The Seige Mentality

I recently came across an article written by a former Jehovah’s Witness where the author describes how the Watchtower Society uses a tactic known as the siege mentality to bond members closer together, demand extreme loyalty and devotion from its followers, and create an almost invincible barrier to opposition.  As I read the article, I could not ignore the similarities between what the author described in his experience with the Jehovah’s Witnesses, and the almost identical siege mentality that I observed when I was a member of the World Mission Society Church of God.  When I was a member of the WMSCOG, there seemed to a lot of “us vs them” speak.  Now, in any church or group, there will undoubtedly be some speech that could qualify as “us vs them”.  This is not the type of speech I am referring to.  The distinction I want to draw is that in the WMSCOG, there seemed to be such an overwhelming focus on the “them” in “us vs. them” or “outside evil forces”, to the point that everyone outside the group was basically considered to be misled by Satan.  This view seemed to be so dominant that I personally felt like I should avoid those outside of the organization, or “worldly people.”

I even remember the focus on the movie 300.  After certain WMSCOG events, the pastor would instruct the crowd of members to chant like the soldiers did in the movie before taking group pictures to send to the “heavenly mother,” Zahng Gil Jah.  The pastor would even have the “brothers” and “sisters” compete against one another to see which group could chant the loudest.

Let us examine the parts of the siege mentality, also known as the “us vs. them” mentality, discussed by thought reform experts Robert J. Lifton, Margaret Singer, Steve Hassan and others.  I thought it would be interesting to list just a couple of quotes directly from WMSCOG literature that demonstrate the siege mentality.

The Common Enemy

Imagine a city under siege.  The enemy surrounds the city, determined to attack.  The inhabitants of the city join together in order to fight the enemy that unites them.  It is clear when reading WMSCOG material, that the common enemy is Satan.  Again, on the surface this might seem normal for a church, but the distinction is the intensity of the focus on the devil.  For example, the time spent focusing on the devil in WMSCOG Chief Pastor Joo Cheol Kim’s book entitled My Sheep Listen To My Voice is astounding.  On page 43 of My Sheep Listen To My Voice, Joo Cheol Kim specifically mentions Satan five times and refers to Satan as “he” an additional seven times.  That is a total of twelve times on one page.  Think about that for a second.  You might be saying to yourself “well, that is probably a chapter on the devil”.  However, the book pretty much continues in this fashion for about 200 pages–across multiple chapters.  By the end, all you can think about is how Satan is trying to get you.  If you do not believe me, try reading the book for yourself (though not recommended because of what it has to say).  According to Margaret Singer, pointing to Satan as the surrounding enemy is not uncommon in controversial religious groups.  She writes:

(For more direct quotes from Joo Cheol Kim regarding family members being “temptations” of Satan, click here.)

Let us read some quotes by Joo Cheol Kim:

That is not to say that the devil does not exist, or that churches should not talk about him at some point.  But, if you start believing everything in the above statements by Joo Cheol Kim, that you might actually begin to feel a sense of paranoia.  Look at how he writes that “Satan has deceived all people around the world“, and how those who worship on Sunday have been deceived by Satan.  The focus on the devil is disproportionate to the focus on other topics, and everyone who is outside the group seems to be lumped into the category of having been duped by the devil.  This is quite a sweeping generalization.

Members are often told that Satan was constantly working to take them away from “the truth”.  Concerning paranoia, expert Steven Hassan writes:

We Are Right; They Are Wrong

The WMSCOG believes that they are the only true church and that no other path, outside of being a member of their organization, leads to salvation.  They claim that every other religion is wrong and that everyone outside of the WMSCOG is being used by Satan to destroy members’ faith.  There is no in-between.  Margaret Singer describes a similar phenomenon:

Here are some of Joo Cheol Kim’s statements that demonstrate the us vs them mentality, in his book My Sheep Listen To My Voice:

The arrogance in the above passages can not be ignored.  Robert J. Lifton summarizes this phenomenon well when he writes:

Only Those That Are With Us Will Be Saved

Members are taught to believe that only members of their church would be protected from disasters and enter the kingdom of heaven.  In other words, the only way to be saved was to follow the WMSCOG’s rigid list of requirements (extensive Bible study, recruitment, tithes, labor which they call “blessings”, etc).  The only alternative is hell.  This may sound extreme, but when everything outside of the church is considered “of Satan”, that really leaves the member with no where to turn.  This is the impression given by some of Chief Pastor Joo Cheol Kim in his book My Sheep Listen To My Voice:

Conclusion

When I was a member of the WMSCOG, if approached with the above information, I would probably have chosen to defend the organization over admitting that there was even the slightest chance of error in their doctrine.  To do the latter would have created a significant amount of turmoil (or cognitive dissonance).  To do so would be to risk one’s salvation.  Though it may be difficult for current WMSCOG members to accept, it is evident through their own literature, that the WMSCOG encourages a siege mentality within its membership (everything outside the church is Satan, everything inside is safe, and everything outside is constantly trying to get those inside the group out).  Once outside of the group’s influence, the benefits of the siege mentality are clearly seen:  members bond together against the common enemy (Satan/everyone outside of the WMSCOG) and followers become more devoted because the group is seen as the protector against evil.