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Creffield and the Dispensing of Existence
- "Perhaps
the most significant characteristic of totalistic
movements is what I call 'dispensing of existence,'" Dr.
Lifton writes. "Those who have not seen the light and
embraced the truth are wedded to evil, tainted, and
therefore in some sense, usually metaphorical, lack the
right to exist. That is one reason why a cult member
threatened with being cast into outer darkness may
experience a fear of extinction or collapse."
If someone lacks the right to exist, not only is it permissible for you to kill them, it is your duty to kill them. That was the unfortunate conclusion some in Franz Edmund Creffield's cult came to.
- "When Franz Edmund Creffield placed
his hands on his followers heads they were absolutely in
his power and did anything he told them," Burgess Starr,
an in-law of his said. "Had he told them to jump in the
river they would not have hesitated a moment, but plunged
in." And when he order them to, they did more than jump
in a river. When he ordered them to burn cats and dogs
and to do worse, they burned cats and dogs and did
worse.
Alas, to tell you exactly what "worse" they did would give away the last third of the book Holy Rollers. To find those details out, you'll just have to read it for yourself.
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Information about Brainwashing & Thought Reform
Lifton's eight 'psychological themes' that can be found in totalist groups like the Holy Rollers:
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Stanley Milgram's Obedience to Authority
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Think You Can't be Lured into a Cult? Think Again.
The Oregon State Insane Asylum in 1907
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Relevant Newspaper Articles:
October to December 1903: Holy Rollers Burn Furniture & Pets
April to June 1904: Holy Rollers are Committed to the Asylum
Chapters from
Holy Rollers: Murder & Madness in Oregon's Love Cult
Part 1: The Seduction
Chapter 1: Trust Me, Brothers And Sisters
(Life Before Creffield [B.C.])
Chapter 2: God, Save Us From Compromising Preachers
(Creffield's Preachings)
Chapter 3: The Flock
(Profiles of the Holy Rollers Were)
Chapter 4: The Holy Rollers
(Things Start to Get Wild on on Kiger Island)
Chapter 5: Housecleaning
(There's a Sacrificial Bonfire)
Chapter 6: Community Concerns
(Officers Visit)
Chapter 7: Esther, The Chosen One
(Creffield Plans to Marry 16-Year- Old)
Chapter 8: Tar and Feathers
(The Men of Corvallis Act)
Chapter 9: Sane People Don’t Go Bareheaded
(Holy Rollers are Committed to the Asylum)
Chapter 10: More Beast Than Man
( Creffield is Arrested)
Chapter 11: God Will Plead Creffield's Case
(Creffield in Court)
Chapter 12: Scandal
(Shocking Testimony at the Trial)
Chapter 13: Calm Before the Storm
(The Holy Rollers Resume their Lives)
Chapter 14: Giving Up The Ghost
(Men are Gunning for Creffield)
Part Two: The People V. Creffield
Chapter 16: The Widow Creffield
Chapter 19: An Inherited Streak of Insanity
Part Three: The Madness
Chapter 23: Seeking Reconciliation
Chapter 24: Another Holy Roller Page One Murder
Chapter 25: What Can Papa Do For You?
Chapter 26: Human Life is Too Cheap In This Community
Chapter 30: The Final Chapter
(What Happened to Everyone Afterwards)
The Epilogue
(Heaven's Gate)