For The Holidays: 5 Phrases That Push Cult Members Deeper In (And What to Say Instead)

Your instinct to argue undermines any chance of helping them. Here’s why.

My sister stood in the doorway and said the words that, to this day, haunt many family members who are trying to do the right thing to help a loved one who has been radicalized.

“Steve, it’s a cult! You’ve been brainwashed. Can’t you see what they’ve done to you?”

Every fiber of my being wanted to run. At that moment, she wasn’t my loving sister anymore; she was the enemy my leaders had warned me about. The persecutor. Satan was trying to destroy my faith in God.

That single phrase almost ended any hope of intervention before it could begin.