My friend joined a cult...HELP!

[Albino Nega]

My friend who has nothing to believe in joined this cult because he claims that they do not judge him. His live-in parent just got into a motorcycle accident and is currently undergoing major surgery yet, my friend refuses to see him. The cult leader who they refer to as "Mr" wants to take custody of my friend.
I need to make him see that real relationships with people who care about him matter more than some cult.

Please Help Me.

[Disappearing_Girl]

Thats stressful. I would say just try to show him. Simply telling him is not going to do anything, but if you can show him, he will realize it eventually. Help him realize the people who have been there for him all along are still there for him now. You could even make it about you, and say you still need him and his live-in parent still needs him. Throw in a little guilt xD

[Albino Nega]

I talked to my teacher, parents and neighbor as well as the police and they all say that my friend will have to make his own decision. The only problem is, this "Mr" guy is very manipulative and changes my friend's perception of the world around him by using his lack of belief and telling him only the cult loves him. We tried to get him from the compound but my friend just keeps going back there after school. What should I do? He's been my best friend for as long as I can a remember and I do not want to lose him.

[Taurus]

What kind of cult is it?

[Ryhanna]

I talked to my teacher, parents and neighbor as well as the police and they all say that my friend will have to make his own decision. The only problem is, this "Mr" guy is very manipulative and changes my friend's perception of the world around him by using his lack of belief and telling him only the cult loves him. We tried to get him from the compound but my friend just keeps going back there after school. What should I do? He's been my best friend for as long as I can a remember and I do not want to lose him.

Unfortunately, they're right. He will have to make his own decision. If he chooses to become a part of this cult, you can't really force him to do otherwise. You'll just have to hope that he comes to his senses eventually.

This is a very tough situation, and it's very hard for me to offer advice as I've never been in this kind of situation. I think the only advice I can give you is to gather up his friends and family, and show him that you do care and love him by perhaps staging an intervention of sorts. Gather a group of people who care about him, and make a collective effort to prove that he does have people who care about him. Raise your concerns as a group. Hopefully, he'll be moved by such an effort.

I'm sorry you have to be in this situation. It must be tough watching someone slip away. I hope your friend comes to his senses.

[Second Chance]

I totally agree with the advice above, and, unfortunately, there is not a whole lot you can do about this friend who joined the cult especially if he is 18+. The cult leader is only going to use you as a weapon as proof of why the outside world is bad trying to paint you as part of your friend's past that is not accepting whereas painting himself as the "good" guy. The most important thing you can do right now is try to interact as normally with your friend as possible while not bringing up the cult thing. You need to think about the reasons on why your friend joined the cult in the first place because that will be the key to getting him out. For example, if your friend was a caregiver for his parent, then chances are he had gotten burned out and was tired of always doing something for someone older when in reality he is the kid who should be looked after by the parent. As a result, it is only natural that someone in that situation would want to join something like a cult where they are away from their obligations because they only do what the cult does. As weird as this may sound, your friend might be using the cult as a way to get freedom, but in reality he is trading in one bad situation for another one.

Try to figure out what has been bothering your friend prior to joining the cult and if there is anything in his life he has been lacking. Maybe your friend was disappointed with his non-cult friends for not understanding him, or maybe there is something deep inside your friend he only shares with the cult folks that he doesn't with other friends.

I am not sure if this would help, but the following website might be a good start for you: http://www.culteducation.com/index.html

[Albino Nega]

What kind of cult is it?
A destructive one from what I hear, they call themselves Mr's Family. "Mr" (the leader) believes that he is all knowing and that he must not be questioned. My friend seems to be brainwashed by all the "eternal salvation" talks. It seems like I am seeing less and less of my friend and more and more of one of the cult members. He's even shaved his head and started to donate his possessions to the cult (his grandpa found out last night when he came home that all of his musical instruments were gone, along with anything else of value from his room). He also looked pale and sickly as if he has not eaten in days or is not getting enough food the last time I saw him. I just hope we can all bring him to his senses before he ruins his life and devastates us. His live-in parent is still in pretty bad shape and I really want him to see him incase anything happens. I know if his parent wasn't injured he would be there to get my friend in a heartbeat.

[Lonely teen]

Wow that's odd try to convince him and show him the pros of a real world relationship other that some group

[Taurus]

He's caught up in weird religious indoctrination. I can't believe I'm saying this, but have you thought about locking him in a room until this crap is over? Doing anything to interrupt their meetings?