits
from ―delegations‖ with sealed letters of warning and reproof. We got deceptive
phone calls. We finally disconnected the phone and got a post office box. We had to
move. Every once in a while another person will defect from the church. When they
tell us what the church has been saying about us, it really hurts. These people are
so wrapped up in ―submission‖ to their elders, that a close friend one day can be
discarded the next like a dirty rag. It is no shame to be excommunicated from a
church like that.
Deviance through Word Magic and Definition
The case of a man who had been labeled ―divisive‖ and excommunicated and was then ―cleared‖
two days later illustrates a deeper understanding of the power of the label. Both his
excommunication and the subsequent clearing were done without the target ever being aware of
what he had done. He was 250 miles away at the time. He never received an official letter of
excommunication or writ of absolution, but the target was put under the ban and then exonerated
in two separate church-wide meetings:
[Marcus] I was invited over for pizza by a girl named [Anne] that was still in the
church... Then another girl (Mary] arrived and she acted very serious and she
started grilling me. She then started to interrogate (others there]. She wanted to
know who [they were] and why [they were] there, and all sorts of questions. After
a while [they all left) and [Anne] went outside. [Mary] and I were in the middle of a
conversation and [Mary] broke it off and said, ―Wait a minute, I just want to say I
don't want to hear anything [about…]‖. And I said, ―Well, I don't plan on saying
anything.‖ I said, ―[Mary], what's the problem? [Anne] told you that I was going to
be here, didn't she?‖ And she said, ―No.‖ And then [Mary] said, ―I thought this was
a set-up.‖ When [Anne] came back in and we talked for a while and then all of a
sudden [Mary] started to get up, and [Anne] said, ―What's wrong?‖ And [Mary]
[Rob – 1986] [The elder] talked about how we should be enthusiastic about hating
sin. And he gave us a reference of Romans 12:9, which says, ―love must be
sincere, hate what is evil, cling to what is good.‖ And he talked about how not only
should we hate the sin but we should hate them -we should hate the sinner -we
should hate what is evil, and ...he was just very angry when he was saying this,
that, we should really just hate these people for what they are doing.
***
[Elders – 1985] God hates the man who spreads dissension between brothers,
brothers in the Lord, more than a man who would take the innocent blood -go out
and murder an innocent person! God hates that even more. Imagine that! Now
that's a pretty heavy statement.
The following testimonies illustrate how members react to officially labeled ―deviants‖ who have
been cast out of the sect, as well as subsequent reactions by the target to shunning.
[Gail] My family was put out for ―creating a faction.‖ My husband was a leader of
the church. He knew these people when, but after a proclamation of faction, friends
that we had known for years, some that I knew for 13 years, would not even
acknowledge that we were alive. We would see people at the mail and they would
duck into a store or walk on the other side. My husband saw a man in the bank,
and he would not even look at him. They sat three feet apart. We saw a woman in
the school office. Her son said ―Hi‖ to us as if nothing was wrong, but his mom
stared at the ceiling until we left.
***
[Phil] We got hate mail, accusing us of trying to take over the church. We got visits
from ―delegations‖ with sealed letters of warning and reproof. We got deceptive
phone calls. We finally disconnected the phone and got a post office box. We had to
move. Every once in a while another person will defect from the church. When they
tell us what the church has been saying about us, it really hurts. These people are
so wrapped up in ―submission‖ to their elders, that a close friend one day can be
discarded the next like a dirty rag. It is no shame to be excommunicated from a
church like that.
Deviance through Word Magic and Definition
The case of a man who had been labeled ―divisive‖ and excommunicated and was then ―cleared‖
two days later illustrates a deeper understanding of the power of the label. Both his
excommunication and the subsequent clearing were done without the target ever being aware of
what he had done. He was 250 miles away at the time. He never received an official letter of
excommunication or writ of absolution, but the target was put under the ban and then exonerated
in two separate church-wide meetings:
[Marcus] I was invited over for pizza by a girl named [Anne] that was still in the
church... Then another girl (Mary] arrived and she acted very serious and she
started grilling me. She then started to interrogate (others there]. She wanted to
know who [they were] and why [they were] there, and all sorts of questions. After
a while [they all left) and [Anne] went outside. [Mary] and I were in the middle of a
conversation and [Mary] broke it off and said, ―Wait a minute, I just want to say I
don't want to hear anything [about…]‖. And I said, ―Well, I don't plan on saying
anything.‖ I said, ―[Mary], what's the problem? [Anne] told you that I was going to
be here, didn't she?‖ And she said, ―No.‖ And then [Mary] said, ―I thought this was
a set-up.‖ When [Anne] came back in and we talked for a while and then all of a
sudden [Mary] started to get up, and [Anne] said, ―What's wrong?‖ And [Mary]
