An earnest warning by Jeff Lindsay, noted cult authority and author of the CultMaster 2000 Software System

(A modest example of the problem with the loose definition of "cult" used by many "cult experts.")

Any competent expert on cults will tell you that typical cults display one or more of the following warning signs:

• A close-knit organization with strict rules and requirements for membership
• Dynamic leaders who exercise control and influence over members' lives
• Numerous activities which take up significant amounts of time
• Ritualistic activities, possibly including the wearing of special clothing
• Training and other activities which may be physically and emotionally draining
• Strong peer pressure in the group to achieve specific goals and obey the leader
• Requirements to make sacrifices for the good of the group
• Active recruiting efforts
• Promises of rewards, fame, and other benefits for complying with the demands of the group

Only the most extreme and dangerous cults display all of the above warning signs - but one such extreme cult has infiltrated thousands of high schools and colleges across the country. Many parents have been deceived into thinking that their son or daughter has become involved in a healthy school activity, when in fact they have been recruited by one of the most sophisticated and dangerous cults ever. This cult takes up many hours of student time, imposes physically grueling demands, requires total obedience to shadowy authority figures who exert control over many aspects of the child's life, subjects them to extreme peer pressure to perform and achieve goals for the group, demands that the child obey strict rules of behavior and diet, and even forces the child to wear special ritualistic clothing - often including special underwear (at least for boys)! The cult I speak of is actually a network of several related organizations, all of which focus on the same cultic specialty: competitive sports. Posing as intercollegiate or high school athletic teams, these cults dominate a young person's life. Whether it's basketball, football, baseball, soccer, wrestling, track and field, hockey, or lacrosse, your child is being pulled into the web of a giant cult conspiracy. The lure of these sports cults draws thousands of young people every year, who then become trained for intense, warlike pagan rituals with "opponent teams." All "competitors" wear ritualistic clothing with specific colors and symbols pertaining to their branch of the cult. Parents often feel proud of their son or daughter in their attractive "uniform," not recognizing the occult nature of the garb that shrouds their child.

Rigid rules of conduct govern the rituals, and those who fail to comply may be ejected or otherwise humiliated. All must obey the supreme cult authority figure, the "coach," whose iron will governs the child's life both during and after competitive rituals. All must be scarified to please the coach and to achieve goals for the good of the cult. Shockingly, child involvement in the sports cults often happens with the encouragement and support of gullible parents who have no idea how sinister competitive sports really are.

Once a youth has been conditioned and trained by a sports cult, the victim tends to have a mindless addiction to competitive sports rituals throughout adulthood, often persisting right into senility and beyond. Many victims become evangelists for their cult, often wearing sweaters and jackets displaying the occult logos or symbols of their particular "team," and sometimes paying large amounts of money and waiting hours in line just for a chance to observe a competitive ritual involving their branch of the cult. Sometimes entire student bodies rally to support the cause of a cult, though only an elite and exclusive minority are allowed to actually join and participate.

All this occurs in public schools, in spite of public pronouncements about the separation of Church and State. The sports cults receive millions of dollars of public funds and almost unlimited support from public schools, often at the expense of real education. Lives are ruined, souls are entangled in darkness, and thousands of debilitating injuries are suffered as human sacrifices before the altars of the sports cults. Yet Americans, blind and gullible, are unable to see the evil that lurks before their eyes and that has entangled their own children. Parents, your child may belong to a dangerous cult - and you may be the one who encouraged him or her to join!

As with all the dark tools of the Evil One, the sports cults trace their roots back to the early days of human civilization. Archaeologists recently uncovered an intact cultic shrine in Syria, dating to 1000 B.C., where ancient pagans worshipped the false god Baal. In this shrine was a dimly lit room where cultic worshipers would sit for hours before a large altar. On the altar, three strange objects were displayed: a large empty vase, a clay statue of a human foot, and a wicker basket. Participants would stare at these objects and worship for hours, often chanting and yelling while partaking of cultic beverages, typically alcoholic. Apparently, the objects on the altar were viewed as manifestations of the god Baal. Thus, as early as 1000 B.C., we find evidence of devout pagan worship of the gods Vase-Baal, Foot-Baal, and Basket-Baal. This form of worship continues today in the sports cults.

Parents, you can protect your child. Be informed, do all you can to stop these cults, and above all, be sure to buy the CultMaster 2000 CD set, which will give you all the tools you need to battle cults of all kinds. Any parent who does not buy the CultMaster 2000 CD set may well be guilty of child abuse through neglect. Order now!