Chapter Six: Evaluating GGC against Lalich’s theory of bounded choice
6.2 Evidence of Lalich’s 4 dimensions drawn from testimonies
Lalich’s first dimension is termed charismatic authority and it refers to the power relationship that is established between the group’s leader and member as a result of the affection of the member for the leader. GGC is led by two pastors, Basil O’Connell- Jones and Neil Martin, who are held in affection and esteem by their members:
I am grateful for Basil O’Connell Jones for opening his home to me. It is something special to have men of God who regard there [sic] own reputations as nothing in their service to Jesus, he is still paying the price for helping me. I praise Jesus for his provision and grace during that time.404
However, each pastor of a CTMI affiliated church submits to the apostolic authority and revelation of Hardy, and it is consequently Hardy who receives the greatest adulation of all CTMI leaders. He is evasive about the proofs for his claims of apostleship and revelation, which as Lalich argues, creates an unassailable level of authority for him, as well as loyalty and group control.405
403 Janja Lalich, 2004. Bounded Choice. True Believers and Charismatic Cults. Berkeley/Los Angeles/London: University of California Press.
404 Testimony of Travis Chaplin, (Posted 20/01/2010), http://ctmi.mu/en/uncategorized/leaving-home (Accessed 15/09/12)
405 Lalich, Bounded Choice, p. 239.
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As was seen in Heaven’s Gate and the DWP, the charismatic authority of Hardy creates a parental relationship between himself and members of CTMI and their affiliated churches. This relationship is overt, with Hardy being termed a father and members being called “sons and daughters in the house.” It is a relationship that demands and receives both devotion and unquestioning obedience:
To anyone who has been a part of CTMI it is clear that Miki is the father. It is also clear that he is the apostle. It is also clear that he is the guy in charge (though it is also evident that Audrey is the power behind the throne). Everyone knows that and will acknowledge that Miki is the father and not much can happen without his say so... I can't tell how many times I've heard the message preached about "Sons in the house". In these sermons (they don't like the term
"sermon" but prefer "message" or "sharing") the congregants are told that unless they are totally given to the apostle they are outcasts, orphans, prodigals and thus not part of the household of the church and thus far from where God wants you to be.406
Hardy has encouraged distance from, and tension with, outsiders to the group. This has been created by his criticisms of the wider church, and CTMI’s leadership conferences which are aimed at drawing clergy away from their denominations or associations and into the CTMI fold. He is evasive or unresponsive to critics like the CPG, lacks transparency and real accountability, and plays the persecution card when criticised.
Lalich posits that this leadership style promotes the development of paranoia that serves to keeps members in a state of uncertainty and fearfulness, and in turn, fosters a renewed reliance upon and submission to the leadership.407
Hardy is the “source” of the transcendent ideology known as the gospel or revelation of the cross. This novel and attractive belief system combines an apparent biblical emphasis on the cross of Christ and a particular ecclesiastical structure which is presented as a more powerful and authentic version of Christianity. Together with Hardy’s special relationship with God through his revelation and apostolic office, he offers a definitive formula for salvation which he calls the world and the wider Church to heed.
406 Posted by “Mongoose”, (03/10/2010), http://ctmiconcernedparents.com/phpBB- 3.0.5/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=257 (Accessed 14/07/12)
407 Lalich, Bounded Choice, p. 224.
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Hardy holds himself up as a role model for his followers and is regarded as being an exemplary example of the “given” life. Hardy’s luxurious lifestyle and lack of veracity in interviews provide a clear set of double standards.
Lalich argued that veneration of the leader would become a trade-off for the possibility of salvation precipitating an increasing dependency on both the leadership and the group. Hardy is venerated as the apostle of CTMI and members of GGC express their devotion to him by attempting to travel to CTMI headquarters in Mauritius as frequently as possible. This veneration compromises relationships with non-GGC members and life outside the group. As has been reported in Chapter Four, studies and career plans are abandoned, and alienation from the biological family is typical.
Charismatic authority, according to Lalich, leads to authoritarianism and groups that lack democratic structures. Hardy makes a bid for a pseudo-presbyterian style of polity in CTMI by speaking of a committee of elders408 that oversee CTMI but this was argued to be a deliberate obfuscation of the truth. It would appear that CTMI and its affiliates are governed dictatorially by Hardy without any recourse to democratic process.
Lalich’s second dimension is known as “the transcendent belief system” and provides the group’s soteric ideology. To recapitulate: cults tend to promise an all inclusive (all the answers) and exclusive (the only way) path to personal freedom or salvation. This path requires members to commit to a process of personal transformation towards an ultimately unattainable goal.
GGC’s transcendent belief system or theology is that of the parent organisation CTMI, which in turn, is based on Hardy’s apostolic leadership and revelation of the cross. It is an all inclusive belief system for it claims that the path to God’s approval and blessing lies in submission to Hardy, and believers developing a “pure heart”. A pure heart is understood by CTMI to not necessarily mean a perfect heart but rather the cultivation of an inner disposition where the believer sacrifices and repents of impure thoughts and
408 Carte Blanche 07/02/2010. http://ctmiconcernedparents.com/phpBB- 3.0.5/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=257 (Accessed 15/09/2012)
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attitudes. Thus, for CTMI, so long as the believer has a pure heart, they exist in a sanctified relationship with God (which obviates the need for Christ’s atonement, according to Audrey Hardy). It is a belief that shifts the focus of members of GGC from Christ to their own psycho-spiritual reality, preoccupying them with attempts to root out impure inner impulses, and is reminiscent of Pelagianism. The GGC member thus strive to remodel their identity on that of the group ideal, and to concurrently break with their pre-GGC lifestyle.
Hardy presents the salvation that CTMI has been entrusted with as something that is available to any who will embrace the “given” life, and it thus appears as if those who hear his message have a choice to accept or reject it. However, the theology of CTMI is so negatively critical of all other churches that if one accepts CTMI’s worldview, there is only one real choice available to those who seek spiritual maturity - and that is to commit to “this gospel”. And as “this gospel” is presented using biblical concepts and terminology, claims an Evangelical Protestant Statement of Faith, and is variously identified with the Protestant and Charismatic traditions by Hardy, committing to the revelation of the cross does not appear to be contentious.
The principle of caveat emptor409 is nullified when a seller deliberately conceals defects in order to make a sale. Hardy conceals the fact that he is the apostle of CTMI and the ultimate authority over all CTMI affiliated churches. He conceals the fact that the revelation of the cross is extra-biblical and heterodox. Hardy conceals the fact that the customary consequence of committing to his organisation is alienation from family and friends, is the probability of an “invisible hand” guiding the choice of marriage partner, and the likely redeployment of the member’s skills and experience to serve CTMI.
Such unpleasant realities emerge after a member has committed to an exclusive theology that teaches that commitment to anything else is a greater evil. One is reminded of discovering disagreeable small print on a document only after signing.
Nonetheless, zealous members of GGC sacrifice any doubts or concerns about being
409 “Let the buyer beware”
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deceived, in pursuit of a pure heart, and thus internalise the goals of the group as their own personal goals.
Lalich observed that indoctrination in some groups occurs through manipulative and coercive methods resembling thought reform and coercive persuasion.410 As was demonstrated in Chapter 5, Pretorius has argued that psychological manipulation and conditioning exists in GGC.
The third dimension of Lalich’s framework concerns the systems of control of the group. This includes such components as organisational form, hierarchy, discipline, code of conduct and behavioural norms which creates compliance and obedience within the group. Cultic groups, according to Lalich, display a top-down authority structure where leadership demands unconditional obedience and submission. This is clearly evident in GGC and CTMI with apostolic authority being vested in Hardy and through him to the pastors of CTMI affiliated churches. The clearest example of a member’s unconditional submission to Hardy’s authority was provided by Heather Goddard, the mother of Hayley, in a letter emailed to Erin Georgiou the editor of JOY! magazine dated 13 May 2009:
I became very concerned and looked at her email in and outbox to see the level of her commitment to this cult. In one of her letters to Miki Hardy in which she told him that we were calling CTMI a cult, she stated: “I completely submit myself to you and the elders. Whatever you have planned for me I will do.” He [Hardy] also told her not to be manipulated by her parents.411
Lalich noted that the DWP and Heaven’s Gate maintained rigid boundaries between themselves and the outside world, controlled movement and communication beyond the group, and promoted collectivity.412 These features are evident in GGC: GGC does not fellowship with other Christian groups or churches; it has a critical/negative perception of the secular world, it and encourages young people to go to Mauritius or GGC homes
410 Lalich, Bounded Choice, p. 227.
411 In Appendix “A”.
412 Lalich, Bounded Choice, p. 230.
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to learn from other given lives.413 This drawing of people to a particular location appears to be a trend towards collectivity, as is the controversial purchase of Outlaw Farm in Waterfall, KwaZulu-Natal. GGC claims this property was to be used for a school but it could readily become a compound for the group.
Personal control appears to be exercised in an indirect manner through loss of attention, exclusion, shunning, and demonising choices not congruent with GGC’s ideology:
Being a "son in the house" has nothing to do with being a son to Father God, but Father Miki. And Mother Audrey...Then you will be accepted, acknowledged, uplifted, made a fuss of and recognised by the rest of the folk as approved. And the oppsite [sic] is also true. If you question, say the wrong things, don't "speak the lingo" of the apostle, read books by other Christian authors, don't hang on the words of the elders (as well as the Alpha Females, Audrey, Dane, Brigitte, Kamla etc) and be at their beck and call 24/7, you suddenly become invisible.
People will ignore you, look away and not respond to you in conversation. This is strong peer pressure. And it breeds blind obedience as surely as Pavlov was able to make his dogs drool by the ringing of a bell.414
Initially I was very involved, having been the founding pastor in Durban, but some time later began to question the activities of the elder and other church goings-on. These questionings were met with aggressive and abusive responses and I was quickly excluded from all leadership and decision making involvement.415
What lies behind all of these forms of castigation is a threat of losing one’s place in this exclusive group with its special relationship with God. This threat of “soul death”
serves to condition members of GGC into a state of phobic fear of life outside GGC/CTMI. Lalich posits that in time, life within cultic groups became rigid, legalistic and introspective thus moulding members into rigid, dogmatic and single-minded individuals. Once again Hayley Goddard’s behaviour provides an illustration of this type of moulding in GGC:
413 “Group Letter 1”. http://ctmiconcernedparents.com/phpBB-3.0.5/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=3 (Accessed 05/10/12)
414 Posted by “Mongoose”, (03/10/2012), http://ctmiconcernedparents.com/phpBB- 3.0.5/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=257 (Accessed 29/07/12)
415 Letter emailed from Silk to Erin Georgiou, editor of JOY! Magazine 03/10/2009 in Appendix “A”.
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During one conversation with us, she started crying and begging us to pay for her to remain in Mauritius. We insisted she return to SA at the end of her 6 month stint. She did this reluctantly...Once back in South Africa we, (and many family friends) were concerned at how she had changed. Dull expression, no spontaneity, robotic response, repetitive jargon i.e. I have it on my heart, when confronted we were told "that is emotional," She spent every minute with the church, either at meetings – Monday evenings a 2 hr hour prayer group.
Wednesday morning – 2 hour woman’s meeting – although any unemployed attend, whether male or female, Wednesday evening another prayer meeting lasting 3 hours, Youth on a Friday, although again this was just another church service and all and sundry attended – from 15 years old to 60 years old and then the Sunday morning church service – 9.30am to 12pm. She did not want to participate in any family gatherings. One evening she had to attend a school computer course and it ended earlier than expected. She asked me to take her to Basil O’Connel Jone’s [sic] house to listen to an elder from Mauritius. She was already quite late for the meeting and I declined to take her as I too was tired.
She then tried to get a taxi to collect her from our home – this was the level of her desperation and commitment to the church.416
The final dimension of Lalich’s framework deals with the pressure social influence exerts on group members, inducing them to model their behaviour on an ideal of the transcendent belief system.417 Leaders and/or exemplary members are esteemed leading to a general striving after these behaviours. However, the ideal is unrealistic and impossible to attain for any length of time. The pressure to conform to it causes members to constantly feel inadequate and thus live with a continuous self-critical monitoring which prevents any criticism of the system or its truths. Lalich writes of how social pressure contributes to members believing that they have freely undertaken to mould themselves in the image of the leader in order to live out the ideal of the ideology.418
Hardy is the exemplar for the group. He claims to be modelling the revelation of the cross and cites how after receiving this revelation his relationship with his wife and colleagues was transformed. In GGC the theology of the “pure heart” is a prime example of the unattainable ideology that Lalich postulates. Striving to have a pure heart – an absence of impure inner attitudes – will consume the attention of the member
416 Letter from Heather Goddard to Erin Georgiou dated 13/05/2009 in Appendix “A”.
417 Lalich, Bounded Choice, p. 230.
418 Lalich, Bounded Choice, p. 231.
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preventing them assessing the validity of Hardy’s authority and teachings. Lalich points to the presence of social pressure providing the means by which individuals conform to a cultic group’s ideology and behaviours, and the discipline of social psychology, as was seen in Chapter Two, provides a detailed explanation exactly how powerfully and insidiously this process can be.
Classical and operant conditioning have been argued to operate in GGC, and this conditioning is regarded as a primary method of attitude shaping in social psychology.
Social psychology makes it abundantly clear that through belonging to a group that is esteemed by its members, as GGC is, and by merely observing how other members of the group behave, conscious and unconscious attitude moulding occurs. Consequently, it becomes impossible to argue that notions and decisions of GGC members (or members of any group, for that matter) are strictly personal and uninfluenced choices.
The inner attitudes of “heart” and mind (affect and cognition) of GGC members must be regarded as partially determined by the group and its ideology and leadership. The extent to which the group moulds individual attitude and behaviour is debateable, but the very fact that “cloned” behaviour including speech, socialising, a growing detachment from family, friends, planned activities and careers, and sudden marriages have been observed among GGC members argues for significant social pressure to conform to the group’s norms. Former members claim that sometimes the pressure to conform is not subtle:
I once heard Audrey saying that 'this man left his job to serve the Lord' publicly just to incite others to imitate those people. So when Audrey mentions the names of all people who left their family, she's justifying that it's normal and that people should do the same (sounds like ad populum?). It's not God who is asking them to leave everything, it's Audrey and Miki.419
It is also important for members and leaders of GGC and CTMI, as well as concerned non-members and researchers, to acknowledge that subliminal social influences exist.
These subtle forces do affect and can change human behaviour. According to the “less is more” hypothesis, minimal incentive is required in order to overcome any dissonance
419 Posted by “Berean”, (06/10/2010), http://ctmiconcernedparents.com/phpBB- 3.0.5/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=257 (Accessed 21/07/2012)
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to change, so the absence of any obvious force does not disprove coercion. Hence it is not defensible for CTMI/GGC to contemptuously reject any notion of influence over members as Hardy attempted to do in the Carte Blanche interview:
[Interviewer] But they are saying you brainwashed their children. How do you do that? How do you get these children to give up their lives in SA and come here and give up their studies?
Miki – laughs. I wanted to ask you that question. How can we do that? I just wanted to ask you the same question! We can’t tell them that. It’s impossible to tell them that. This is the desire of their hearts.420
Neither is it helpful for those shocked by the dramatic changes witnessed in their children to assume that the changes are the result of demonic spiritual forces. In the final analysis, theories of social psychology describes how subliminal forces can mould behaviour in ways acceptable to the leadership and ideology of GGC.
The degree of social pressure in any group depends on the degree to which the group answers the psychological needs of those in and drawn to the group. The greater the dovetailing of individual need and group dynamics the more powerfully the individual will be affected by the group and moulded by it.
6.3 Evidence of Lalich’s four dimensions drawn from a survey of former members