Cultic Studies Journal, Vol. 15, No. 2, 1998, page 16
early on in my recovery. At first, I could feel only anger I couldn‘t see that God was
involved in any way, shape, or form. Only after considerable reflection, after God‘s ways
and means had been redefined, after I personally repented and could see many of these
experiences from a truly biblical frame of reference, could I begin to accept any value in this
religiously abusive experience.
Finally, I‘ve become convinced that God‘s desire and control over all the past and future
events of my life combined to produce a particular outcome to bring Him glory and to give
me some much-needed preparation for following Him with passion, both now and for
eternity. There are no chance events in God‘s universe. My involvement in this cultic group
was not some sort of bad dream come true or mere blunder on my part, but rather His
preparation. This doesn‘t mean that people who contributed to my abuse are not culpable
they certainly were and are. This also does not mean that to a lesser degree I was not
culpable I certainly was. What it does mean is that God is sovereign and fully capable of
using all things to bring about His desired ends.
Notes
1 By Bible-based, I mean that the Bible was erroneously drawn from, for the purpose of
control and manipulation, not that the Bible promotes or encourages such behaviors and
beliefs as those outlined in the group in which I was involved.
Patrick Knapp has worked extensively in the cult recovery milieu since January 1984. He
has done a great deal of public speaking, been on both radio and television, and is nearing
completion of a graduate program (Philosophy of Religion) at Denver Theological Seminary.
His E-mail address: PatKnapp@compuserve.com.
This article is an electronic version of an article originally published in Cultic Studies Journal, 1998, Volume 15,
Number 2, pages 120-129. Please keep in mind that the pagination of this electronic reprint differs from that of the
bound volume. This fact could affect how you enter bibliographic information in papers that you may write.
early on in my recovery. At first, I could feel only anger I couldn‘t see that God was
involved in any way, shape, or form. Only after considerable reflection, after God‘s ways
and means had been redefined, after I personally repented and could see many of these
experiences from a truly biblical frame of reference, could I begin to accept any value in this
religiously abusive experience.
Finally, I‘ve become convinced that God‘s desire and control over all the past and future
events of my life combined to produce a particular outcome to bring Him glory and to give
me some much-needed preparation for following Him with passion, both now and for
eternity. There are no chance events in God‘s universe. My involvement in this cultic group
was not some sort of bad dream come true or mere blunder on my part, but rather His
preparation. This doesn‘t mean that people who contributed to my abuse are not culpable
they certainly were and are. This also does not mean that to a lesser degree I was not
culpable I certainly was. What it does mean is that God is sovereign and fully capable of
using all things to bring about His desired ends.
Notes
1 By Bible-based, I mean that the Bible was erroneously drawn from, for the purpose of
control and manipulation, not that the Bible promotes or encourages such behaviors and
beliefs as those outlined in the group in which I was involved.
Patrick Knapp has worked extensively in the cult recovery milieu since January 1984. He
has done a great deal of public speaking, been on both radio and television, and is nearing
completion of a graduate program (Philosophy of Religion) at Denver Theological Seminary.
His E-mail address: PatKnapp@compuserve.com.
This article is an electronic version of an article originally published in Cultic Studies Journal, 1998, Volume 15,
Number 2, pages 120-129. Please keep in mind that the pagination of this electronic reprint differs from that of the
bound volume. This fact could affect how you enter bibliographic information in papers that you may write.
